They did it right! Leaving the theater after seeing The Magnificent Seven, that was my first thought. They did it right! Hollywood had taught us to be wary about remakes. Some are good, some are alright, and some ruin the concept. So anytime I go to a theater to see a remake, I worry...
During one of my writing classes at Eastern Washington University, John Keeble assigned us to read a novel each by three writers whom we had never read before. I do not remember the other two writers I chose, but Bernard Malamud was the third, and I chose to read his debut novel, The Natural....
Hollywood find source ideas from several directions: from novels, short stories, and even comic books, from historical events or biographies of remarkable people, from social crises and political unrest, and from old movies that they want to update for a modern audience. One favorite source are foreign movies that they want to translate for...
Though I wouldn’t call myself an expert in 19th Century English gothic literature, I had read the main works in that genre. Dracula? Check. Frankenstein? Check. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? Check. The Picture of Dorian Gray? Oh, wait! There’s one I’ve neglected. At least, I’ve neglected it until now. I don’t know why...
When villagers learn that bandits plan on raiding their village after the barley harvest, they bemoan their fate and argue about what they should do. Ideas range from fleeing their village and their farm and establish a home elsewhere to yielding to the bandits in hopes of light treatment. When they consult “the old...
After finding and losing eleven jobs in two years, Célestine, a domestic maid, took a new position in the country. In an effort to understand her failure to find stability, as she began working for Isidore and Euphrasie Lanlaire, she purchased a diary to record her daily life and reflections of her personal history....
Perhaps the last thing the Harry Potter franchise needs is for me to sing its praises. Successful with both box office revenue and critical appreciation, these eight movies, based on seven books, have achieved a popularity that makes it doubtful that anyone reading this review has not already seen the movies. I imagine...
For August, I created a new regular post for this blog page. I called it Look Ahead, and it’s meant to give the reader of this blog an idea of what I’m working on and what blog article I intend to publish. I think of these details as promises to the reader. As such,...
