Epinions Recent Reviews for willysid

Extras make for a great legacy

Sun, 9 May 2004 20:53:57 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author willysid - To tie in with the release of Van Helsing, Universal has unveiled the 1930s and ‘40s films which inspired it in CD collections. Starting with the Bela Lugosi Dracula in 1931, the films told a more or less continuing story up through...

A Koontz with a different flavor

Sat, 8 May 2004 09:50:44 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author willysid - I discovered Dean Koontz back when he was still Dean R. Koontz and Whispers was a bestseller I almost passed over because it had one of those all-foil covers that made it look, for lack of a better word, cheesy. When I actually started to read...

A Wicked Little Thriller

Thu, 6 May 2004 14:44:12 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author willysid - Patricia Highsmith’s novels represent a unique corner of crime fiction, an odd cerebral corner that examines murder and murderers with an almost disturbingly amoral yet sophisticated light, usually with a backdrop of posh European settings. Strangers...

A Jolly Good Dark Fantasy

Mon, 3 May 2004 21:41:18 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author willysid - The first book I read by Graham Masterton was The Sphinx, followed shortly by The Manitou. They were some of the coolest horror books around in the mid-'70s. Carrie was still something the girls in class were reading...

A visit to a well-realized comic book world

Sat, 1 May 2004 10:21:43 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author willysid - As he proved in Blade 2, no one (not even Tim Burton) creates a comic book world on the big screen like Hellboy director Guillermo del Toro. In Hellboy, once again comic book sensibilities set the tone for a visually exciting extravaganza. In dark,...

At Least There's Something On

Wed, 28 Jun 2000 23:35:18 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author willysid - It’s probably frustrating to be a cable channel program director, especially if you have a channel name that encompasses an entire genre and one of the best-loved literary and film genres at that.

The Mystery Channel, one of a package of...

A Saturday Matinee In Print

Sat, 27 May 2000 12:27:32 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author willysid - Mysterious bones tucked deep in an African cave touch off a rousing Indiana Jones style adventure in Walt Becker’s “Link,” an action film in print underscored with a new twist on ancient astronaut speculation.

“Link” has even more of the feel...

A dangerous Scavenger hunt

Sun, 27 Feb 2000 19:29:51 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author willysid - “Scavenger” by Tom Savage reminded me of a lot of other stories. It has a bit of the feel of the Michael Douglas film “The Game,” and some of the serial murders peripheral to the plot were reminiscent of “Red Dragon.” Whole families are murdered though...

Collins, Max Allan: The Titanic Murders blends history and mystery

Fri, 25 Feb 2000 15:25:26 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author willysid - Max Allan Collins is a master of historical mystery, weaving plots around historical figures and situations such as the Linbergh kidnapping or the Cleveland torso murders. His deft touch at juggling the real and imaginary always makes for fascinating...

Farmer, Philip J: Tarzan Returns in The Dark Heart of Time

Thu, 24 Feb 2000 01:13:19 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author willysid - Tarzan is back in an action-packed adventure that Philip Jose Farmer weaves carefully into Edgar Rice Burroughs' timeline, picking up elements from the original novels to build a new tale.

Farmer’s “The Dark Heart of Time,” takes place after...

A great one-night stand of a read

Wed, 26 Jan 2000 11:58:32 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author willysid - While his Matt Scudder series is gritty and hard-boiled , Lawrence Block’s Bernie Rhodenbarr mysteries are as fun and witty as things get.

“The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams,” first published in 1994, marked a return for Bernie after a brief...

Titanic hero tackles Nazis, Atlantis

Sat, 22 Jan 2000 11:35:34 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author willysid - Finding Atlantis seems an appropriate challenge for a hero who has already raised the Titanic and tackled a host of super villains with world-threatening plans.

It’s a challenge Dirk Pitt, Clive Cussler’s super operative from the National...

Eversoft 1st Page 2000: A great free tool for beginners and pros

Sun, 16 Jan 2000 20:29:12 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author willysid - If you want control over your code with occasional help from your web editing software, Evrsoft’s 1st Page 2000 has a lot to offer, and it’s an economical solution since it’s free.

