Forgetting the ridiculous television movie, the fourth season got underway on 26 September, 1985 and was written by Micheal J. Weithorn. It brought about a change for Alex and for the actor who portrayed him, Micheal J. Fox. Alex is in his second year at Leland and he’s trying to decide what freshmen to ask…
Tag: tension
47 Meters Down (2017) – Johannes Roberts
Mandy Moore and Claire Holt star in 47 Meters Down a fairly well-realized white-knuckle thriller from Johannes Roberts. Whatever you think of the concept of the story, a pair of sisters stuck 47 meters down in shark-infested waters, Roberts is able to tap into some very primal fears, add in some solid visual effects work…
Hill Street Blues (1986) – Fathers and Guns, and More Skinned Against Than Skinning
There are lots of emotional troubles to be had in Fathers and Guns. Written by Jeffrey Lewis from a story by Lewis and Jerry Patrick Brown. It first aired on 9 December, 1986. Belker (Bruce Weitz) is still learning to be a new father, and the stress of the job, and the world have infiltrated…
The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016) – Andre Ovredal
Andre Ovredal’s first English language film is a very well-crafted and viscerally terrifying film starring Biran Cox, Emile Hirsch and Olwen Catherine Kelly. Cox and Hirsch play father and son, Tommy and Austin Tilden who run a morgue and crematorium. Austin has dreams of getting out of the business and town, and taking his girlfriend,…
TIFF ’23: Smugglers
With Smugglers, which is having its North American premiere at TIFF, Director Ryoo Seung-wan gives his audience a smart, playful, 70s-drenched crime thriller set in a quiet seaside South Korean fishing town. Jin-sook (Yum Jung-ah) and Choon-ja (Kim Hye-soo) work as haenyeo, free divers who collect shellfish and other seafood, alongside a crew of other…
TIFF ’23: Sleep
Midnight Madness at TIFF is always a lot of fun, and some great genre films get scheduled that are designed to deliver to the late-night audience. Sleep hopes to do that this week. A Korean entry to the film festival from writer/director Jason Yu. It’s his first feature film, and Yu creates a tense, moody…
Dead Again (1991) – Kenneth Branagh
It’s been a couple of decades since I watched Branagh’s Hitchcockian romantic thriller, Dead Again. In fact, it had been so long that I completely forgot about the uncredited appearance by Robin Williams! But from its opening shots, and it’s driving and powerful score by Patrick Doyle, I was taken into the sweeping narrative. In…
The Equalizer (1989) – Endgame, and Suicide Squad
Endgame is a tale of manipulation, and revenge, and seems to almost sneak up on the fringes of Saw territory, as the episode finds two sisters pitted against one another. Written by Coleman Luck, the penultimate episode of The Equalizer aired on 10 August, 1989, well after the season should have finished in May. McCall…
Paradise 1 (2023) – David Wellington
Orbit Books takes the reader to a far-distant solar system and exposes them to fear in the new novel, the first in a series, by best-selling author David Wellington. An officer of the Firewatch, Petrova, and a doctor, Zhang, who may not be all there, are shipped off on an AI-controlled ship, accompanied by a…
The Expanse (2020/2021) – Down and Out, and Tribes
Now that Inaros’ (Keon Alexander) attack on Earth and Mars has succeeded and the fallout begins for a number of characters. Down and Out was written by Matthew Rasmussen and first dropped on Prime on 30 December, 2020. While Naomi (Dominique Tipper) attempts to deal with Inaros, her son, Filip (Jasai Chase Owens) and her…
The Mind Reels 