The Only Way to Die riffs on the idea of Maxwell Smart (Don Adams) being publicly dead, and using that as cover to get his mission done. But everyone is going to have to believe he’s dead including 99 (Barbara Feldon), the Chief (Edward Platt) and Fang. Written by Arne Sultan, this episode first aired…
Tag: widow
Northern Exposure (1992) – The Three Amigos, and Lost and Found
As Chris (John Corbett) reads Call of the Wild by Jack London to Cicely over the air, Holling (John Cullum) and Maurice (Barry Corbin) head deep into the woods to lay a dead friend to rest. They have a coffin ready to go, they saddle up the horses and head out into the snow, bonding…
The Night House (2020) – David Bruckner
Rebecca Hall turns a fantastic performance as Beth, a recently widow who is being haunted figuratively and literally as she learns dark secrets about her late husband, Owen (Evan Jonigkeit). Living in the house that Owen built, she begins to feel a presence in the house with her, and the way corners and arches come…
TIFF24: Santosh dir. Sandhya Suri
“Forget it Jake, it’s Chinatown.” The entire runtime of Sandhya Sur’s Santosh that line of dialogue circulated through my brain repeatedly, as the film plunged the viewer into a morally grey world that was frightening and horrifying as its narrative threw us right into the brutal caste system of rural India, and the ongoing sexism…
Magnum P.I. (2018) – Sudden Death, and Death is Only Temporary
Magnum (Jay Hernandez) helps T.C. (Stephen Hill) and one of his football little leaguers in Sudden Death. It first aired on 22 October, 2018, and was written by David Fury, and features Cyndi Lauper as a local lawyer, Vanessa Nero. Young Makoa (Zio Junk) looks for help from T.C. and Magnum when his father, Honi…
Starman (1984) – 4K Review
Starman is on 4K and part of Sony Pictures’ release of Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection, Volume 4. I love John Carpenter movies. He’s one of my favourite directors because he’s happy to take on all genres and give his imaginative take on each of his films. Starman may have been the first Carpenter…
Hill Street Blues (1982/1983) – Santaclaustrophobia, and Gung Ho
It’s the holiday season on the hill, and lots of things are going on at the precinct. Santaclaustrophobia, written by Steven Bochco, Anthony Yerkovich, and Jeffrey Lewis, first aired on 16 December, 1982. Belker (Bruce Weitz) is undercover as a bell-ringing Santa, but a young kid keeps spoiling things by revealing he’s a cop. Hill’s…
The Secret of Chimneys (1925) – Agatha Christie
Christie’s fifth novel is a bit of a romp filled with double identities, a murder, political issues, an empty throne, a renowned criminal, a love story, a missing diamond, and a week away at a manor known as Chimneys. We are introduced to Anthony Cade when he is working as a travel guide in Africa,…
Tobor the Great (1954) – Lee Sholem
DK Publishing brings me another mechanical menace from its highly enjoyable Monsters in the Movies book. This time around, he’s not so much a menace as he is menace. Very much a product of its time, the 50s, this film, dramatically set in the future of the day after tomorrow, it’s a charming, if not…
Shogun (1980) – Disc 2
The epic mini-series adaptation of James Clavell’s novel (he also served as one of the show’s producers), Shogun continues this week, as I dive into disc two, which includes episode two and parts of episode three which originally aired on the 16th and 17th September, 1980, following the airing of the three hour premiere on…
The Mind Reels 