Andrew Cook
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in Larks & RecsThe Sealer Delivers Martial Arts Action with a Paranormal Procedural Twist
The Sealer is a 2022 live-action Japanese miniseries, with all nine episodes directed by Kenji Kuwajima (The Red Apple) and Michihito Fujii (18×2 Beyond Youthful Days). It was originally produced by the Asahi Broadcasting Corporation and can now be streamed on Viki, Tubi, and The Roku Channel. The Sealer tells the story of Kakeru (Taichi […] More
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in Larks & RecsMPD Psycho: Takashi Miike’s TV Miniseries Is a Heady, Unforgettable Trip
MPD Psycho is a live-action Japanese miniseries, with all six episodes helmed by famed filmmaker Takashi Miike. It premiered on May 2, 2000 and ran for the next six weeks on Japan’s WoWow satellite network, was released on DVD in Japan by Pony Canyon in 2000, and in Australia by Siren Visual in 2005. Despite […] More
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Broken Saints at 25: The Cult Classic Motion Comic Deserves a Second Wind
On January 17, 2001, writer/director Brooke Burgess, technical director Ian Kirby, and artist Andrew West released the first chapter of their epic sci-fi motion comic Broken Saints. Broken Saints was among the first of its kind, using Flash animation to add a sense of movement and featuring music and sound effects to round out the […] More
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The X-Files Fully Comes Into Its Own With “The Erlenmeyer Flask”
They say it’s good to save the best for last, and with “The Erlenmeyer Flask” Chris Carter certainly has. There have been many excellent episodes this season, including some true classics, but this is the best work of Season 1, playing against our expectations to deliver a weighty masterclass in portent and dread, its implications […] More
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The X-Files: “E.B.E.” Is a Great Character-Driven Conspiracy Thriller
Glen Morgan and James Wong return for “E.B.E.” Whereas previous episodes “Squeeze,” “Ice,” and (the masterful) “Beyond the Sea” offered up homages to Curtis’ The Night Strangler, Carpenter’s The Thing, and Demme’s The Silence of the Lambs, “E.B.E.” seeks to channel ’70s conspiracy thrillers such as The Conversation. Not only do Morgan and Wong kill […] More
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The X-Files Thriller “Fallen Angel” Presages Years of Future Television
“Fallen Angel” is a return to form for The X-Files after “Space,” an ambitious misfire from series creator Chris Carter. “Fallen Angel” is a formative episode not only for the series, but for writers Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa as well. It continues the series’ stylistic visual development and features Gordon and Gansa in full […] More
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in Larks & Recs
Larks and Recs: Talk Film Society
My recommendation for the week is Talk Film Society, a podcast network devoted to all things cinema, with extensive coverage stretching back years. Talk Film Society is principally managed by Marcelo Pico and Siobhan Irving, able and affable hosts who handle the flagship Talk Film Society podcast. They also host my personal favorite, “Have a […] More
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The X-Files’ “Ghost in the Machine” Is a Solid ’90s Cyber Thriller
Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa return for The X-Files S1E7, “Ghost in the Machine.” It’s their first thriller, and the first in a series of cyber thriller episodes of The X-Files—a tradition which will stretch all the way to Season 11 in 2018. “Ghost in the Machine” is a smart piece of work which explores […] More
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The X-Files’ “Conduit” Digs Deep into Mulder’s Motivation
The X-Files digs into Mulder as a character with its fourth episode, “Conduit,” teasing out some of the various threads established before and turning them into searing human drama. The episode serves as our introduction to the writing duo of Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa, though this one has significant uncredited help from Chris Carter. […] More
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The X-Files Broadens Its Horizons with “Squeeze”
The third episode of The X-Files, “Squeeze,” completes our introduction to the show. It’s our first standalone episode—termed “Monster-of-the-Week” episodes by fans—our first episode to focus on something other than extraterrestrials, and the first episode written by Glen Morgan and James Wong. Morgan and Wong set the template for standalone episodes, envisioning The X-Files as […] More
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“Deep Throat” is Both Pure X-Files and Sharp Social Commentary
Where the pilot episode of The X-Files focused on familiarizing us with the characters, structure, and broader themes the series will explore, the second episode, “Deep Throat,” introduces us to the show’s sprawling mythology and Carter’s conception of his work as an ongoing dialogue, both with itself and with culture at large. The teaser echoes […] More
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Examining the Secrets of The X-Files Pilot
“Examining the Secrets of The X-Files Pilot” is available in audiovisual form on YouTube The X-Files, as most everyone knows by now, is the story of FBI Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. It chronicles their journey into America’s weird heart and their discovery of a dark conspiracy, an alternate history of the United States […] More
