Just For Fun: My Top Ten Villains!

  While, at least in theory, we cheer for the victory of the heroes, it is often the villains that define a work, and certainly the villains tend to get the best lines, best music, and commonly the coolest "style" in a work.   This probably partly stems from the fact that villains are more "free" than the heroes; they get to do what they want rather than what they should or must. In addition, the villains tend to be in control, the ACTIVE force, in the story, at least up until the end; the heroes spend much of their time reacting [ Continue reading... ]

On My Shelves: Speed Racer (2008)

  There are movies that as soon as you hear about them, you know you're going to go see them. Movies that are the realization of some childhood dream come true, that you shout "YES!!" as soon as you hear they're going to be made.   Speed Racer was NOT one of those for me.   My wife showed me the first trailer, and said that she wanted me to take her to see it. My eyeballs crossed at the psychedelically intense colors and the apparent cheesiness of the trailer itself, but she had been a Speed Racer fan when she was [ Continue reading... ]