Christopher Walken is completely captivating as Frank White, a recently paroled drug dealer who is using violence to get his way on the streets even as he tries to position himself as a possible political force in the city. Filled with now classic rap tunes, the film is gritty, violent and features a stellar cast…
Tag: justice
Training Day (2001) – Antoine Fuqua
I forgot what a tightly crafted, perfectly executed film Training Day was. I knew it was excellent, I remembered it as gritty and intense, but I hadn’t seen it since 2001. Watching it afresh over twenty years later, and one is struck by the intensity of the performances, Denzel Washington deservedly won an Oscar for…
Magnum P.I. (2021/2022) – Better Watch Out, and Dream Lover
It’s a holiday episode and it opens with Magnum (Jay Hernandez) is on a case watching for a bail jumper, Barry (Christopher Rodriguez Marquette) to show at a pawn shop disguised as a mall Santa while Higgins (Perdita Weeks) is an elf taking photographs of Santa and the kids. But that’s just the beginning of…
Magnum P.I. (2021) – The Lies We Tell, and Dark Harvest
Magnum (Jay Hernandez) and Higgins (Perdita Weeks) are approached by Elena (Elyse Levesque) to find a murderer in The Lies We Tell. Written by Katie Varney, it was first broadcast on 26 March, 2021. There are complications as Elena reveals that Eddie Benson (Jeff Weisen) she was with was not her husband, and while she…
Lawmen Bass Reeves: Season 1 – Blu-Ray
David Oyelowo brings Bass Reeves to life, in Lawmen: Bass Reeves, which he helped produce alongside series creator Chad Feehan and Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan. Based on the true story of one of the first Black U.S. Marshals, we follow Bass from slave to one of the most respected lawmen to serve. Throughout eight episodes,…
Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters (1968) – Kimyoshi Yasuda
Wow, did I have fun with this one. I had never heard of it, but I do love a lot of J-horror, and this one definitely had an interesting sound to it, a Japanese monster movie with practical effects, costumes and a touch of animation, what’s not to like? The monsters are allowed to show…
The Long Goodbye (1973) – Robert Altman
I’m probably stepping into a minefield here, but I’m not the biggest Robert Altman fan. Who doesn’t love The Player? And as great as M*A*S*H is, I came to it by way of the television series, so it never resonated with me as much as I would have liked. That being said, I really liked…
Star Trek: Picard – Firewall (2024) – David Mack
Author David Mack delivers a fast-paced adventure that documents Seven of Nine’s life following Voyager’s return to Earth, and how she ended up working with the Fenris Rangers in Firewall, a Star Trek: Picard novel available on 27 February from Simon & Schuster Canada. Tying itself in with the established canon of not only Star…
Avatar: The Last Airbender – Book 2: Earth (2006) – The Swamp, Avatar Day, and The Blind Bandit
The Swamp gives a message of the interconnectivity of everything. Written by Tim Hedrick, this episode was first broadcast on 14 April, 2006. Aang (Zach Tyler Eisen) feels drawn to a swamp, but when Katara (Mae Whitman) and Sokka (Jack De Sena) argue against landing there, a freak tornado brings Appa down and separates them…
The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981) – William A. Fraker
There are a few things to redeem the 1981 iteration of the Lone Ranger story, it has a score by John Barry, and features Christopher Lloyd as the film’s baddie. But beyond that, this one is pretty horrible. The story, while violent, isn’t layered, sophisticated or much stronger than a grade-school tale. And that’s to…
The Mind Reels 