Proposal, The
An often-funny but too-bland and predictable romantic comedy that can’t find a way to live up to its potential
Entry from June 25, 2009
Kudos to John Dickerson of Slate for sounding a rare note of compassion in the midst of the Mark Sanford scandal. The minute Sanford started speaking, the reviews poured in via e-mail and Twitter. He was rambling, confused. He didn”t tear up enough when talking about his wife. He favored his mistress. He answered the questions…
Entry from June 24, 2009
This summer, on eight successive Tuesday evenings, I am presenting a series of films under the rubric of “Crime and Punishment” at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington. (go to www.eppc.org/movies for details or to register to attend). The second film in the series, Double Indemnity by Billy Wilder (1944), was screened yesterday…
Reality and the Postmodern Wink
Does it matter if what a work of art represents is an acknowledged fake? — From The New Atlantis, number 23 (Winter, 2009)
Double Indemnity
[See “Entry from June 24, 2009” under “My Diary”]
Entry from June 22, 2009
Another week, another scandal. Now it’s Senator John Ensign of Nevada who — do we really need to know this? — is said to have cheated on his wife. In fact, he says so himself. Why would he suddenly go public with what, apparently, all parties concerned had agreed to keep mercifully private for over…
Entry from June 17, 2009
This summer, on eight successive Tuesday evenings, I am presenting a series of films under the rubric of “Crime and Punishment” at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington. (go to www.eppc.org/movies for details or to register to attend). The series opened on Tuesday, June 16th with The Public Enemy (1931) by William Wellman….
Public Enemy, The
[See “Entry from June 17, 2009” under “My Diary”]
Entry from June 12, 2009
In my penultimate post, I hypothesized on the rhetorical contrast between left and right — noticing that the former go in for recondite and over-intellectualized theories of causation whenever anything bad happens while the latter, among whom I count myself, have a typically simple-minded, knuckle-dragging tendency to blame the perpetrators. Duh! Back in 1994, the…
Hangover, The
A guy-comedy which dares to take the frat-boy romance with extremes of inebriation into disturbing new territory
Drag Me to Hell
A disappointing parody of a horror flick which offers only a glance at in the direction of real-world satire before getting down to the routine business of dragging someone to hell
Entry from June 8, 2009
Reuters reports that Barack Obama “is the first sitting head of state to make the Forbes Celebrity 100 Power List, with his many magazine covers and best-selling books blurring the line between politics and celebrity.” Former President Bill Clinton has made the list several times, but only since leaving office. The rankings are determined by a…