Magazine Review: Spicy Mystery Stories June 1936

Cover is symbolic; the "cat person" in the story is male.

Magazine Review: Spicy Mystery Stories June 1936 by various creators As I’ve previously mentioned, the “spicy” pulps were racy for their time, with descriptions of women’s breasts and thighs, and it being obvious that the characters are having sex, but never actually describing the sex or genitals. This particular magazine, despite the title, has little… Continue reading Magazine Review: Spicy Mystery Stories June 1936

Movie Review: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

Dr. Caligari has little patience for government bureaucracy.

Movie Review: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) directed by Robert Wiene The frame story begins with Franciz (Friedrich Feher) having just been told by another man (Hans Lanser-Ludloff) about the supernatural events that drove him from his home. Franciz replies that the events he and his fiancée Jane Olsen (Lil Dagover) experienced were even more… Continue reading Movie Review: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

Manga Review: Mao Volumes 19 & 20

Manga Review: Mao Volumes 19 & 20 by Rumiko Takahashi Note: SPOILERS for previous volumes. You may want to read my reviews of those if you’re not caught up. Quick recap: Nanoka is a girl from the 21st Century who travels in time to the 1920s, where she helps the onmyoji (wizard/priest/doctor) Mao, who is… Continue reading Manga Review: Mao Volumes 19 & 20

Book Review: The Crossroads of Time | Mankind on the Run

Book Review: The Crossroads of Time | Mankind on the Run by Andre Norton | Gordon R. Dickson It’s time for another Ace Double, the classic paperback format of two novels printed upside down from each other. This time it’s two classic science fiction authors on tap. The Crossroads of Time by Andre Norton Blake… Continue reading Book Review: The Crossroads of Time | Mankind on the Run

Movie Review: Parasite (2019)

The Kim family is so destitute they welcome poison gas.

Movie Review: Parasite (2019) directed by Bong Joon-ho When we first meet the Kim family of Seoul, South Korea, they’re living in a cramped, insect-infested basement apartment. No one currently has a paying job, so they’re having to steal wi-fi from the neighbors to try to get any quick temp assignments they can, like folding pizza… Continue reading Movie Review: Parasite (2019)

Comic Book Review: The Best of DC #2: Batman

Cover by Wally Fax

Comic Book Review: The Best of DC #2: Batman edited by Paul Levitz 1979 was the fortieth anniversary of the first published Batman story. Thus this special digest, showcasing interesting stories from each decade of the hero’s publication history. It comes with an essay by Mike W. Barr explaining each story’s significance. “The People vs.… Continue reading Comic Book Review: The Best of DC #2: Batman

Movie Review: Gone With the Wind

Scarlett is breaking under the stress of working with war wounded.

Movie Review: Gone With the Wind (1939) directed by Victor Fleming Gerald O’Hara (Thomas Mitchell) is an Irish immigrant who got lucky in a card game many years ago, winning a substantial tract of farmland in Georgia. He married a woman of French extraction named Ellen (Barbara O’Neil) and by hard work and being a decent… Continue reading Movie Review: Gone With the Wind

Movie Review: The Life of Emile Zola

Young Emile learns he will not freeze to death today.

Movie Review: The Life of Emile Zola (1937) directed by William Dieterle We first meet Emile Zola (Paul Muni) when he is a penniless writer sharing a freezing garret with his friend, starving artist Paul Cezanne (Vladimir Sokoloff). They favor the “realist” schools of their respective crafts, which is not only unpopular with the buying public,… Continue reading Movie Review: The Life of Emile Zola

Manga Review: Cat-Eyed Boy The Perfect Edition 2

Manga Review: Cat-Eyed Boy The Perfect Edition 2 by Kazuo Umezz Quick recap: The Cat-Eyed Boy (who has no “real” name) is the child of nekomata cat monsters who for unknown reasons was born looking unusually humanoid. His mother died in childbirth and his father dumped him at a shrine. Fortunately, the baby was taken… Continue reading Manga Review: Cat-Eyed Boy The Perfect Edition 2

Movie Review: Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

Captain Bligh and Mr. Christian have a tense relationship from the start.

Movie Review: Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) directed by Frank Lloyd Midshipman Roger Byam (Franchot Tone) is excited for his first Royal Navy assignment, sailing aboard the Bounty under Captain William Bligh (Charles Laughton) to Tahiti to secure breadfruit trees and in Mr. Byam’s case, compile a dictionary of the local language. Bligh is a brilliant navigator and… Continue reading Movie Review: Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)