Review by Christopher Friesen Never judge a book by its cover? I always do. The book is always better than the movie? Not always. On a related front, I would offer this piece of advice: never judge an author by a movie made out of one of his books. Had I gone with my gut … Continue reading A Drink Before the War: A Review
Tag: Review
Night Moves: An Introduction
Sam Wiebe Introduces the 1974 Classic Slated to introduce Night Moves at the Vancouver Film Center in August 2022, Canadian crime writer Sam Wiebe, the creator of private eyes Dave Wakeland and Michael Drayton, confessed that "It’s one of my favorite PI films and neo-noirs, and a million times better than Altman’s very good The Long Goodbye, … Continue reading Night Moves: An Introduction
The Donald Strachey Series by Richard Stevenson
An Overview by Sam Phillips For those of you who haven't read the Donald Strachey series by Richard Stevenson, they are, for my money, some of the funniest, smartest PI novels around. The guy is just a terrific writer! Maybe even brilliant. Death Trick (1981) In the series opener Albany PI Donald Strachey takes … Continue reading The Donald Strachey Series by Richard Stevenson
A Conversation About The Conversation
Sam Wiebe Introduces the 1974 Classic Slated to introduce The Conversation at the Vancouver Film Center before the pandemic, Canadian crime writer Sam Wiebe, the creator of private eyes Dave Wakeland and Michael Drayton, finally got to do it in April 2022. The screening was part of a free day of programming in memoriam for VIFF staff … Continue reading A Conversation About The Conversation
“No Chance in Hell” by Nick Quarry
A Review by August West Marvin H. Albert used his Nick Quarry pseudonym for all six of his Jake Barrow private eye novels. We're not breaking new ground here, but all the novels have hair-trigger action and are excellent. And No Chance in Hell, published in 1960, is one of the best from the series. It starts … Continue reading “No Chance in Hell” by Nick Quarry
Looking for the Connections
Reconsidering Altman's "The Long Goodbye" I think Altman's rendition of The Long Goodbye gets a bad rap. Fans of Raymond Chandler's poetic novels and Bogart's iconic portrayal find Elliot Gould as a smart-ass, sleepy "Rip Van Marlowe" too much of a change in character. Gould's Philip Marlowe is a man who fell asleep in the … Continue reading Looking for the Connections
The Adventures of Cardigan: A Review
Review by Mario Taboada "Hardesty was as dumb an egg as they come -- but boy how that baby could pitch ball. So when he tangled himself all up in a murder net it was up to that big dick from Cosmos to pick the knots. Or else - But there just wasn't any "or else". … Continue reading The Adventures of Cardigan: A Review
HBO’S Perry Mason
It's the Stubble, Stupid! After wading through the sordid wallow that was HBO’s PERRY MASON, my first urge was to dig up some of my tattered paperbacks by Erle Stanley Gardner, or stream a few episodes of the old TV show starring Raymond Burr. I might even dig up some of the flicks from the … Continue reading HBO’S Perry Mason
The Mitch Tobin Series by Tucker Coe (Donald Westlake)
An Overview by Bryan Schingle I am not a huge fan of the books of Donald E. Westlake. But I love the books written by his pseudonyms. I was already an avid fan of the extremely bleak, hard-boiled Parker books that Westlake wrote under the pen name of Richard Stark, featuring a hardened professional criminal. The characters, … Continue reading The Mitch Tobin Series by Tucker Coe (Donald Westlake)
Gates of Eden by Ethan Cohen
Review by Christopher Friesen Yes, that Ethan Coen. The not-quite-indie, not-quite- Hollywood filmmaker, who along with his brother Joel, wrote Fargo, The Big Lebowski, Blood Simple and O Brother, Where Art Thou? is the author of this collection of short stories. Part homage to a youth spent in Minneapolis and part homage to the gritty … Continue reading Gates of Eden by Ethan Cohen