While I’m waiting to get my hands on the new West Wing book, this one popped up in my book recommendations, and I figured why not. A fun memoir written by Obama’s former Deputy Chief of Staff, Alyssa Mastromonaco, what’s not to like? I flew through this one, it was an absolutely engaging read that…
Tag: personal life
The Equalizer (1985) – Pilot, and China Rain
I don’t know what the first episode of The Equalizer was that I saw, but I remember where I was, and I knew I found the concept and execution interesting, even at 14. It was grittier than a lot of the episodic television that was being broadcast at the time, a little darker, and had…
The Enforcer (1976) – James Fargo
Clint Eastwood returns as ‘Dirty’ Harry Callahan for a third time in The Enforcer, the only film in the series not to have music by Lalo Schifrin (Jerry Fielding takes over giving us a jazzy sounding film score) and for the only time, pairs Callahan with a female homicide detective, Kate Moore, played by Tyne…
Millennium (1996) – Dead Letters, and The Judge
Glen Morgan and James Wong pen Dead Letters, an episode that doesn’t deal with any arcs of the season, but gives us a look at the procedure and the strain of hunting a serial killer. Dead Letters first aired on 8 November, 1996, and sees Frank Black (Lance Henriksen) teaming up with a profiler that…
Rocketman (2019) – Blu-Ray Review
The fantasy biopic about musical legend (and one of my favorite artists) Elton John has come home on blu-ray and DVD thanks to Paramount Pictures. Taron Egerton who is bound to be nominated for an Oscar (or should be) IS Elton John in this jukebox musical that tells the musician’s personal history in a fantastical,…
A Winter Haunting (2002) – Dan Simmons
I wanted to return to the town of Elm Haven, having enjoyed my experience there in Dan Simmons’ Summer of Night, so I picked up the sequel he penned to it, and dove into a but of a spooky tale. We join Dale Stewart, from the original novel, but he’s older now, in his fifties,…
Miami Vice (1984) – Heart of Darkness, and Cool Runnin’
Following the series premiere the first episode following the opener was as edgy and dark (while being as colourful, vibrant and music-filled as Brother’s Keeper). Heart of Darkness (not quite dissimilar to Joseph Conrad’s original story) was written by A.J. Edison, and first aired on 28 September, 1984. Sonny Crockett (Don Johnson) and Ricardo Tubbs…
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1989) – The Bonding, and Booby Trap
Captain’s log: stardate 43198.7 Ronald D. Moore who would later to go on to reimagine Battlestar Galactica, and bring Outlander to the screen wrote this episode when he joined the writers’ room on the show’s third season. With an original airdate of 23 October, 1989, the show worked within the constraints of series creator Roddenberry’s…
The Devil’s Advocate (1997) – Taylor Hackford
The final recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book for my screening of La Belle et La Bete is this 1997 legal thriller with supernatural overtones that lets Keanu Reeves take on a scene-chewing Al Pacino. Charlize Theron co-stars as Reeves’ wife Mary Ann, while Keanu plays Kevin Lomax, a not…
The Happening (2008) – M. Night Shyamalan
The Sci-Fi Chronicles continues its foray into the works of M. Night Shyamalan, and if Unbreakable didn’t disappoint you (and honestly I still like that one after all these years), this one was bound to. I think, this one would have worked so much better as a novel, expand out the characters, add a…
The Mind Reels 