The Hunt for Red October (1984) – Tom Clancy

I haven’t read this book since the mid-80s when my schoolmate and friend, Michael Hay suggested I might like it. I dug into it, and for awhile there, birthdays or Christmases would bring me the latest Tom Clancy hardcover. I’ve been itching to kind of go back and see I still enjoy the stories, and…

The Peacemaker (1997) – Mimi Leder

It’s easily been a couple of decades since I last watched this techno-thriller with George Clooney and Nicole Kidman. I have to say, in the current geo-political environment, it’s hard to see the Americans as the good guys, working against Russian and Eastern European interests. And it’s sad that I feel that way. A group…

Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan – The Complete Series Blu-Ray Collection

John Krasinski returns for one final season as Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, and despite being introduced to the character decades ago, and then having a number of actors bring the character to life, Krasinski has become one of my favourite iterations. In fact, I love how Krasinski has settled into the role, something so different…

Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Season 3 (2022) – Blu-Ray Review

I’ve been a fan of the Jack Ryan character since I first encountered him in 1985 when a friend of mine introduced me to him, he was reading The Hunt for Red October and I was intrigued by the plot and the characters. I was delighted when Paramount Pictures teamed up with Prime to deliver…

The Sum of All Fears (2002) – Phil Alden Robinson

Ben Affleck steps into the role of CIA analyst Jack Ryan as Paramount Pictures relaunches the Tom Clancy hero, yet again, in The Sum of All Fears. They make him younger, near the beginning of his career, and his relationship with Cathy (Bridget Moynahan). Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with relaunching a…

Patriot Games (1992) – Phillip Noyce

I remember when I was first introduced to the world of Tom Clancy. I was always the biggest reader in my class, I always had a book on the go. In Grade 9, my friend Michael Hay came into class (for some reason I believe it was our French class, and he had the book…

The Apollo Murders (2021) – Chris Hadfield

Retired astronaut and national treasure Chris Hadfield delivers a fast-paced thriller with The Apollo Murders. It’s a look at an all too believable reality as the story follows the training, launch, and mission of Apollo 18. It’s made all the more believable because Hadfield not only knows his subject matter, emotionally and technically, using an…

Executive Decision (1996) – Stuart Baird

Kurt Russell stars in this kinda Tom-Clancy-techno-thriller from director Stuart Baird, that not only has the awesome Russell in it, as well as Halle Berry, Oliver Platt, Joe Morton, J.T. Walsh, and John Leguizamo – it also has Steven Seagal’s character getting killed off before the action really gets going (I call that a win,…

Win, Lose or Die (1989) – John Gardner

John Gardner’s eighth 007 novel is on the book shelf this week, and honestly, as much as I have been enjoying his take on James Bond, I think this may be my favourite one so far. Bond finds himself facing off against a terrorist organisation known as BAST who have plans to infiltrate a Russian/American/British…

Topaz (1969) – Alfred Hitchcock

Hitchcock takes on Leon Uris’ novel Topaz in this film adaptation of the same name. It’s not quite on the level of a Tom Clancy techno-thriller, but the subject material, centring around the Cuban Missile Crisis and a Russian spy ring within the French intelligence community is pretty engaging stuff. Unfortunately, for me, it ended…