Movie Review: For Your Eyes Only

James and the Countess enjoy a last peaceful moment.

Movie Review: For Your Eyes Only (1981) directed by John Glen James Bond (Roger Moore) is visiting his wife Tracy’s grave when he’s informed that a helicopter has come to take him to “the office.” This turns out to be a trap, as the pilot is murdered by his own headphones so that a man who… Continue reading Movie Review: For Your Eyes Only

Anime Review: Pluto

Gesicht confronts the darkness in his own past.

Anime Review: Pluto On an alternate Earth where robotics technology is far more advanced than our own, self-aware robots have spread into almost every facet of society. Some are virtually indistinguishable from humans, and in recent years, robots have been granted at least some civil rights. But some robots are more powerful than others, with… Continue reading Anime Review: Pluto

Book Review: The Big Book of Victorian Mysteries

Book Review: The Big Book of Victorian Mysteries edited by Otto Penzler While stories that could be considered “mysteries” in some sense have existed as long as writing, and perhaps a bit before, the short story mystery came into its own during the lifetime of Queen Victoria (1837-1901). This volume collects forty-nine notable stories from… Continue reading Book Review: The Big Book of Victorian Mysteries

Book Review: A Coffin for Dimitrios

Book Review: A Coffin for Dimitrios by Eric Ambler Latimer used to be a political economist at an English university, until contact with Nazi economical theory left him so out of sorts that he wrote a detective novel to relax. He turned out to be quite good at writing detective stories, and has become a… Continue reading Book Review: A Coffin for Dimitrios

Movie Review: Mamma Mia! The Movie

Bachelor party chorus line

Movie Review: Mamma Mia! The Movie (2008) directed by Phyllida Lloyd Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) has long wondered who her father was. Her mother Donna (Meryl Streep) has always been evasive on the question, having made a life for herself running a tourist villa on the small Greek island they call home. But while Sophie is preparing… Continue reading Movie Review: Mamma Mia! The Movie

Movie Review: The Giant of Marathon

Phillipides meets Andromeda.

Movie Review: The Giant of Marathon (1959) dir. Jacques Tourneur The year is 490 B.C., and the mighty Phillipides (Steve Reeves) has just won the Olympics. Back home in Athens, Phillipides is appointed the leader of the Sacred Guard. Their job is to ensure that Athens remains a democracy, even with the threatened invasion of King… Continue reading Movie Review: The Giant of Marathon

Book Review: Great Supernatural Stories: 101 Horrifying Tales

Book Review: Great Supernatural Stories: 101 Horrifying Tales compiled by Stefan Dziemianowicz This hefty volume collects a variety of public domain stories concerning the supernatural. While the majority fall roughly into the category of horror, some are more what we’d call “dark fantasy” and a handful are just “well, that’s a weird thing that happened.”… Continue reading Book Review: Great Supernatural Stories: 101 Horrifying Tales

Manga Review: From Eroica with Love 2

Manga Review: From Eroica with Love 2 by Aoike Yasuko It is the 1970s, and the Cold War is raging behind the scenes. One of the top front line officers in that war is Major “Iron” Klaus Heinz von dem Eberbach of NATO intelligence. He and his team of “Alphabet” agents attempt to thwart plans… Continue reading Manga Review: From Eroica with Love 2

Book Review: The World of HIstory

Book Review: The World of History edited by Courtlandt Canby & Nancy E. Gross History is a very wide and deep subject.  It extends from the beginning of the universe (though much before written records is speculative at best) to just this last minute, and from the movements of great nations to what precisely people… Continue reading Book Review: The World of HIstory

Magazine Review: Lapham’s Quarterly: A History of Fake News

Magazine Review: Lapham’s Quarterly: A History of Fake News edited by Lewis H. Lapham This is a “special issue” in addition to the four that this magazine normally puts out in a year.  The subject matter is topical as there has been an avalanche of “news” that is in fact not truthful, while certain politicians and… Continue reading Magazine Review: Lapham’s Quarterly: A History of Fake News