Culture

DVD: Faster

March 26, 2011 Culture

Hey, maybe I missed something about this – I mean, it got absolutely hammered by the critics, but I liked it!  Good, mindless entertainment, fast, violent, smart, and exceptionally well directed. Dwayne Johnson, who used to be The Rock, or possibly vice versa, plays Driver, a driver, who gets out of prison after ten years [...]

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Why Writers Drink

March 22, 2011 Culture

Much as I enjoy my glass of single malt, I’m not one of those writers who feels there’s a link between creativity and alcoholism.  Rather I would say that, done well, writing keeps certain wounds and sorrows alive in an author long after another man might have gotten past them.  Drink makes you feel better [...]

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The Battle for Los Angeles

March 21, 2011 Culture

Crowds flocked to the new apocalyptic alien invasion funfest Battle:  Los Angeles probably for the same reason a lot of critics hated it:  it pays high tribute to the US Marines and, symbolically at least, their Bush-led victory in the Iraq war. The talented Aaron Eckhart and his cleft chin lead a handful of brave [...]

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The Trouble with NPR

March 14, 2011 Culture

As everyone knows by now, independent journalist James O’Keefe has done another of his jaw-dropping gonzo videos, this one nailing National Public Radio executives courting actors pretending to be potential donors from a Muslim Brotherhood front group.  The execs are caught spewing pompous, elitist slander against Tea Party America and seemingly agreeing with the “donors” [...]

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Video Game: Castlevania, Lord of Shadows

March 12, 2011 Culture

I’ve never liked this franchise much.  I’ve usually found it laughably melodramatic and repetitive.    Plus it’s stuck with that ridiculous title, a holdover from its pixilated origins back in the 80′s. But this latest entry, Lord of Shadows, is different – though it’s still got the ridiculous Castlevania name-tag.  A lot of folks complained [...]

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One Last Thing About Charlie Sheen

March 7, 2011 Culture

The first time I was flown out to Hollywood to work on a film was a very exciting experience. Barely a year before, I had been a struggling wannabe, now suddenly someone was paying me more money than I’d ever imagined making and even flying me across country first class. My wife was so excited [...]

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Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer

March 4, 2011 Culture

For ninety minutes of its two hour run time, this often fascinating documentary manages to avoid sinking into the usual stultifying leftist propaganda – then down, down, down it goes. For the first hour and a half, the film does an excellent job of portraying the man who rose from New York state Attorney General [...]

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The Oscars

March 1, 2011 Culture

I was taking a walk with my wife Sunday evening when we noticed that there was hardly anyone out and about.  It took a moment or two before we realized:  oh yeah, it’s Oscar night in southern California.  Sort of like Yom Kippur in New York:  if you’re anywhere else, you don’t even know it’s [...]

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Unstoppable

February 26, 2011 Culture

Not much to say about this action thriller.  It’s just plain fun start to finish.  It’s based on the 2001 “Crazy Eights” incident in Ohio in which railroad workers battled to stop runaway train CSX 8888 carrying hazardous materials.  In this version, the train is 777 and in Pennsylvania, the action’s amped up and all [...]

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The Good Wife

February 17, 2011 Culture

Inspired by the downfall of whoremonger and also former New York governor Eliot Spitzer, The Good Wife follows the adventures of Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies), who has to return to practicing law after her Spitzer-like husband Peter (Chris Noth) gets sent to jail for whoring and corruption.  The show, I guess, is designed to answer [...]

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