Great Stories' regular book review feature will discuss both new and
older releases from mainstream and independent authors alike. The
selections are made of the bloggers own personal reading preferences and
not solicited in any way. We would enjoy your feedback and discussion!
Peggy
Rembach is a newer author on the scene who has received some accolades in the
New England market with two Massachusetts Individual Artist Grant awards and a
strong teaching pedigree in the fields of Corrections, Health Care, and Medical
Humanities.As well, she has taught
Creative Writing at Chatham University and for the University of New
Hampshire's graduate programs.Residing
in Northeastern Massachusetts, she wrote the book I had the pleasure of
previewing for you called The Lons. It is not Peggy's first effort, but it is
her first in some time as her last book, Fighting Gravity, was published
thirteen years ago.
The
Lons is a story that centers around the discovery of a mysterious set of
lifeforms growing in the watermelon fields of a farmer named Leonard
Slinket.Slinket is a man who leads a
solitary life and when he happens upon the strange wiffle ball-sized shapes
growing in the place of his watermelons, he is at once bewildered and
frustrated by their lack of growth.But
he quickly senses that there is more to these 'lons (as Leonard likes to call
his crop) than meets the eye.Leonard's
mundane and paint-by-numbers life has just been given new meaning with his
quest to solve the enigma of the lon's origin and the reason for their presence
on his property.
Adding
particular complication is the uneasy friendship Leonard has with younger and
more extroverted friend, John Bigby.When Leonard brings John in on his secret, a clash of philosophy
immediately sets a chain of events into motion that will change both their
worlds possibly forever.John's romantic
interest, Lydia Rice, is a science teacher who also lends her help to solving
the great mystery before them, but at what cost?
Rambach's
story runs 123 pages, and readers who pick up the book will find themselves
with a story that is brief enough to be fit into a busy and active lifestyle,
but not so brief to be left wanting.Her
writing style will be a pleasure for those readers who enjoy highly descriptive
prose.Her lengthy sentences might cause
some casual or distracted readers to go back and look again at what they read,
losing themselves in the detail.There
is no doubt that Rambach's style is to flesh out her character's thoughts and
environment as vividly as possible.
Peggy Rambach, author, undated photo
Artist
Pat Keck provides the front cover of the book, which features the transfixed
visage of Leonard Slinket holding one of the lons, which is not in proportion
to the lons that actually inhabit Rambach's story, but was undoubtedly done to
inspire a more impactful visual effect.The image, too, might lead one to believe that the story may be more
directed towards a younger audience, but this is decidedly not the case after
having read her work.The story is
certainly adult in theme, without being crass or inappropriate for a less
mature audience.
If
you are in the market for a new author, you could do far worse than picking up
a copy of The Lons.As a fan of short
stories and novellas, that allow for a more streamlined reading experience,
Rambach provides a nice option when the demands of life and responsibility may
not accommodate another Stephen King or Tom Clancy style epic.And her detailed prose will leave you with no
uncertain impression of the characters and the world they reside.
Odd choice for a pick of the week. Yes, it is one of the b-books in the Spider-man series, but it has Marco Checchetto at the artistic helm! And it reunites the three characters that served as the first major cross-over in Greg Rucka's unbelievably great Punisher run not too long ago (in The Omega Effect). Yes, that's enough for us to make this new team-up story our featured book. Setting the stage for this reunion is a Superior Spider-Man on a serious rampage against the head of all crime syndicates in New York City. Having taken down Owl, Vulture, Tombstone, White Dragon, and Kingpin, things are looking a lot more safe and secure. But a new threat of unknown origin takes everyone by surprise by infiltrating the thought-to-be impenetrable Spider Island. Check out part one of this story and then do yourself an even bigger favor and pick up those Rucka-Checchetto Punisher trade paperbacks! Great Stories are everywhere!
A father whose son is running out of time due to a debilitating disease take drastic measures to ensure his care. A creature stalking the local woods that has claimed five victims in five months. And a local sheriff desperate to solve the crime. That is the set up for this first of four mini-series from Boom Studios and we like the feel and atmosphere being set by writers Michael Moreci and Tim Daniel. The art is supplied by Riley Rossmo and Colin Lorimer. The team is bringing us one of the most promising new horror series to emerge of late. A blend of classic genre elements and the characters do not ring hollow as in many similar efforts we have laid our eyes and dollars on. Enjoy!
