Anime Review: Kengan Ashura Kazuo Yamashita is 56 years old, and it’s been a pretty miserable life. He works as a salaryman in the sales department at Nogi Publications with a manager who’s constantly bullying and belittling him. Kazuo’s wife left him years ago, and he’s estranged from his sons, shut-in Kenzo and delinquent Yasuo.… Continue reading Anime Review: Kengan Ashura
Tag: murder
TV Review: Batman: Caped Crusader
TV Review: Batman: Caped Crusader To each new generation there shall come…a new animated Batman series! Caped Crusader is the 2024-on version of the story. In this version, traumatized millionaire Bruce Wayne and his dark-costumed alter ego are at the beginning of their career. He and the police don’t trust each other, largely because Gotham… Continue reading TV Review: Batman: Caped Crusader
Movie Review: Maigret and the St. Fiacre Case (1959)
Movie Review: Maigret and the St. Fiacre Case (1959) directed by Jean Delannoy (French title: Maigret et l’affaire Saint-Fiacre) It’s difficult to imagine, but Jules Maigret (Jean Gabin) was not always a police commissioner. As a boy, he lived in the rural village of Saint-Fiacre, where his father was the steward for the chateau of the… Continue reading Movie Review: Maigret and the St. Fiacre Case (1959)
Book Review: The Groom Lay Dead
Book Review: The Groom Lay Dead by George Harmon Coxe September 9, 1943: In Europe, the Armistice of Cassibile has been announced, the Italian government having withdrawn from the Axis alliance. (Not that it helped them much because Germany promptly took over much of Italy to fight on.) But in the Finger Lakes region of… Continue reading Book Review: The Groom Lay Dead
Manga Review: Orochi the Perfect Edition Vol. 4
Manga Review: Orochi the Perfect Edition Vol. 4 by Kazuo Umezz Quick recap: Orochi appears to be an ordinary, generically pretty young woman, but is actually a seemingly ageless being with vaguely defined supernatural powers. She has a gift for spotting people who are going to have interesting things happen to them and following their… Continue reading Manga Review: Orochi the Perfect Edition Vol. 4
Book Review: Great Science Fiction About Doctors
Book Review: Great Science Fiction About Doctors edited by Groff Conklin and Noah D. Fabricant, M.D. While medical doctors are common and important in science fiction, stories directly about them or the field of medicine are a bit rarer. It was one magazine’s speculation that it would be difficult to fill an anthology with really… Continue reading Book Review: Great Science Fiction About Doctors
Movie Review: High Plains Drifter
Movie Review: High Plains Drifter (1973) directed by Clint Eastwood The people of Lago are in fear. And perhaps they have good reason for it. A year ago, three outlaws whipped the town marshal to death in the street of this tiny lakeside mining town. They were caught and imprisoned for an entirely different crime, vowing… Continue reading Movie Review: High Plains Drifter
Movie Review: Scream of Fear (1961)
Movie Review: Scream of Fear (1961) directed by Seth Holt (British title: “Taste of Fear”) Ten years ago, the Applebys divorced, and Mrs. Appleby got custody of their daughter Penny Appleby (Susan Strasberg). They moved to Italy. Eight years ago, Penny had a riding accident and lost the use of her legs. Three years ago, her… Continue reading Movie Review: Scream of Fear (1961)
Movie Review: The Damned Don’t Cry
Movie Review: The Damned Don’t Cry (1950) directed by Vincent Sherman Someone may be getting rich off this Oklahoma oilfield, but it’s sure not Ethel Whitehead (Joan Crawford). She, her husband Jim (Morris Ankrum) and son Timmy live in her parents’ house, and they’re still barely getting by. Jim isn’t getting promotions or raises, and the… Continue reading Movie Review: The Damned Don’t Cry
Anime Review: Time Patrol Bon
Anime Review: Time Patrol Bon (aka T.P. Bon) Bon Namihira is a fairly normal (his name would translate to something like “Joe Average” in English) middle schooler. His grades are in the middle of the pack, he’s not particularly athletic but no wimp, he’s not particularly popular but does have friends. But when time starts… Continue reading Anime Review: Time Patrol Bon