Author: T.J. Reid

Top secret UFO documentary lacks believability

Top Secret UFO Projects: Declassified is now available on Netflix. “I want to believe,” read the iconic poster that hung in Special Agents Mulder and Scully’s office for more than 200 episodes of the iconic series The X-Files. It’s a phrase that perfectly sums up how I feel about the concept of[Read More…]

McCartney 3, 2, 1 a must-watch for Beatles fans

Rick Rubin (left) and Paul McCartney discuss music and other topics in McCartney 3,2,1, which is available on Hulu. I’ve always been an older soul when it comes to music, mostly preferring bands that haven’t put out a new record in decades and that were comprised of legendary figures, many[Read More…]

Tomorrow War proves to be underwhelming

I was actually pretty excited to finally sit down and watch The Tomorrow War for two reasons: One, it is a big budget sci-fi movie starring Hollywood’s fourth favorite Chris (the Pratt one), and two, it was originally set to release in the theaters before the pandemic hit and therefore had a[Read More…]

Loki is latest success in MCU series

When watching films and TV shows that involve time-travel, I have one simple rule: Don’t think about what’s going on too hard.  It seems as if every entry into this genre has its own rules, and even the best written ones inevitably abound with paradoxes. How did Captain America show[Read More…]

Luca is just good—and that’s okay

It has been clear for a long time now that Pixar is made up of people that like to set bars. To set a bar is impressive in and of itself, but even more admirable than that is a consistent determination to clear and raise that bar when it would[Read More…]

Friends: The one where they get back together

The cast of the hit sitcom Friends recently reunited for an HBO Max special. As far as TV pitches go, “six friends live in New York City and do friend things” is not exactly what many people would call inspired or exciting, yet somehow the world ended up getting 10[Read More…]

Shadow and Bone fills tall order of high fantasy

For a genre that is bound only by what can be dreamt up in limitless imagination, there are a surprising amount of commonalities and suspiciously similar themes that often crop up in fantasy literature.  Why is it that so many fantasy stories, for instance, seem to be set in eras[Read More…]

Stowaway tucks good moments into messy plot

Toni Collette, Daniel Dae Kim and Anna Kendrick tackle some tough questions in Netflix’s Stowaway. Our reviewer says the story requires viewers to make too many leaps of faith, but there are worthy moments along the way. “Do not grieve, Admiral. It is logical. The needs of the many, outweigh…”[Read More…]

Netflix art heist doc needs focus

One thing that I’ve always appreciated about streaming services is that they give film and television makers an unprecedented level of creative control that might not be possible through more “traditional” means. Free of outside pressures such as strict rating guidelines, the need to attract advertisers, and time constraints, platforms[Read More…]