Stallone not only returns in one of his most iconic roles, but he also settles into the director’s chair to bring the grittiest incarnation of Vietnam vet to the screen. Continuity is key, and Rambo (Stallone) is still in the Far East, attempting to live a quiet life as best as he can, when, like…
Tag: violent
The Sniper (1952) – Edward Dmytryk
I do enjoy a good film noir, and The Sniper is one I had never heard of, and quite happily dug into, contained as it was in a Film Noir Collection I had been gifted one holiday season. Despite some very sexist trappings, it was the 50s after all, there’s a really fascinating story here….
The X-Files (2018) – Nothing Lasts Forever, and My Struggle IV
The series penultimate episode, written by Karen Nielsen, and first airing on 14 March, 2018, is a bit of a monster of the week episode, while also pontificating on aging, belief and faith. And the fact that the I Want To Believe tag is removed from the opening credits and changed to I Want to…
Star Trek: Discovery – Die Standing (2020) – John Jackson Miller
This week’s Star Trek journey, provided by Simon & Schuster, through their Gallery Books imprint, takes us to the point between the end of season one of Discovery, and Emperor Philippa Georgiou’s return as a part of Section 31 in season two. What did she get up to, and how does it tie into the…
Millennium (1999) – Forcing the End, and Saturn Dreaming of Mercury
Juliet Landau, whose mother Barbara Bain was featured in the previous episode, guest stars alongside Andreas Katsulas in this episode, Forcing the End, written by Marjorie David, that first aired on 19 March, 1999. Frank (Lance Henriksen) and Hollis (Klea Scott) find them working on an abduction case that Hollis believes the Millennium Group, specifically…
Free Guy (2021) – Shawn Levy
Inane, silly, and filled with laughs that gamers will delight in Ryan Reynolds new film, Free Guy, hits theatres this week. With a story that feels a little bit like a riff on the classic 1982 sci-fi film, Tron, a programmer, Millie (Jodie Comer) is working her way through the program and game known as…
Mortal Kombat (2021) – 4K Review
Warner Brothers attempts a flawless victory with its 4K release of 2021’s Mortal Kombat, an updated take on the iconic, long-running video game series. While no one company has yet been able to crack a truly successful, and all-appealing game adaptation, everyone keeps trying, and Warner’s latest effort is solid, surprisingly entertaining, but lacking a…
Mission: Impossible (1967/1968) – The Photographer, and The Spy
I explore more of Paramount Pictures’ fantastic blu-ray edition of Mission: Impossible – The Complete Series this week with another pair of well-crafted episodes featuring some familiar looking guest stars. Anthony Zerbe plays the titular photographer of the episode’s title, in this story penned by William Read Woodfield and Allan Balter. It first aired on…
Parable of the Sower (1993) – Octavia E. Butler
Octavia E. Butler’s science fiction tale, that follows a young woman of colour on her quest to understand herself, the ideas of god, and the destiny of humanity. Within pages of this novel, I was completely swept up in Butler’s storytelling style, her characters, and the world she created. And here’s the thing, the world…
The X-Files (1996) – Sanguinarium, and Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man
Valerie Mayhew and Vivian Mayhew pen Sanguinarium,an episode that combines witchcraft and dark magics against the backdrop of a cosmetic surgery clinic. First airing on 10 November, 1996, this episode sees agents Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) called in to investigate a violent death during a run of the mill plastic surgery operation,…