‘Superpowered: The DC Story’ makes a case for DC’s history, not its present
TV review: The documentary has built-in appeal by being about colorful superheroes, but it shies away from deep dives.
Television
‘Superpowered: The DC Story’ makes a case for DC’s history, not its present
‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ Season 1 (1987) bridges Mirage comics with movie
‘TMNT’ flashback (TV review): Eastman and Laird created the Turtles, but David Wise popularized them among kids with these five animated episodes.
‘Based on a True Story’ Season 1 somehow both frantic and slow
TV review: Craig Rosenberg’s series roasts the icky popularity of serial-killer podcasts. But its own fictional story is too slow of a burn.
Documentaries give solid overview of Philip K. Dick
PKD flashback (TV reviews): These three documentaries play well as introductions, and established fans will enjoy putting faces to names.
‘Sparkling Cyanide’ (2003) shows versatility of Christie’s novel
Sleuthing Sunday (Movie review): Christie’s 1945 novel yet again gets contemporized, but writer Laura Lamson finds a fresh angle.
‘Seven Dials Mystery’ (1981) gets bundled into energetic TV movie
Sleuthing Sunday (Movie review): The troupe behind 1980’s “Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?” reunites for a tighter, if flightier, Christie mystery.
‘Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?’ (1980) is long, but has great lead duo
Sleuthing Sunday (Movie review): As with the book, the two lead amateur sleuths keep this overly complex plot fairly engaging.
A neurotic half-century: Every Woody Allen film, ranked
Movie list: I’ve obsessively made my list and checked it twice, and now I need counseling. Here are my rankings of Woody Allen’s films.
In ‘Amityville 4’ (1989), ‘The Evil Escapes’ into a daytime soap
Revisiting Amityville (Movie review): Back in the day, there was a substantial difference between theatrical movies and TV movies. “A4” is a case study.
Poirot time-travels to 1985 for ‘Thirteen at Dinner’
Sleuthing Sunday (Movie review): Peter Ustinov reprises his role as Poirot, but on a new timeline, in this interesting made-for-TV film.