Smallville (2003) – Exile, and Phoenix

The season opener for Smallville picks up three months after the events of season two. Clark (Tom Welling) is living in Metropolis, and thanks to the red kyptonite ring he’s been wearing, he is living a carefree life committing crimes, and living large. He’s calling himself Kal, and working to forget his past. And Lex…

SilverFin (2005) – Charlie Higson

The Young Bond series gets underway with SilverFin written by Charlie Higson, with the blessing of the Ian Fleming Foundation. It’s a curious idea. By giving us a young James Bond, you’d think the stories are meant to appeal to young adult readers. But the stories themselves are in keeping with the literary James Bond…

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1 (2012) – Jay Oliva

The Dark Knight Returns is an iconic graphic novel, a story that redefined Batman in the 80s, and was, perhaps, the one adaptation that I was looking forward to most. I liked that the creative team knew to tell the story properly, they had to take their time with it, setting everything up, which meant…

The Searchers (1956) – John Ford

John Ford and John Wayne. When it comes to westerns there are few names better, and they are my next stop in the Action section of the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book. Confederate soldier, Ethan (Wayne) returns to his family’s homestead in Texas after the end of the Civil War, where he…