Movies and TV shows John is looking forward to in 2017 (Commentary)
Here are 10 movies and TV shows I’m looking forward to as a new entertainment year begins:
‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘The Clone Wars’ (2008) launches in a small way on the big screen (Movie review)
Disney’s “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” is getting a lot of buzz, an odd contrast to the last time a “Star Wars” film outside of the numbered episodes premiered. In August 2008, I mentioned “The Clone Wars” movie to friends, and they responded with “There’s a new ‘Star Wars’ movie out?” Although it was a wide-release […]
‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘The Clone Wars’ movie novelization (2008) (Book review)
Having just read Karen Traviss’ first four “Republic Commando” novels, it’s abundantly clear that she’s handcuffed on “The Clone Wars” movie novelization (2008). She tries to do what Matthew Stover did for “Revenge of the Sith” three years earlier and get into the characters’ heads more, putting more meat on the bones of the story, but this […]
‘The Secret Circle’ (2011-12) is secretly kinda good
One-season wonders (TV review): Britt Robertson takes a crack at a witchy lead role in this book adaptation.
John’s top 10 movies of 2016
These were my 10 favorite movies of 2016: 1. “The Witch” – This horror film set in Colonial America delivers a striking sense of time and place (so much so that you might want to put the subtitles on to grasp the language), with life-threatening poverty as an omnipresent invisible character. On top of that, it […]
John’s top 10 TV shows of 2016
These were my 10 favorite shows of 2016: 1. “Atlanta” (Season 1, FX) – Donald Glover’s brainchild is a crazy mix of “Curb Your Enthusiasm”-esque wry observations (Earn’s inability to order a kids’ meal), envelope-pushing storytelling choices (the pundit roundtable parody) and outright horrific violence (Earn witnesses a murder, then moves on like it’s just another […]
Williamson gets groove back with ‘Hidden Palms’ (2007)
One-season wonders (TV review): Kevin Williamson returns to teen drama and adds a juicy mystery in this eight-episode series.
TV shows lost to history: ‘Glory Days’ (2002) (Review)
After “Dawson’s Creek” and before his commercial resurgence with “The Vampire Diaries” and “The Following,” uber-producer Kevin Williamson stumbled through a few interesting failures. Among them was “Glory Days” (2002, WB), which lasted nine episodes before it was axed.
Cerebral alien visitation yarn ‘Arrival’ lacks a satisfying payoff (Movie review)
Like many alien visitation films before it, “Arrival” asks “What is their purpose on Earth?” After the requisite opening where the world tenses up as 12 giant egg-shaped spaceships take up stations around the globe, “Arrival” zeroes in on that core question, boiling away all the “Independence Day”-style destruction and embracing its status as a think piece. […]
Catching up with ‘The Fall’ (TV review)
When I started watching “The Fall” (2013-present, Netflix) I could hardly remember the names of the characters at the end of each episode. It was just The Killer (Jamie Dornan) and The Cop (Gillian Anderson). The early hook was watching The Killer – soon to be known as the Belfast Strangler — get away with breaking into […]