John Hansen

‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Legacy of the Force: Exile’ (2007) (Book review)

Aaron Allston delivers the best book so far in the “Legacy of the Force” series with “Exile” (2007), the fourth of the nine-novel saga. Whereas earlier books put most of our heroes in the awkward position of not knowing which side (if any) of the Corellia-Galactic Alliance war they were on, “Exile” smooths things out as the […]

‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Legacy of the Force: Tempest’ (2006) (Book review)

The “Legacy of the Force” series is a good collaboration between Aaron Allston, Karen Traviss and Troy Denning, but at the same time, there’s no question that they have different areas of interest. Within the larger context of the Corellia vs. Galactic Alliance civil war, Allston likes to spend more time with X-wing pilots, Traviss […]

The Boy

‘The Boy’ a respectable entry in ‘creepy doll’ subgenre

Movie review: The filmmakers get a lot of mileage out of a creepy-as-hell doll in this masterfully designed, and somewhat amusing, horror riff.

‘Allegiant’ moves ‘Divergent’ series into heady sci-fi territory (Movie review)

The third entry of a four-part saga, “Allegiant” — now available on DVD – moves the “Divergent” series into heady (and sometimes head-scratching) science fiction territory. Young future readers of classic sci-fi such as Arthur C. Clarke’s works might dip their toe into those waters after watching this film based on the young-adult novel by Veronica Roth.

‘Mike and Dave’ need wedding dates, but have no shortage of laughs (Movie review)

“Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates” takes a clever premise, casts the right actors and peppers the narrative with solid gags for an hour and a half of exactly the kind of stupid humor the trailer promises. The cast has done variations on this material before: Zac Efron in “Neighbors,” Aubrey Plaza in “Parks and Recreation” […]

This week, we celebrate our ‘Independence Day’: ‘ID:R’ novelization (2016) (Book review)

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of “Independence Day” and the release of the sequel, “Resurgence,” this week I’m looking back at the various spinoff comics and novels. All of these spin-off materials were recently released (or re-released, in the case of the old stuff) by Titan Books. Also, check out my reviews of “Independence Day” and “Independence Day: […]

This week, we celebrate our ‘Independence Day’: ‘Crucible’ (2016) (Book review)

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of “Independence Day” and the release of the sequel, “Resurgence,” this week I’m looking back at the various spinoff comics and novels. All of these spin-off materials were recently released (or re-released, in the case of the old stuff) by Titan Books. Also, check out my reviews of “Independence Day” and “Independence Day: […]

This week, we celebrate our ‘Independence Day’: ‘Dark Fathom’ (2016) (Comic book review)

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of “Independence Day” and the release of the sequel, “Resurgence,” this week I’m looking back at the various spinoff comics and novels. All of these spin-off materials were recently released (or re-released, in the case of the old stuff) by Titan Books. Also, check out my reviews of “Independence Day” and “Independence Day: […]

This week, we celebrate our ‘Independence Day’: ‘War in the Desert’ (1999) (Book review)

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of “Independence Day” and the release of the sequel, “Resurgence,” this week I’m looking back at the various spinoff comics and novels. All of these spin-off materials were recently released (or re-released, in the case of the old stuff) by Titan Books. Also, check out my reviews of “Independence Day” and “Independence Day: […]

This week, we celebrate our ‘Independence Day’: ‘ID4’ novelization (1996) (Book review)

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of “Independence Day” and the release of the sequel, “Resurgence,” this week I’m looking back at the various spinoff comics and novels. All of these spin-off materials were recently released (or re-released, in the case of the old stuff) by Titan Books. Also, check out my reviews of “Independence Day” and “Independence Day: […]