Showing 1 - 10 of 11
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.
Action-packed
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 15/06/2018
» When a popular author passes away, his/her estate seeks a replacement to keep generating income. Hopefully, one who can step into the shoes with nary a squeak. Alas, there have been more than a few squeaks and the replacement -- a competent scribe for the stories he's accustomed to writing -- is unable to make the change. The estate may try others with the same result.
The Dark Ages
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 08/09/2017
» I was taught that the Roman Empire fell to the barbarians in 476 AD. My next grade teacher was vague. There were the Dark Ages, Medieval times and Middle Ages. I heard the word Byzantine only once, when the Turks captured Constantinople in 1455 AD. The Crusades took place halfway between.
A woman's world
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 12/05/2017
» The payoff of my having spent years as a backpacker and visiting over 50 countries is that I remember them all, some more vividly than others. That gives me an advantage when reviewing the books and movies set in one or more of them, over those who remained at home. Yes, I know that area. No, it's just a set or a bit of poetic license.
A love mantra
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 11/11/2016
» According to literary surveys, love stories are the most popular reading matter. The reason why, I leave to psychologists. This reviewer guesses it's because however hard we strive for it, it continues to evade us. Vicarious is the closest we come to the actual experience.
The War on drugs
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 09/05/2016
» Drugs are a trillion-dollar business and the so-called War on Drugs is under-financed. So much is paid to the powers that be to turn a blind eye that those who fight the good fight deserve the credit they get when busting a drug ring.
Historical hot spot
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 02/05/2016
» This planet is comprised of hundreds of countries, few of which university graduates can name or their professors find on the map. Asked why, they'll say because they aren't important. Maybe they popped up in history, but then sank back into obscurity. Every continent has them. Poor buggers.
A lawyer's dream
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 27/07/2015
» The person many historians and authors of historical fiction find most fascinating to write about is England's 16th-century monarch Henry VIII. His hope for a male heir led him to have six wives, execute two of them and change the religion of the country.
A business epic
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 10/11/2014
» British author Lord Jeffrey Archer is often regarded as the foremost novelist of our age. Like Enrico Caruso, the greatest of opera tenors, their fame rests on their delivery, not the words themselves. This reviewer enjoys his short stories most of all, yet I can't recall any.
Yes? No? Maybe?
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 15/09/2014
» We know what history and historical fiction is, but pseudo-history? It is fiction made to seem fact. Untrue, yet commonly believed. The origins of religions is an example, founded by an interplay between God and humans. Another is how countries came to be, such as Romulus and Remus raised by wolves. Brits are pretty sure that Robin Hood was a literary creation, but tend to accept King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.