Taken (2002) – John

The penultimate episode of the Taken mini-series first aired on 12 December, 2002. Leslie Bohem continues delivering a solid script that picks up exactly where the previous episode left off. Looks like we’re on the end run of the series now. Mary Crawford (Heather Donahue) has entered the crashed alien craft, while General Beers (James…

Taken (2002) – Dropping the Dishes

Lisa (Emily Bergl) and Charlie (Adam Kaufman) realize that Allie (Dakota Fanning) has saved them by taking them out of time and returning them two hours later, after Allie has agreed to go with Mary Crawford (Heather Donahue) and Wakeman (Matt Frewer). Dropping the Dishes, the eighth episode of the Leslie Bohem-scripted miniseries, which was…

Taken (2002) – Charlie and Lisa

Leslie Bohem’s UFO epic continued with its sixth episode on 9 December, 2002. It opens with the aliens arriving in a ship to reclaim the crashed vehicle from the Roswell crash over a bridge with both the Crawfords and the Clarkes as witnesses, amongst others, military and civilian. The climax of the last episode. Eric…

Stargate: Universe (2011) – Blockade, and Gauntlet

The penultimate episode of Stargate Universe, Blockade, was written by Linda McGibney, and debuted on 2 May, 2011. Destiny needs to be refueled. It needs to get into a star to recharge. Unfortunately, every time she comes out of FTL, the drones find them. They only have enough fuel for one more try. Eli (David…

The Judas Strain (2007) – James Rollins

It’s been quite some time since I dug into a Sigma Force novel, but sometimes you just want to dig into a sprawling adventure. Sigma Force is a super secret arm of DARPA. That means not only do the characters have military training, but they have doctoral degrees, and great science and tech at their…

Stir of Echoes (1999) – David Koepp

Stir of Echoes got lost in the theatres when it went up against the ghost story The Sixth Sense. Based on the novel by Richard Matheson and adapted by Koepp who settled into the director’s chair as well, the film lets Kevin Bacon just shine, and features some well-executed visuals including the hypnotism sequence featuring…

Man on Fire (2004) – Tony Scott

I love Tony Scott films; the saturated colours, the moving cameras, the tight pacing, the visual shorthand he used in his storytelling style. I don’t think I ever met a Tony Scott film I didn’t like. Sure I like some more than others, but all of them have his indelible print on them. Man on…

The Church (1989) – Michele Soavi

Lamberto Bava stepped out of the director’s chair for Michele Soavi, but remained heavily involved in the production alongside Dario Argento. It was originally supposed to be a third entry in the Demons series, but Soavi wanted to make a slightly more elevated picture, and Demons 3 was forgotten to tell a different kind of…

American Fiction (2023) – Cord Jefferson

I’m a little upset that I didn’t go to see this one when it screened at TIFF, but I was very happy that this was a film that my partner and I could watch together, and we greatly enjoyed it. But it’s Jeffrey Wright, the man can do anything, and play anything, and he brings…

47 Meters Down (2017) – Johannes Roberts

Mandy Moore and Claire Holt star in 47 Meters Down a fairly well-realized white-knuckle thriller from Johannes Roberts. Whatever you think of the concept of the story, a pair of sisters stuck 47 meters down in shark-infested waters, Roberts is able to tap into some very primal fears, add in some solid visual effects work…