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
Tag: rivers
Magazine Review: High Adventure #190: H. Bedford-Jones – Adventure
Magazine Review: High Adventure #190: H. Bedford-Jones – Adventure edited by John P. Gunnison This issue of the pulp reprint magazine collects three stories from the multiple typewriters of prolific author Henry James O’Brien Bedford-Jones (1887-1949). He was born in Canada, but moved to the United States in his teens and became a naturalized citizen… Continue reading Magazine Review: High Adventure #190: H. Bedford-Jones – Adventure
Magazine Review: The Scots Magazine October 1978
Magazine Review: The Scots Magazine October 1978 Like many people of Scots descent, I have a mild interest in the country and customs of my ancestors. I even wonder sometimes what the place is currently like. For me and people like me, there’s the regional interest publication, The Scots Magazine. First published in 1739 as… Continue reading Magazine Review: The Scots Magazine October 1978
Comic Book Review: Jughead with Archie Digest Magazine #134
Comic Book Review: Jughead with Archie Digest Magazine #134 by various creators The Archie characters and setting first appeared in Pep Comics #22 (December 1941) as part of the M.L.J. Magazines comic book publishing line. Inspired by the wholesome Andy Hardy movies starring Mickey Rooney, Archie Andrews was a “typical American teenager” with a stable… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Jughead with Archie Digest Magazine #134
Manga Review: Rin-Ne Volumes 38-40
Manga Review: Rin-Ne Volumes 38-40 by Rumiko Takahashi Quick recap: Rinne Rokudo is a shinigami, a psychopomp who helps the spirits of the dead move on to the afterlife. But he is partially human, so his powers are relatively weak and he often has to resort to special devices that cost money. Between that and… Continue reading Manga Review: Rin-Ne Volumes 38-40
Book Review: The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror Volume 16
Book Review: The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror Volume 16 edited by Stephen Jones Let’s go back to 2004 for what at least one editor considered excellent short horror fiction. As with the later volume I have reviewed, there’s a lot of ancillary material. It opens with an extended look at horror and horror-adjacent… Continue reading Book Review: The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror Volume 16
Movie Review: 1917
1917 (2019) dir. Sam Mendes Dateline: April 6, 1917, somewhere on the Western Front in France. Lance Corporal Blake (Dean Charles Chapman) has been chosen for a special mission, and he has picked his friend Lance Corporal Schofield (George MacKay to accompany him. Unfortunately it’s not the supply run Blake was expecting to go on. The… Continue reading Movie Review: 1917
TV Review: Tientsin Mystic
TV Review: Tientsin Mystic Tientsin (now usually romanized as “Tianjin”) is a river and port city in Northern China. During a ceremony to honor the River God, two corpses are discovered by salvage diver Guo De-You (Xian Li). One is an infant of unknown origin, but the other is the leader of the prestigious Chamber… Continue reading TV Review: Tientsin Mystic
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
Book Review: Tempests and Slaughter
Book Review: Tempests and Slaughter by Tamora Pierce Arram Draper is a magical prodigy, but he’s still only ten years old (even if he tells his classmates he’s eleven.) So he’s really excited to be allowed to go to the circus with his father and grandfather while they’re in town. And yes, the elephants are really cool, especially when one saves him… Continue reading Book Review: Tempests and Slaughter