With thrilling ‘Split,’ Shyamalan is back
Movie review: M. Night Shyamalan’s notoriously up-and-down career achieves an “up” with the surprise horror gem “Split.”
With thrilling ‘Split,’ Shyamalan is back
‘Buffy’ flashback: ‘Immortal’ (1999) (Book review)
For the “Buffy” series’ first hardcover novel, Pocket Books makes “Immortal” (October 1999) worthy of the format with cleaner copy than what was found in the paperbacks, particularly the previous error-packed entry, “Obsidian Fate.” Christopher Golden and Nancy Holder, the best “Buffy” authors to this point, take the reins for this Season 3 tale of a vampire […]
PKD sees future in ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?’ (1968)
PKD flashback (Book review): The “Blade Runner” franchise starts here, but in many fascinating ways, Dick’s vision contrasts with the film’s.
‘Buffy’ flashback: ‘Obsidian Fate’ (1999) (Book review)
After the excellent Golden/Holder “Gatekeeper Trilogy,” I braced myself for a letdown with Diana G. Gallagher’s first entry in the “Buffy” series, “Obsidian Fate” (September 1999). While it is indeed a step down, it’s quite readable, with the new character Dem Inglese providing a perspective not explored in the TV show.
‘Buffy’ flashback: ‘The Gatekeeper Trilogy Book 3: Sons of Entropy’ (1999) (Book review)
Christopher Golden and Nancy Holder’s “The Gatekeeper Trilogy Book 3: Sons of Entropy” (May 1999) is so epic that Joyce describes it as “almost an entire month of hell, like nothing else you guys have run into” (page 316). It is actually only a few days, as we know from Oz’s three nights of transforming into a […]
First episode impressions: ‘Kevin (Probably) Saves the World’ (TV review)
“Kevin (Probably) Saves the World” (8 p.m. Eastern Tuesdays on ABC) is both the most original show of the fall TV slate and very familiar. Let me explain: On one hand, there’s nothing else like it on TV now. On the other hand, it has many forebearers in the genre of supernatural beings influencing a normal […]
‘Buffy’ flashback: ‘The Gatekeeper Trilogy Book 2: Ghost Roads’ (1999) (Book review)
In my review of “Out of the Madhouse,” I noted that it can only take place between “Revelations” and “Lovers Walk,” and that we just have to accept that Faith is for some reason not in the story. But a lot of fans view the “Buffy” novels as a parallel timeline, and with “The Gatekeeper Trilogy […]
First episode impressions: ‘The Gifted’ (TV review)
Because of a bizarre reticence to turn big-ticket properties into TV series, the 2000 “X-Men” film inspired things like “Mutant X,” “Heroes,” “No Ordinary Family” and “The Cape” but not an actual “X-Men” series — until this year. First up was FX’s “Legion,” a show so confusing I don’t know when or on what timeline […]
Catching up with ‘Big Little Lies’ Season 1 (TV review)
“Big Little Lies” (which aired earlier this year on HBO, and can now be found on HBO Go or at Redbox) is the best thing I’ve seen from David E. Kelley, and also by far the most tolerable. Although I used to like “The Practice,” it grated on me after a while, and I didn’t […]
‘Buffy’ flashback: ‘The Gatekeeper Trilogy Book 1: Out of the Madhouse’ (1999) (Book review)
In their second novel in the adult “Buffy” line, Christopher Golden and Nancy Holder continue to go against the conventional wisdom that tie-in novels should be modest. “The Gatekeeper Trilogy Book 1: Out of the Madhouse” (January 1999) launches an epic three-parter that puts Buffy and her friends through the wringer. But it’s certainly not one of […]