This is it, the final adventure in The Blackthorn Key series by Canadian author Kevin Sands. Six books in, Sands has kept up a relentless pace, as Christopher, Tom and Sally confront dangers, mysteries and puzzles that place them in grave danger. And it’s more of this page-turning excitement in The Raven’s Revenge. Sands has…
Tag: story
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023) – 4K
Tom Cruise returns as IMF agent Ethan Hunt in his seventh Mission: Impossible outing Dead Reckoning Part One which comes home on 4K and physical media today from Paramount Canada. It’s epic and brings in a number of story and character threads from the entire franchise and, of course, looks absolutely stunning in 4K. This…
U.S. Marshals (1998) – Stuart Baird
Director Stuart Baird delivers a semi-sequel to 1993’s The Fugitive with this film that sees the return of Tommy Lee Jones as U.S. Marshal Sam Gerard, a role he won an Oscar for in the Harrison Ford thriller. This time around, even though he’s accompanied by a score by Jerry Goldsmith, the film doesn’t have…
Close Encounters of the Third Kind: The Ultimate Visual History (2017) – Michael Klastorin
I remember the first time I watched Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It was 1984, it was my 13th birthday, I had read the fotonovel from the school library, was fascinated by the subject matter (I still am), and though I had seen the rubber toys in grocery stores when the film came out,…
Broadcast News (1987) – James L. Brooks
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…
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…
The Mind Reels 