Movie Review: Grand Hotel (1932)

Otto considers the short time he has left.

Movie Review: Grand Hotel (1932) directed by Edmund Goulding “People come, people go. Nothing ever happens.” So speaks Dr. Otternschlag (Lewis Stone). long-time resident of the Grand Hotel in Berlin. But he spends much of his time in his cups to deal with the pain of the facial scarring he got in the Great War, and… Continue reading Movie Review: Grand Hotel (1932)

Movie Review: Act of Love (1980)

Leon and Joseph discuss Joseph's potential lifespan.

Movie Review: Act of Love (1980) directed by Jud Taylor It’s the first Father’s Day since the death of the Cybulkoski family patriarch. After church, the family has an outdoor lunch. Older son Leon (Ron Howard) announces that he and his brother Joseph (Mickey Rourke) will be painting their mother’s house, “barn red” and finally clearing… Continue reading Movie Review: Act of Love (1980)

Comic Book Review: Enemies

Comic Book Review: Enemies by Svetlana Chmakova Felicity Teale is one of many ordinary students at Berrybrook Middle School, but this time it’s her turn to be in the spotlight. “‘City” likes doing art and playing video games (the hot one right now is Skore) and is decent in Spanish class, but she has a… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Enemies

Movie Review: Easy Virtue (1928)

Movie Review: Easy Virtue (1928) directed by Alfred Hitchcock John Whittaker (Robin Irvine) returns from a Riviera vacation with a surprise bride. Larita (Isabel Jeans) is certainly pretty, and seems pleasant enough. But John’s mother (Violet Farebrother) can’t shake the feeling that she’s seen Larita before, and that the young woman is hiding something. Larita is… Continue reading Movie Review: Easy Virtue (1928)

Movie Review: Joe (2013)

Joe welcomes one of his crew back to the job.

Movie Review: Joe (2013) directed by David Gordon Green Joe Ransom (Nicolas Cage) is holding his life together…barely. He runs a small business that kills trees unsuitable for lumber for the local lumber company, employing a day worker crew that works hard for the cash money and appreciates that he doesn’t cheat them. Maybe he smokes… Continue reading Movie Review: Joe (2013)

Movie Review: Papillon (1973)

Papillon is introduced to his new solitary quarters.

Movie Review: Papillon (1973) directed by Franklin J. Schaffner Henri Charrière (Steve McQueen), nicknamed “Papillon” after the butterfly tattoo on his chest, is convicted of a crime he did not commit and sentenced to imprisonment in the penal colony of French Guiana often referred to as “Devil’s Island.” On the ship taking the convicts there, he… Continue reading Movie Review: Papillon (1973)

Movie Review: Beyond Obsession (1982)

Nina and Matthew share a smoke.

Movie Review: Beyond Obsession (1982) directed by Liliana Cavani aka “Beyond the Door” Matthew Jackson (Tom Berenger), an American oil worker in Morocco, takes a trip to Marrakesh. At a boring sex show, he meets an Italian woman, Nina (Eleanora Giorgi). She takes him to a slightly more exciting brothel, gets Matthew high, and hooks him… Continue reading Movie Review: Beyond Obsession (1982)

Book Review: Jamaica Inn

Book Review: Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier Mary Yellan grew up on a farm near Helford in Cornwall. Her father died when she was very young, so Mary worked hard with her mother to keep the tiny place going. Hard times came and wiped out their livestock, and Mary’s mother’s heart gave out. The… Continue reading Book Review: Jamaica Inn

Manga Review: Kageki Shojo!! Vol. 2

Manga Review: Kageki Shojo!! Vol. 2 by Kumiko Saiki The Kouka School of Musical and Theatrical Arts is an exclusive all-girls’ school which feeds into the prestigious Kouka performance troupe where all roles are played by women. This series focuses on the members of the Centennial Class, the 100th cadre of girls competing for the… Continue reading Manga Review: Kageki Shojo!! Vol. 2

Book Review: God’s Little Acre

Book Review: God’s Little Acre by Erskine Caldwell Ty Ty Walden likes to think of himself as a good Christian. That’s why he has tithed the proceeds of an acre on his Georgia farm to the church. But he’s also got gold fever. Ty Ty is convinced that somewhere on his land is a rich… Continue reading Book Review: God’s Little Acre