This week’s instalment features episodes written by two guest writers. First up is Chinga which was written by Stephen King and given an X-files polish by series creator Chris Carter. The episode first debuted on 8 February, 1998. Predominantly a Scully (Gillian Anderson) story, with a bored Mulder (David Duchovny) popping up every now and…
Tag: murder
Fletch (1985) – Micheal Ritchie
Chevy Chase brings Gregory MacDonald’s classic investigative journalist to life in this classic 80s film that is still damned funny, and a lot of fun to watch. When I first heard about this movie, they started re-releasing some of the novels, including the original, and I snapped a couple of them, but for me, they…
The Sniper (2021) – Chang Kuo-Li
Taiwanese author Chang Kou-Li delivers an action thriller this week. With its North American debut, The Sniper, is available now from House of Anansi Press, features a translation by Roddy Flagg and reads like the best of Hong Kong cinema. There are action beats, police investigations, involving characters and a weaving story that takes you…
Sudden Impact (1983) – Clint Eastwood
Lalo Schifrin returns to score Dirty Harry’s next adventure which sees Eastwood not only starring as Dirty Harry Callahan, but serves as the film’s producer and director. After causing more problems for the city brass, and not following the law in his own investigations, Harry is assigned to a homicide case that will get him…
Partners in Crime (1929) – Agatha Christie
Tommy and Tuppence, who quickly became one of my favourite creations of Agatha Christie, first introduced in The Secret Adversary, are back in this collection of short stories, that are interconnected, as the married couple take on a number of cases. A Fairy in the Flat opens the book and reveals that Tommy is working…
Never Send Flowers (1993) – John Gardner
James Bond is back, and while I’ve enjoyed Gardner’s efforts with Ian Fleming’s 007, with the minor exception of The Man From Barbarossa, this entry, his thirteenth (of sixteen) feels like a real stumble. It seems to want to be more in line with the cinematic 007, but without a solid story, or set pieces…
F/X 2 (1991) – Richard Franklin
Five years after the first film, and a lifetime of difference for me, Roland Tyler (Bryan Brown) and Leo McCarthy (Brian Dennehy) were back in action. Unfortunately, an attempt to continue the gritty feeling special effects thriller comes across as a little disjointed, and honestly, more convoluted than it needed to be. An attempt to…
F/X (1986) – Robert Mandel
Bryan Brown plays Roland Tyler, one of the top special effects people working in the business. He’s built a name for himself as well as a brand, but he’s just been approached for a special kind of gig in Robert Mandel’s F/X. He’s approached by a member of the Justice Department to help out on…
The Seven Dials Mystery (1929) – Agatha Christie
The Seven Dials Mystery is a delightful romp.It takes us back to Chimneys, reacquaints us with Superintendent Battle, as well as Lady Eileen, better known to her friends as Bundle, as she and her friends get caught up in mystery, murder, romance and adventure. While Chimneys is occupied by another family, whose renting it for…
Millennium (1997) – Maranatha, and Paper Dove
With the penultimate episode of the first season, Maranatha, Millennium continues its move towards tying in end of the world mythology (heavily influenced by Christian texts) with the rise in crime, and specifically murder. Frank Black (Lance Henriksen) finds himself brushing up against possible events from the book of Revelations in this story written by…
Cobra (1986) – George P. Cosmatos
I’ve been enjoying revisting some of the classic 80s action films, and I even remember the first time I saw this one. I wish I could have told myself what I KNOW now, this film is horrible. It’s uneven, and as much as I enjoy an action film from the Stallone oeuvre, this one is…
Millennium (1997) – Powers, Principalities, Thrones, and Dominions, and Broken World
Ted Mann and Howard Rosenthal expand Frank Black’s (Lance Henriksen) in this episode of Millennium that first aired on 25 April, 1997. Still reeling from the murder of his friend, police detective Bletcher (Bill Smitrovich), Frank is unsure of his gift and may not be ready to return to work with the Millennium Group, despite…
