What's New
12 Apr 26
For this week's movie reviews, we start with Walter Huston trying to redeem a very naughty Joan Crawford in 1932's Rain. We then have Zsa Zsa Gabor take the reins of *gasp* "the female planet" in 1958's Queen of Outer Space. Next is Thomas Magnum vs. Hans Gruber in Quigley Down Under, followed by John Lithgow as a loony with multiple personality disorder in Raising Cain. We close on John Rambo's last ride (before he had another last ride) in 2008's Rambo. This past week was as crazy as I anticipated if not more so, and I don't expect things to let up in the near future. Nevertheless, I'm going to make one more attempt to get the next chapter of RttW out (as I'm as likely to get it out as anything else) and maybe even start getting caught up on my viewing of Winter 2026 anime so I can start getting some reviews of that out. I've got work Saturday, so I may catch a new release afterward, but I haven't committed to the idea yet. Stay tuned.
Posted by: JamesUTC 14:00:15
05 Apr 26
I may not have gotten a story update out, but we can at least spend some time together at the movies. Once again, we'll just go chronologically. First off is the first entry in the "Why We Fight" series, Prelude to War. Next we have Tyrone Power and Orson Welles in 1949's Prince of Foxes. We then have James Garner and James Woods in the 1986 drama Promise. Between his roles as the Human Torch and Captain America, Chris Evans had another run-in with superpowers in 2009's Push. Last but not least, as if we needed the evidence, we see that kidnapping Wolverine's daughter is a very, very bad idea in 2013's Prisoners. With the new school year starting this week, I'm not going to promise anything. We'll just see what (if anything) gets accomplished. Stay tuned.
Posted by: JamesUTC 15:16:30
30 Mar 26
I didn't get this out last night because all the abuse I've been putting my body through finally caught up to me, but now that I've actually gotten about eight hours' sleep in one night, as opposed to cumulatively across four or so, I can get this knocked out and presented to you on a lovely platter. Like last time, we'll just go chronologically. First, from 1933 is the crime flick Penthouse. We then have Karl Malden in 1954's Phantom of the Rue Morgue and William Holden in 1955's Picnic. We then have Joel Shumacher prove that he can do more than just make the gayest Batman ever (which may actually be a contested title these days) with Phone Booth and then we have everyone's favorite Chanukah ambassador Adam Sandler in 2015's Pixels. I'm dialing back my AI kick this week, so I might actually be able to deliver manga reviews next time. I'll also be trying to get the next chapter of RttW out. Stay tuned.
Posted by: JamesUTC 03:02:42
28 Mar 26
My AI bender seems to know no bounds, but I've at least managed to tear myself away long enough to bring you Chapter 13 of CoP. I'm squandering the lead time I've built up, but but maybe I'll manage to dial things back in the coming days and get back to even keel. I will make a point to get the reviews out tomorrow, so be looking for them. Stay tuned.
Posted by: JamesUTC 19:42:09
22 Mar 26
If you checked the latest blog post, then you won't be surprised that I didn't dedicate much time to writing manga reviews. I almost didn't get to doing this post (or yesterday's for that matter), but so far I've managed to keep myself from being completely consumed with this little experiment of mine. With no manga reviews prepared, we'll just be dipping into the movie review backlog and we'll go chronologically. First, from 1932, it's Charles Laughton in Payment Deferred. Next, from 1943, the Lone Wolf goes to war in his eleventh outing with Columbia Pictures in Passport to Suez. Then we've got Robert Mitchum and Kirk Douglas in the 1947 noir film Out of the Past. After that, Ava Gardner attempts to work her wiles on James Mason in 1951's Pandora and the Flying Dutchman. Last but not least, we have the ever-reliable duo of Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn in 1952's Pat and Mike. Now, if I don't lose steam on this little side project, I would do well not to promise manga reviews for next week, but I might surprise the both of us. I've got lead time on CoP, so the Saturday update is secure. Actually, the recent burst of inspiration may see a whole series announced before the week's out, so maybe be on the lookout for that. Stay tuned.
Posted by: JamesUTC 18:14:08
21 Mar 26
It would be funny if I'd say I watched Season 3 of the Uma Musume anime, the movie and both cours of Cinderella Grey and it was no help whatsoever in writing this week's chapter, but it would not in fact be true. (All that is on my to-watch list, though.) I won't say I'm an equestrian expert now, but I am a little more well-versed in the subject than I was two weeks ago, even if more of my time was spent with the WttW peripheral materials than anywhere else. But enough about that. It's time for Chapter 3 of TKoH. I'll have reviews out tomorrow and hopefully something of an interesting blog post. Stay tuned.