You can actually choose as much or as little help as you want...

James Bond, Indiana Jones, Doc Savage in one

Sun, 16 Jan 2000 01:05:03 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author willysid - Dirk Pitt is James Bond, Indiana Jones and Doc Savage all rolled into one.

Like Bond he’s an international operative battling world-threatening villains. Like Indiana Jones he pries into mysteries left over from the past and like Doc Savage...

A little bit funny, a little bit sad.

Fri, 7 Jan 2000 00:35:28 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author willysid -

As Jim Carrey in Andy Kaufman guise notes in “Man on the Moon,” the film is a remix of the performer’s life, retooling events for cinematic purposes.

“Andy Kaufman Revealed!” covers much of the same ground but in far richer detail than...

A fine entry in a fine series

Sat, 1 Jan 2000 13:47:17 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author willysid - The first person narrator of Bill Pronzini’s detective novels never reveals his name. It’s an homage of sorts to seminal private-eye writer Dashiell Hammett, who penned tales about an unnamed operative for the Continental Detective Agency. Hammett’s hero...

Francis "Second Wind" is refreshing

Fri, 31 Dec 1999 14:22:31 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author willysid - I had heard Dick Francis was retiring. The fact that his last book, “Field of Thirteen,” was a short story collection seemed to confirm that rumor, so I was pleasantly surprised to run across a new and perhaps ironically-titled Dick Francis novel...

Remembering Andy

Thu, 30 Dec 1999 01:36:03 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author willysid - Andy Kaufman was always popping up on shows back in the seventies. On the Dick Van Dyke variety show he’d walk out, seemingly uninvited, and start setting up his bongo drums, having asked on a previous show if it was all right to come back.

...

Faithful to Isaac; fun for mass audience

Mon, 27 Dec 1999 12:26:12 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author willysid - I was excited a few months ago when I read that “Bicentennial Man” was being made into a movie.

I’m not particularly an Isaac Asimov fan but I have enjoyed some of his stories including his robot tales and “Bicentennial Man” happened to be a...

Fun but not Crichton's best

Fri, 24 Dec 1999 12:16:17 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author willysid - You don’t pick up a Michael Crichton book just for the adventure story.

Usually something pretty interesting is going on within the pages such as dinosaurs stomping through amusement parks or explorers trekking through Africa in search of...

Hill House hit by twister

Fri, 3 Dec 1999 21:30:42 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author willysid -

Think of the new version of The Haunting as the original hit by a twister.

The 1963 Robert Wise adaptation is a masterpiece of subtle, suggested horror, unfolded in black-in-white. Odd sounds rattle through the old mansion called Hill House,...

Don't expect "The Exorcist"

Mon, 29 Nov 1999 22:28:01 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author willysid - The notion of pitting Arnold Schwarzenegger against the devil was probably inevitable.

He’s already polished off just about every other formidable opponent. Beelzebub was about all that was left to stack up against Arnold’s considerable screen...

A mature and refreshing Bond entry

Fri, 26 Nov 1999 01:20:35 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author willysid - A maturity has crept into the latest James Bond film. While there are plenty of breath-taking stunts, beautiful women and gadgets, there’s also a psychologically complex villain, a nasty chief henchman and a plausible if extreme world-threatening plot...

Shadow Man: Good plot but sometimes repetitive action

Thu, 25 Nov 1999 01:27:42 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author willysid - There’s just a tad too much Laura Croft in Mike Leroi, at least in his video game incarnation.

Leroi, alter ego of Shadow Man, is a failed literature student turned supernatural hero in Acclaim’s Shadow Man, based on the independent comic book of...

The proper way to watch Blair Witch

Tue, 23 Nov 1999 20:24:03 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author willysid - Full enjoyment of The Blair Witch Project can’t be accomplished just by popping the tape in the VCR.

The film is a phenomenon with a back story that simulates contemporary myth, so to realize the full-scare effect, not just willing...