Terry Curtis Fox pens Rules of Engagement which first debuted on 19 August, 1999. When SG-1 arrives on a distant world they find another SG team under assault by jaffa. But it’s not a real SG team, and they turn their weapons on O’Neill (Richard Dean Anderson), Teal’c (Christopher Judge), Daniel (Micheal Shanks), and Carter…
Tag: narrative
Northern Exposure (1991) – Animals R Us, and Jules et Joel
Ed (Darren E. Burrows) struggles with his cinematic dreams, questioning whether he can actually make a film or not in Animals R Us. Written by Robin Green this episode first debuted on 14 October, 1991. There are a couple of narrative threads woven into this story, but the main one centers on Maggie (Janine Turner)…
TIFF24: The Life of Chuck dir. Mike Flanagan
Tears. Happy tears. When things just feel right, when something is translated so well from page to screen that it looks the way it did in your mind’s eye. The Life of Chuck moved me to happy tears. Mike Flanagan is at the top of his game. He has proven that he excels at adapting…
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…
Under Paris (2024) – Xavier Gens
Under Paris delivers my second favourite shark movie of all time. The first is Jaws, of course. That whole slew of Sharknado films couldn’t do a damned thing for me. They are so far beyond cheesy that they become an embarrassment. You have to be able to walk a line with shark movies, to balance…
Magnum P.I. (2022) – If I Should Die Before I Wake, and Angels Sometimes Kill
Jin (Bobby Lee) decides to get into dog walking, but then when Higgins (Perdita Weeks) allows him to look after the lads, he feeds them chocolate and makes them sick, and of course, things go sideways at the animal hospital when armed criminals show up to have one of their injured crew seen to be…
The Equalizer 2 (2018) – Antoine Fuqua
Sure the first installment of the Antoine Fuqua/Denzel Washington actioner came out in 2014, and I watched it for the first time nine years ago, and hadn’t watched any of the films since. And yes, I’m a fan of the original series with Edward Woodward. but I rather enjoy Washington’s interpretation of the character. The…
Starman (1986) – Society’s Pet, and Fever
Janet Leigh guest stars in Society’s Pet. Written by Ross Hirshom, this episode was first broadcast on 28 November, 1986. Paul (Robert Hays) and Scott (Christopher Daniel Barnes) are contacted by a private investigator who has been looking for him. It seems Scott’s foster-aunt, Antonia Weyburn (Leigh) has offered Scott a $10,000 inheritance, so the…
Death Whisperer (2023) – Taweewat Wantha
I love digging into horror films from around the world, seeing how different directors and cultures dole out their scares, what is frightening to them, and how some things are scary across the board, seemingly tapping into some primal fear. Thailand delivers Death Whisperer, which according to the film’s intro is based loosely on a…
Butterfly Kisses (2018) – Erik Kristopher Myers
Found footage films can be hit or miss, and they usually need something exceptional to lift one above another to make it worthy of note. I think Butterfly Kisses falls into that category. What it ends up being is a film, within a film, about film. Gavin (Seth Adam Kallick), a would-be filmmaker, trying to…
The Mind Reels 