Movie Review: Summer Wars

The clan gathers around the family computer.

Movie Review: Summer Wars (2009) directed by Mamoru Hosoda High schooler Kenji Koiso is a math whiz who almost qualified for Team Japan in the Math Olympics. But almost won’t get you a good summer job, so he’s a low level maintenance admin for the OZ online service. OZ is the most popular online virtual world,… Continue reading Movie Review: Summer Wars

Movie Review: Chocolate (2008)

Zen negotiates with the Pork Man.

Movie Review: Chocolate (2008) directed by Prachya Pinkaew Zin (Ammara Siripong) was a ruthless loan shark and former lover of Thai mob boss Number Eight (Pongpat Wachirabunjong) until she fell in love with Yakuza member Masashi (Hiroshi Abe). Number Eight violently objected to the relationship, which he felt was an invasion of his territory, and Masashi… Continue reading Movie Review: Chocolate (2008)

Manga Review: Chi’s Sweet Home Volume 1

Manga Review: Chi’s Sweet Home Volume 1 by Konami Kanata Life is tough on the streets, even if you’re a cat. So young kitten Chi’s existence could have been cut short when she got separated from her mother due to distraction. Fortunately, Chi is soon found by the Yamada family. Papa, Mama and toddler Yohei… Continue reading Manga Review: Chi’s Sweet Home Volume 1

Book Review: Great Black Kanba

Book Review: Great Black Kanba by Constance and Gwenyth Little A young woman wakes up on a train with no memory of who she is or how she got there. According to Mrs. Bunton, the lady tending her, the woman is Cleo Ballister, an American actress on the skids who’s come to see her Australian… Continue reading Book Review: Great Black Kanba

Book Review: Hope of Ages Past

Book Review: Hope of Ages Past by Bruce Gardner In 1618, accountant’s son Peter Erhart and military advisor’s son Hans Mannheim witness an outrage in Prague, Bohemia. The two Catholic governors of this Holy Roman Empire province are tossed from a tower by their Lutheran colleagues. Hans has a moment of panic, and temporarily flees. Peter finds Hans and his kindness manages to… Continue reading Book Review: Hope of Ages Past

Comic Book Review: Kaijumax Season Two: The Seamy Underbelly

Comic Book Review: Kaijumax Season Two: The Seamy Underbelly by Zander Cannon Note: This review contains spoilers for the previous volume, and you may want to read the review for that one first. After last season’s explosive ending, Electrogor and Green Humongo have managed to escape the title prison. Electrogor’s anxious to get to the cave where he left his children, but they need… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Kaijumax Season Two: The Seamy Underbelly

Comic Book Review: Ben 10: Deep Trouble

Comic Book Review: Ben 10: Deep Trouble written by Jason Henderson, pencils by Gordon Purcell, inks by Scott McRae When Ben Tennyson was ten years old, he went on a summer vacation with his cousin Gwen and Grandpa Max.  Seemingly by coincidence, Ben stumbled upon an alien pod containing a device named the Omnitrix.  Bonding itself… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Ben 10: Deep Trouble

Comic Book Review: World of the Dragonlords

Comic Book Review: World of the Dragonlords written by Byron Erickson, art by Giorgio Cavazzano Donald Duck has read another self-improvement book.  This one is about family togetherness, so Donald drags his nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie and Uncle Scrooge out to a picnic in the woods.    None of them are particularly keen on… Continue reading Comic Book Review: World of the Dragonlords

Book Review: In Winter’s Kitchen

Book Review: In Winter’s Kitchen by Beth Dooley When Beth Dooley first moved to Minneapolis from New Jersey in 1979, she was dismayed by the poor selection of fresh food in the commercial supermarket.  She’d heard that Minnesota was a farm state, yet the wilted vegetables and sallow fruit seemed to come from somewhere else… Continue reading Book Review: In Winter’s Kitchen

Manga Review: Showa: A History of Japan 1953-1989

Manga Review: Showa: A History of Japan 1953-1989 by Shigeru Mizuki This is the final volume of Shigeru Mizuki’s history of Japan and his personal life during the Showa Era.  It mixes events that affected the entire country with stories of his struggles as a man and an artist. As noted in the introduction by… Continue reading Manga Review: Showa: A History of Japan 1953-1989