Film/TV

675 results
Page 58
I know I’ve got the Geneva Convention articles in here somewhere.

"Battle: Los Angeles': War without complexity

One war we can all celebrate

At their heart, movies like Battle: Los Angeles aren't allegories of patriotism. They're fantasies on war without complexity.
Alaina Johns

Alaina Johns

Articles 3 minute read

Elizabeth Taylor's ultimate lesson

Bedazzled and deprived: Elizabeth Taylor's ultimate lesson

In her prime, whatever Elizabeth Taylor wanted, she took. Only later, when the roles and the men no longer came so easily, did this enormous talent channel her passions into saving and changing the lives of others. That's when she won her deepest respect.
SaraKay Smullens

SaraKay Smullens

Articles 6 minute read
A year that Eliot scholars have overlooked.

How Paris transformed T.S. Eliot

O, to be a young poet in Paris

In 1910, Paris was the world's intellectual and cultural center and T.S. Eliot was only 22. His year there served as life-long inspiration for his groundbreaking poetry, plays, and criticism.

Richard da Silva

Articles 2 minute read
Not to worry, Jeffrey: Fulfillment is just around the corner.

Open letter to film producer Jeffrey Lurie

Memo to a sensitive film producer: Have I got an opportunity for you!

Producer Jeff Lurie is miffed because the director of his Oscar-winning film neglected to thank him at the awards ceremony. As a small-scale filmmaker looking to crash the big time, I will eagerly perform any requisite display of gratitude in exchange for your support.

Maralyn Lois Polak

Articles 3 minute read

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A Romantic and a craftsman, simultaneously.

The poetic return of Theophile Gautier

It's not what you said, but how you said it

The best reason to welcome Theophile Gautier's return is that he's so damned entertaining as a poet. When times get hard, we need a little gentle enchantment in our lives.

Andrew Mangravite

Articles 4 minute read
Firth and Helena Bonham Carter as the king and queen: Travails of a figurehead.

"The King's Speech' reconsidered

On bowing and scraping before The King's Speech

The King's Speech, the much acclaimed film about King George VI's struggle to overcome his stutter, rests on a long-discarded literary premise: the notion that kings and queens are interesting and important people. Isn't it time we stopped bowing and scraping before these innocuous parasites?

Anne R. Fabbri

Articles 3 minute read
Spacey as Abramoff: Oh, for the good old days.

"Casino Jack': Downfall of a lobbyist

A Congressman's best friend

Casino Jack portrays the legendary lobbyist Jack Abramoff as a Horatio Alger gone sour, working the system until it turns on him. But the film already wears a period air in our post-crash era, where crooks don't merely steal millions but evaporate trillions and get away with it.
Robert Zaller

Robert Zaller

Articles 5 minute read
Chua: Life is grades and medals?

The dark side of 'Tiger' parenting

Wusses vs. tigers: And the winner is….

Are we a nation of softies, as Governor Rendell recently claimed? Should we envy the performance-driven Chinese? Funny thing— many kids raised in driven households envy us, and with good reason.
Maria Thompson Corley

Maria Thompson Corley

Articles 5 minute read
Child: A Brit's finger on the American mood.

"Worth Dying For': The appeal of Jack Reacher

One man I can trust: The appeal of Jack Reacher

When you're a twice-divorced 73-year-old, living in a trailer and feeling helpless to save the world from going to hell, an invincible fictitious hero like Lee Child's Jack Reacher makes an inspiring companion, even if he is a closet fascist.
Bob Ingram

Bob Ingram

Articles 6 minute read
Ward (left) and Gatti in real life: Upstaged in his own film.

Punch-drunk in Hollywood: 'The Fighter'

Requiem for a welterweight

What's worse than having your brains punched out in the ring? How about having your courage and integrity watered down into a Hollywood cliché?
Bob Ingram

Bob Ingram

Articles 4 minute read