Is the aim of Wayward Pines to create the perfect, obedient human?
TV commentary: This Shyamalan-produced series has become thought-provoking TV.
Why aren’t the ‘Jurassic Park’ movies scary anymore?
Movie commentary: We all know it’s true: The “Jurassic Park” films are no longer scary. Here are some theories for why this is.
‘Jurassic World’ is ‘Jurassic Park’ on steroids
Movie review: I don’t mean it as a negative to say this is the original film on steroids. It’s a blast to see bigger dinos and a sprawling park.
‘Terminator’ flashback: ‘T2: The Future War’ (2003) (Book review)
While previous works explored the “present” (young John) and “future” (resistance leader John) of the “Terminator” timeline, “T2: The Future War” (2003) was the first story to link the two eras by showing what happens in between.
Gorgeous-looking ‘Insurgent’ further explores ‘Divergent’ world (Movie review)
“Insurgent” further clarifies the political structure of the “Divergent” universe, features award-worthy set pieces in a run-down Chicago two centuries in the future and – like the original film – ultimately succeeds because Shailene Woodley is easy to root for as reluctant hero Tris Prior.
Lincoln Child explores weird corners of science in ‘The Forgotten Room’ (Book review)
It took several Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child novels for Pendergast to become an icon, so it’s no wonder that the other ongoing characters in the authors’ works are taking a while to build into something. The duo is starting to make headway with Gideon Crew through three novels, and now Child is making progress […]
‘Blue Labyrinth’ blends classic museum horror with fascinating new locales (Book review)
For their 14th Pendergast novel, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child do more than merely pay lip service to the evocative location that put them on the map with “Relic” nearly two decades ago. Margo Green, haunted by the events of “Relic” and “Reliquary” – and even more so, “Dance of Death” — is once again […]
John’s 10 favorite ‘Inside Amy Schumer’ sketches (TV commentary)
“Inside Amy Schumer” (9:30 p.m. Tuesdays on Comedy Central) is only in its third season, but in my opinion Schumer has already secured her spot as the funniest female comedian working today. As with all sketch shows, the success rate isn’t 100 percent, but each episode yields a remarkably high percentage of laughs as Amy and […]
First episode impressions: ‘UnReal’ (TV review)
To be honest, the only reason I set my DVR for the first episode of “UnReal” (9 p.m. Central Mondays on Lifetime) is that Shiri Appleby stars in it. If I were to pretend to be deeper than that, I could say I’m intrigued that it’s a rare role for Shiri where she doesn’t play the sweetheart […]
‘Tomorrowland’: The latest cult classic from Damon Lindelof, or possibly just a bad film (Movie review)
The first thing I did after watching “Tomorrowland” and discussing its peculiarities with my buddy Michael was to look up articles explaining what the hell happened in the movie. (This Overmental piece is a decent one.) That’s what happens when a movie is more confusing than it needs to be, yet is filled with so many cool ideas […]