unsolicited criticism
"Juno"
Bernie and I watched it last night, and I almost didn’t make it through the first ten minutes. It is wildly overwritten, Ellen Page delivering the smug one liners like every female comic on the Los Angeles alternative scene. It is also a pretty good movie. The plot has some nice twists, but there’s a […]
"The Bronx is Burning"
ESPN is running a marathon of its miniseries about the 1977 New York Yankees. It is very watchable. John Turturro is fantastic, losing himself in the role of Billy Martin, the wily, self-destructive manager with a chip on his shoulder. Oliver Platt is less irritating than usual as owner George Steinbrenner, depressingly younger in 1977 […]
"Mad Men"
Is anyone a fan? I know some people who are going crazy over the show, about the heady world of advertising in the early sixties. I can see it has merits, but I’d like it better if every scene didn’t feature a character acting sexist or being antisemitic or blowing smoke in somebody’s face.
The Golden Compass
Here is a random news story about The Golden Compass, echoing what’s been in the paper here. There is a consistent pattern whereby none of the protesters seem to know exactly what they are protesting: HOLLY TWP. – A retired grandmother is leading a group that plans to protest the nation’s No. 1 movie – […]
another gender bender
It’s hard to make out in the poor lighting, but this is Gary Busey in a wig, hideous clown make-up, and fake tits. “Under Siege” is very comfortable with its sexuality. The movie was clearly influenced by “Die Hard” (1988), but one of the big advantages of “Under Siege” is that, in “Die Hard,” they […]
a ripping yarn
Last night, sixty-six years and a day to the day from the attack on Pearl Harbor, a band of mercenaries, disguised as caterers and rock musicians, seized control of the USS Missouri, in order to steal its arsenal of nuclear weapons. This stunning scenario took place on my television screen, as I passive aggressively watched […]
NPR Humor
On a recent road trip, NPR was humming along in the background, barely audible. There was laughter, so John turned up the volume. It was a woman telling a Thanksgiving story, about being filled with stress about her parents coming to New York City to see her. She spoke in what I can only call […]
Les Moonves
In entertainment news: Nikki Finke at deadlinehollywooddaily.com finally catches up with my suggestion that it might be a good idea to test management’s solidarity (“a reasonable template,” 11/16). And the president of CBS is now, by all indications, a black male. So why isn’t the prime time schedule more diversified?
Foul!
Connie Hawkins was one of my two favorite basketball players of all time. He landed with the Lakers after squandering his talents with the Globetrotters and then in the old ABA, followed by a great run with the Phoenix Suns. By the time, he got here, the Hawk was still capable of dominating games in […]
Don Rickles
I just watched the doumentary about him on HBO. More people talking about how funny he was than footage of him actually being funny. Plenty of clips of cheap sentiment though. I guess I’m not his biggest fan, although it is impressive how many famous people have championed him, from Frank Sinatra to Jackie Gleason […]
Jack Silbert, curator