Some of their fans may protest, but Milady de Winter (of The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas) and Armand Chauvelin (of The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy) are not true antiheroes. Certainly, they are sympathetic villains, and it might be interesting how those tales would have been told absent their titular characters. That premise—the missing…
The WWII thriller and alternate history set in the same period are small time machines. If Walter Benjamin’s famous quote is taken into account, “History is written by the victors,” then it is rewritten as we come to terms with the past. Alternate histories concerning World War II appeared almost immediately following the war, and…
At the end of the first season of Bosch (Amazon Studios, based on the novels of Michael Connelly), we saw the main character—Hieronymus “Harry” Bosch (Titus Welliver)—staring out the window of his home at the fringe of Los Angeles, a city that he attempts to serve as a police detective. What the character may be…
Dear Reader, Please accept this post as an invitation to consider Dr. Theophrastus Seuss, who would have been 112 years of age today if were still with us. We remember him as the creator of silly stories and pictures—it’s easy to forget their intent as a reminder of the importance of thinking outside the box…
Consider the world of the Impossible Missions Force (IMF)—tracing its history in reverse order. Imagine that Rogue Nation is (for now) the beginning of Ethan Hunt’s career and he is eventually replaced by Jim Phelps. Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise): Agent Hunt’s physical talents and capacity for tolerating what almost anyone else might consider punishing abuse…
From the moment advertising of Mr. Holmes began, I was certain that I would see the film. My love for Sherlock Holmes began at what I consider quite a young age. The Great Detective was included on a list of personal heroes I’d made while in elementary school. What’s more, Sir Ian McKellen, who is…
After just a few months, the Precogs of the TV series Minority Report seem to have come full circle—back into the milk bath—and gained almost nothing for having made the trip. As of Oct 9, 2015, Fox has shortened the order for Season One episodes from 13 to 10, which is a clear sign the…
