Movie Review: The Maltese Falcon (1941)

The Maltese Falcon (1941) co-written and directed by John Huston

Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) is half of the Spade and Archer Detective Agency. They are hired by Miss Wonderly (Mary Astor) to follow Floyd Thursby, a man she claims has swept her sister off her feet but really is no good. Sam's partner Miles Archer (Jerome Cowan) is happy to do the job because Wonderly is a looker. Unfortunately, he winds up shot dead. The police call Sam to the scene of the crime. In short order, it's reported that Thursby has been shot. At first, the police try to pin Thursby's death on Sam as revenge, though when the find out that Archer's wife Iva (Gladys George) has a thing for Sam, they try to pin Archer's death on Sam. He points out the incongruity of committing both murders. Meanwhile, he tries to get a straight story out of Wonderly, who is registered as Leblanc at a hotel. That names turns out not to be her real name. Sam is also visited by Joel Cairo (Peter Lorre) who wants the item that the dame had. He threatens to search the office and has a tussle with Sam, who doesn't know about any package but plays it cool to get more info from Cairo. The plot gets more convoluted from there as Sam tries to find out about the mysterious bird that everyone is after. Viewers know it's a valuable 16th century statuette from Malta, information provided in the movie's opening scroll.

This film noir classic has great performances from all of the cast, including Sydney Greenstreet as another interested party and Elisha Cook Jr. as a young tough employed by Greenstreet. Bogart shows the bravado and nerves of Spade, the iconic hardboiled detective. The plot is a bit convoluted but plays out wonderfully with solid direction from Huston and great dialog taken from the Dashiell Hammett novel. It's a riveting watch with plenty of memorable dialogue and scenes. It's the stuff that dreams are made of.

Highly recommended.

TV Review: The Punisher: One Last Kill (2026)

The Punisher: One Last Kill (2026) co-written and directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green based on the Marvel character

Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) aka The Punisher, is at a tough spot in his life. He's killed off the last of the people responsible for his family's death. He still has flashes of people from his life. Those memories dredge up bad memories for him. Ignoring the horrible crimes going on in his neighborhood, Frank tries to find some purpose for his life. Then a woman (Judith Light) shows up asking him to get revenge on the guy who killed her family but with a very hard twist--she's the last remaining member of the last of the people responsible for Frank's family's death. She's put out a bounty on his head and broadcast it all over, so every lowlife in town will be after him. Frank lives in New York City, so that's a lot of lowlifes.

The story moves back and forth between Frank's existential crisis and the excessive violence that surrounds his life. His struggles with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, manifested through his memories and his hauntings, is very sympathetic. Bernthal gives a very good performance. I was much less sympathetic with the loads and loads of violence. Sure, it's exciting and very well put together. But the excess gets to the point of numbing and it is easily the least interesting part of the show. I really like The Punisher as a character, and he has some great character moments in this show, but if I watched again, I'd skip the middle 20-30 minutes of rampaging violence.

Not recommended unless you are a Punisher fan.

As I write this (September 2026), this is only available on Disney+.

Book Review: Spooky Maryland by S. E. Schlosser

Spooky Maryland: Tales of Hauntings, Strange Happenings, and Other Local Lore by S. E. Schlosser and illustrated by Paul Hoffman

This collection of scary stories tells tales from around the state of Maryland. As with many other such collections, a lot of the tales are centered around slavery and the Civil War, with supernatural experiences both during and long after the events that happened. Some are more contemporary, like the (Maryland) famous Goatman or Black Aggie statue. Schlosser does a good job telling the tales, capturing different voices for different narrators, including a lot of haunted shoremen who work the Chesapeake Bay. The collection is entertaining in a chilling way and great for October reading.

Recommended.

Cute Kid Pix October 2026

More photos that did not get their own post...

I finally went to one of the local farmers' markets and made a purchase. Well, two purchases but who wants to see vegetables. I bought a Baltimore Bomb pie from Dangerously Delicious Pies. The pie is a southern vanilla chess pie with chunks of Berger's Cookies, a local favorite, in the crust. It was very yummy. 

It's hard to get a picture of a whole pie in our house

I went to the Columbia waterfront to find an earthcache. There's a memorial to veterans there with a specific type of marble. The weather was great and the spot is very nice.

By the text

The memorial

We tried out rolled ice cream at La Creme Roule. They serve them in little taco shells. They were yummy but a bit pricey for what you get. I guess ice cream is a luxury.

Enjoying strawberry cheesecake ice cream

At the grocery store, I saw this horror...

Um, what?!?

*****

Our son performed in his school's Fall play, based on one of the Oz books by L. Frank Baum. He was the lead character, a prince who has to save his parents and his people from the evil forces of another island country. It was a fun show.

Got spear?

Waking up from a nap

I went to the final farmers' market at Savage. Sine it was the Wednesday before Halloween, people dressed up and there was trick or treating. I did not dress up but I did buy one last pie from Dangerously Delicious Pies. 

Waiting in the pie line

A spooky section of the market

My son's Scout troop had their Court of Honor, which included some skits and songs. It was a fun night.

In the skit

Telling a story from summer camp

In the spirit of Halloween, I share this bathroom sign I was confused by. Initially I thought it was a wheel-chair fleeing some crossbred horror. Turns out the symbol is supposed to represent "all genders," which could be terrifying in its own right.

