Category: Character Development

Action, Character Development, Marvel, Playstation, PS4, The 1970's, Video Game Review, Video Games

TSJ Reviews SPIDER-MAN on PS4

 • 1 Comment

.

TSJ Reviews SPIDER-MAN on PS4

I recently purchased a PS4. Usually I stick to my X-box (for gaming and movie watching) but there were a few titles that were PS4 exclusives that I wanted to try. One was THE LAST OF US, which I reviewed here. The other was SPIDER-MAN, for which I have heard nothing but raves. Created by Insomniac Games, it has (as of writing this) sold almost ten million units. It was nominated for numerous awards, and won the Game Critics Awards for Best Console Game and Best Action Adventure Game. It won Best PS4 Game at Gamescon 2018, and at the 2018 Gamers’ Choice Awards it won Fan Favorite Action Game, Single Player Gaming Experience, and Fan Favorite Character of the Year (Peter Parker).

Read more →

Action, Character Development, Horror, Movie Review, Movies, Netflix, Suspense, Thriller

An Interpretation of BIRD BOX

 • 0 Comments

 

TSJ Interprets BIRD BOX, a Netflix Original

BIRD BOX is a gripping horror/survival/post-apocalyptic film. The disaster reveal happens near the beginning of the movie, but it does not explain the “monsters” in any real detail (more on this later). This is another film in the horror sub-genre involving a sensory deprivation. Recent examples include DON’T BREATHE and A QUIET PLACE. In those films, the story forces characters to remain silent or risk death. In the case of BIRD BOX, however, the sense involved is sight. If the characters see the monster, they die — in this case, victims kill themselves after witnessing the creatures.

Read more →

Action, Character Development, Horror, Playstation, PS4, Suspense, Thriller, Video Game Review, Video Games

TSJ Reviews THE LAST OF US

 • 0 Comments

 

TSJ Reviews THE LAST OF US

THE LAST OF US is a survival/horror game set in the United States following a pandemic that has wiped out or infected the majority of the world’s population. The storyline follows Joel, a survivor, as he escorts 14 year old Ellie across the country to a group of scientists who might be able to create a vaccine to the infection using her natural immunity. What follows is one of the most emotionally-charged, intense, and satisfying video game journeys I have ever experienced. This game is up there with ALIEN: ISOLATION (see my review here) and PREY as being a top-tier effort, and it is a shining example of what a gaming experience should be. The story is simultaneously emotional, heartbreaking, uplifting and tragic, and each sequence is gripping. Each “chapter” ends on a cliffhanger, and I simply had to keep playing to find out what would happen to Joel and Ellie. This game is, simply put, a masterpiece.

Read more →

Action, Agatha Christie, Character Development, ChiZine Publications, Horror, Inspirations, Interview, Movies, Radio, Science Fiction, Star Wars, The Rise of Oceania, The War Beneath, Thriller, Underwater Thriller, Writing

Radio Interview with TSJ on Writing Thrillers, Managing a Busy Life, STAR WARS, and THE WAR BENEATH

 • 0 Comments

 

Radio Interview with TSJ on 106.9 THE X’s Your Life, Your Way with Host Gail Barker

TSJ and Gail Barker, 8 August 2018

On 8 August I participated in the radio show YOUR LIFE, YOUR WAY at local radio station 106.9 THE X. The topics of conversation ranged from managing a busy life while also writing thrillers to my new underwater adventure THE WAR BENEATH. Gail Barker and I also discussed

Read more →

Action, Alien, Book Review, Character Development, Horror, Imposter Theme, Inspirations, James Cameron, John Carpenter, Movie Review, Movies, Mystery, Science Fiction, Star Trek, Star Wars, Steven Spielberg, The 1970's, Thriller, Writing

TSJ’s List of the Best Science Fiction Movies of the 1970’s

 • 2 Comments

The Best Science Fiction Movies of the 1970’s

I should clarify that a film’s presence on this blog post is entirely subjective based on my experiences growing up. These were my creative formative years, during which I was discovering genre books, television shows, and movies. I was born in 1970, so really the 80’s were my true introduction to Science Fiction Horror, Thriller and Adventure — books by Asimov and Crichton and films by Cameron, Spielberg, Carpenter, and Verhoeven — but the 1970’s played a huge role in my love for the genre. Detroit Channel 7 broadcast most of the films I saw. Many had poor effects, but the stories were so powerful and the actors so committed that the movies rose above the rest of the stories that were available at the time. The themes were relevant, the plots compelling and interesting, all the base human emotions like revenge and lust and greed and hate were on full display, they spoke of issues that people dealt with every day, and they featured powerful scores and incredible directing. They were gripping.

