Manga Review: Rin-ne Volumes 7, 8 & 9 by Rumiko Takahashi Quick recap: Rinne Rokudo is a shinigami, a psychopomp who helps ghosts and wandering spirits move on to the next life. Because he’s part human, Rinne’s powers are relatively weak and he must use gadgets, often expensive, to bolster his attempts. Moreover, due to… Continue reading Manga Review: Rin-ne Volumes 7,8 & 9
Month: June 2019
Anime Review: Dororo (2019)
Anime Review: Dororo (2019) Lord Daigo has a problem. The lands under his control suffer from floods when it rains and droughts when it doesn’t, the crops wither, the people are afflicted with disease, and bandits and enemy soldiers roam freely. As a result, Daigo’s province is poverty-stricken and low-status. In desperation, Daigo turns to… Continue reading Anime Review: Dororo (2019)
Movie Review: The Day the Earth Stood Still
Movie Review: The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) dir. Robert Wise The humans of Earth are a fractious lot. Why, just six years ago, they had an entire World War, as a result of which they created and used atomic weapons. You’d think they would have learned their lesson, but instead they went right into… Continue reading Movie Review: The Day the Earth Stood Still
Book Review: Jurassic Park
Book Review: Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton A monster stalks Isla Nublar, red in tooth and claw, seeking whom it may devour. It is a deadly threat to all who live, merciless, implacable–some might call it evil. The name of this monster is not stegosaurus or velociraptor, or even Tyrannosaurus Rex. The name of this… Continue reading Book Review: Jurassic Park
Book Review: The Edge of Reason
Book Review: The Edge of Reason by Melinda Snodgrass Albuquerque, NM police officer Richard Oort has many things. Good looks, musical talent and training, a fine education and a passion for police work. He even has some dark secrets. But it’s what Richard doesn’t have that makes him special. When Richard saves a young woman… Continue reading Book Review: The Edge of Reason
Film Review: Three Outlaw Samurai
Three Outlaw Samurai (1964) directed by Hideo Gosha. Times are tough in this rural district of Japan. There’s been a succession of bad harvests, but no reduction in taxes, so the peasants are starving and broke. In desperation, several farmers have kidnapped the daughter of the local magistrate in an effort to extort him into presenting… Continue reading Film Review: Three Outlaw Samurai
Book Review: The Best of R.A. Lafferty
Book Review: The Best of R.A. Lafferty by R.A. Lafferty Raphael Aloysius Lafferty (1914-2002) was one of those “American originals” you hear about every so often. His writing takes some form from the American tall tale, some from Native American yarn spinning, and mixes it into a style all his own. This anthology collects 22… Continue reading Book Review: The Best of R.A. Lafferty
Comic Book Review: Marvel Preview #16 & 21
Comic Book Review: Marvel Preview #16 & 21 by various creators Marvel Preview was a black & white comic book magazine distributed through newsstands starting in 1975 for 24 issues before being retitled Bizarre Adventures for another ten issues. It was an “umbrella title” like DC’s Showcase, with a different theme or major character in… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Marvel Preview #16 & 21
Movie Review: The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013) dir. Isao Takahata Mukashi, mukashi, long, long ago in Japan, there lived an old bamboo cutter and his wife who had no children. One day while the bamboo cutter was out in the bamboo grove, he saw one of the bamboo stalks glowing. A new bamboo shoot sprung up… Continue reading Movie Review: The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
Book Review: The Virginian
Book Review: The Virginian by Owen Wister “When you call me that, smile!” When the Easterner who would become known as “the Tenderfoot” came to Wyoming at the behest of Judge Henry, he didn’t know what to expect. What he got was the acquaintance and eventually friendship of the man called “the Virginian”, one of… Continue reading Book Review: The Virginian