Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986) – Brian Gibson

A number of cast and crew (including composer Jerry Goldsmith and visual effects artist Richard Edlund) return for Poltergeist II: The Other Side and while Julian Beck seems truly terrifying as Kane, the film doesn’t have the Spielberg or Hooper magic that made the first film such a hit. The Freeling family, Diane (JoBeth Williams),…

The Lovely Bones (2009) – Peter Jackson

Director Peter Jackson adapted Alice Sebold’s heartbreaking novel, The Lovely Bones, to the big screen alongside his collaborators Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, and while there are a lot of differences from the book to film (the novel definitely has more adult themes, and things were toned down for the teen, twenty-something audiences), and some…

The X-Files (2016) – Mulder & Scully Meet the Were-Monster, and Home Again

Fan favorite writer Darin Morgan returns to The X-Files with Mulder & Scully Meet the Were-Monster. First airing on 1 February, 2016, While Mulder (David Duchovny) questions whether or not he’s wasted his life chasing UFOs, aliens, and monsters, Scully (Gillian Anderson) arrives in the office with another case… a monster. But, of course, with…

Kubo and the Two Strings (2016) – Travis Knight

I remember getting a glimpse of this film with its first released trailer, and I wasn’t really interested. It seems my brain simply chose to block out the part where it says it’s a Laika Studios production… these guys have yet to make a bad picture. I picked it up on blu-ray sight unseen, only…

Flight of the Navigator (1986) – Randal Kleiser

Disney delivers a staple of 80s childhood with a revisit to Flight of the Navigator. Watching it now, I find myself more interested in the mysteries going on at the edges of the story than the main thrust of the narrative following young David Freeman (Joey Cramer), his abduction and subsequent return eight years later,…

The X-Files (2001) – 4-D, and The Lord of the Flies

Steven Maeda pens 4-D which makes Reyes (Annabeth Gish) put the idea of parallel universe to the test. First airing on 9 December, 2001, the episode opens with a bit of a shocker when Reyes has her throat slit and dies in the pursuit of a serial killer, Lukesh (Dylan Haggerty), and Doggett (Robert Patrick)…

Star Trek: Discovery – The Way to the Stars (2019) – Una McCormack

When I read her Picard novel, Last Best Hope, I was completely taken in by McCormack’s writing, with her Discovery novel, The Way to the Stars, she has cemented herself as my favorite Trek author working today. Available through the Gallery Books imprint of Simon & Schuster, Star Trek doles out literary adventures, with both…