Fans of X-Files and mythological lore rejoice this title from Image! Michael Moreci and Steve Seeley have written a book for over a year now wit an impressive cast of strong recurring characters and a story that has us literally begging for more at the close of each issue. With art by Christian DiBari and colors by Mike Spicer fitting the exact mood and tone necessary for the subject matter to hit home for readers, we encourage you to give this book a very hard look as they enter year number or should I say season number two!
Hoax Hunters #13 was released today and is available at your local comic shops. Great Stories are everywhere!
Once
per month, we will be taking a look at movies released for the upcoming month,
and telling our readers where we would be spending our movie dollars each week,
based on the look of the trailers. Links to the chosen trailers will be
provided so you can see just what we are so excited about. Movie release dates are subject to change.
January 3rd
Happy 2014 everyone! May this year be one that brings us many incredible movies to discuss with friends and family. Starting things off for us this year, we have the latest entry into one of the most successful horror franchises to have come along in some time. Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones attempts to spin-off from the characters in the first four films somewhat in an attempt to make it seem fresh, but we are not holding our breath in anticipation. The Best Offer is a drama about an antiques expert who has done his best to drive away any close human contact only to become infatuated by a young woman who lives a far more agoraphobic lifestyle behind the walls and doors of the antique-filled mansion he has taken assignment in. Geoffrey Rush and Sylvia Hoakes lead the cast with Donald Sutherland in support. Jamesy Boy is a true story of a troubled young man who gets sent to prison where he is mentored by an older convict played by Ving Rhames. Yawn....oh, did I type that? Open Grave is a thriller that seems to tie in elements of Saw and The Walking Dead to fairly creepy effect in the trailer. No celebrity star power in this one to speak of, but it has us intrigued! Our pick of the week, however, is going to be The Best Offer with the always great Geoffrey Rush. Check out the trailer below to see why.
January 10th
Another week with a relatively short list of movies to preview. We start things off with The Legend of Hercules starring Kellen Lutz and directed by Renny Harlin (the man who gave us Die Hard 2 and Cliffhanger). Next up, there is The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box, starring Michael Sheen, Lena Headey, and Sam Neil in a story about a teen whose family vanishes setting him off on a quest to discover their fate. A quest that uncovers strange magic, monsters, and supernatural artifacts. Lastly, we have Banshee Chapter, a horror film starring Ted Levine and Katia Winter, about the effects of a research chemical by the CIA on civilians and a radio broadcast of unknown origin. Well, it seems that last month's Desolation of Smaug has ushered in a run of questy and adventury-type movie fare. Whether or not The Hobbit's success will feed the fire for audiences to see more remains to be seen, but our money would certainly be spent to support of Renny Harlin's Hercules tale, whose trailer you can see below!
January 17th
It seems that January 17th features the most crowded field of movie premieres this particular month. The Night Before Christmas poem is re-imagined by removing the Christmas elements and making of the animated entry The Nut Job all about a desperate squirrel who is banished from his Central Park home and will do just about anything to claim a stockpile of food for the winter. Ride Along is a comedy that features Kevin Hart has a security officer who dreams of being a real cop like his brother-in-law (played by Ice Cube) so he can prove himself a worthy of the woman he married. Big Bad Wolves is a subtitled Israeli crime thriller that apparently has Quentin Tarentino's creative admiration. GBF is a lame story about groups of high school female cliques that seek out a token gay friend which grants them some sort of social advantage over their peer groups? Life of a King stars the great Cuba Gooding Jr. as an ex-con who uses the game of chess to put struggling teens on the straight and narrow. The character made famous by Tom Clancy and Harrison Ford, jumps back in time to his younger days as a CIA desk clerk in Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. Chris Pine takes on the role with Kevin Costner, Kenneth Branagh, and Keira Knightly in support. Reasonable Doubt is about a prosecutor (Dominick Cooper) with a serious skeleton which compromises his ability to deliver a very dangerous man (Samuel Jackson) to justice. Cooper pulls double duty as he also plays an English artist on the cusp of greatness if not for a fateful love triangle in Summer in February, which also stars Emily Browning. While Reasonable Doubt looks pretty darn good with Samuel Jackson gettin' medieval or maybe just plain evil all over the joint, we are going to have to go with the latest Jack Ryan movie in a nod to our beloved and sadly departed author extraordinaire Tom Clancy.
