Us (2019) – Jordan Peele

Jordan Peele who delivered the incredible Get Out, followed it up with Us, another highly enjoyable horror film layered with scares and social commentary. While there may be some flaws in the film it doesn’t change the fact that it’s hugely enjoyable, filled with fascinating twists and turns, and a fantastic performance by the always…

Mission: Impossible (1971) – A Ghost Story, and The Party

Phelps (Peter Graves) and his IMF team get their Edgar Allan Poe on with Ghost Story in this episode written by Ken Pettus, and Ed Adamson from a story by Adamson and John D.F. Black. It first debuted on 27 February, 1971 . Barney (Greg Morris) gets to pull out all the tech wizardry as…

The Prisoner (1967) – Arrival, and The Chimes of Big Ben

The Prisoner is a series I had long heard about, but, for some reason known only to some deep, dark corner of my psyche, I had never watched. Everything I heard about it suggested I would enjoy it, that it would be right up my alley. But I never dug in and screened it… ……

Meddling Kids (2017) – Edgar Cantero

When I was a kid I loved reading the Hardy Boys (I could knock out a book in a day – which to me at the time was amazing, and I loved those little blue hardcover books). Between ages 11 and 12, I danced around the edges of things that could be interpreted as scary,…

Near Dark (1987) – Kathryn Bigelow

If Fright Night got me into horror movies then Near Dark, the next vampire film in DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies book showed me that the undead could be vicious, occasionally hate their existence and live on the edges of the night. Despite the ending (actually the return to humanity sequence) of the film,…

Innocent Blood (1992) – John Landis

Sooner or later a John Landis film had to pop up in DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies book. Despite the fact that the famed director wrote it, he would be remiss if he didn’t include his own films in this highly enjoyable book. Consequently I happily sank my fangs into this vampire tale that…

Heart-Shaped Box (2007) – Joe Hill

After enjoying Hill’s short story collection a couple of weeks ago, as well as his fantastic work on Locke & Key, I decided to give a full novel a try, and the result ends up being a very satisfying ghost story, as we dive into a world of sex, violence and rock’n’roll. Judas Coyne (not…

Charade (1963) – Stanley Donen

The next title on the What Else to Watch list following the recommendation of Casablanca from The Movie Book, released by DK Canada, is this delightful romp starring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. Also featuring turns by Walter Matthau and James Coburn, this romance mystery, with a healthy dose of comedy has a score by…

Magnum, p.i. (1985) – Old Acquaintance and The Kona Winds

  There’s a bit of noir, and a bit of a fun ride, in this week’s installment of Magnum… First up is Old Acquaintance, written by Jill Donner, this episode had an airdate of 3 October, 1985, and may have heavily influenced the writers of Ace Ventura… Thomas (Tom Selleck) is delighted to hear from…

The Big Sleep (1946) – Howard Hawks

  The first title in the Crime and Thriller chapter of the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book is this wonderful classic based on Raymond Chandler’s book, adapted by William Faulkner, Leigh Brackett and Jules Furthman, it is directed by Howard Hawks and features Humphrey Bogart as Chandler’s hardboiled detective Phillip Marlowe. The…