The Monsters We Defy (2022) – Leslye Penelope

Orbit Books conjures a magical and engaging tale with Leslye Penelope’s The Monsters We Defy. While arguably a supernatural heist story, that descriptor merely scratches the surface of the tale as we are introduced to an array of characters, united by Clara Johnson in the vibrant setting of 1920s Washington, D.C. Clara was born with…

The Sugarland Express (1974) – Steven Spielberg

Before Spielberg was the box-office titan that he would become with 1975’s Jaws , he made his North American theatrical debut (Duel, a television movie had been released theatrically in Europe) with 1974’s Sugarland Express. Based on an actual event that occurred in 1969, the story follows Lou Jean (Goldie Hawn), her husband Clovis (William…

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022) – 4K Review

Warner Brother invited me back to the magical world of Hogwarts and more with a copy of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore on 4K. It’s been four years since Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, so the biggest thing anyone can do before diving into the beautiful 4K transfer of Warner Brothers’ Fantastic Beasts:…

Alligator (1980) – Lewis Teague

I remember seeing the poster for Alligator when I was a kid, and while I liked the shadowy look of the art, with a giant alligator peering out of an arched sewer, I never really had much of a desire to see it. Even as I grew older and heard some semi-decent things about it,…

Beverly Hills Cop II (1987) – 4K Review

Tony Scott came off the success of Top Gun with this follow-up to the 1984 hit Beverly Hills Cop, Beverly Hills Cop II, which is somehow thirty-five years old. To celebrate, Paramount Pictures delivers the high-octane sequel on a vibrant 4K disc. Let’s get this out of the way up front, there are no extras…

Shards of Earth (2021) – Adrian Tchaikovsky

Before I could dig into Eyes of the Void by Adrian Tchaikovsky, available now through Orbit Books, I had to familiarize myself with the characters of the universe he created by reading the first volume, Shards of Earth, also available from Orbit Books. Within pages of Tchaikovsky’s book, I was wrapped up in the imagination…

Murder on the Orient Express (1934) – Agatha Christie

This week I dug into one of Agatha Christie’s most iconic novels, Murder on the Orient Express which features that Belgian detective and his little grey cells, Hercule Poirot. Summoned back to London, Poirot must forgo a layover and board the Orient Express to make it to his next assignment. Unfortunately, the train car is…

The X-Files (2018) – Plus One, and The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat

Series creator Chris Carter pens Plus One, which first aired on 17 January, 2018. Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) get pulled into a weird one, when they hear about a rash of phenomenon relating to the appearance of doppelgängers, and they all seem to relate to a pair of twins, Chuck and Judy…