Movie Review: Terminator 2: Judgement Day

T-1000 reveals its default form.

Movie Review: Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) directed by James Cameron In the near future year of 1995, two visitors from the slightly further future of 2029 arrive. One has been sent by the hostile artificial intelligence Skynet to kill the leader of the future Resistance, John Connor (Edward Furlong) while he is still a child,… Continue reading Movie Review: Terminator 2: Judgement Day

TV Review: Unriddle Season Two

Xiaoman and Bun contemplate their next move against a killer.

TV Review: Unriddle Season Two At the end of Season One, Singaporean police officer Hu Xiaoman (Rui En) and streetwise informer Bun (Li Ping Chen) were able to find their friend and mentor Officer Zhang Yuze (Ping Hui Tay) and clear his name. So, now Xiaoman can finally concentrate on whether she wants to date… Continue reading TV Review: Unriddle Season Two

Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine August 1949

Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine August 1949 edited by Ellery Queen It’s time for another issue of this venerable mystery magazine. The cover this time is uncredited, and does not directly match any of the stories in the issue. “Double Exposure” by Ben Hecht opens the issue with a tale of a psychiatrist who… Continue reading Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine August 1949

Book Review: The Case of the Rolling Bones

Book Review: The Case of the Rolling Bones by Erle Stanley Gardner Attorney Perry Mason is having a slow week with no real meaty cases, just ongoing matters that require boring paperwork. So he’s thrilled when a delegation of three people associated with Gold Rush millionaire Alden Leeds appears. They believe Mr. Leeds may be… Continue reading Book Review: The Case of the Rolling Bones

Book Review: Thief River Falls

Book Review: Thief River Falls by Brian Freeman “Write what you know.” Thriller author Lisa Power followed that maxim in her fourth book, entitled Thief River Falls. It’s set in her home town of Thief River Falls, Minnesota and features real locations there, and even the real names of some of the residents. The verisimilitude… Continue reading Book Review: Thief River Falls

Movie Review: House on Haunted Hill (1959)

Our heroine meets the friendly housekeeper.

Movie Review: House on Haunted Hill (1959) directed by William Castle In its hundred years of history, the house has been host to seven brutal murders. It is said that their ghosts still haunt the place, ready to add more victims to their number. Tonight, five strangers have been invited to the house on Haunted Hill… Continue reading Movie Review: House on Haunted Hill (1959)

Book Review: The Complete Stories of Robert Bloch Volume 3

Book Review: The Complete Stories of Robert Bloch Volume 3 by Robert Bloch Robert Bloch (1917-1994) was a prolific author of horror, science fiction and mystery works. (You may have seen, read or at least heard of Psycho.) This volume, originally “Selected Stories” and by no means complete, features 39 stories published between 1960 and… Continue reading Book Review: The Complete Stories of Robert Bloch Volume 3

Book Review: Your Crystal Ball Is Whacked

Book Review: Your Crystal Ball Is Whacked by Nancy Stevens Sometimes, the crystal ball goes dark and you cannot see a future. Whether it’s due to horrible circumstances in your life, a bout of physical illness upsetting your mind, or mental illness, your ability to see beyond the present and its troubles is broken. Nevertheless,… Continue reading Book Review: Your Crystal Ball Is Whacked

Book Review: Nine Strange Stories

Book Review: Nine Strange Stories edited by Betty N. Owen When I was a lad, one of the fun annual events I looked forward to was the Scholastic Book Fair.  Scholastic Publishing would send boxes of books around the country to schools so that kids could get the thrill of picking out their own low-cost… Continue reading Book Review: Nine Strange Stories

Book Review: The Fourth Galaxy Reader

Book Review: The Fourth Galaxy Reader edited by H.L. Gold Galaxy Magazine had a decent run with a lot of good stories, so it’s not surprising that even this fourth collection of fifteen science fiction reprints from the 1950s has a strong selection.  (I recognized almost all of these!)  There’s an introduction which runs down inferior… Continue reading Book Review: The Fourth Galaxy Reader