Posted by: JamesUTC 17:25:30
15 Mar 26
I may have fallen short on one promise to you guys by not getting the latest chapter of TKoH out yesterday, but I am actually going to deliver on my promise of more manga reviews. We've got Volume 8 of Dandadan, Volume 2 of Frieren and Volume 2 of Go! Go! Loser Ranger! For movie reviews, I found that I misfiled a few entries, so we actually take a couple steps back alphabetically to give you 1959's On the Beach, which isn't one of those fun Frankie and Annette flicks, not by a longshot. For a real bit of mood whiplash, we follow it up with the Sylvester Stallone comedy Oscar. In other news, I've added seahorses to the WttW bestiary today, which is a step closer to what I'm actually supposed to be focusing on in TKoH, which I hope to deliver next weekend. As I've got Friday off and no work Saturday, I hope to at least get as many manga reviews out as I have this week. Maybe I'll even make it a full slate. We'll see. Stay tuned.
Posted by: JamesUTC 11:26:44
08 Mar 26
Again, I was working on other stuff Saturday, so I've only got one manga review for you, Volume 1 of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End. Why am I starting coverage of a new series when I've got several others waiting to be resolved? Well, my copies of Frieren are in a separate stack that happen to be the main thing to catch my eye when I look to my right. Isn't that reason enough? Anyway, let's move on to movie reviews. Conveniently, alphabetical and chronological order are the same, so let's start with Bette Davis in the 1934 version of Of Human Bondage (no, not that kind of bondage). Next we have Cary Grant and Jean Arthur in Only Angels Have Wings, then Cary Grant again with Tony Curtis in 1959's Operation Petticoat. Finally, we combine elements of all three with human bondage, flyboys and women in the military with 1986's Opposing Force, otherwise known as Hell Camp (which I only found out about when I was choosing a poster). Once again, I'll make an effort to get more manga reviews out. (It's be nice to finish my coverage of Kimetsu no Yaiba before they get the third part of the finale out in theaters, for instance.) I also intend to have the next chapter of TKoH out. But first, I'm going to have to study horses a bit. Time to boot up Uma Musume... Stay tuned.
Posted by: JamesUTC 12:19:31
07 Mar 26
You might find yourself in a similar situation as Pawel wanting to quote Gunny Hartman after reading Chapter 18 of RttW. It's a wonder I got it finished with the ever-present lure of the peripheral materials, but here it is. Maybe I can at least get one manga review written before tomorrow's update. Otherwise, expect another night at the movies. Stay tuned.
Posted by: JamesUTC 13:50:40
03 Mar 26
If you've been following my progress reports on the blog, then you know I've been thinking about expanding the main storyline of the Welcome to the World series. I have since committed to the idea and am increasing the number of books in the main story from four to six. Yes, I'm not numbering them in the title at this stage for some bizarre artistic conceit even I don't know, but there is an order to them. The fourth book, The Lion's Successor, retains its title, but the content has changed. The segment of the story formerly occupying that spot is now the fifth book, The Way of the Lion. Lastly, we have the sixth book, The Lion's Last Stand, which brings the main story to an end. There are more than six hundred years of adventures to be had, so there could easily be other books in the future, but let's try to focus on getting through the first one for now. Speaking of getting the first book finished, I need to buckle down and get to writing on the chapter that's due Saturday. Stay tuned.
Posted by: JamesUTC 02:50:51
02 Mar 26
My work in the WttW peripheral materials took up any time I could've been using toward writing manga reviews on Saturday, so all I have is one that I wrote on Monday for Volume 7 of Dandadan. For movie reviews, we have Errol Flynn in the war flick Objective, Burma!, Robert Ryan opposite Ida Lupino in 1951's On Dangerous Ground, the original 1960 Rat Pack version of Ocean's 11, and then we close things out with a 90's classic of working Gen X angst in Office Space. I'll make the same promise I did last week of trying to get more manga reviews out along with the next chapter of RttW and maybe I can actually deliver this time. Stay tuned.
Posted by: JamesUTC 06:28:47
21 Feb 26
I said I didn't have any manga reviews ready, but I managed to actually get one finished before I started preparing this update, so let's welcome the inaugural entry in our coverage of Go! Go! Loser Ranger! (Sentai Daishikkaku). I'll be trying to up my output in the near future and maybe I can build up a reserve to cover busier times. Let's move on to movie reviews. We'll go chronologically and start with Jimmy Stewart in the high-flying drama of No Highway in the Sky. Next, if you're as mad as hell and not going to take it anymore, then 1976's Network is the movie for you. If, as a change of pace, you'd like to pit John Rambo and Lando Calrissian against Roy Batty, then give 1981's Nighthawks a whirl. Last and definitely least, if you've been mourning the Cannon Group going belly-up in the 90s, their spirit lives on in the surprisingly simply titled Ninja. As mentioned, I'm going to try to up the manga review output, so I'm hoping to have at least two or three done, but if I get really productive, I might even get a full slate out. I also hope to get the next chapter of RttW out, so be looking for that. Stay tuned.
Posted by: JamesUTC 11:27:06