Book Review – The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons

The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons: The History of the Human Brain as Revealed by True Stories of Trauma, Madness, and Recovery by Sam Kean
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The fascinating mysteries of the functions of the human brain are made all the more interesting because many of them have been (at least partially) solved thanks to some truly bizarre incidents. Accidents, bullet wounds, surgical misadventure and other trauma that has damaged only parts of victims’ brains has helped researchers figure out what parts of the brain are connected to which aspects of human behavior (and also how our functioning depends on multiple areas working in tandem). Sam Kean does an entertaining as well as enlightening job of telling some of the key tales in the history of neurology. This is definitely worth reading not only for those who want to learn more about the subject but also for anyone who likes engaging stories from the history of medicine.

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Review – The Shrouds

Not for the first time, I began watching a David Cronenberg movie thinking “that’s an intriguing premise. I wonder if he’ll do something interesting with it.” And an hour or two later concluding “evidently not.” A billionaire sets up a graveyard with sophisticated imaging technology that allows mourners to watch their loved ones rot in real time. Is it a snide commentary on a moribund, media-obsessed society? No, it’s a blend of vaguely racist conspiracy nonsense and icky, fetishistic sex that suggests a career regression to the days of Naked Lunch and Crash. And while normally I would have walked away feeling cheated by the exceptionally weak ending, here I was just glad the damn thing was over. See if desperate

Review – Creature of the Mist

What an odd little movie. The story launches into huge-tentacle-monster-attacks-feudal-Chinese-city action almost immediately. But then just as fast it gets bogged down in arguments between characters from different social classes forced to shelter together in an inn. The action sequences were okay. The rest didn’t do as much for me. At least it was short. Mildly amusing

Book Review – The Acrylics and Gouache Artist’s Handbook

The Acrylics and Gouache Artist's Handbook: A Practical Guide to Acrylics and Gouache Painting for the Home Artist by Barron's
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a good general introduction to the subject. Entries on gouache are scarce, so if that’s your main interest then you should probably seek elsewhere. On the acrylics side, coverage is fairly thorough. Some of the descriptions and examples left me wondering why one wouldn’t simply switch to oils or watercolors, but at least they demonstrated the versatility of acrylics (especially with extra media added). I admit to skimming the section on color and composition, looking for medium-specific information rather than (in my case largely unnecessary) lectures on basic theory. And I felt that some of the text reflected the author’s biases a bit too strongly. However, as someone who hasn’t done much with this kind of paint, I found the work overall helpful and easy to follow.

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Review – Forbidden Empire

I’m in awe of this movie’s stubborn refusal to make any kind of sense. There are some good visuals here and there, and if you like the vaguely brain damaged humor of Russian horror fantasies you will find yourself well served. Beyond that, Russia’s number one box office hit of 2014 left me wondering how bad the rest of the country’s cinematic output must have been that year. Mildly amusing

Review – House of Darkness

Justin Long seems to have a particular talent for taking uncomfortably awkward social situations and making them infinitely worse, a gift that gets free rein in this relentless tale of a date gone horrifically wrong. Except for a pause in the middle and a brief moment of actual action at the end, the whole production is like reading texts from a douchebro trying to get laid. So In the Company of Men with vampires, a combination nobody asked for. Wish I’d skipped it

Review – Blood and Snow

This is what John Carpenter’s The Thing would have been if everyone involved had been terrible at their jobs. Though there’s plenty of blame to go around, the leading culprit is the script. Other than brief monster moments here and there, the vast majority of the running time is given over to pointless bickering, much of which is difficult to follow let alone care about. The only thing I found even vaguely intriguing about this experience was speculation about what sort of abandoned building it was filmed in. Shopping mall? Hospital? It’s a mystery on par with how anyone managed to scrape together a budget for something this awful. Wish I’d skipped it

Book Review – Breaking Cat News

Breaking Cat News: Cats Reporting on the News that Matters to Cats by Georgia Dunn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This review covers not only this book but also the rest of the series up through It’s Showtime, Sophie. Georgia Dunn brings clever illustrations and an excellent sense of humor to the tales of three cats (and their many friends) running a broadcast news operation that covers their daily apartment-dwelling lives. The storytelling is at its best when narratives run for a single page or maybe three or four pages. The longer arcs that crop up in later volumes often involve cats in peril, and those are hard to enjoy even when they have happy endings. But when the focus is on cats being cats with a twist of journalism, the series is highly entertaining.

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