HBO’s “Dune: Prophecy” debuts with all the palace intrigue, but none of the adventure…

******SANDWORM-SIZED SPOILERS!****** I’m a modest fan of the “Dune” franchise. I read Frank Herbert’s first book ages ago, and I have some knowledge of its many sequels and prequels. I’ve seen all the live-action incarnations of “Dune,” including 1984’s “Dune,” 2000’s SyFy “Dune” miniseries, its 2003 sequel “Children of Dune” (a miniseries that combined the…

My ongoing reasons for owning physical media…

In an earlier column from six years ago, I sang the praises of physical media ownership (“Still crazy after all these years; why I continue to collect physical media”). And I still do. I’ve been watching a few recent YouTube videos which make the case for collecting VHS tapes, DVDs, Blu-Rays and 4K discs, even in…

HBO’s “The Last of Us” treads upon very familiar terrain…

*****SPOILER INFECTION RISK!***** If you’ve never seen any of the zombie apocalypse scenarios that have arisen since 1968’s “Night of the Living Dead,” or TV’s more recent “The Walking Dead” (based on Robert Kirkman’s graphic novels), then HBO’s new (and well-crafted) “The Last of Us” will be one helluva surprise. However, if you’ve seen as…

BBC’s haunting comedy “Ghosts” successfully raised my spirits…

****SUPERNATURAL SPOILERS!!**** On the advice of a British expat friend of mine, I decided to take a break from heavy sci-fi offerings of late, and take a look at the 2019 BBC series, “Ghosts,” which is currently on HBOMax, and which has (of course) already spawned a US remake. At 30 minutes each, with short…

Preparing to meet thy “Dune”; how and why I’m seeing it at home, too…

Dune It Yourself. The highly anticipated “Dune” adaptation from director Denis Villeneuve (“Blade Runner 2049,” “Arrival”) is out in theaters today, and it is also being streamed until November 21st on HBOMax (no extra fees or codes needed beyond an existing HBOMax subscription). With the highly transmissible Delta variant of the coronavirus still wreaking havoc…

Diana loses some of her power in “Wonder Woman 1984” (2020)…

******SUPER-SIZED SPOILERS AHEAD!!****** Back in 1978, director Richard Donner’s “Superman: The Movie” took a then-silly idea of a comic book hero in tights and made it viable for broad audience appeal. The trick was for the audience to fully invest in the character, with no winks or camp. “You will believe a man can fly”…