Stray dogs and more Englishmen! Once Hannibal was captive, I felt safe vacating, so “The Great Red Dragon” is a late write-up. This episode had a dash of everything I love and may mourn if alternate media saviors don't intervene to #SaveHannibal. The Baltimore State Hospital has inherited Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen), and Dr.…
Hannibal's “Digestivo” finishes characters with a burp, despite NBC moving our dinner reservation. Shifted to Saturday night, without preamble, this week's episode had lots of action for fannibals who don't care about the show's cancellation, not while there's still plenty to see in this season. (Of course, the more vigorous and plentiful the viewer affection, the…
Bull Mountain by Brian Panowich is a multigenerational tale of one family's history of crime and vengeance in rural Georgia (available July 14, 2015), For a debut novel, Brian Panowich really knocks it out of the ballpark. The text is tight, and the prose is just right. The raw and emotional writing has spikes of…
After two years of waiting, here's our first look at the new Point Break trailer with less surfing, but more altitude and extreme skiing. Luke Bracey stars as Johnny Utah, the young FBI agent and extreme athlete sent to infiltrate a gang of daring criminals led by the charismatic Bodhi (Edgar Ramirez). If they've updated…
Phew! For the first time in weeks, nobody on The Americans was lit on fire, no one was stuffed into a suitcase, no little old ladies were killed, and no teenage girls lost their innocence. And you know what? I’m fine with that. The audience needed a break after the emotional wringer it’s been put…
The Americans followed up its action-packed premiere with one of its most contemplative episodes to date. Apart from a quick chase scene and a heart-stopping encounter between Oleg (Costa Ronin) and Stan (Noah Emmerich), most of the hour is spent cleaning up last week’s messes, leaving plenty of time for the principal characters to ponder…
I can’t remember a show sticking the landing of its finale better than The Americans did in Season 2. Not only did they tie up all the intricate story arcs with a legitimately surprising twist, they did so in a way that organically created an even more disturbing cliffhanger going into Season 3 (and not…
I love the mainstream, popular, and critically acclaimed films as much as the next person. The last thing I’d consider myself is a cinematic snob. But there are times when a truly amazing movie slips into—and out of—theaters without much buzz before fading into obscurity. So I’d like to bring a few of those gems…
Fear the Darkness by Becky Masterman is the second thriller in the Brigid Quinn series about an ex-FBI agent whose niece has some glaring psychopathic tendencies (available January 20, 2015). It’s hard to recognize the devil when his hand is on your shoulder. That’s because a psychopath is just a person before he becomes a…
I love the mainstream, popular, and critically acclaimed films as much as the next person. The last thing I’d consider myself is a cinematic snob. But there are times when a truly amazing movie slips into—and out of—theaters without much buzz before fading into obscurity. So I’d like to bring a few of those gems…
