TIFF24: I, the Executioner dir. Ryoo Seung-wan

I, the Executioner is the follow-up to Seung-wan’s Veteran. I hadn’t seen it, and I loved this one. So don’t let that hold you back from checking this one out. South Korean action films and police thrillers are always engaging, and they aren’t afraid to get dark. Veteran cop, Do-cheol (Hwang Jung-min) works in the…

The Hidden (1987) – Jack Sholder

It’s been a couple of decades since I last watched this cult classic. I remember enjoying it at the time, but I never got around to watching it again, or enjoying if for the blog. Until now. Kyle MacLachlan coming off Blue Velvet, and just about to dig into Twin Peaks (coincidentally his character in…

Deja Vu (2006) – Tony Scott

I do enjoy a Denzel Washington/Tony Scott team-up and this temporal thriller ends up being a lot more fun than I remember from the first time I saw it. Scott’s constantly moving camera, saturated colours, and tight editing are on full display here as the story follows ATF agent Doug Carlin (Washington) as he investigates…

The Saint (1997) – Phillip Noyce

Val Kilmer absolutely owns the role of Simon Templar in this big-screen adaptation of the classic novels and 60s television show. And while the film isn’t as strong as it could have been, Kilmer is nicely on point, and shares some wonderful chemistry with his co-star, Elizabeth Shue. Simon is a high-profile thief that can…

Final Destination (2000) – James Wong

Death doesn’t like to be cheated, especially by twenty-somethings playing teenagers as we see in the first installment in the multi-film series christened Final Destination. Written by X-files alumus James Wong and Glen Morgan alongside Jeffrey Reddick from a story developed by Reddick, the horror thriller is fairly basic, with a number of familiar faces….

Bad Tourists (2024) – Caro Carver

Simon & Schuster delivers the perfect beach read for your summer enjoyment. Bad Tourists by Caro Carver is a compulsive page-turner whose last third is a non-stop rush, and whose first two-thirds are filled with twists, turns and keeps you guessing the whole way through. Darcy, Kate and Camilla are close friends, united by a…

Hide (2022) – Kiersten White

I loved Kiersten White’s Mister Magic so I had to hunt down another novel by her, Hide. Once again, she delivers a tale that is very easy to curl up in and explore. It’s fast-paced, and White is wonderfully skilled at bringing her characters to life, but despite the promise of twists and turns, there…

The Return of Ellie Black (2024) – Emiko Jean

To call The Return of Ellie Black a jaw-dropping page-turner doesn’t do the book, the story, or the author, Emiko Jean, justice. It was nothing short of a compulsive read, one that I stayed up late to finish, something that doesn’t happen often for me. I had to know how the story played out, I…

Zero Cool (1969) – Micheal Crichton

Zero Cool is a a rapid-fire thriller from Micheal Crichton written under his pen-name of John Lange while he was in med-school. A riff on the ordinary man caught up in extraordinary circumstances that seems to have shades of North by Northwest to it, the tale follows Dr. Pete Ross, a radiologist on his first…