This is really one of the most valuable books on Chesterton that I think I have read. Coming from a loving, but clear-sighted brother, it avoids the two errors that many people fall into regarding GKC; that of overpraising him as an infallible or only semi-fallible prophet and of simply dismissing him as an out-of-date … Continue reading Thoughts on ‘G.K. Chesterton: A Criticism’
Reviews
Reviews: Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
On the surface, 1947’s Miracle on 34th Street is somewhat unlikely as an all-time classic. The story sounds like something you’d find in a cheesy, made-for-TV special, perhaps something from the Hallmark channel: a kindly old man working as a mall Santa Claus claims to be the real Santa Claus, spreads the Christmas spirit everywhere … Continue reading Reviews: Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Reviews: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932)
There are some curious superlative exceptions in the history of cinema. The great epic of the American screen – Gone With the Wind – was made by someone other than Cecil B. DeMille. Humphrey Bogart’s greatest romantic role was opposite someone other than Lauren Bacall. And, in my opinion, the best and most frightening horror … Continue reading Reviews: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932)
Review: The Screaming Skull
“It’s only a noise after all, and a noise never hurt anybody yet.” So says the narrator of F. Marion Crawford’s classic ghost story The Screaming Skull regarding the strange screams that sometimes sound in the night around his house on the Cornish coast. Screams that may be the wind, but are not quite that … Continue reading Review: The Screaming Skull
Review: ‘The Thing’
It’s October, moving toward the Halloween season, and you know what that means: time for horror movies! And kicking off the season for me is a film I’ve been meaning to get around to seeing for years: John Carpenter’s The Thing, the 1982 remake of Howard Hawks’s 1951 classic, The Thing From Another World, both … Continue reading Review: ‘The Thing’
Review: ‘The Guardian Cycle, Vol. 1: In Dreams and Other Stories’
Anyone whose been following her blog or catching her entries in different anthologies over recent years will have been wondering when Caroline Furlong was going to favor us with a book of her own. At last she has obliged with this rich little collection of imaginative, emotionally taught short stories. (Full disclosure, I served as … Continue reading Review: ‘The Guardian Cycle, Vol. 1: In Dreams and Other Stories’
Thoughts on ‘Iron Man 2’
Past entries: -Iron Man -The Incredible Hulk So far, the first Iron Man was an all-around excellent superhero film. The Incredible Hulk had a lot of issues, but was still a fairly strong entry. And Iron Man 2? It’s a huge flaming mess. The film picks up about a year after the first Iron Man … Continue reading Thoughts on ‘Iron Man 2’
Thoughts on ‘The Incredible Hulk’
Past entries: -Iron Man Following the excellent Iron Man, we have The Incredible Hulk, which, in retrospect, is a bit of an odd ball in the Marvel Universe (and not just because star Edward Norton ended up being recast when the character returned for The Avengers). It has a darker, heavier tone than most of … Continue reading Thoughts on ‘The Incredible Hulk’
Thoughts on ‘Dr. No’
Since my household recently purchased a complete box set of the James Bond films, we’ve begun a total re-watch of the entire series. So, I’ll be giving my thoughts on each film in turn. First some background: I’m a long-time fan of the Bond films. I’ve seen all of them (except Quantum of Solace) at … Continue reading Thoughts on ‘Dr. No’
Thoughts on ‘Ready Player One’
Today I went and saw ‘Ready Player One.’ It was more or less what I expected: shallow pop-culture porn, only not as good. I won’t say I didn’t enjoy parts of it, but the enjoyment was mostly of a very simple nature: ‘oh, hey, this is cool, oh, I recognize this.’ I think there is … Continue reading Thoughts on ‘Ready Player One’
Serpent's Den 