I had expected comedy. Maybe not laugh-aloud, rib-splitting stuff. Not slapstick and pratfalls. But humour of the British sort. Oscar-Wilde-ish witty dialogue. Banter like that from Fry and Laurie. Joycean innuendo and joie-de-vivre. And a resolution that brought an appropriate closure to the end. Instead, what I got was a
Continue readingTag: review
Scripturient: Barbie: A Review for Conservatives
Hey there, conservatives (especially you conservative males!), let’s talk about the Barbie movie. Yes, I know nothing makes you want to take your AR-15 to the local Toys ‘R Us for a well-deserved shoot-up than a film about a girl’s toy (please don’t do it!). I mean, how dare anyone
Continue readingScripturient: Review 9: Son of Godzilla
I‘ve hesitated to write this review because, of all the films in the Godzilla franchise, I dislike the campy-cute, family-friendly Minilla, the so-called “son” of Godzilla. Minilla appears in three films: Son of Godzilla, Destroy All Monsters, and Godzilla: Finals Wars, but the most saccharine of them is this one:
Continue readingScripturient: 65: A Catalogue of Disappointments
Can a movie featuring aliens, dinosaurs, spaceships, one of the main actors from Star Wars, and a giant asteroid about to crash into the planet be bad? Sadly, yes. The movie 65 manages to take what could a been another Godzilla or Kong: Skull Island. instead, it’s a watered-down Jurassic
Continue readingScripturient: Review 3: Godzilla Raids Again – 1955
The unexpected success of the original Gojira film led Toho to find a quick and cheap way to cash in on the popularity. And within six months, they released the second Godzilla film: Godzilla Raids Again (aka Godzilla’s Counterattack). Since most of the previous film’s crew were already working on
Continue readingmark a. rayner: Creativity, A Short and Cheerful Guide
“Anyone can be creative!” This happy idea is the central thesis of John Cleese’s pithy treatise on how to be creative. The book really is… The post Creativity, A Short and Cheerful Guide appeared first on mark a. rayner.
Continue readingScripturient: Review: The Ultimate Pasta Machine Cookbook
The Ultimate Pasta Machine Cookbook: 100 Recipes for Every Kind of Amazing Pasta Your Pasta Maker Can Make, by Lucy Vaserfirer, Paperback, 208 pages, Published in 2020 by Harvard Common Press, Beverly, MA, USA. I am disappointed. At almost $40, I don’t believe the book delivers what the title promises. I
Continue readingScripturient: 2018 in review
As the year 2018 closes, it’s time for my customary review of what I wrote. It’s also time to thank every reader for participating, for reading my humble musings, for sharing my posts and sending me emails about them. I appreciate your presence and your comments. Twenty eighteen was another
Continue readingScripturient: One Million B.C.(E.)
You can’t help but chuckle when Tumak runs down the rocky slope to battle the baby Triceratops (about the size of a Sheltie) and ends up rolling in the dirt with the all-too-obvious rubber model. I half-expected it to squeak like a dog toy. It’s just one of the many
Continue readingScripturient: The Mummy, the remake and the re-imagining
Nineteen thirty-two. The year Aldous Huxley’s novel, Brave New World, was published. The Great Depression was at its worst. Franklin D. Roosevelt defeated Republican Pres. Herbert Hoover to become the American president in a landslide win. Gandhi went on a hunger strike. Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Tesla Model 3 vs the Chevy Bolt – And What About the Volt!?
The GM Bolt is a great car – but boring and ugly, and utilitarian, in my view, with surprisingly limited cargo space for a hatchback. The Tesla Model 3 is also a great car, and with surprisingly good cargo space for a mid-size car – and it’s gorgeous. There’s
Continue readingmark a rayner: Roundup of more great reviews of The Fatness
Reviews continue to get posted about my new book. If you haven’t already checked out Joe Mahoney’s funny video review of The Fatness, you definitely should. There’s also a new review up on IndieReader.com: IR VERDICT: Easy to devour in one sitting, this tongue-and-cheek account of a BMI-obsessed society is both
Continue readingMoshi Monsters Game Review
Great for the kids, but pushy with onsite purchases – that is the general verdict for Moshi Monsters, developed by the London-based company Mind Candy in 2007. (http://www.moshimonsters.com) Moshi Monsters be a British website intended at children matured 6–12 by means of more 100 million register user in 150 countries
Continue readingYappa Ding Ding: The pros and cons of getting drunk at the theater
Ten years ago I wrote a post about a performance of Ibsen’s Ghosts at Stratford (link). The production was powerful, tragic and grim – but the seemingly-drunken audience tittered and laughed all the way through it.Last week I had the opposite experienc…
Continue readingYappa Ding Ding: The pros and cons of getting drunk at the theater
Ten years ago I wrote a post about a performance of Ibsen’s Ghosts at Stratford (link). The production was powerful, tragic and grim – but the seemingly-drunken audience tittered and laughed all the way through it. Last week I had the opposite experience – a production of As You Like
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: The DWR Video Game Review – Warhammer Vermintide
This game has a long title, it is called Warhammer:Endtimes – Vermintide. Vermintide is a four player cooperative survival game, set in the Warhammer fantasy universe. People familiar with Valve’s Left4Dead series will be familiar with the play-style and challenges to be encountered in Vermintide. The plot of the game resolves around the actions of […]
Writings of J. Todd Ring: Lament For A Nation – A Review
(Originally written as a review for Good Reads) Here is a must-read for all Canadians – George Grant’s classic masterpiece, documenting the poor decisions which led to the loss of sovereignty of Canada to the US empire, just at a time when the British empire had been weakened enough that
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Lament For A Nation – A Review
(Originally written as a review for Good Reads) Here is a must-read for all Canadians – George Grant’s classic masterpiece, documenting the poor decisions which led to the loss of sovereignty of Canada to the US empire, just at a time when the British empire had been weakened enough that
Continue readingYappa Ding Ding: Review of Hamlet (Stratford 2015)
This year’s Hamlet, directed by Antoni Cimolino, makes sense. I say that as the highest praise. I’ve seen the play many times and it never flowed so naturally before. Like… Ophelia’s pregnant. She always struck me as a bit of a cry-baby, going bonkers because she gets jilted and her
Continue readingYappa Ding Ding: Review of Hamlet (Stratford 2015)
This year’s Hamlet, directed by Antoni Cimolino, makes sense. I say that as the highest praise. I’ve seen the play many times and it never flowed so naturally before.Like… Ophelia’s pregnant. She always struck me as a bit of a cry-baby, going bonkers…
Continue reading