Movie Review: Jailhouse Rock

Vince sees Hunk's guitar for the first time.

Movie Review: Jailhouse Rock (1957) directed by Richard Thorpe Vince Everett (Elvis Presley) is a nice enough young man, even if he maybe spends too much time in bars. But once he loses his temper, he doesn’t know when to stop. When another patron at the bar starts abusing a woman who was hitting on Vince,… Continue reading Movie Review: Jailhouse Rock

Book Review: Dick Tracy: The Secret Files

Book Review: Dick Tracy: The Secret Files edited by Max Allan Collins and Martin H. Greenberg In 1990, the venerable Dick Tracy comic strip got a movie adaptation, Dick Tracy, starring Warren Beatty and Madonna. To cash in on the publicity, the then-writer of the strip, Max Allan Collins, was asked to do both a… Continue reading Book Review: Dick Tracy: The Secret Files

Book Review: Paperbacks from Hell

Book Review: Paperbacks from Hell by Grady Hendrix Back in the 1970s and 1980s, there was a big boom in paperback horror books, which was helped along by some truly lurid cover art that told the potential reader right up front that this was a book about, say, flesh-eating rabbits. Horror writer and vintage paperback… Continue reading Book Review: Paperbacks from Hell

Movie Review: Total Recall (1990)

Quaid demonstrates how to use the new at-home COVID-19 test.

Movie Review: Total Recall (1990) directed by Paul Verhoeven Doug Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger) has a recurring dream set on Mars. In it, he is exploring the landscape with a woman who is not his wife Lori (Sharon Stone) when he has an accident and his helmet breaks, causing Quaid to suffocate. When he awakens, Quaid wants… Continue reading Movie Review: Total Recall (1990)

Magazine Review: Wonder Stories January 1934

Magazine Review: Wonder Stories January 1934 editor-in-chief Hugo Gernsback Wonder Stories was one of the first dedicated science fiction magazines, started up after Hugo Gernsback lost control of Amazing Stories.  It started in 1929 as two magazines titled Air Wonder Stories and Science Wonder Stories before being consolidated in 1930. He held onto it until 1936 when financial considerations made him sell it to Beacon Magazines. They… Continue reading Magazine Review: Wonder Stories January 1934

Comic Book Review: Snake Tales

Comic Book Review: Snake Tales edited by Mike Howlett Ophiophobia (fear of snakes) is a common phenomenon (Hi Mom!) and has plagued humanity from ancient times, even appearing in the Book of Genesis.  Even humans not afflicted with undue fear of the legless reptiles tend to distrust them, and snakes are often cast as villains… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Snake Tales

Open Thread: Judging by the Covers 11/20/16

I haven’t done one of these in a couple of years, so let’s have some fun! Here’s a half-dozen covers from my more obscure posts.  Which ones would you take a look at based on that cover?  Which ones work best?  Are any of them bad covers, per se?  Comments are open! Related posts: Book… Continue reading Open Thread: Judging by the Covers 11/20/16

Open Thread: Judging by the Covers 10/18/14

Time for another open thread!  Since this went over so well last time, I’m going to post another six book covers from my more obscure posts.  Let me know which ones you like, and what you think the cover tells you about the contents.  Or tell me what kind of cover makes you want to… Continue reading Open Thread: Judging by the Covers 10/18/14