Here's your sign

God's'Dog Vol. 3 by J. Pageau et al.

God's'Dog Volume 3: Monk written by Jonathan Pageau and Matthieu Pageau, adapted and drawn by Chris Weaver and Jesse White

See my review of the first volume here and second volume here!

The newly-baptized and newly-homicidal dog-man Christopher is taken off to a monastery by Daniel, formerly a member of the monastery who joined the pilgrim group that befriended Christopher. Christopher killed someone in rage during the pilgrimage and is to be judged by Symeon, the holy man who is on a pedestal literally--he lives an ascetic life on a platform at the top of a pole. Christopher lives the monastic life as he waits to meet Symeon. He works on praying as he faces a lot of temptations, especially in controlling his anger. Meanwhile, the outer world comes back to haunt him as the Roman emperor arrives for Symeon's advice on fighting giants who are threatening the eastern empire. The giants are really interested in the Skins of Adam, an ancient relic with great power. George, current owner of the Skins, comes with the emperor. George was the leader of the pilgrimage and had encouraged Christopher to be more of a man than a dog, though they fell out after the killing Christopher. The story ends with a battle between the Romans and the giants.

While the story does have some action, the main focus is on Christopher discerning his role in the world. Many of the monks see him as a monster, some claiming his baptism was blasphemy. With the support of Daniel, Christopher strives for a better understanding of himself and of others as he struggles to fit in with the monks.

The other focus is on the mythology of the Skins of Adam, giving a lot of history to the artifact, most of it biblical or bible-adjacent. The pseudo-history is intriguing and builds up the stakes in the current story, where the clash of good and evil becomes more concrete both between characters and within characters.

The art is very good and the narrative is highly enjoyable. I can't wait for volume 4!

Highly recommended.

Movie Review: Five Nights at Freddy's (2023)

Five Nights at Freddy's (2023) co-written and directed by Emma Tammi

Based on the popular video game franchise, Five Nights at Freddy's tells the story of Mike (Josh Hutcherson), a guy failing at life, probably because he has too much baggage. His parents died and he's raising his eight-ish year old sister Abby (Piper Rubio). He is not good at parenting and has a hard time holding down a job. He's haunted by the memory of another sibling who disappeared during their childhood. He gets fired from his mall-cop job just when his aunt is trying to take over care of Abby. The aunt is undesirable to everyone but the aunt. Mike is desperate enough to take an overnight security job at an abandoned pizza place from the 1980s that features animatronic characters, video games, and other fun stuff. The fun is all gone, especially as viewers see in a pre-credits sequence where the previous guard is killed off by the animatronics. Will Mike fare any better?

Having never played the game but certainly hearing about the premise (homicidal Chuck E. Cheese horror), I came into this with not a lot of knowledge. I had enough to figure out the plot and its twists. Since the movie is PG-13, the horror is mild, with a few jump scares and occasional menacing moments. I did not find it scary since it was predictable. The actors are just okay. The animatronics are a little creepy but not scary enough to sustain the terror. The set-up took a while and they did too good of a job making Mike seem like a loser. He is not that great of a hero. Maybe if I had played the game(s), I'd appreciate this more.

Barely recommended--I don't regret watching it but I am not sure I would recommend it either.

Oktoberfest 2026

We went to the 2026 Oktoberfest at Schifferstadt Architectural Museum in Frederick, Maryland. 

The house was built in 1758 by Elias Brunner, who replaced the log cabin built by his parents. The house is open for tours though we did not take one. Maybe at a later visit? The house was named after the Brunner's hometown in Germany. It is one of the oldest houses in Frederick.

Schifferstadt House

Re-enactors were there, demonstrating open-air cooking and other crafts from the 18th century. 

Booth from the past

Outdoor kitchen

Another booth was demonstrating and selling crafts made by woodturners on lathes.

A more modern booth

The real action was at the back lawn, where they were selling food and drink. 

Back of the house

I had a bauernwurst, a pork and beef-based smoked sausage. I gave in and had sauerkraut on it, reminding me how I don't really like sauerkraut. Even so, it was still delicious.

Bauernwurst

Of course, I had some beer to go with it. In fact, I had two beers, though they were stretched out over the visit. With my meal I had Spaten Oktoberfest beer, an amber-colored marzen that was quite tasty.

Oktoberfest beer

Later I had a Franziskaner Hefe-weisen, a lighter wheat beer that was refreshing and fun to carry around. The beer tent was selling commemorative mugs but we already have enough glassware at home. Another booth was selling authentic German steins. We looked but didn't buy.

Hefe-weisen

As we walked around, we enjoyed the view of the house's garden. Like many other 18th century homes, they grew a lot of their own herbs and spices out back.

The garden

A large tent was up for the musical performers, The Polka Terps, a band made up of faculty, alumni, and students from the University of Maryland. They played the usual stuff for Oktoberfests--Beer Barrel Polka, a medley from Sound of Music, Ein Prosit, (the drinking song), and the Chicken Dance. One of the band members got up and led us through the lyrics of Ein Prosit, another led us in the moves for the Chicken Dance. 

The Polka Terps

A lot of vendors were selling wares. We bought some fancy bread and some "German roasted" hazelnuts. It was a fun afternoon. We will probably go back next year.