The Home of the Creative Mind

Welcome to PooBahSpiel, the online voice and home of the creative mind of Mark Monlux, Illustrator Extraordinaire. Prepare yourself for an endless regaling of art directly from the hand of this stellar artist. And brace yourself against his mighty wind of pontification. Updates are kinda weekly and show daily sketches, current projects, and other really nifty stuff.

Monday, November 30, 2015

The Comic Critic's Movie Review of "Captain Horatio Hornblower"





I guess every generation has their slew of popular writers. When I was in high school, it was Stephen King. My niece was reading J.K. Rowling before I got to her. When I was a kid, I was a voracious reader and didn’t limit myself to the popular writers of the time. I actively sought advice from librarians and other reading enthusiasts as to what I should read next. And I would go through phases of reading writers of a genre or an era. One month, my attention would be consumed by Victorian authors like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Jules Verne and H.G. Wells; the next month, I would be devouring the Noir fiction of Raymond Chandler. During one of those phases, I was consumed by anything nautical. I chewed up Robert Lewis Stevenson’s “Treasure Island,” and Daniel Defoe’s “Robinson Crusoe.” And it is only natural that when I talk about how much I loved these books that I was directed to C.S. Forrester. Movies were made of all of these writers’ creations. And while I love the movies, I encourage those who’ve seen them to give the books a try. C.S. Forrester is an overlooked treasure just waiting to be rediscovered. Go ahead and watch Captain Horatio Hornblower and then pick up the book and give it a browse. I bet you will find yourself reading the entire series. You might even give some of his other books, like “The African Queen,” a try.