1936 classic sci-fi film, with screenplay by H.G. Wells. It’s Christmas 1940 and the people of Everytown, unprepared and ill-equipped, find themselves at war against an enemy who has been planning such a conflict for years. The land is devastated by the horrors of aerial bombardment as the war drags on for thirty years,...
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Love him or hate him, or his films, there’s no question about where Michael Moore stands ideologically: Left-wing, “progressive,” populist, socialist. In some ways Moore’s newest film, “Capitalism: A Love Story,” muddies the water. But in the end, all it really shows is that Michael Moore doesn’t actually know what capitalism is. Apparently, Moore...
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Over the last two decades, some amazing things have happened in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). Governments have been pouring money into AI and robotics, yielding meaningful progress. Some powerful AI systems have gone commercial; others are on the brink. But these accomplishments are sometimes being overshadowed by commentary on robot emotions, robot...
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The remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) was quite a disappointment to sci-fi fans. Viewers gave it just over 2 stars at Amazon.com. That’s slightly worse than Assignment: Outer Space (1960) and more than a point and a half behind Kronos (1950). If you haven’t heard of either, don’t worry about...
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Author’s note: Previously published in “The Hatchet: Lizzie Borden’s Journal of Murder, Mystery, and Victorian History.†Denise Noe’s Lizzie Whittlings: Elizabeth Montgomery Actress Elizabeth Montgomery won a permanent place in the hearts of Borden buffs when she took on the part of Lizzie Borden in the made-for-TV movie, The Legend of Lizzie Borden. For...
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As regular readers of this blog know, I am severely disabled and, as a result, have never been able to support myself. My principal source of support is alimony. However, I do engage in paid labor to the extent that I am able to do so. I have quite a few reviews up at...
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Take the spirit of an old-time women’s prison picture, a lot of HOT babes whose boobs often get exposed, lesbian sex scenes both nasty and nice, a creepy Catholic “home†for at-risk young ladies, a priest who loves to punish with a paddle, mix in H.P. Lovecraft and a one-eyed, many-tentacled monster, add a...
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“The Picture of Dorian Gray†(1945) keeps close to the brilliant novel that inspired it except for a few innovations that usually work to the film’s benefit. It departs from the book in giving an otherworldly explanation for the granting of Dorian’s wish that the portrait painted of him will grow old while he...
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Author’s note: In honor of Halloween, I’m putting up reviews of horror films. Trick or treat, my friends! Black Sabbath (1963) is a trilogy of macabre tales given brief, blackly humorous introductions by the inimitable Boris Karloff, who stars in one of them. Each tale is intensely atmospheric. The best segment by far is...
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The Decatur Library is the largest library building in the DeKalb System of Atlanta, Georgia. Located at 215 Sycamore St. in Decatur, the library is right across from the Decatur MARTA Station. It has four floors and “is really two buildings put together,” according to Matt Montgomery, Public Information Officer of the Dekalb Library...
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