January 24th I, Frankenstein starring Aaron Eckhart hits theaters on the 24th in the hopes of making us forget about the underwhelming Hansel & Gretel last year. In this one, a new age Frankenstein monster finds himself caught in the middle of a battle between two immortal clans of angels, and is based on the graphic novel of the same name. 24 Exposures is a drama/thriller about a fetish photographer who is wanted for questioning in the murder of a glamour model, but strikes up an interesting friendship with a cop who takes a particular fascination with his work. Gimme Shelter stars Vanessa Hudgens as a young pregnant girl who struggles with addiction and anger with the world around her. Rosario Dawson and Brendan Fraser are in support. Knights of Badassdom is about a bunch of gaming geeks who role play only to find out that one of their members has released a real life evil forcing them to unite and be the heroes they portray in their fantasy lives. Peter Dinklage, Summer Glau, and Steve Zahn all star. Graphic novels to the big screen is definitely something that we support wholeheartedly but in this case we have to go with the Knights of Badassdom as the winner this week!
January 31st That Awkward Moment (starring Zac Efron) is a comedy about three guys who pledge to the single life after one of their own experiencing the end of a meaningful relationship. All goes well until one meets the "right" girl. Labor Day is a drama we previewed for last month's Fresh Popped Corn, but was bumped to the post-holiday schedule starring Josh Brolin and Kate Winslet about a prison escapee who solicits the help of a woman and her son to make a new life. Sinbad: The Fifth Voyage is a long-delayed action fantasy film narrated by Patrick Stewart and just looks terrible! Best Night Ever is the female equivalent of The Hangover series starring Desiree Hall and Samantha Colburn. And finally, At Middleton finds two single parents, played by Andy Garcia and Vera Farmiga reliving or regressing to their youth following a tour of a college for their respective children. It's a pretty weak finish to the month, but we will hedge our bets on the Brolin/Winslet drama as the best of the group.
And
that does it for another edition of Fresh Popped Corn. We would love
to hear about which films you are excited for this month!
Creative Insights is a regular feature that take a closer look at authors, artists, developers, and inventors who inspire with their works through interviews and/or investigative profiles. Our first Creative Insights subject is the author/artist of Sunnyville Stories, a graphic novel that has been featured here at the blog as a subject of review as well as on sale at our companion retail site (www.great-stories.net). We hope you enjoy this closer look into the life and work of a bright new talent in the comic industry! We would like to welcome Max West to Great Stories. Here is a little background on Max and his beginnings!
Max
West was born and raised in New York City. He spent much of his youth
making visits to his local library (starting a lifelong love of books)
and watching much television - both cartoons of the 1980s on broadcast
TV and a variety of movies and specials on cable TV. Earning
a degree in creative writing from Baruch College in 2003 and taking
night classes in art at the nearby School of Visual Arts, he created
Sunnyville Stories in 2009 and completed his first adventure with Rusty
Duncan and Samantha Macgregor in spring of 2010. He currently resides in the Southern USA, where he works full time as a freelancer.
GS: First
off, congratulations on your book distribution deals with Ingram and
Baker & Taylor. We also understand that your work can be found at
Amazon, Alibris, and even in many public libraries throughout the
nation! MW: Well, I wouldn't say "many" - but so far, I've landed my work in
four public libraries, the library of the School of Visual Arts, and the
library division of Alibris. Anyway, the distributor I've landed has
been very helpful. They've sold copies of my book to some independent
booksellers as well as the chain Books-A-Million, the second largest
bookstore chain in the country after Barnes & Noble. I also got my
book listed on IndieBound, which can make Sunnyville Stories Volume 1 available through many independent bookstores across the country. GS: In your own blog at www.sunnyvillestories.com,
you mention that Sunnyville Stories was inspired by an old Japanese
Anime named Maple Town and your own move from New York City to rural
North Carolina also served as the breeding ground for this invention.
What was it specifically about the old series and your change in scenery
that moved you to create Sunnyville Stories?
MW: Yes, it was. Maple Town (which is hard to find in the USA since
there's been no DVD release and videocassettes are long since
out-of-print) fascinated me as a child and as an adult. The setting of
the series was a remote area where time seemed to stand still. For an
anime made and supposedly set in the 1980s, I was amazed at how the
characters and towns seemed to be without video games, personal
computers, or popular music in the era of "I Want My MTV". In a way,
that helped make the series timeless and give it a particular charm.
