Movie Review: The Searchers (1956)

The posse considers their options.

Movie Review: The Searchers (1956) directed by John Ford Texas, 1868: Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) finally returns to his childhood home, three years after the end of the American Civil War. He evades questions about where he’s been, though he was emphatically not in California. Ethan gets reacquainted with his brother Aaron’s family: wife Martha, eldest… Continue reading Movie Review: The Searchers (1956)

Manga Review: The Crater

Manga Review: The Crater by Osamu Tezuka In the late 1960s, Osamu Tezuka’s career was facing a crisis. He was still popular, with publishers quite willing to buy more of the kid-friendly material he’d become famous for. But he wasn’t a trend-setter anymore. The new generation of manga creators was into gekiga, more serious and… Continue reading Manga Review: The Crater

Book Review: The Book of Cthulhu II

Book Review: The Book of Cthulhu II edited by Ross E. Lockhart It’s spooky stuff month again, so I sat down with this thick volume (24 stories) of tales inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft for a couple of weeks. This is a sequel to The Book of Cthulhu that I reviewed earlier on… Continue reading Book Review: The Book of Cthulhu II

Book Review: Away and Beyond

Book Review: Away and Beyond by A.E. van Vogt This paperback anthology is a partial reprint of the first hardcover collection of A.E. van Vogt short stories from 1952, with 7 of the 9 1940s tales. It’s not explained why two stories were dropped, but my research suggests they were lesser works. “The Great Engine”… Continue reading Book Review: Away and Beyond

Movie Review: Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance

Yuki's profession is so hazardous in itself that she's never thought about the possibility of dying of plague instead.

Movie Review: Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance (1974) directed by Toshiya Fujita So, it turns out Yuki (Meiko Kaiji) survived the ending of the previous film, much to her own surprise. Problem is, people remember she did all that murder beforehand as Lady Snowblood. We pick up several years later after the end of… Continue reading Movie Review: Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance

Movie Review: Serenity (2005)

The Serenity's crew doesn't always agree on the best course of action.

Movie Review: Serenity (2005) directed by Joss Whedon This is what we are told: It is around 500 years in the future. Life on Earth That Was became unsustainable, so humanity went looking for new worlds to live on. At least one place they found was a trinary star system with multiple planets and planetoids in… Continue reading Movie Review: Serenity (2005)

Movie Review: He Walked by Night

Lee explains his findings to Brennan and Jones.

Movie Review: He Walked by Night (1948) directed by Alfred Werker Los Angeles, California, late 1945. An LAPD patrol car spots a man standing in front of a closed electronics store. He hurriedly walks away, but the patrol officer follows and asks him questions. When the man is asked for identification, he instead pulls a gun… Continue reading Movie Review: He Walked by Night

Movie Review: Lethal Weapon

Murtaugh and Riggs take a while to warm to each other.

Movie Review: Lethal Weapon (1987) directed by Richard Donner It’s Christmas time in the big city, and it seems the half-naked Amanda Hunsaker (Jackie Swanson) has already been partying a little too hardy as she takes a swan dive from her apartment balcony. Toxicology reports however reveal that her drugs were tampered with, and that makes… Continue reading Movie Review: Lethal Weapon

Movie Review: Fort Apache

Miss Thursday, Lieutenant O'Rourke, and Captain York chat on the stairs.

Movie Review: Fort Apache (1948) directed by John Ford Lieutenant Colonel Owen Thursday (Henry Fonda) was a general during the American Civil War. He showed his brilliance in a particular battle, at the cost of his friend Sam Collingwood’s (George O’Brien) career (that man is now a captain.) After the war, Thursday lost his brevet rank… Continue reading Movie Review: Fort Apache

Book Review: The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror Volume 16

Book Review: The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror Volume 16 edited by Stephen Jones Let’s go back to 2004 for what at least one editor considered excellent short horror fiction. As with the later volume I have reviewed, there’s a lot of ancillary material. It opens with an extended look at horror and horror-adjacent… Continue reading Book Review: The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror Volume 16