Movie Review: Beverly Hills Cop

Movie Review: Beverly Hills Cop (1984) directed by Martin Brest In Detroit, small-time grifter Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) is making a deal to unload a truckload of dubiously sourced cigarettes. One of the people he’s negotiating with makes an insultingly low offer, and the ensuing argument allows some uniformed police officers to sneak up on them.… Continue reading Movie Review: Beverly Hills Cop

Movie Review: Tampopo

Our heroine introduces herself.

Movie Review: Tampopo (1985) directed by Juzo Itami Truck drivers Goro (Tsutomu Yamazaki) and Gun (Ken Watanabe) get hungry on a long haul, and stop at Ramen Lai-Lai, a failing restaurant. To be honest, the food’s not all that good, but Goro gets into a fight with local drunk Pis-Ken (Rikiya Yasuoka), who’s being rude to… Continue reading Movie Review: Tampopo

Movie Review: Better Off Dead

You might be thinking, "oh, Lane has such a vivid imagination" but a later scene indicates this actually happened.

Movie Review: Better Off Dead (1985) directed by Savage Steve Holland Al Meyer (David Ogden Stiers) is a lawyer in the small Northern California town of Greendale, a short drive away from the mountains. Life is rough for him. His wife Jenny (Kim Darby) is an improbably bad cook who refuses to stop trying and is… Continue reading Movie Review: Better Off Dead

Comic Strip Review: Don’t Make Me Laugh, Beetle Bailey

Comic Strip Review: Don’t Make Me Laugh, Beetle Bailey by Mort Walker From 1940 with World War Two looming to 1972 with the Vietnam War being lost, the United States of America had an active Selective Service (“the draft”) process. The amount of young men ebbed and flowed with requirements, but many folks were drafted,… Continue reading Comic Strip Review: Don’t Make Me Laugh, Beetle Bailey

Comic Book Review: Cthulhu Is Hard to Spell

Comic Book Review: Cthulhu Is Hard to Spell edited by Russell Nohelty I hope you’re not tired of Lovecraftian cosmic horror yet, because I’ve got more to come. In this case, it’s an anthology of Cthulhu Mythos-related comics, focused on the “gods” of that cycle, and new critters that fit in with that theme. Despite… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Cthulhu Is Hard to Spell

Anime Review: Hanabi-chan ~The Girl Who Popped Out of the Game World~

Front row: roasted gnus. Middle row from left: Versus, Hanabi and Thunder. Back row: Kuma.

Anime Review: Hanabi-chan ~The Girl Who Popped Out of the Game World~ Musashi Shinonome has recently come of age, and has decided to reopen his inheritance from his grandfather, the pachinko parlor Shitamachi God Heaven. It’s been closed for a few years, so the new manager is surprised to find a pretty young woman living… Continue reading Anime Review: Hanabi-chan ~The Girl Who Popped Out of the Game World~

Movie Review: Airplane! (1980)

James Hong cameo.

Movie Review: Airplane! (1980) directed by Jim Abrahams Taxi driver Ted Striker (Robert Hays) has problems. A former pilot, he lost his self-confidence after a failed mission during “the war” which killed several of his comrades and he blames himself for. He’s been unable to hold a steady job and drifted from city to city. Today,… Continue reading Movie Review: Airplane! (1980)

Book Review: The Pocket Companion

Book Review: The Pocket Companion edited by Philip Van Doren Stern This 1942 paperback anthology was designed for people who wanted a lot of reading in a pocket-sized book, so has a novel, short stories, articles, poetry and trivia. The closest thing to a theme is the connection between the British and Americans, now allies… Continue reading Book Review: The Pocket Companion

Anime Review: Spy X Family

Anya knows her goal, even if she has difficulties with the specifics.

Anime Review: Spy X Family In an alternate Earth’s 1960s, an uneasy peace exists between the nations of Westalis and Ostania. There are those who have forgotten the horrors of war or even welcome them, and are working to break out of this “cold war” situation. The Westalian spy organization WISE works against those in… Continue reading Anime Review: Spy X Family

Book Review: Galaxy Jane

Cover by Boris Vallejo, and it's probably a publicity still of the actress playing Jane.

Book Review: Galaxy Jane by Ron Goulart Galaxy Jane: adventurer, space pirate, freedom fighter, and one of the most interesting persons the Barnum System ever knew. A book about her would probably be awesome. But this isn’t that book. Instead it’s about NewzNet reporter Jack Summer, who’s ostensibly been assigned to write a story about… Continue reading Book Review: Galaxy Jane