Ken and Robin Consume Media: Mesopotamian Artifacts, Mr. Moto, and The Department of Queer Complaints
May 19th, 2026 | Robin
Ken and Robin Consume Media is brought to you by the discriminating and good-looking backers of the Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff Patreon. Each week we provide capsule reviews of the books, movies, TV seasons and more we cram into our hyper-analytical sensoriums. Join the Patreon to help pick the items we’ll talk about in greater depth on a little podcast segment we like to call Tell Me More.
Recommended
Between Two Rivers: Ancient Mesopotamia and the Birth of History (Nonfiction, Moudhy Al-Rashid, 2025) Artifacts found in the temple of 6th century BCE princess and moon priestess Ennigaldi-Nanna, which might have comprised a museum or antiquities collection, highlight such aspects of Mesopotamian life as commerce, education, warfare, and the role of women. Engaging overview of an ancient society that seems especially relatable because the cuneiform tablets they left behind preserve so much of their workaday correspondence, including the complaints.—RDL
BlackBerry (Film, Canada, Matt Johnson, 2023) Fumbling tech savant (Jay Baruchel) and his protectively overbearing ubernerd buddy (Matt Johnson) team with shouty business shark (Glenn Howerton) to usher in the BlackBerry mobile device and ride out a rise and fall of epic proportions. So much better than any film with this subject matter could possibly be, thanks to a brilliant structure giving in-depth treatment to a handful of major developments, driven forward by bubbling suspense beats.—RDL
The Department of Queer Complaints (Fiction, John Dickson Carr, 1940) Seven of the short stories in this collection feature Colonel March of the titular Scotland Yard department dealing with impossible reports to the police; annoyingly only two of them count as properly queer complaints, though for the most part they’re all entertaining puzzles, and “The Silver Curtain” ranks with top-tier Carr. The rest include one fun legal tall tale, and three borderline ghost story mysteries that make me wish Carr had pursued his Gothic tendencies in that direction more often.—KH
Undercurrent (Film, Japan, Kozaburo Yoshimura, 1956) Independent-minded silk artisan (Fujiko Yamamoto) yearns for a university professor (Ken Uehara). Romantic drama of turbulent contained emotion with a stunning palette of muted colors.—RDL
Warfare (Film, US, Alex Mendoza & Alex Garland, 2025) During the US Occupation of Iraq, Navy SEALS in a besieged, commandeered house on a tightly packed street attempt to evacuate wounded comrades. Recreates without broader context a specific engagement with obsessive detail and visceral you-are-there immediacy. Cast includes Will Poulter, Michael Gandolfini and Charles Melton.—RDL
Good
Cold War 1994 (Film, Hong Kong, Lok Man Leung, 2026) OCTB chief (Terrance Lau) and his Special Branch counterpart (Daniel Wu) clash over the kidnapping of a business magnate’s heir apparent in pre-handover Hong Kong. Police conspiracy thriller prequel packed with cameos from 90s HK stars outshines the rest of the franchise.—RDL
The Pre-War Mr. Moto Novels (Fiction, John P. Marquand, 1935-1942) Each of these five novels follows the same basic structure: an American (usually morally broken, sometimes just feckless) gets caught up in dangerous machinations in an exotic location, usually with a mysterious, beautiful woman involved. He resolves to do the right thing, and discovers that the polite gentleman Mr. Moto who gave him a bit of help or advice was actually an agent of Japanese intelligence. Mr. Moto comes out looking much cleverer, usually with his (and Japan’s) position strengthened. Marquand’s great strengths are travelogue and internal character; Mr. Moto is So Sorry and Last Laugh, Mr. Moto are fairly strong Ambler-esque spy novels as well. [CW: Period racism, unfortunately worse and more foregrounded in Last Laugh, Mr. Moto, set in the Caribbean.]—KH
Sailor’s Luck (Film, US, Raoul Walsh, 1933) Brash but jealousy-prone sailor (James Dunn) woos down-on-her-luck blond (Sally Ellers). Careening romcom stuffed with stock characters shows off Walsh’s ability to wrest entertainment from the slimmest material.—RDL
