John Hansen | Reviews from My Couch

John Hansen
July 9, 2017
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All 22 installments of ‘Kolchak: The Night Stalker’ (1972-75), ranked

TV review:“Kolchak” is like a parody of what it never was. It’s never scary, the low budget is always obvious, and it’s hard to take it seriously.

John Hansen
July 7, 2017
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‘Harry Potter’ at 20: A look back at ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’ (2000) (Book review)

For the 20th anniversary of “Harry Potter,” I’m looking back at the books and films of J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World saga. After three books that weighed in at no more than 435 pages, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”(2000) kicks off a four-book run of doorstops with a 734-page tome. J.K. Rowling uses the extra […]

John Hansen
June 29, 2017
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‘Harry Potter’ at 20: A look back at ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’ (1999) (Book review)

For the 20th anniversary of “Harry Potter,” I’m looking back at the books and films of J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World saga. “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” (1999) is to young-adult novels what Garbage’s “Only Happy When It Rains” is to rock music. After the fun and world-building of the first two books, the third […]

John Hansen
June 27, 2017
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‘Harry Potter’ at 20: A look back at ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’ (1998) (Book review)

For the 20th anniversary of “Harry Potter,” I’m looking back at the books and films of J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World saga. “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” (1998) is the first book where J.K. Rowling was writing for an expectant audience. “Sorcerer’s Stone” went seven years from gestation to published product, but for the sequel, […]

John Hansen
June 26, 2017
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‘Harry Potter’ at 20: A look back at ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’ (1997) (Book review)

On this 20th anniversary of the day J.K. Rowling introduced Harry Potter to the world, I take a look back at “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” I’ll have posts on all the books and movies throughout this anniversary year. I recently found hardcovers of “Harry Potter” books 1, 4, 5, 6 and 7 for […]

John Hansen
June 25, 2017
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‘Get Out’ is a creepy, thrilling and eye-opening piece of social commentary (Movie review)

“Get Out” (now available on pay-per-view streaming) is the latest example of how a horror movie can be an effective vehicle for making a social statement. When I read the Amazon description that notes the race of the characters – a Caucasian girl brings her African-American boyfriend to meet her parents at their lake house – […]