Category Archives: review

Review of “The Moonlit Road” by Ambrose Bierce: Halloween Countdown

Plot:The following things happened: Joel Hetman returned from a trip at an unexpected time and used the back door without disturbing anyone. He chased what appeared to be a prowler into the woods, who got away. His wife, Julia, was strangled to death in her bedroom. He summoned his nineteen-year-old son, Joel, Jr., home fromContinue reading “Review of “The Moonlit Road” by Ambrose Bierce: Halloween Countdown”

Review of “Master of Fallen Years” by Vincent O’Sullivan: Halloween Countdown

Plot:Augustus Barber works in a paper-box manufacturing business in London. The narrator is at pains to tell the reader how ordinary, if commonplace, Augustus is. He doesn’t read anything outside of newspapers and shows no interest in anything spiritual or metaphysical. After falling ill to the point that he was expected not to recover, BarberContinue reading “Review of “Master of Fallen Years” by Vincent O’Sullivan: Halloween Countdown”

Review of “The Wolf-Man” by Erckmann-Chatrian: Halloween Countdown

Plot:Around Christmas time in the year 18—, our hero Fritz lies fast asleep at the Cygne in Fribourg in the Black Forest when someone awakens him, telling him: “I have good news for you; I am going to take you to Nideck, two leagues from this place. You know Nideck, the finest baronial castle inContinue reading “Review of “The Wolf-Man” by Erckmann-Chatrian: Halloween Countdown”

Review of “Lot No. 249” by Arthur Conan Doyle: Halloween Countdown

Plot: Jephro Hastie, a student at “Old College” at Oxford, is visiting with his friend, medical student Abercrombie Smith, in the latter’s third-floor turret room. Hastie warns him about the student in the room below his, Edward Bellingham. “There’s something damnable about him. My gorge always rises around him. I should put him down asContinue reading “Review of “Lot No. 249” by Arthur Conan Doyle: Halloween Countdown”

Review of “The Kit-Bag” by Algernon Blackwood: Halloween Countdown

Plot: The successful defense of John Turk, a client of the great Arthur Wilbraham, KC, brings the barrister no joy. His private secretary, Johnson, is glad to be rid of the case. Despite the verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity, he agrees with the general sentiment that few men were more deserving ofContinue reading “Review of “The Kit-Bag” by Algernon Blackwood: Halloween Countdown”

Review of “The Dreams in the Witch House” by H. P. Lovecraft: Halloween Countdown

Walter Gilman, a student at (fictional) Miskatonic University in (fictional) Arkham, Massachusetts, deliberately rented the tower room in the old house where accused witch Keziah Mason disappeared in 1692. His fields of study include “non-Euclidean calculus and quantum physics.” He also has an interest in folklore, all of which leads him to trace multidimensional space.Continue reading “Review of “The Dreams in the Witch House” by H. P. Lovecraft: Halloween Countdown”

Review of “The General” (1926)

A friend of my dearly beloved has been involved in the restoration of an old theater in Fullerton, California, for some years. The theater was originally built in 1925, in the days of silent movies. My dearly beloved remembers seeing movies there in the 80s. As a treat for some friends (and in hopes ofContinue reading “Review of “The General” (1926)”

Review of “Godzilla Minus One” (2023)

I’d been waiting to see this one for a long time. Everyone I know who’d seen it told me it was a great movie. Long story short, it did not disappoint. It is more than a Godzilla movie. Plot:Near the end of World War II, kamikaze pilot Kōichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki) lands his plane atContinue reading “Review of “Godzilla Minus One” (2023)”

Review of “A Simple Ad” (2019)

Thoughts:This is a very short film inspired by a six-word micro-short story attributed to Ernest Hemingway. The opening credits roll over shots of a bookcase with family pictures—a baby, a little boy, and a wedding, among others. The viewer hears “Suo Gan,” a lovely traditional Welsh lullaby sung by the Choir of King’s College. ItContinue reading “Review of “A Simple Ad” (2019)”