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Moju: The Blind Beast (1928)

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  HALLOWEEN REVIEWS 2026 by Edogawa Rampo (AKA Taro Hirai, Edogawa Ranpo) When a blind sculptor kidnaps a model to serve as the ultimate subject of his tactile exploration of beauty, their relationship spirals into a grotesque parody of intimacy.  This novel is a study of perception that descends into a fever dream of sensual horror.  Its title is both literal and symbolic: Michio, the blind sculptor at its center, believes that his lack of sight allows him to experience beauty more purely through touch.  The nature of sculpture for an artist who does not have recourse to the sense of sight would be intensely and unremittingly tactile.  "The Blind Monster" (Italian) Perhaps the distinction between the artist and his subject would disappear, and an impulse for the artist to destroy himself might become a conviction that the destruction of his subject is also necessary.  "The Blind Beast" (French) Author Edogawa Rampo, often called the father of Japanese myst...
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Merry Christmas, X-Men… (Uncanny X-Men #98) (1976)

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Writer: Chris Claremont Artist: Dave Cockrum Inker: Sam Grainger The X-Men are out to enjoy a snowy Christmas evening in New York. It’s a nice opportunity for Chris Claremont to do some of the early character work that will become a hallmark of his lengthy tenure on the series …but you know it can’t last forever. One Sentinel escapes with Jean Grey as captive in the mistaken belief that it has killed Cyclops. Elsewhere, Professor Xavier’s Bahamas vacation/consultation with his friend Dr. Peter Corbeau is rudely interrupted. Banshee, Wolverine, Professor X, and Jean Grey find themselves prisoners of Dr. Stephen Lang, whose stated purpose is to destroy the X-Men as a precursor to siccing the Sentinels on mutantkind. Holding them is easier said than done. But it turns out that their shackles weren’t the only things keeping them confined. An early entry in Chris Claremont’s groundbreaking run on the X-Men, fun but only a hint of the greatness to come.
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Midnight Cowboy (1969)

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Director: John Schlesinger Writers: Waldo Salt, based on the novel by James Leo Herlihy Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight, Sylvia Miles, John McGiver, Brenda Vaccaro, Barnard Hughes, Ruth White, Jennifer Salt, Gilman Rankin A would-be male prostitute (Jon Voight) and a homeless street hustler (Dustin Hoffman) try to get by on the hard streets of New York.  Joe Buck, naive and not too bright, gets a hard lesson in disillusionment as he learns that his good looks and sexual prowess do not provide the easy avenue to riches that he expected.  Ratso Rizzo’s tough exterior masks his terror that his poor health will leave him vulnerable.  Despite an occasional interlude that distracts us from the central plight of these two lost souls, such as an unlikely visit to an Andy Warhol type party, bravura performances from Voight and Hoffman never let us lose focus for long.  The mutually caring relationship that grows between these two characters provides respite from the relentl...
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