City on Fire (1987) – Ringo Lam

Chow Yun-Fat is Ko Chow, an undercover cop caught in a City on Fire in Ringo Lam’s iconic piece of Hong Kong cinema. Ready to leave his undercover life behind, Chow is persuaded by Inspector Lau (Yueh Sun) to take on on last case. When an undercover cop ends up dead, Chow has to infiltrate…

Klute (1971) – Alan J. Pakula

I tuned in for Donald Sutherland, and stayed for the fantastic performance by Jane Fonda. So good in fact, that she took home the Best Actress Oscar. It’s a stunning turn, and she’s so good in it. Sutherland plays the titular Klute. John Klute, a detective. He’s trying to rundown lead on a friend who…

Lords of Uncreation (2023) – Adrian Tchaikovsky

Orbit Books delivers the final book in Adrian Tchaikovsky’s The Final Architecture Trilogy, and if you dug the first two, the space opera in the third is going to let you enjoy every page as Tchaikovsky wraps things up while delivering a fast-paced, highly enjoyable tale. The Architects, strange planet-shaped beings that appear from unspace,…

The Prisoner (1967) – Checkmate, and Hammer Into Anvil

Number Six (Patrick McGoohan) squares off against Number Two (this time played by Peter Wyngarde) in a layered scheme in Checkmate. Written by Gerald Kelsey, this episode first debuted on 24 November, 1967. Inspired by a life-sized chess game, Six begins canvassing his own pieces, fellow prisoners, as he’s reasoned out how to tell the…

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1994) – Armageddon Game, and Whispers

Station log: stardate unknown Morgan Gendel, Ira Steven Behr and James Crocker pen this episode from a story by Gendel. The episode debuted on 30 January, 1994. This ends up being another O’Brien (Colm Meaney) and Bashir (Alexander Siddig) story. The pair are helping a pair of races, the T’Lani and the Kelleruns put an…