This unique setting in Maple Town was one that I
sympathized with. At the end of the 1980s (the end of an era for me), I
left New York City for a rural town in North Carolina. It was a
jarring change going from one of the largest cities in the world to a
town that was small and spread out. Whereas everything I needed was
within walking distance or accessible through mass transit (in New
York), the small town was a contrast in that you needed a car to get
everywhere and I didn't have many of the things I took for granted in
NYC like movie theatres, shopping malls, video arcades, and so on. This
is reflected with Rusty, the star of Sunnyville Stories, as in the
first episode and even as time goes along, he remarks how different the
town feels and how he doesn't have everything that he had in his former
home city.
GS: Do
you think that your change in environment was a necessary component of
Sunnyville Stories origination? Would this idea have been found had you
not uprooted yourself from the city?
MW: It definitely was. I may have eventually created Sunnyville
sooner or later as I found inspiration from the Maple Town anime.
However, had I not moved, it may have lacked the unique perspective I
had in moving into a completely different environment. GS: It
sounds as if the main character in Sunnyville Stories, Rusty, could be
an extension of you, Max West. But Sunnyville Stories is chock full of
other characters in an ensemble supporting cast. Are these characters
manifestations of your own life experience and reflections of people you
know and have met? Or are they loose interpretations of a variety of
expected personality archetypes that reflect a world exclusive to
Sunnyville?
MW: Many
of the characters that make up the world of Sunnyville were inspired by
the characters from Maple Town. When I first started putting the world
together in 2009, the supporting cast were indistinguishable from many
of the Maple Town characters. But for obvious reasons of originality
and copyright, I started individuating the characters, changing their
names, and giving them short histories. I want to drive home the fact
that these characters are not simply drawings on paper. They are
living, breathing creatures with birthplaces, childhoods, goals, and
life-shaping experiences. I've always felt that Sunnyville and its
inhabitants are very real. That's probably why the work is so strong
and has much potential among the reading public. GS: Can you give us any insight as to what other adventures may be in store for Rusty, Samantha, and the gang? MW: We're going to be delving more into the world of Sunnyville, meeting
even more characters, learning about the character backgrounds, and
more wild stories. I have a grand total of fifty stories planned to be
spread over a total of ten trade paperbacks. While many of these
stories will be slice-of-life, I'll occasionally delve into the realms
of the fantastic. I have notes for a ghost story, an incident where an
energy-based lifeform is accidentally created, and even a time travel
episode! GS: Switching
gears, you attended the School of Visual Arts in New York. Can you
share your feelings on this experience? And would you consider such
formal training and learning to be a necessary step for aspiring artists
today, both from an artistic and business perspective?
MW: I wasn't a degree student at SVA. I went at
night to take continuing education classes. I specifically took classes
that I felt would help my work rather than the full range that a degree
student would have had. I not only took classes in making comics, but
also in other skills like painting, perspective and life drawing.
That's when I really started to come alive. I felt an awakening that I
hadn't felt before and I had a supportive environment that embraced my
ideas rather than scorn them.
As for art school being a necessity, I can't give a
straight answer of "yes" or "no". While art school and an art degree
can give you skills and connections, it's no guarantee that you can get
any paying work in comics, illustration or any branch of commercial art.
It all depends on your goals, your educational options, and
ultimately, you. GS: Can you speak of your artistic influences (not necessarily limited to your own trade as a writer and illustrator)? MW: My influences are many. I've done a lot of reading, I've traveled a
lot, and I've taken much in during the course of my life. I've taken
much influence from the 1980s, the decade of the my childhood, and I
like reflecting this retro-style universe in Sunnyville. As for
artistic influences, newspaper comic strips were the very first and
foremost thing that affected my work. While I read superhero comics and
manga, I was exposed first to newspaper comic strips since my parents
bought copies of the New York Post and the New York Daily News. The
first thing I turned to was the comics pages to read up on what was
happening to Garfield, Peanuts, etc. Charles Schulz was (and still is)
the biggest influence on my drawing. Like him, my own work is simple
and relies on its writing to carry everything. To a lesser extent, the
work of Jim Davis (Garfield), Gary Larson (the Far Side), and Bill Keane
(the Family Circus) also was an inspiration to me. I've looked to the
world of illustration for inspiration; Marc Brown (Arthur) and Richard
Scarry (Busytown) have given me many ideas from what to work with.
