Murphy’s Romance (1985) – Martin Ritt

James Garner earned his only Academy Award nomination for his turn as Murphy Jones, a local widower, handyman and pharmacist in the small town of Eunice, where the newly divorced Emma (Sally Field) and her young son, Jake (Corey Haim) arrive in to make an attempt at running a horse ranch. Emma has a tough…

Batman (1966) – Hot Off the Griddle, and The Cat and The Fiddle

Julie Newmar returns as The Catwoman in the second story of season two. This two-parter was written by Stanley Ralph Ross and part one, Hot Off the Griddle, first aired on 14 September, 1966. Catwoman is stalking the streets of late-night Gotham and has made a number of interesting thefts which catch the attention of…

Shaolin Soccer (2001) – Stephen Chow

Writer/director Stephen Chow delivers another highly entertaining live-action cartoon that shows what happens when some washed-up Shaolin masters rediscover their powers and come together to play in the Chinese SuperCup competition. Chow is Mighty Steel Leg Sing. Despite his abilities, he can’t make a living and is trying to find a way to turn Shaolin…

Rocky II (1979) – Sylvester Stallone

Sylvester Stallone writes, directs and stars in his 1979 follow-up to the 1976 hit Rocky. Picking up moments after the first film ended, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) is dealing with the fallout of his fight with Rocky (Stallone) while Rocky is having his first brush with fame and money even as a rematch is on…

No Country For Old Men (2007) – Joel and Ethan Coen

I remember watching No Country For Old Men when it first came to home video, I was hip-deep in discovering everything that the Coen Brothers had made, and loving every single one of them. Unfortunately, my first time through it, I didn’t pay lots of attention to it, though some moments are burned into my…

Finders Keepers (2015) – Stephen King

Finders Keepers is the second book in Stephen King’s Bill Hodges trilogy, though he, Jerome and the wonderful Holly Gibney don’t show up until about halfway through the tale. That doesn’t mean King doesn’t dole out another captivating tale, rather the reverse. We’re introduced to Morris in the late 70s. He’s arrogant, and while not…

The Equalizer (1987) – Solo, and A Place to Stay

McCall (Edward Woodward) squares off against a dirty cop, Cole (Kevin Spacey), who is pursuing a woman, Sarah (Lindsay Crouse) for the murder of his partner in Solo, things become increasingly complicated when McCall becomes romantically involved with her. Written by Carleton Eastlake, Solo first debuted on 18 February, 1987. Sarah approaches McCall after he…

Don’t Breathe (2016) – Fede Alvarez

I was pleasantly surprised by Don’t Breathe, though I didn’t like a single character in the film. They’re all evil in their way, and that made it hard to empathize. In fact, for the first part of the film, I sympathize with the Blind Man (Stephen Lang), until that twist of course. But it’s interesting…

Murder By Contract (1958) – Irving Lerner

I’ve been checking out some noir titles over the past few weeks, checking in with one of my favorite genres. This was perhaps my least favorite of the bunch. I think it could have been a little better constructed, and perhaps delved into the issues that plagued the film’s lead character, Claude (Vince Edwards). Claude…

Mission: Impossible (1969) – Submarine, and Mastermind

Donald James pens an exceptional episode of Mission: Impossible, Submarine, which was first broadcast on 16 November, 1969. Phelps (Peter Graves) and his IMF team are working with a ticking clock. They have to kidnap former SS officer, Kruger Schetlman (Stephen McNally), and learn the location stolen Nazi funds, before the local military police track…