Movie Review: The Incredibles (2004) directed by Brad Bird Once, there were superheroes. Brightly costumed beings with amazing inborn powers who fought crime and saved the world. But a series of lawsuits brought on by Mr. Incredible saving someone who didn’t want to be saved, plus having to clean up the mess caused by would-be sidekick… Continue reading Movie Review: The Incredibles
Tag: attempted suicide
Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine June 1952
Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine June 1952 edited by Ellery Queen This is the last issue of EQMM I have to hand, but someday I hope to get out to garage sales again…. “Homecoming” by Veronica Parker Johns was inspired, so the introduction says, by the Kefauver hearings and the author getting a much… Continue reading Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine June 1952
Book Review: If This Goes On
Book Review: If This Goes On edited by Charles Nuetzel The “if this goes on” story is a staple of short science fiction. Pick a current trend like “women not wearing hats anymore” or “cat videos” and extend it out to an exaggerated conclusion. For example, the Robert Heinlein story of that name, which posits… Continue reading Book Review: If This Goes On
Movie Review: Dirty Harry
Movie Review: Dirty Harry (1971) directed by Don Siegel Detective Inspector Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) of the San Francisco Police Department is not a nice man. He hates everyone equally (or at least that’s what his coworkers say) and has trouble phrasing things politely. In an establishing moment early in the film, Callahan defuses a potential… Continue reading Movie Review: Dirty Harry
Manga Review: Case Closed Volumes 65-67
Manga Review: Case Closed Volumes 65-67 by Gosho Aoyama Premise: Teen detective Shinichi Kudou (Jimmy Kudo in the American version) is trapped in the body of a child. As Conan Edogawa, he solves mysteries anyway, while trying to track down the Black Organization that did this to him. See my previous entries. We open Volume… Continue reading Manga Review: Case Closed Volumes 65-67
Book Review: The Vessel of Ra
Book Review: The Vessel of Ra by Catherine Schaff-Stump It is October 1837, and the acqua alta, the fall flooding, has come to Venice. Lucy Klareon has also come to Venice, as part of her Grand Tour, but she doesn’t plan to leave in the usual way. For on her sixteenth birthday, October 31st, All Hallows Eve, Lucy must do battle… Continue reading Book Review: The Vessel of Ra
Manga Review: The Ancient Magus’ Bride Vol. 1
Manga Review: The Ancient Magus’ Bride Vol. 1 by Kore Yamazaki Chise Hatori has had a rough life. Her father ran off with her little brother, her mother committed suicide (probably), and her ability to see magical creatures got her bullied and abandoned. She was on the verge of suicide when Chise was approached by… Continue reading Manga Review: The Ancient Magus’ Bride Vol. 1
Book Review: Nine Lessons
Book Review: Nine Lessons by Nicola Upson A churchyard in a village not too far from Cambridge in England has one too many bodies in its graves. The victim, a respected organist, was entombed alive, and odd details about the scene make it clear that this was murder most foul. Detective Chief Inspector Archie Penrose… Continue reading Book Review: Nine Lessons
Comic Book Review: The Best of Judge Dredd
Comic Book Review: The Best of Judge Dredd edited by Tharg It is the dark future of the 22nd Century. Nuclear war and environmental devastation have made large portions of Earth’s surface barely inhabitable, and the majority of the remaining population is crowded into sprawling urban areas called Mega-Cities. Overpopulation, high unemployment, and a general… Continue reading Comic Book Review: The Best of Judge Dredd