Manga Review: Case Closed Vols. 80-82

Manga Review: Case Closed Vols. 80-82 by Gosho Aoyama It’s time once again to catch up on the adventures of Conan Edogawa, boy detective, who is secretly Shinichi Kudou (Jimmy Kudo in the dub), teen detective who was shrunk by an experimental poison. See my many prior reviews of this series, titled Meitantei Conan (“Detective… Continue reading Manga Review: Case Closed Vols. 80-82

Movie Review: The Case of the Howling Dog

Perry Mason reviews the evidence.

Movie Review: The Case of the Howling Dog (1934) directed by Alan Crosland Millionaire Arthur Cartwright (Gordon Westcott) is being put on edge by the howling of his equally rich neighbor Clinton Foley’s (Russell Hicks) dog Prince (Lightning). According to Cartwright, the dog’s been howling for the last forty-eight hours straight, an omen of death. Mr.… Continue reading Movie Review: The Case of the Howling Dog

Book Review: The Last Unicorn

Book Review: The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle The unicorn has been alone in her wood for a very long time. How long? Hard to say, as she is a naturally immortal being of a solitary nature. One day, she overhears from a hunter that she may be the last unicorn in the world.… Continue reading Book Review: The Last Unicorn

Movie Review: Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace

Holmes and Watson check the Times for clues.

Movie Review: Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace (1962) directed by Terence Fisher What comes from Benghazi? Early in the morning, a group of children and a fisherman find a body floating in the Thames, prominently displaying the name of a recently docked ship, the Thyasia. As the passengers disembark from the ship, one of them… Continue reading Movie Review: Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace

Movie Review: Clueless (1995)

Cher, Tai and Dionne discuss plans for the day.

Movie Review: Clueless (1995) directed by Amy Heckerling Cher Horowitz (Alicia Silverstone) is popular, pretty and well off, which is important if you attend high school in Beverly Hills. Her father Mel (Dan Hedaya) is a prominent litigation attorney, but Cher’s mother passed in a tragic liposuction accident when she was little. There was a short… Continue reading Movie Review: Clueless (1995)

Manga Review: Mao Volumes 3, 4 & 5

Manga Review: Mao Volumes 3, 4 & 5 by Rumiko Takahashi Quick recap: When Nanoka Kiba was a little girl, her parents were killed in a freak car accident. Since then she’s been raised by her kindly grandfather and his odd housekeeper Uozumi. Now, in her third year of middle school, Nanoka hears strange voices… Continue reading Manga Review: Mao Volumes 3, 4 & 5

Movie Review: Pan’s Labyrinth

Ofelia descends into the heart of the labyrinth.

Movie Review: Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) directed by Guillermo del Toro (aka “El Labarinto del Fauno”} It is 1944, and elsewhere in Europe, the Allied troops recently landed in France on D-Day. But here in a remote mountainous region of Spain, Captain Vidal (Sergi López) and his men are hunting down the remnants of the Republicans who… Continue reading Movie Review: Pan’s Labyrinth

Movie Review: The Gorilla (1939)

The detectives are immediately suspicious of Peters, the butler.

Movie Review: The Gorilla (1939) directed by Allan Dwan The partners in the Acme Detective Agency, Garrity (Jimmy Ritz), Harrigan (Harry Ritz), and Mulligan (Al Ritz) have not been particularly successful so far, but somehow they’ve landed a big case. It seems that insurance company executive Walter Stevens (Lionel Atwill) has received a death threat from… Continue reading Movie Review: The Gorilla (1939)

Book Review: Rediscovery: Science Fiction by Women Volume 2 (1953-1957)

Cover by Frank Kelly Freas--not illustrating any of the stories in this volume.

Book Review: Rediscovery: Science Fiction by Women Volume 2 (1953-1957) edited by Gideon Marcus As the introduction by Janice L. Newman points out, women have written science fiction all along. The percentage of them getting published at any given time in the magazines and books waxed and waned, but they were always there. In the… Continue reading Book Review: Rediscovery: Science Fiction by Women Volume 2 (1953-1957)

Movie Review: The Ape (1940)

Dr. Adrien spots Nabu at the window.

Movie Review: The Ape (1940) directed by William Nigh Twenty-five years ago, Dr. Bernard Adrien (Boris Karloff) was expelled from the Robinson Institute for unauthorized experiments with spinal fluid. He moved to an obscure small town and started a practice as a humble country doctor. marrying and starting a family. Ten years ago, there was a… Continue reading Movie Review: The Ape (1940)