‘Elizabethtown’ (2005) more than a ‘Garden State’ ripoff
Throwback Thursday (Movie review): Cameron Crowe’s film is a great romance story with fun-to-discover mythological parables.
‘Elizabethtown’ (2005) more than a ‘Garden State’ ripoff
‘Buffy’ flashback: Season 9, Issues 11-20 (2012-13) (Comic book reviews)
In this next batch of 10 issues, Season 9 becomes slightly less Buffy-centric, somewhat to its detriment, but Andrew Chambliss continues to be a sharp writer and I trust he knows where the wider narrative is going. The only major misstep in this batch, surprisingly, is when “Buffy” veterans Jane Espenson and Drew Z. Greenberg […]
‘Spanish Prisoner’ (1997) a gripping long-con puzzle
Mamet Monday (Movie review): Campbell Scott stars as a man caught in a gripping puzzle he (and the viewer) can’t set aside until it’s solved.
‘Angel’ flashback: ‘Fearless’ (2003) (Book review)
Doranna Durgin crafts a more readable and entertaining “Angel” book her second time around with “Fearless” (October 2003). It has the same structure as “Impressions,” which I didn’t like as much, wherein we know what’s happening early on and there aren’t any twists and turns before getting to the end. But because of better character […]
‘The Devil’s Candy’ (2015) is heavy-metal horror
Movie review: Shiri Appleby and Ethan Embry star in this heavy-metal horror thriller.
‘ABC Murders’ miniseries reinvents Poirot
TV review: This miniseries is an interesting experiment. But I can’t shake the sense that John Malkovich is playing PINO — Poirot in Name Only.
‘Buffy’ flashback: Season 9, Issues 1-10 (2011-12) (Comic book reviews)
After Season 8, Dark Horse’s canonical “Buffy” comics do what the TV series did more than a decade prior: split into two series. While “Angel & Faith” go off to do their own thing, “Buffy” Season 9 sets up shop in San Francisco and welcomes excellent new lead scribe Andrew Chambliss, who had written for […]
‘House of Games’ (1987) is a meticulously crafted long con
Mamet Monday (Movie review): Mamet’s directorial debut is a meticulously crafted dive into the world of con men.
‘Batman: The Movie’ (1966) is an endless lame joke
‘Batman’ flashback (Movie review): This spinoff from the Sixties TV series is an endless lame joke.
‘Angel’ flashback: ‘Sanctuary’ (2003) (Book review)
Jeff Mariotte recaptures some of the hardboiled style from “Hollywood Noir” in “Sanctuary” (April 2003), which has a straightforward mystery that all takes place in one night. It’s also an excellent character piece for Fred – marking one of her rare early ventures outside the Hyperion Hotel – even though she spends most of the […]