Holly Hunter is a treasure and she sparked in Broadcast News. She shines so wholly that she almost eclipses her co-stars Albert Brooks and William Hurt. James L. Brooks wrote and directed this Oscar-nominated film (seven of them, including best picture, actress, actor, supporting actor and didn’t take home one) that lets a love triangle…
Tag: story
The Witch: Part 2 – The Other One (2022) – Park Hoon-jung
The Korean actioner, The Witch: Part 1 – The Subversion was very engaging and I loved how it built a world and introduced the viewer to genetic manipulation, enhancing the human state, the variety of parties involved and a hint of the plan at its heart. The first film ended with some interesting reveals about…
The Witch: Part 1 – The Subversion (2018) – Park Hoon-jung
I had a look at the Korean action thriller The Witch: Part 1 – The Subversion this week, and while this style of story has been done a number of times before this one was done in a solid and entertaining way that kept the plot, the twists, and action beats coming. That being said,…
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993) – Kevin Altieri, Boyd Kirkland, and Frank Paur
Kevin Conroy brought his incarnation of the Dark Knight to the big screen in the 1993 animated film, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. Released between the first and second seasons of Batman: The Animated Series, the film was originally planned to be a direct-to-video release before being repurposed for a theatrical release. The film combines…
End of Watch (2016) – Stephen King
The final novel in the Bill Hodges trilogy, End of Watch, adds a bit of the supernatural flavour that King is known for as Brady Hartsfield, the Mercedes Killer from Mr. Mercedes returns for a final confrontation with retired police detective Hodges, his partner Holly Gibney, and their friend Jerome. The thread of material woven…
Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One (2021) – Chris Palmer
Bat-fans, I have a new favourite animated Batman film. I loved The Long Halloween, Part One. Course I also loved the original graphic novel that it’s based on. Spreading the story over two parts, much like Warner Brothers Animation did with The Dark Knight Returns gives the characters, and the story room to breathe and…
Finders Keepers (2015) – Stephen King
Finders Keepers is the second book in Stephen King’s Bill Hodges trilogy, though he, Jerome and the wonderful Holly Gibney don’t show up until about halfway through the tale. That doesn’t mean King doesn’t dole out another captivating tale, rather the reverse. We’re introduced to Morris in the late 70s. He’s arrogant, and while not…
Disquiet (2023) – Michael Winnick
There are some fun and familiar ideas at work in Michael Winnick’s Disquiet which is getting a limited theatrical run, and VOD release tomorrow, but it just isn’t as strong as it could be. At just under an hour and a half I still felt the editing could have been tighter, and the characters could…
Star Trek: Prodigy – A Dangerous Trade (2023) – Cassandra Rose Clarke
Simon & Schuster continues its bold venture with Star Trek by launching its middle-reader series based on the new animated series, Star Trek: Prodigy. Set between the first season episodes ten and eleven, the story picks up with the young crew of the USS Protostar. They stole the ship from The Diviner, to escape the…
Uncharted (2022) – Ruben Fleischer
Some questionable narrative choices and other stylistic angles held Uncharted back from being a solid blockbuster and probably crippled its chances of turning into a franchise, which is too bad, because despite the drubbing it took, most of the film is really fun, and there’s a nice interplay between Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg who…
The Mind Reels 