Cuban Missile Crisis gives ‘Topaz’ (1969) real-world heft
On a Hitchcock kick (Movie review): Its historical import gives Hitchcock’s last spy-suspenser rock-solid weight to pair with his filmmaking tricks.
Author: John Hansen
Cuban Missile Crisis gives ‘Topaz’ (1969) real-world heft
Green beautifully tackles mental illness in ‘Turtles All the Way Down’ (2017, 2024)
Book and movie reviews: The author manages to make modern troubled teens not annoying. Just don’t come here for the mystery.
‘Evil Under the Sun’ (1982) is a sunny Poirot delight
Sleuthing Sunday (Movie review): A standout cast and gorgeous location shooting make this one of the best Poirot film adaptations.
‘Presumed Innocent’ a slick spin on the classic book/film
TV review: David E. Kelley’s melodrama and big personalities blend well with the compelling legal issues at the core of the Scott Turow potboiler.
‘Earthlings’ (2018) gives shocking insider insight into outsiders
Book club book report: Japanese author Sayaka Murata daringly highlights taboos, forcing us to rethink what’s automatically “wrong.”
Return to Britain serves up ‘Frenzy’ (1972) of great plotting
On a Hitchcock kick (Movie review): Writer Anthony Shaffer collaborates on Hitchcock’s greatest British film – more than three decades after he moved to Hollywood.
Lansbury takes crack at Marple in ‘The Mirror Crack’d’ (1980)
Sleuthing Sunday (Movie review): While the actress isn’t my idea of Christie’s sleuth, the plotting and acting are strong in this adaptation.
‘MaXXXine’ wades into belly of beast to cap ‘X’ trilogy
Movie review: Mia Goth concludes Maxine’s story and Kevin Bacon steals the show as Ti West piles on Eighties moral grime.
Ricci’s ‘The Gathering’ (2003) is well-meaning, cliched church horror
Frightening Friday (Movie review): Writer Anthony Horowitz (“Poirot”) teases out an original theme from a too-familiar package.
‘The Third Man’ (1949) doesn’t even need a third man to be great
Throwback Thursday (Movie review): Starring Cotten and Welles, this is one of the definitive film noirs, elevated by great dialog and fascinating oddities.