Hill Street Blues (1985) – An Oy for an Oy, and Fathers and Huns

Belker (Bruce Weitz) is worrying about Robin’s (Lisa Sutton) pregnancy, and where their relationship is going. He’s thinking about marriage. But he’s also having a problem with a pair of brothers (Michael Lerner and Alex Henteloff) who seem to be screwing one another over for some diamonds, and Belker is caught in the middle. An…

Green Room (2015) – Jeremy Saulnier

Two Star Trek alum star in Jeremy Saulnier’s Green Room, Anton Yelchin and Patrick Stewart (in a way you’ve never seen him before), and with a couple of other recognizable faces like Imogen Poots and Alia Shawkat, Saulnier is intent on plunging the viewer into a gruelling and brutal experience as a punk band attempts…

The Sum of All Fears (2002) – Phil Alden Robinson

Ben Affleck steps into the role of CIA analyst Jack Ryan as Paramount Pictures relaunches the Tom Clancy hero, yet again, in The Sum of All Fears. They make him younger, near the beginning of his career, and his relationship with Cathy (Bridget Moynahan). Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with relaunching a…

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…

Icebreaker (1983) – John Gardner

Ian Fleming’s 007, James Bond, is back in action in the next novel by John Gardner, like his two previous tales, they move fast, and while filled with action beats, and moments, seems, overall, to be a smaller scale than the films that were happening at the same time. This time around, with the barest…

The Twilight Zone (1963) – Valley of the Shadow, and He’s Alive

It’s time to venture further into The Twilight Zone, as I delve deeper into season 4 of The Complete Series on blu-ray now available from Paramount Pictures. First up this week is Valley of the Shadow. Written by Charles Beaumont, this story sees reporter, Philip Redfield (Ed Nelson) finding himself stuck in a strange small…

Banshee: Season 4

The white-knuckle, pulp thriller, rollercoaster ride that is Banshee has come to a close. While it’s bittersweet that the show has come to its conclusion, there’s nothing like going out on a high note. Brutal in its violence, dark and dry in its humour, and incredibly sexy in its liaisons, the series has captivated the…