I also have a relevant theme that recurs in my work
and that is isolation. In some of my past work and with Sunnyville,
I've dealt with characters who are isolated somehow or setting that are
the same way. GS: What do you find interesting in the world of pop culture, including movies, TV, music, and literature?
MW: What I find most interesting are the older
works, mainly from the later half of the 20th century. Most
contemporary music and TV shows don't appeal to me much. In fact, the
theme of isolation is tied in part to the constant fluctuations of
modern pop culture. The world, the latest fashions, the hot ticket at
the moment, etc. is always changing month to month, week to week, and
day to day. Whatever pop singer or trend was popular one day may
transform into yesterday's news another day. This rapid change is one I
find overwhelming and with Sunnyville, I deliberately try to make
things stand still in that setting in an attempt to bring order to the
chaos. I want to make sense of the constantly changing world. GS: I'd
like to take a moment to talk about your future projects. You have
mentioned on your blog that you are preparing a horror-themed book
called Von Herling, Vampire Hunter as something you are preparing for a
2014 release. Does this project bare any relation to Sunnyville
Stories? What can we expect from this project? And when can we expect
the Sunnyville Stories Volume 2 release? Are there other surprises fans
of your work can look forward to?
MW: Von Herling is a completely original graphic
novel that's in a different setting from Sunnyville; don't expect any
crossovers. While Sunnyville is more of a general audiences title, Von
Herling is intended for older readers; there's some blood in there as
well as profanity. This work is more of a classic vampire tale and
Gothic horror. I was influenced by the original Dracula text by Bram
Stoker along with Hammer Films (maker of the 1958 classic, Horror of
Dracula). August Von Herling is a protagonist that, like Rusty Duncan,
is a fish out of water. He's a precocious teenager who's arrived in
rural Tennessee in pursuit of a vampire he's chased all the way from
Europe. His accent, his precise way of speaking, and his dress
immediately set him apart from the close knit community that he settles
down in. Anyway, I feel that I've achieved a real feel of Gothic horror
that missing from contemporary horror works that rely on buckets of
gore and gruesome deaths.
As for Sunnyville volume 2, that's on schedule for
March 2014. I'm sure fans will like it because it continues to reveal
more of the world of Sunnyville and more of the characters. I introduce
the older brother of Sam Macgregor as well as a little of the seaside
town, Solton, that he lives in. Rusty continues to settle into
Sunnyville and gets involved in local activities. And I continue to
find my voice and develop my style. There will be even more surprises
in 2016, when the third volume will hit stores. GS: Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions! If you are interested in buying Sunnyville Stories Volume 1, please visit this link.........
The Honor Roll is a Great Stories feature column that gives you the
best in class movies, books, and multimedia from the Great Stories
team. This month Jim and Chris make their top six picks for the best
Christmas features of all time! A total of twelve films/specials you
should consider
watching in preparation for jolly old St. Nick sliding down your
chimney. Here are Chris' Picks! The Year Without a Santa Claus No tag line
No Christmas is complete without the TV specials we grew up watching as children. Among them, Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, A Charlie Brown Christmas, and Santa Claus is Coming to Town. All are staples of a youth that part of me will never let go. My favorite of those TV specials, however, is the The Year Without a Santa Claus. Featuring some of the most memorable supporting characters, Heat Miser and Cold Miser, their very own "Mother" Nature, and tow of Santa's helpers, Jingle and Jangle Bells. Is the Christmas spirit alive in our world? That is the question and the characters mission is to find it so Santa can continue his mission of joy for all the world. Try not falling in love with this one! Jim's Comment: Worth
it just for the Snow Miser/Heat Miser alone. A classic.
A Christmas Story "Sometimes Christmas is about getting what you really want."
What can be said of a movie that boasts such a following that it is aired for 24 hours a day in some media markets? This is no mistake. Pure dysfunction never appeared so palatable on the big or small screen as this! From the neighborhood dogs rampaging through the kitchen to steal Christmas dinner, Flick's infamous tongue scene, the Red Ryder B.B. Gun, and so many more classic scenes that make this one a must-see film this holiday season! Jim's Comment: See last blog entry Gremlins "Cute. Clever. Mischievous. Intelligent. Dangerous."
