I started out life as a Latin teacher, and apart from being able to spend time poring over smut no one else could understand and being called a scholar and not a pervert –- it was long ago and in those days the former term was considered preferable -– the appeal was that the subject domain didn’t change very much. You could delve deep and really understand what you were doing.

Oh, Saint Heraclitus, where did I go wrong? I fell into the blogosphere, and I will never be the same again. [Read more →]

Tags: movies, stone age memes, technology by Eva Thury
4 Comments »

“Nature’s first green is gold.” By the time I’d finished reading and seeing the movie “The Outsiders” that poem was all I could remember. Robert Frost became an idol to me of sorts and after just one viewing of the film version of “The Outsiders,” I could recite all 8 lines of that poem by heart. By the time I had seen the movie, all of its stars were already known to me via other films. When “The Outsiders” film was released I was only 7, but in the late 80’s I had seen much more of Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Ralph Macchio and of course Patrick Swayze in other films. [Read more →]

Tags: art & entertainment, movies by Jaclyn Roth
6 Comments »

Quentin Tarantino said, “Holocaust movies always have Jews as victims. I want to see something different.  Let’s see Germans that are scared of Jews.” Inglourious Basterds is part spaghetti western, part war film and part Jewish revenge fantasy. While it lacks the power and fun of earlier Tarantino efforts like Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and Kill Bill: Vol. 2, Inglourious Basterds is an entertaining film that raises intriguing issues. [Read more →]

Tags: Gail sees a movie, movies by Gail D. Rosen
3 Comments »

For those who may not know, I’ve been deciphering mythological messages in TV shows, music, and movies long before Lost, and will hopefully continue to do so long after its finale next May. It’s something that most people don’t think about, but I believe that these stories and themes are reflections of our collective unconsciousness, and that storytellers are able to tap into them. In other words, I feel that today’s writers, musicians, poets, and artists are like modern-day shaman who channel messages that all of us are ready to know consciously. [Read more →]

Tags: movies, religion & philosophy by Marc Oromaner
7 Comments »

Dear Jon Stewart:

This letter is more a written confession than typical correspondence for I have done you wrong. I have questioned your supreme leadership of Comedy Central news satire.

Let me explain. [Read more →]

Tags: art & entertainment, television by Tyler Samien
1 Comment »

Glee (Wednesday, FOX, 9PM) — Since the pilot in the spring, Glee has been on my mind. This was the show I couldn’t wait for this fall and it was certainly worth the wait. We were left with the New Directions version of ‘Don’t Stop Believin” in our heads all summer and I was ready for a change. During a commercial break Rosanna Scotto (FOX 5 NY news anchor) mentioned an interview with Salt-N-Pepa following that nights episode of Glee. [Read more →]

Tags: Lauren Likes TV, television by Lauren LaBumbard
5 Comments »

This is my first foray with Christopher Moore, unless you count repeatedly grabbing Lamb in bookstores reading two or three pages and then putting it down.  My issue with him has always been a matter of substance mixed with comedy. When I saw Fool and realized it was about Lear I compromised and bought the audio book. It was an excellent experience, and I’ll definitely listen to it a second time in a few years.

[Read more →]

Tags: books & writing, fan boy says by Steve Mazzeo
3 Comments »

If the idea of a close-up on Andy Griffith’s face while he has a loud and enthusiastic orgasm makes you wince, you should avoid Play the Game. In fact, unless you are aching to see Matlock/the Sheriff of Mayberry getting horizontal with Liz Sheridan (best known as Jerry’s mom on Seinfeld) followed by the big O, you should avoid Play the Game. I would be happy to see a more dignified look at romance between fine actors in their eighties. But Play the Game suffers from poor directing and even worse writing, and four excellent lead performances cannot save it. [Read more →]

Tags: Gail sees a movie, movies by Gail D. Rosen
No Comments »

I can feel it. Pro, college, and fantasy football is alive, the stench of the smoldering New York City streets is fading, and teachers have to actually go to work like the rest of us (suckas). That’s right, fall is just ’round the corner and you know what comes with that… fall TV, THE highlight of my favorite season.  We did it. We made it through another summer of ridiculous reality television and feelings of obligation to do something after work because it’s “summer.” I, for one, am done with all of that and am ready to plop my ass in front of the television, order a pizza and wait for all the television goodness to grace us with its presence. Here’s what’s on my schedule for week 1 of the TV season: [Read more →]

Tags: Lauren Likes TV, television by Lauren LaBumbard
3 Comments »

Roses are red.
Violets are blue.
I like this poet.
And so should you. [Read more →]

Tags: books & writing, fan boy says by Steve Mazzeo
2 Comments »

