John Hansen

The Peripheral

With ‘Westworld’ canceled, ‘Peripheral’ smoothly slides in

First episode impressions (TV review): Scott B. Smith returns to prominence with “The Peripheral,” the latest visionary sci-fi show to hit streaming.

Urban Legends Bloody Mary

‘Urban Legends’ trilogy limps to end with ‘Bloody Mary’ (2005) 

Frightening Friday (Movie review): “Urban Legends” turns its attention to the Bloody Mary myth, but you’d be better off rewatching “Candyman.”

Starship Troopers

Satirical ‘Starship Troopers’ (1997) also a strong actioner

Throwback Thursday (Movie review): In crafting a satirical SF classic, Verhoeven and Neumeier don’t skimp on the characters and world-building.

Weird The Al Yankovic Story

‘Weird: The Al Yankovic Story’ finds variety of goofy fun

Movie review: Director Eric Appel and Weird Al himself use Yankovic’s real career as a foundation to make fun of biopics and share silly laughs.

Mighty Aphrodite

Sorvino magnetically ridiculous in ‘Mighty Aphrodite’ (1995)

Woody Wednesday (Movie review): It includes a lot of Allen staples, but Mira Sorvino’s unusual Oscar-winning performance makes this film stand out.

Top Gun Maverick

‘Top Gun: Maverick’ cruises along with spectacle, nostalgia

Movie review: Come for the spectacular visuals and audio, stay for the … ahem … spectacular visuals and audio in this long-awaited sequel.

The Floating Admiral

Christie chips in on Detection Club’s ‘Floating Admiral’ (1931) 

Sleuthing Sunday (Book review): This fascinating but failed experiment finds 14 authors handing off a baton as they choose their own adventure.

Sherlock Kolchak Cry of Thunder

‘Cry of Thunder’ (2008) has Holmes, Kolchak … and messy plot 

‘Kolchak’ flashback (Comic book review): Holmes, Watson and Kolchak are in fine form, but the plot of this three-issue series borders on incomprehensible.

Pearl

‘Pearl’ a darkly moving, stylish origin story of ‘X’ villain

Movie review: At the same time they made “X,” Ti West and Mia Goth also made its prequel, and – while it’s a different type of film – it’s just as good.

Bullets Over Broadway

‘Bullets Over Broadway’ (1994) well written, not well directed

Woody Wednesday (Movie review): Sometimes Allen gets casual about his direction, and it’s particularly unfortunate here because good gags get lost.