John Hansen

Runaway Jury

Courtroom drama ‘Runaway Jury’ (2003) avoids running off rails

Throwback Thursday (Movie review): By mixing the gun debate with tech surveillance of jurors, this Grisham adaptation is thrilling and thoughtful.

TMNT 2003

No Shredder, no problem: ‘TMNT’ Season 4 (2005-06) is a scary smorgasbord

‘TMNT’ flashback (TV review): Utrom-Shredder gives way to Karai-Shredder in the most  confident batch of episodes so far.

The Quick Red Fox

‘The Quick Red Fox’ (1964) is not a lazy dog of a novel

Sleuthing Sunday (Book review): In his fourth Travis McGee novel, John D. MacDonald explores the various debaucheries of fame and money.

Venom The Last Dance

‘Venom: The Last Dance’ (2024) a sweet friendship story

Superhero Saturday (Movie review): The “Venom” trilogy goes out on top with the best performance yet by Tom Hardy in the title role.

The Card Player

Argento brings his B-game to ‘The Card Player’ (2003)

Frightening Friday (Movie review): This underachieving giallo at least taps into trends of the time, including poker and early internet-based crime.

EuroTrip

Fun-loving filmmakers invite audience along for ‘EuroTrip’ (2004)

Throwback Thursday (Movie review): Not as substantial as other raunch-coms of the era, it’s nonetheless good-natured and breezy.

Alien Earth

‘Alien’ returns to ‘Earth’: This time, is it here to stay?

First episode impressions (TV review): “Alien: Earth,” the franchise’s first-ever TV series, boasts lavish retro-futurism, Hawley’s brainy sci-fi notions and a winning lead actress.

Jimmy the Kid

Westlake’s ‘Jimmy the Kid’ (1974) and the ‘fiction vs. reality’ conundrum

Sleuthing Sunday (Book review): The prolific crime-fiction author knows how to have absurdist (yet realistic) fun by undercutting clichés at every turn.

Jurassic World Rebirth

Have the ‘Jurassic Park’ films really gotten that bad? Or have tastes changed?

Movie commentary: Modern films are nitpicked to a degree that might’ve left the original “Jurassic Park” vulnerable if we had YouTube back then.

The Marvels

‘Marvels’ (2023) is rather fun despite being indecipherable

Superhero Saturday (Movie review): The script needed several more passes, but the interplay of the titular trio makes for a rhythmic romp.