There is a lot to admire about this dark, smart and gritty science fiction thriller. In some ways, it deserves the accolades it is earning. Yet while I watched District 9, I thought it was a very good film of this type, but I also found it to be unpleasant and in need of more likeable characters. [Read more →]

Tags: Gail sees a movie, movies by Gail D. Rosen
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Before we begin let me say I love, perhaps to an unhealthy extent, the following hobbies: Dungeons & Dragons, Warhammer 40K, reading graphic novels, and fantasy football. I love the Phillies and Flyers too, but fantasy baseball/hockey isn’t my thing. Finally, this isn’t just a review — it’s also a public strategizing session. [Read more →]

Tags: fan boy says, sports by Steve Mazzeo
No Comments »

During a Q&A at a preview screening of Julie and Julia, Julie Powell (the real life Julie from the film) was asked if this film was “food porn.” Powell did not think so, and I agree with her. People who like lingering shots of voluptuous food will enjoy Julie and Julia. But you do not have to like cooking at all to love this story of two women with similar names and similar desires who triumphed over similar challenges.  [Read more →]

Tags: Gail sees a movie, movies by Gail D. Rosen
1 Comment »

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs should be rejiggered to feature another irresistible human drive. Who can resist drawing black curling mustaches on billboard pictures of beautiful ingénues and decorating upstanding pillars of society with devil’s horns and pitchforks? Photoshop has given us the power to satisfy this need and then some, but these days the influence of photo manipulation seems so pervasive and so powerful that its place in society is being debated in the British Parliament.

Britain is considering a law making it illegal to photoshop ads in publications intended for readers less than 16 years old, according to Jezebel.com. [Read more →]

Tags: art & entertainment, stone age memes, technology by Eva Thury
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When I first heard about the new Melrose Place… wait, let me rewind back a year. When I first heard about the new 90210 last year, I partly rolled my eyes and partly got very excited. Finding out that The CW was recreating the best show ever wasn’t the best news ever, but then I thought about the potential of a new OC-ish show entering my life with the possibility of cameos from the 90’s original cast and I began to change my mind. Excitement grew… and then the show started. [Read more →]

Tags: Lauren Likes TV, television by Lauren LaBumbard
5 Comments »

Chima is a big, f*ckin’ brat. How many people would kill to be on Big Brother? I’m pretty sure I would. Jeff used his wizard power and overturned Chima’s HOH nominations so she decided to act like a spoiled, bratty sore loser and break all of the Big Bro rules. Awww, your power was taken away, boo hoo. And can we discuss how she looks exactly like a Bratz doll? [Read more →]

Tags: Lauren Likes TV, television by Lauren LaBumbard
2 Comments »

“Just what America needs, another quirky comedy,” says Michael Cera to Charlyne Yi  when he hears about her new documentary. Part documentary, part mockumentary,  part performance art and wholly enjoyable, Paper Heart is quirky and original, and very different from the slew of romantic comedies dropped on America this summer. [Read more →]

Tags: Gail sees a movie, movies by Gail D. Rosen
No Comments »

I just watched Schindler’s List again. It’s a film that tutors you in subtle response. I first saw it in 2002, when I was 26; I thought it good but too discreetly brutal, not quite as blood-spattered as I’d expected. My next viewing, in 2007, was very different: I’d seen enough cinema to be stunned by Spielberg’s craft, but I must also have grown subtler in my moral reckonings: the film seemed very brutal, visceral. I wrote a post about it on my notorious blog. [Read more →]

Tags: books & writing, movies by Walter Aske
8 Comments »

So Brazilian politician and TV host Wallace Souza is suspected of having people murdered so his crime program, Canal Livre, could be first on the scene. All in the name of ratings. (Also in the name of eliminating the competition. Allegedly, Souza is a drug trafficker and the deceased were his competitors. But let’s focus on murder in the name of ratings.)

To quote “elpookie”: “Brilliant!” (The punctuation is elpookie’s.) [Read more →]

Tags: art & entertainment, television by David A. Brensilver
5 Comments »

Summer movies, including G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, are categorical: comedy or action (in this case action); R or PG-13 (PG-13); solid film or an incoherent pile of explosions clipped together (solid film); enjoyable or crap-tac-u-lar (enjoyable). I’ll grant you G.I. Joe isn’t great; it’s not Star Trek, but you get your ten bucks worth. I particularly like all of Dennis Quad’s Joe lines such as, “There are still a lot of Joes out there.” This is a super-short review, but I feel anyone who has read this blurb knows if they’ll like the movie, and knowing is half the battle!

Tags: fan boy says, movies by Steve Mazzeo
No Comments »