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)

Movie Review: Sword of the Beast

Gundayu and Gennosuke discuss their plans.

Movie Review: Sword of the Beast (1965) directed by Hideo Gosha It is 1857, towards the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Commodore Perry’s ships have forced Japan to open its ports, and social change is rippling across Japan. Yuuki Gennosuke (Mikijiro Hira) thought he was going to help bring reform, but instead wound up killing his… Continue reading Movie Review: Sword of the Beast

Magazine Review: Oriental Stories Winter 1932

Magazine Review: Oriental Stories Winter 1932 edited by Farnsworth Wright Oriental Stories was a mostly-quarterly pulp magazine published from 1930-1933, with a name change to The Treasure Chest Magazine for an additional year. Its remit, as you might have guessed from the title, was tales of the exotic, mysterious East, from Islamic North Africa through… Continue reading Magazine Review: Oriental Stories Winter 1932

Book Review: The Pocket Book of Adventure Stories

Book Review: The Pocket Book of Adventure Stories edited by Philip Van Doren Stern In his introduction, the editor talks about the thrill of adventure stories, how often they are churned out as cheap entertainment, and that he has selected twelve really good ones for the reader. This 1945 book was designed to be easily… Continue reading Book Review: The Pocket Book of Adventure Stories

Book Review: Golden Lightning

Book Review: Golden Lightning by Max Brand (Also Published as Lightning of Gold) “Lefty” Bill Ranger is an honest man. When his partner in an Alaskan gold prospecting claim dies before Ranger can deliver the partner’s share, he refuses to take the lot and donates it to charity. This attracts the attention of Menneval, a… Continue reading Book Review: Golden Lightning

Book Review: Valhalla: Absent Without Leave

Book Review: Valhalla: Absent Without Leave by Lee Gold Robin “Grima” Johnson didn’t die of cancer, which was something of a surprise, considering it kept coming back. But when an earthquake hit California and made the hospital she was in start to collapse, Robin rose from her bed of pain and worked to save lives.… Continue reading Book Review: Valhalla: Absent Without Leave

Book Review: The Green Knight

Book Review: The Green Knight by Vera Chapman Most long-time readers will be familiar with the basics of the legend of the Green Knight. King Arthur is holding court in Camelot at Christmastide when a stranger dressed in/colored green appears. This Green Knight proposes a contest of blows. A champion of Camelot will strike at… Continue reading Book Review: The Green Knight

Movie Review: The Last Tycoon (2012)

The student has become the master.

Movie Review: The Last Tycoon (2012) directed by Jing Wong Back in the 1910s, when Chen Daqi (Chow-Yun Fat) was just a grocer’s assistant, he fell in love with aspiring actress Ye Zhiqiu (Quan Yuan). After Daqi was framed for murder, he had to flee to Shanghai, while Zhiqiu went to Beijing to join the Opera.… Continue reading Movie Review: The Last Tycoon (2012)

Magazine Review: Galaxy Science Fiction November 1973

For reasons unknown to me, this issue had two different covers. There was a standard painting cover, and the one on the copy I have, which shows the contents with a few of the interior illustrations.

Magazine Review: Galaxy Science Fiction November 1973 edited by Ejler Jakobsson The last issue of this magazine I reviewed was from the 1950s, so there’s a considerable time gap, and we can see some definite changes in the science fiction field. “Think Only This of Me” by Michael Kurland opens the issue. Humanity has gone… Continue reading Magazine Review: Galaxy Science Fiction November 1973

Magazine Review: High Adventure #162: The Uranium Pomegranates

Magazine Review: High Adventure #162: The Uranium Pomegranates edited by John P. Gunnison World War Two is over, but the dust is still settling. Bud Harper has been out of the military just long enough to be bored in his old job of bond salesman for Lewis & Co. While delivering some bonds to dynamic… Continue reading Magazine Review: High Adventure #162: The Uranium Pomegranates