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    Blog Launch

    July 11, 2019 by

    Hello! My name is Joe Kessler, and I’ve been blogging in one form or another since 2004. This is the launch of my new home for that, where I’ll be posting book reviews and other short pieces of writing. I’m also debuting a Patreon site for anyone who would like to support my efforts through… Read more

  • Movie Review: Creed (2015)

    March 14, 2026 by

    Movie #12 of 2026: Creed (2015) An unexpected franchise spinoff that swiftly establishes its own unique vision around a different protagonist played by an outstanding Michael B. Jordan. The Rocky movies ended for the natural reason of the titular character’s advancing age, and it was already silly in 2006, thirty years after his debut, to… Read more

  • TV Review: Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, season 1

    March 12, 2026 by

    TV #12 of 2026: Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, season 1 A reasonably successful merger of the larger Star Trek franchise with the rhythms of a CW-ish teen drama. This is a Discovery spinoff by means of Jett Reno and Admiral Vance in the supporting cast, but the main focus is on a small cohort of… Read more

  • TV Review: Classic Doctor Who, season 24

    March 12, 2026 by

    TV #11 of 2026: Classic Doctor Who, season 24 One of the last real times of change for the old British series before its long hiatus, introducing us to the final classic TV Doctor and (eventually) companion. The transition is bumpy and short, spanning only four stories and fourteen episodes in total, which is down… Read more

  • Movie Review: The Many Saints of Newark (2021)

    March 10, 2026 by

    Movie #11 of 2026: The Many Saints of Newark (2021) I came into this movie pretty skeptical — did The Sopranos really need a spinoff prequel, over a decade after the show went off the air? — but it grew on me a little by the end. Although I didn’t think there were any mysteries… Read more

  • Book Review: The League of Frightened Men by Rex Stout

    March 10, 2026 by

    Book #39 of 2026: The League of Frightened Men by Rex Stout (Nero Wolfe #2) I’m enjoying this old mystery series enough to keep reading, but I have yet to be blown away by the execution. The most enjoyable aspect remains the narrator’s banter and overall relationship with his boss the reclusive detective, which means… Read more

  • Book Review: Mars by Ben Bova

    March 7, 2026 by

    Book #38 of 2026: Mars by Ben Bova This is probably the Grand Tour novel that stood out the clearest in my memory before my current reread, telling a thrilling yet grounded tale of outer space exploration that paved the way for so many subsequent releases (and not just from author Ben Bova, though it… Read more

  • Movie Review: Rocky Balboa (2006)

    March 6, 2026 by

    Movie #10 of 2026: Rocky Balboa (2006) Any story that restarts a dormant franchise carries an additional burden of justification that immediate sequels lack. The first five Rocky movies had their ups and downs, but together they formed a cohesive unit about the life and career of a Philadelphia boxer from roughly 1976 to 1990.… Read more

  • Book Review: Doctor Who: The Pit by Neil Penswick

    March 6, 2026 by

    Book #37 of 2026: Doctor Who: The Pit by Neil Penswick (Virgin New Adventures #12) This Doctor Who novel is so bad that it had me looking back over previous stories I’ve rated as three-out-of-five stars, wondering if I’d been too harsh on them. It’s both overstuffed and incredibly disjointed, offering not so much a… Read more

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