John Hansen

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: […]

This week, we celebrate our ‘Independence Day’: ‘Silent Zone’ (1997) (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’ Issue 0 prequel (1996) (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: […]