I’ve always enjoyed Anthony Horowitz’s writing. I dug his young spy novels, the Alex Rider series, and his foray into James Bond territory. But he is not a writer to be confined by genre, and when I came across Magpie Murders in one of the little libraries in a neighbor’s yard, I had to at…
Tag: secrets
Smallville (2002) – Reaper, and Drone
Reaper is a different kind of freak-of-the-week episode. Written by Cameron Litvack, it was first broadcast on 23 April, 2002. Tyler Randall (Reynaldo Rosales) is at the local hospital, trying to see his ailing mother’s request for euthanasia to be fullfilled. Something he attempts to do himself. When he falls from the sixth floor and…
Smallville (2002) – Nicodemus, and Stray
Nicodemus gives us a bit of This Side of Paradise feel… you know the classic Star Trek episode? Written by Micheal Green from a story by Greg Walker, it first aired on 19 March, 2002. We learn that Dr. Hamilton (Steve Norton) has been working for Lex (Micheal Rosenbaum) and doing some experimenting with the…
Bring Her Back (2025) – Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou
That’s two for two for the Philippous as far as I’m concerned. I was delightfully impressed with how much I enjoyed Talk to Me. And as soon as I discovered they had another film out there, it shot right to the top of my viewing list. And Bring Her Back, it’s an experience. It’s unnerving,…
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) – J.A. Bayona
Five films in you can’t expect the series to forge too much new ground. They have a formula that works and people love seeing dinosaurs running amok. This story brings back Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) to bookend the film, and puts Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard – bit of a crush) and Chris Pratt…
We Used to Live Here (2024) – Marcus Kliewer
Some books not only take you in, but hint at a much bigger world behind the pages if you are willing to explore it. We Used to Live Here is one of those. It’s a spooky, unnerving tale, that is enmeshed in secrets and codes that eager readers can work to solve, and join online…
TIFF 25: Retreat dir. Ted Evans
Ted Evans wrote and directed this engaging thriller that takes us inside the lives of Eva (Anne Zander) and Matt (James Joseph Boyle) when Eva joins Matt and a collection of deaf people living at a residence they know as Chilmark. Under the watchful eye, and guidance of Mia (Sophie Stone), the residents are establishing…
Superman: Dawnbreaker (2019) – Matt de la Pena
I’m going to restart Smallville this week. I never finished it when it was airing and writing about them guarantees that I have to watch them all and explore the whole series. And since Superman has always been a hero of mine, I’ve also been scouring for a good Superman novel. Dawnbreaker is that. Giving…
Blood Fever (2006) – Charlie Higson
The end of James Bond’s first year at Eton is almost here, and the young boy, still thirteen, is working to figure out what to do with his summer holidays. His Aunt Charmain endorses his choice to go on a school trip to Sardinia, with the caveat that if it gets too dull, he can…
Red Sparrow (2018) – Francis Lawrence
Jennifer Lawrence trusts to Francis Lawrence, who directed her in the final three Hunger Games films. As such, she bares it all in this taut spy thriller. Based on the novel by Jason Matthews the story introduces us to Dominika Egorova (Lawrence). Her promising career as a ballerina is brought to a brutal end when…
The Mind Reels 