Star Trek: The Next Generation – Masks (1989) – John Vornholt

Set during the events of season two of The Next Generation, John Vornholt’s novel, Masks, is a bit of a basic tale, but does give Captain Picard a bit of a romance. The Enterprise arrives at the planet Lorca, transporting ambassador-at-large Fenton Lewis to open diplomatic relations with the inhabitants. This seems kind of odd,…

Magnum P.I. (2020) – Double Jeopardy, and Easy Money

Season three of Magnum gets underway with Double Jeopardy. Written by showrunners Peter M. Lenkov and Eric Guggenheim, the season debuted on 4 December, 2020. Higgins (Perdita Weeks) is settling into the role of running the estate, and she informs Magnum (Jay Hernandez) that he’s going to have to start paying rent, or move out….

Family Ties (1987) – The Other Woman, Dream Date, and Super Mom

The Other Woman has some problems developing between Andy (Brian Bonsall) and Alex (Michael J. Fox) when Alex is spending too much time with Lauren (Courtney Cox) and he is missing spending time with his brother. Written by Susan Borowitz this episode first debuted on 27 September, 1987. The b-story sees Nick (Scott Valentine) getting…

American Fiction (2023) – Cord Jefferson

I’m a little upset that I didn’t go to see this one when it screened at TIFF, but I was very happy that this was a film that my partner and I could watch together, and we greatly enjoyed it. But it’s Jeffrey Wright, the man can do anything, and play anything, and he brings…

Polite Society (2023) – Nida Manzoor

Polite Society is an enjoyable action comedy with strong female characters involved in a wonderfully melodramatic tale. The story follows a young Pakistani woman, Ria (Priya Kansara) who dreams of being a stuntwoman, and who idolizes her older sister, Lena (Ritu Arya), who is experiencing a tough time after leaving art school because she she…

Easy Go (1968) – Micheal Crichton

Easy Go should have been my favourite of Micheal Crichton’s early novels. Written under his John Lange pseudonym while Crichton was still in med-school, the book includes some archaeology, some Egyptology, and the idea of a heist. Barnaby has discovered the possibility of a lost tomb, an undiscovered cache of wealth and a forgotten king….

Family Ties (1985) – My Tutor, Mr. Right, and Just One Look

River Phoenix guest stars in My Tutor. Written by Jace Richdale, it first debuted on 14 November, 1985. Alex (Micheal J. Fox) is having trouble with advanced geometry (he’s gone from 90% to 89%) and he’s hired a tutor to help him out. Enter thirteen-year-old Eugene (Phoneix), a mathematical genius, who works to help Alex…

Batman (1967) – King Tut’s Coup, and Batman’s Waterloo

King Tut (Victor Buono) is back after getting a bump on the head bringing back his royal Egyptian personality. And amongst his gang? Star Trek’s Grace Lee Whitney! This two-parter was written by Stanley Ralph Ross from a story by Leo and Pauline Townsend. The first episode, King Tut’s Coup, debuted on 8 March, 1967….

TIFF ’23: The Dead Don’t Hurt

Viggo Mortensen wrote and directed this Western drama that is filled with recognizable Western tropes but Moternsen neither completely rejects them nor subverts them, he simply uses them to fill out his story about an immigrant couple that finds themselves living and loving on the edge of a corrupt Nevada town in the 1860s. The…