Magazine Review: Oriental Stories Winter 1932 edited by Farnsworth Wright Oriental Stories was a mostly-quarterly pulp magazine published from 1930-1933, with a name change to The Treasure Chest Magazine for an additional year. Its remit, as you might have guessed from the title, was tales of the exotic, mysterious East, from Islamic North Africa through… Continue reading Magazine Review: Oriental Stories Winter 1932
Tag: France
Comic Book Review: Essential Marvel Two-In-One Vol. 1
Comic Book Review: Essential Marvel Two-In-One Vol. 1 by Various Creators Much like DC, Marvel Comics also had dedicated superhero team-up series. Marvel Two-in-One featured perennial favorite character Benjamin Grimm, the Thing of the Fantastic Four–and I’ve never done a review of anything with him before, so first, a bit of character history! Fantastic Four… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Essential Marvel Two-In-One Vol. 1
Movie Review: Atom Age Vampire
Movie Review: Atom Age Vampire (1960) directed by Anton Giuilo Majano (original title “Seddok, l’erede di Satana”) Brilliant scientist Professor Alberto Levin (Alberto Lupo) is working on a revolutionary cure for skin cancer and scarring, inspired by his research on radiation survivors. With his faithful assistant Monique Riviere (Franca Parisi) and mute manservant Sacha (Roberto Bertea),… Continue reading Movie Review: Atom Age Vampire
Movie Review: The Terror (1963)
Movie Review: The Terror (1963) directed by Roger Corman Lieutenant Andre Duvalier (Jack Nicholson) of Napoleon’s French army is separated from his unit and very lost. His compass has stopped functioning, and he’s no longer even sure what country he’s in. It’s probably one occupied by France at the height of the Empire, though. Rapidly approaching… Continue reading Movie Review: The Terror (1963)
Movie Review: Inglourious Basterds
Movie Review: Inglourious Basterds (2009) directed by Quentin Tarantino In 1941 France, SS officer Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz), already known as “The Jew-Hunter”, ferrets out a hidden family, killing most of them, but decides to let Shosanna (Mélanie Laurent) the almost-adult daughter to outrun him to, perhaps, have the pleasure of hunting her down again later.… Continue reading Movie Review: Inglourious Basterds
Book Review: The Crystal Stopper
Book Review: The Crystal Stopper by Maurice Leblanc Arsène Lupin should probably have been more cautious when two members of his gang, Vaucheray and Gilbert, asked him to assist with the burglary of the Enghien country home of government deputy Daubrecq. But Vaucheray is experienced, and Lupin is impressed with Gilbert’s good character (for a… Continue reading Book Review: The Crystal Stopper
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
Movie Review: Papillon (1973)
Movie Review: Papillon (1973) directed by Franklin J. Schaffner Henri Charrière (Steve McQueen), nicknamed “Papillon” after the butterfly tattoo on his chest, is convicted of a crime he did not commit and sentenced to imprisonment in the penal colony of French Guiana often referred to as “Devil’s Island.” On the ship taking the convicts there, he… Continue reading Movie Review: Papillon (1973)
Movie Review: Better Off Dead
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
Book Review: Shadow Knights: The Secret War Against Hitler
Book Review: Shadow Knights: The Secret War Against Hitler written by Gary Kamiya, illustrations by Jeffrey Smith In 1940, things were looking pretty bleak for Great Britain. Nazi Germany had swept the continent of Europe, all countries there either under its control, that of Fascist Italy, or staying neutral to avoid invasion. The Americans weren’t… Continue reading Book Review: Shadow Knights: The Secret War Against Hitler