Movie Review: Goke, Bodysnatcher from Hell

Mr. Tokuyasu is reluctant to accept "aliens" as an explanation for the bizarre events.

Movie Review: Goke, Body Snatcher from Hell (1968) directed by Hajime Sato The Japan Air Lines flight from Tokyo to Osaka was already ill-omened before the bomb threat was received, what with the blood-red sky and birds splattering themselves against the windows. Once the crew are alerted to the possibility of a bomb, they perform a… Continue reading Movie Review: Goke, Bodysnatcher from Hell

Anime Review: 16bit Sensation: Another Layer

Anime Review: 16bit Sensation: Another Layer In 2023, Konoha Akisato is an aspiring illustrator who wants to break into the world of bishoujo (“pretty girl”) games. She’s a huge nerd on the subject, with an encyclopedic knowledge of the field. Sadly, the only job she could get related to computer games is “color fill” at… Continue reading Anime Review: 16bit Sensation: Another Layer

Comic Strip Review: Alley Oop and the Million-Dollar Nugget

Comic Strip Review: Alley Oop and the Million-Dollar Nugget by V.T. Hamlin Alley Oop is a caveman living in the primitive kingdom of Moo in Earth’s prehistoric Bone Age. He rides a tame dinosaur named Dinny, has an off-and-on relationship with sweetheart Ooola, and alternately clashes with and helps out King Guzzle (“Guz”) and the… Continue reading Comic Strip Review: Alley Oop and the Million-Dollar Nugget

Movie Review: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

E.T. shows off one of his nifty powers.

Movie Review: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) directed by Steven Spielberg Elliott (Henry Thomas) is a middle child. He’s old enough to want to participate in his teen brother Michael’s (Robert MacNaughton) Dungeons and Dragons game, but not old enough to be welcome there. He thinks of his little sister Gertie (Drew Barrymore) as babyish, and hasn’t… Continue reading Movie Review: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Comic Book Review: Astro City Metrobook 4

Comic Book Review: Astro City Metrobook 4 written by Kurt Busiek, art by Brent Anderson, covers by Alex Ross Astro City is filled with superheroes and supervillains. But it’s also filled with ordinary people trying to live their ordinary lives in an extraordinary world. Both these groups have stories to tell. This independent “universe” was… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Astro City Metrobook 4

TV Review: The Batman (2004)

Batman shares a rare smile with Batgirl and Robin.

TV Review: The Batman (2004) Wealthy playboy Bruce Wayne is in his third year of a double life as the mysterious masked vigilante, Batman. Gotham City police chief Angel Rojas officially claims that “the Bat” is an urban legend in public, but to his subordinates rails against Batman for being more competent at fighting crime… Continue reading TV Review: The Batman (2004)

Comic Book Review: Best of DC #8: Year’s Best Comics Stories

Can you name all the characters on this cover?

Comic Book Review: Best of DC #8: Year’s Best Comics Stories edited by Julius Schwartz If you were going to have a digest comic called “Best of DC” it only made sense to present a collection of what the creators considered best stories for a given year, in this case, 1979. As the text feature… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Best of DC #8: Year’s Best Comics Stories

TV Review: Doctor Who: The Two Doctors

Two and Six are going to have to put their heads together to get out of this fix!

TV Review: Doctor Who: The Two Doctors directed by Peter Moffat One of the fun things you can do in a long-running series about time travel that regularly replaces the main character’s actor is have “crossover” episodes where more than one version of that main character team up. Doctor Who had already done this with… Continue reading TV Review: Doctor Who: The Two Doctors

Movie Review: Knowing (2009)

John Koestler sees his first disaster.

Movie Review: Knowing (2009) directed by Alex Proyas The time is 2009. MIT astrophysics professor John Koestler (Nicolas Cage) is trying to raise his son Caleb (Chandler Canterbury), who has an auditory processing disorder that his hearing aid helps with, after the tragic death of his wife the previous year. As a result of his grief,… Continue reading Movie Review: Knowing (2009)

Book Review: Iron Widow

Book Review: Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao Huaxia is a future society that has modeled itself somewhat on medieval China, for both good and ill. As far as Zetian is concerned, it’s definitely for ill. The way Huaxia society is set up seems to be designed to oppress women and crush their wills. From… Continue reading Book Review: Iron Widow