Joe Dante created a masterpiece with 1984's holiday horror. Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Dick Miller, and Corey Feldman all part of a great cast. A boy brings home a neat and cute little creature of unknown origin and makes some very unfortunate pet care errors (ah, those kids....responsibility not their strong suit!). The result is an army of terrible little demons whose path of destruction and mayhem leave a town changed forever. Dick Miller is particularly great as the grizzled veteran who has a history with the little monsters. The bar and movie scenes are awesome and under the direction of Joe Dante (who gave us diverse projects such as The Howling and Small Soldiers), you have a decidedly more sinister Christmas movie that stands the test of time! Jim's Comment: Gremlins 2: The New Batch is even better. Two of the wittiest movies ever
made. Favorite scenes: the pool smoking and roiling after Stripe dives into it
and the whole scene at the movie theater. Christmas movies don’t get much
darker than the scene where Phoebe Cates explains why she hates Christmas. This
scene was then expertly parodied in Gremlins 2.
Scrooge (1951) No tag line
For me, this is the ultimate version of probably the most re-told literary Christmas tales. And there are many great ones to choose from. My compatriot Jim chose the musical Albert Finney version from 1970. Then there is the most recent digitally animated A Christmas Carol with Jim Carrey providing the voice to Ebeneezer which is arguably a modern day classic. But in the end, I have to go with the most haunting of all the versions, and the Alistair Sim version is most certainly the apex of the considerable list. The image above announces the full color enhancement version, but I think what made the film even more effective was the original black and white presentation. I recommend taking in Charles Dickens brilliant work in this original black and white form for the best experience. Alistair Sim was made for this role and he absolutely owns it. Jim's Comment: Widely considered the best filmic version of A Christmas Carol with the
esteemed Alastair Sim as Scrooge. I tend to favor the Albert Finney musical,
mainly for the color and the music, but the ’51 version is brilliantly acted,
spooky and memorable. Also one of the most emotionally resonant versions,
particularly at the end.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra: The Ghosts of Christmas Eve No tag line
Christmas boasts probably the most popular and beloved music associated with any holiday. And as a fan of rock music, I was taken the very first time I ever heard a Trans-Siberian Orchestra tune. Each album tells a story, and the TV special that Paul O'Neill and company produced back in 1999 spins a yarn about a young runaway girl and her eventual reunion with her family. A tragic story that turns to joyful celebration. Performances from Michael Crawford and Jewel Kilchner among others help to bring the flawless instrumental performances to a new level of greatness. Ossie Davis narrates the story, and just one view may get you buying tickets to see their live shows year after year (just like your humble blogger). Jim's Comment: Basically a series of videos. I wouldn’t call myself a passionate fan of
Trans-Siberian Orchestra, but I do think that their music sounds good.
The Polar Express "Journey beyond your imagination!"
Robert Zemeckis brought us the first all digital capture film. As a one of its kind (at the time) movie with the vocal talent as well as digital visage of Tom Hanks, the movie was a pretty big hit in the box office and has now for the past half dozen years been a staple of my household's Christmas playlist. A doubting boy boards a train bound for Santa's home in search of faith and belief. The message is powerful and the presentation was entirely innovative, spawning a new era in movie animation. You won't find a much better holiday movie that will be so enjoyed by a universal audience making it a great pick for your whole family. Jim's Comment: Robert Zemeckis is a master of visual filmmaking. This movie is a feast for
the eyes from beginning to end and I look forward to seeing it every year with
my daughter. The one big reservation that I have with it is that it’s a movie
populated by characters that are not live action, but not animation either.
This was the first attempt at a full-length “motion capture” feature and I
don’t think they had quite worked the bugs out of it yet (I think that it was
more successful in Zemeckis’s version of A Christmas Carol 5 years later). Some
of the characters, particularly the children, look, well, a little creepy. I
think that this awkward look gives it a kind of coldness that stunts the movie
emotionally. I do think that some of Tom Hanks’ wonderful personality does come
through in the character of the conductor, though.
That concludes our Christmas film/special honor roll. We hope all of our readers have a joyous Christmas! When we return we will have a new book review for you all, as well as another comic pick of the week. Further, we hope to have an interview with the writer/creator of Sunnyville Stories for you sometime soon. All this and more at Great Stories!
