The Mandalorian Chapter 9: “The Marshall” treads familiar territory…

A new season of “The Mandalorian” has premiered on DisneyPlus, and the first episode, “The Marshall,” wasn’t exactly the strongest way to kick things off. Yes, there are many intriguing nods to Star Wars’ rich and layered past in this episode, but at the end of the day, there just isn’t much new going on….

Star Trek: Discovery, S3.3: “People of Earth” takes a voyage home…

CBS-All Access has just dropped the latest episode of Star Trek Discovery’s third season, “People Of Earth” for streaming, and it’s another winner. New showrunner Michelle Paradise’s arc for this season (so far) feels much more confident and surefooted than the show’s prior two seasons. Directed by 33-year Star Trek actor/director veteran Jonathan Frakes (“Will…

An all-star cast gets caught in “The Devil’s Rain” (1975)…

Drive-in delight. I remember going to see “The Devil’s Rain” at a local drive-in sometime in autumn of 1975. A warm breeze (and lots of cheese) was in the air that night. My then-8 year old self took in an unhealthy number of demographically unsuitable movies in those days, but I didn’t care. I loved…

Star Trek: Discovery, S3.2: “Far From Home” returns to tomorrow…

Last time on Star Trek: Discovery. *****SPACE ICEBERG-SIZED SPOILERS AHEAD!**** Last week’s episode of Star Trek: Discovery, S3.1: “That Hope is You, Part 1,” saw Michael Burnham and the USS Discovery propelled 930 years into a 32nd century where the Federation had fallen over a century earlier due to a galaxy-wide event known as “The…

“Re-Animator” (1985) is still kicking and screaming after 35 years…

Forbidden Treat for Halloween. In the fall of 1985, I remember watching famed TV movie critics Roger Ebert & Gene Siskel reviewing a new horror movie called “Re-Animator” (based very loosely on H.P. Lovecraft’s 1922 serialized story, “Herbert West, Re-Animator”) which was apparently so grisly they could only show a couple of very short, innocuous…

Still going ‘a little mad sometimes’ for 1960’s “Psycho”…

*IF YOU’VE NEVER SEEN “PSYCHO”, READ NO FURTHER! THERE WILL BE SPOILERS!* Had to get that out of the way, because it’s pretty much impossible to write a meaningful essay about Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 classic, “Psycho” without spoilers. I grew up with this movie; probably first saw it sometime before my teen years, but always…