Read more →

BluRay, Character Development, Horror, Inspirations, John Carpenter, Movie Review, Movies, Steven Spielberg, Thriller, Writing

TSJ Reviews Shout! Factory’s BluRay Release of John Carpenter’s “Lost” Film SOMEONE’S WATCHING ME!

 • 0 Comments

 

TSJ Reviews John Carpenter’s “Lost” Film SOMEONE’S WATCHING ME!

Shout! Factory has been releasing John Carpenter films on Blu for a few years now. Each features additional special features that previous discs did not, many including interviews and brand new commentaries not on previous iterations. Their releases of THE THING and ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK are real standouts in their Carpenter library.

Carpenter wrote and filmed SOMEONE’S WATCHING ME! for television broadcast in 1978. Two weeks after the ten-day filming concluded, he was off doing HALLOWEEN, a movie that blasted his career into the stratosphere. (See my articles on it here and here, and I spoke about it on a radio show here.)

Read more →

Action, Character Development, James Cameron, JJ Abrams, Movie Review, Movies, Steven Spielberg, Thriller

TSJ Reviews MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE — FALLOUT

 • 0 Comments

 

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE — FALLOUT

TSJ’s Spoiler-free Review of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE — FALLOUT

Christopher McQuarrie has had quite the career as both a writer and director, and with MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE — FALLOUT he has cemented himself as one of those next-level action directors, in the club with Spielberg, Cameron, Miller, Abrams, Nolan et al. His directing in FALLOUT is impeccable. The movie moves from one incredible set piece to another, with a good amount of exposition between them to keep the story leaning forward, and the result is

Read more →

Action, Book Cover, Character Development, ChiZine Publications, Science Fiction, The Rise of Oceania, The War Beneath, Thriller, Underwater Thriller, Writing

TSJ Announcement on THE WAR BENEATH, coming November

 • 2 Comments

 

2 August 2018 Announcement:

COMING 20 NOVEMBER 2018

I have now officially finished edits on THE WAR BENEATH, and the book is in the hands of ChiZine where it is being prepped for printing. It has been an extraordinary process, and the love and care that is going into this book is difficult to describe. When I first saw the cover, I knew that this was going to be special.  Made by Emblem in Toronto created it, and even produced an animated version for their Instagram account:

Read more →

Action, Character Development, Comics, Horror, Movie Review, Movies, Mystery, Thriller

The GLASS Trailer is Here

 • 0 Comments

 

GLASS — Coming January 2019

POSSIBLE SPOILERS about UNBREAKABLE and SPLIT below. You’ve been warned.

M. Knight Shyamalan exploded onto the movie scene with THE SIXTH SENSE in 1999. The movie was not just a hit; it was a pop culture phenomenon. He followed up the supernatural thriller with UNBREAKABLE in 2000, a movie many found even better than THE SIXTH SENSE. UNBREAKABLE featured an everyday man (Bruce Willis, playing David Dunn) who was the lone survivor of a train crash that killed hundreds.

Read more →

Action, Alien, Character Development, JJ Abrams, Movie Review, Movies, Science Fiction, Star Trek, Thriller

SF Author Timothy S. Johnston Reviews STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS

 • 0 Comments

STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS

STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS — A Review by Timothy S. Johnston

(Previously Published at TrekWeb on 18 May 2013)

Format: Digital 2D
Studio: Paramount
Director: J.J. Abrams
Writers: Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Damon Lindelof

Rating of STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS: 9/10
Rating of STAR TREK (2009): 9.5/10

Read more →