Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) – Steve Barron

I missed most of the TMNT craze while I was a teenager in Bermuda. While I was out in Halifax, tthe family I lived with had a son who was obsessed! He loved the cartoon, and I got to know some of it from that. I read some of the original Eastman-Laird black and white…

Blood Red Sky (2021) – Peter Thorwarth

It’s taken me a while to get to this one, but once the mood hit I was ready for it. And man, I got a kick out of it. It plays with some tropes, has an exploration of motherhood and parenting, and oh yeah, let’s enjoy the blood and gore. Nadja (Peri Baumeister) and her…

The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009) – Tony Scott

Tony Scott updated the gritty 1974 classic, The Taking of Pelham 123 with his signature style, and introduced it to the 21st century. Featuring his signature editing, camera work and saturated colors, Pelham rockets along, resting easily on the shoulders of the film’s two leads, Denzel Washington, and John Travolta. Washington plays Walter Garber, a…

John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023) – Chad Stahelski

The Wick-verse expands again with John Wick: Chapter 4 in a story that takes us from New York to Japan to Paris, and Keanu Reeves’ Wick is kicking ass all the way. Determined to reach the High Table will require that he return to the fold and be of service. But his target, the Marquis…

John Wick (2014) – Chad Stahelski

I was shocked (and delighted because it meant I could watch them all again) that I hadn’t written about John Wick before. I had written up the second film but for some reason hadn’t done the other three. So that means I could buckle up and dive into this amazing world where assassins thrive, have…

Northern Exposure (1995) – Mi Casa, Su Casa, and Horns

Marilyn (Elaine Miles) comes to visit Joel (Rob Morrow), well not really, so he’s a little bothered by the fact that she didn’t. She’s there for a community event, not to see how Joel is getting by. As they spend time together, Joel finds himself trying to convince her that he’s changed. Mi Casa, Su…

Northern Exposure (1994) – Lovers and Madmen, and Dinner at Seven Thirty

Season five of Northern Exposure closed out on 23 May, 1994 with Lovers and Madmen, which was written by Jeff Melvoin. Joel (Rob Morrow) takes a tumble while golfing, and discovers a thawing mastodon. There could be fame and fortune in his future. But the museum sends out an ornithologist, Pickering (Wayne Pere), and things…

The Peacemaker (1997) – Mimi Leder

It’s easily been a couple of decades since I last watched this techno-thriller with George Clooney and Nicole Kidman. I have to say, in the current geo-political environment, it’s hard to see the Americans as the good guys, working against Russian and Eastern European interests. And it’s sad that I feel that way. A group…

The Paper (1994) – Ron Howard

Ron Howard and Michael Keaton paired up again for The Paper, a break-neck paced film about newspapers and journalism that still gets the adrenaline going while discussing the ethics of what is published. Set in a tabloid newspaper in New York, Howard and frequent producer Brian Grazer bring a script by David and Stephen Koepp…

The Adjustment Bureau (2011) – George Nolfi

Matt Damon and Emily Blunt headline The Adjustment Bureau, which uses the short story The Adjustment Team by Philip K. Dick as it’s launching point. Nolfi not only directed but he wrote the screenplay as well, delivering an entertaining sci-romance. Damon is David Norris, a politician on track to be the next representative from New…