Showing 1 - 10 of 19
Down Mexico way
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 17/01/2020
» Brit turned American Lee Child is perhaps the most respected author in the crime-thriller genre. His 6-5, 250-pound literary creation Jack Reacher is the most popular of heroes. No small part of the reason is that he's played on the screen by -- rather shorter -- star Tom Cruise. On his own, the behemoth is likeable.
Evil personified
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 10/01/2020
» When the terms genocide and war criminals are mentioned, the connections that usually come to mind are the Third Reich and Nuremberg. Japan too, and the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal. Today a permanent process for prosecuting crimes against humanity has been established at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Isis thwarted
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 26/12/2019
» Until the 20th century, jihadists had no bones to pick with the US. Their ire was directed at the UK and France who coveted their lands, and the Jews trying to carve out their own. They got good press when T.E. Lawrence led the Arabs against the enemy Ottoman Turks. The silent film The Sheik romanticised them. The Riffs were favoured in their uprising against Spain. They didn't participate in the North African campaign in World War II.
Twists and turns
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 15/11/2019
» It is said that truth is stranger than fiction. That's debatable. Authors have lively imaginations. Many have concocted plots for their novels that are at least as strange as anything real life has offered. Readers of long standing sometimes can't be certain which is which. Which is where gut feeling is not necessarily reliable.
Up to par
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 01/11/2019
» The first thing I did when becoming a newspaper film reviewer was to import a shortcut from the West: evaluating movies with stars. One Trink star was for the very worst motion picture, five Trink stars for the very best. Which was followed by a paragraph explanation. Readers approving my cinema tastes thus knew on what to spend -- or save -- their earnings.
Religion and warfare
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 06/09/2019
» What all religions, sects, cults have in common is that each believes it is the true one, the others not only unworthy but spawns of the devil, deserving to be liquidated.
Just a thought
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 30/05/2019
» I don't mind admitting that I winced when I plucked an 800-page novel from my review bag, having long advocated that authors don't need more than 400 pages to say what needs be said. The back cover describes it as an espionage novel. I don't recall Ian Fleming or John le Carré penning tomes.
Flight of fancy
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 22/03/2019
» Intelligence agencies the world over see Russia's cloak-and-dagger operations as the greatest danger. But Russia's chief enemy is the US, to which it causes endless mischief, both directly and indirectly.
Fact or fiction?
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 21/02/2019
» It is common knowledge that the KGB weren't above using sex in its spying activities. Books were written and movies made about it. What isn't generally known is that the Russian Federation's FSB are not only continuing the practice but expanding it.
Isis foiled
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 15/02/2019
» Until a few years ago, no Western publisher dared say a word against Isis, the Muslim terrorist extremists infamous for taking umbridge and reacting violently. No longer. Isis is now targeted by the media and by novelists with impunity.