All 22 episodes of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ Season 4 (1999-2000), ranked
TV review: A notable step down from Season 3, Season 4 nonetheless features the return of Faith and other great moments.
Law of diminishing returns starting to kick in with ‘Paranormal Activity 4’ (Movie review)
The “Paranormal Activity” franchise continues to deliver the expected goods — scares or laughs, depending on your mindset — in its fourth entry. But like the “Saw” series that used to dominate October, the law of diminishing returns naturally factors in a bit more each year. “Paranormal Activity” was spoofed by “The Simpsons” in a “Treehouse of […]
‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Tales of the Jedi’ (1993) (Comic book review)
For the sake of simplicity, “Star Wars” stories can be divided into four eras. The classic trilogy era started with the movie “Star Wars” (1977), the post-“Return of the Jedi” era started in earnest with the book “Heir to the Empire” (1991) and the prequel era started in earnest with the movie “The Phantom Menace” […]
First episode impressions: ‘The Walking Dead’ Season 3 (TV review)
“The Walking Dead’s” (8 p.m. Central Sundays on AMC) third season starts with a rarity: Good news. The gang finds a prison that could serve as an excellent home base. They even enjoy a picnic and a sing-along.
‘Prometheus’ (2012) is a thinking fan’s sci-fi film
‘Aliens/Predator’ Universe flashback (Movie review): Scott returns to his “Alien” universe to give us thinking fan’s sci-fi, for better or worse.
War — what is it good for? A few good plots, at least (TV commentary)
We’re in a curious situation right now where 94 percent of the country supports pro-war presidential candidates yet other polls show that the majority of people are against war (although most of Congress is pro-war). Of course, war is a complicated issue, and I don’t pretend to understand all of it (although I certainly respect […]
‘The Essential Reader’s Companion’ is a ‘Star Wars’ book about ‘Star Wars’ books (Review)
This might be a sign that I’m obsessed: I just bought a “Star Wars” book about “Star Wars” books. To a non-fan, this might seem as silly as Kramer’s coffee table book about coffee tables on “Seinfeld,” but the initiated will understand the appeal of “The Essential Reader’s Companion.”
‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘The Hand of Thrawn Duology Volume 2: Vision of the Future’ (1998) (Book review)
Timothy Zahn wraps up his “Hand of Thrawn” duology with the meaty “Vision of the Future”(1998), which — at 520 pages for the hardcover and 694 pages for the paperback — is the longest Bantam “Star Wars” novel. (In fact, in Germany it was split into two books.)
First episode impressions: ‘Nashville’ (TV review)
“Nashville” (8 p.m. Central Wednesdays, ABC, starts Oct. 10) starts off with a good-but-not-great first episode (it’s now available on Hulu); among “going inside the industry” shows it’s considerably better than “Smash,” but not as free-wheeling and fun as “The L.A. Complex” or — to go back a few years — “Love Monkey.”
‘Won’t Back Down’ a rousing underdog tale about the fight for better schools (Movie review)
Being both an “important” movie and a “feel-good” movie, right off the bat “Won’t Back Down” is in danger of being filled with cartoon villains that you want to punch in the face even as the story layers on the schmaltz en route to a blatantly telegraphed happy ending. Luckily, there’s more to the movie than that. […]