It’s more time well spent with the Universal Monsters as I dive into the first sequel to 1933’s The Invisible Man. Vincent Price in one of his earliest performances is Geoffrey Radcliffe, a man imprisoned for a murder he didn’t commit. His beloved Helen Manson (Nan Grey) is stunned and refuses to believe he’s guilty….
Tag: murder
Stargate SG-1 (1998) – Prisoners, and The Gamekeeper
O’Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) Carter (Amanda Tapping), Teal’c (Christopher Judge) and Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks) find themselves in a penal colony on an unknown planet after unknowingly violating local law and aiding someone in need, who turned out to be a murderer. Prisoners was written by Terry Curtis Fox and was first broadcast on 10…
Monkey Man (2024) – Dev Patel
Dev Patel directs and stars in Monkey Man, an action revenge film that makes sure to add in emotion, trauma, as well as some commentary on religion and politics. It’s all done without losing the driving, pulse-pounding action sequences that make this film incredibly enjoyable and watchable. As the nameless hero of the film, known…
TIFF24: The Order dir. Justin Kurzel
Jude Law plays Terry Husk, an FBI agent who is investigating a murder and a series of large bank robberies along the American Northwest. As he digs in, he begins to suspect it’s all tied to a racist terrorist organization that may be planning a big move. Based on actual events, and just as relevant…
The Venom Business (1969) – Michael Crichton
I dove into Michael Crichton’s next book, The Venom Business, as I work through his bibliography. This one took me a while to actually get into. There’s a bit of a convoluted plot for the first half of the book inundated with the parties and happenings of a swinging London where everyone, apparently, is over-sexed,…
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…
Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969) – Burt Kennedy
James Garner is at his charming best in Support Your Local Sheriff! Jason (Garner) rides into a small gold rush town, which we see spring up through the opening credits after Prudy (Joan Hackett) and her father, Olly Perkins (Harry Morgan) discover gold partway through a funeral – and that should tell you all you…
The Maid (2022) – Nita Prose
The Maid is a fantastic engaging read that introduces the character Molly Gray, a young woman who is on the spectrum and finds herself caught up as the prime suspect in a murder investigation. Molly, who is recovering from the death of her beloved Gran, the only caretaker she has in her life, struggles to…
Deja Vu (2006) – Tony Scott
I do enjoy a Denzel Washington/Tony Scott team-up and this temporal thriller ends up being a lot more fun than I remember from the first time I saw it. Scott’s constantly moving camera, saturated colours, and tight editing are on full display here as the story follows ATF agent Doug Carlin (Washington) as he investigates…
The Octagon (1980) – Eric Karson
Welcome to the 80s, the age of the ninja as Chuck Norris guides us through a haphazard adventure that sees him entering The Octagon! Scott James (Norris) is a world-class martial artist who is accompanied by an echoey voiceover almost everywhere he goes. He and his frenemy, A.J. (Art Hindle!) live a high roller life…
The Mind Reels 