unsolicited criticism
My Highly Subjective List of the Best Movies of 2012
What?!? I only saw 29 movies in the theater this year? I know Sandy slowed me down, but still! I think I was on a record pace early in the year. What happened? I don’t know, but I know I let you down and I promise I’ll try harder in 2013. Yet again, I’ll say: […]
What I’ve Been Watching: Edition V
One of the insult-to-injury aspects of Superstorm Sandy was that I knew my DVR wasn’t recording anything while the power was out. Via Hulu and on-demand, I’ve been able to catch up on just about all my shows, but it became that much more obvious when I was struggling through a show that I don’t […]
Meatball Sandwich Review: Spring Street Natural
Truth is, I don’t go to a lot of places with “Natural” in their names. There’s a Korean grocery in Hoboken, Natural + Plus, that I used to frequent quite a bit—my old roommate and I called it “The Natch.” And I’ve consistently gone to Soho’s Spring Street Natural a few times a year since […]
Silbert Nobel Submission: “Up the Junction” and the Space-Time Continuum
Or maybe you have to be nominated for a Nobel Prize? Just in case could somebody maybe re-Tweet this? OK thanks. Use the hashtag #physics, as I think that’s where time travel would fit. Before I get into the “meat” of my theory (theorem? proof? I should probably look this stuff up in the FAQs […]
Jack’s 2012 Fall TV Preview
From my childhood and well into adult life, I bought one issue of TV Guide a year: the Fall Preview. I genuinely looked forward to it. I’d carefully read every summary and look over each cast photo. Then I felt well prepared for the slate of new shows—which to sample, and which to skip. So […]
What I’ve Been Watching: Edition IV
Having departed an office job since Edition III, I guessed I might start watching a whole lot more television. And, although I don’t shave quite as often as I once did, and a bit more time stretches between doing the laundry, my TV viewing time has actually remained pretty steady. So let’s get caught up, […]
Hey Rufus Wainwright, Your Opera Sucks
Or maybe it doesn’t? No, I think it does. Right off the bat I have to admit I don’t really know squat about opera. I went once, to the Metropolitan Opera, in the late ’90s. My friend Joe had purchased two tickets well in advance, but was worried that his relationship might not last until […]
Movie Review: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
3.5 stars out of 5 Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a smartly written, wonderfully performed, expertly directed film which I enjoyed very much… and yet, left the theater wondering, “Wait—what the hell just happened?” I never read the book, mysteries not really being my bag, and I was too young for the mini-series. But it’s […]
Movie Review: The Muppets
4 stars out of 5 The Muppets were huge in my formative years. Kermit had been such a dependable friend on Sesame Street. So it was easy to make the transition to the edgier Muppet Show with Kermit as a guide, as I got progressively edgier myself. The first Muppet Movie came at an ideal […]
Movie Review: The Descendants
4 stars out of 5 I am going to see a George Clooney movie every day. (OK, the streak MAY end tomorrow.) He’s reliably excellent. Generally, he plays some version of himself, which is fine with most of us: He’s a classic “women want him, men want to be him… and fine, we admit it, […]
Jack Silbert, curator