Comedy, Drama, Movies

Argo

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Argo chronicles an amazing rescue operation that the CIA orchestrated during the Iran hostage crisis. I don’t want to spoil the fun of watching this film and hence I do not want to reveal what marvelous ploy the CIA came up with to get a few diplomats out of Iran. The film starts with a [Read More]
Documentary, Drama, Movies

Waiting for Superman

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It would be inappropriate to call Waiting for Superman a documentary about the causes of America’s failing schools. Think of it as a promotional film to get you to join the movement to demand changes to American schools. And what a promotional film it is Davis Guggenheim is a master of using the medium to promote [Read More]
Drama, Movies

American Hustle

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David Russel, the director and co-writer of American Hustle is my Santa for this year. He made me a wonderul X-mas present last night. American Hustle wonderfully recreates the look and feel of the late 1970s in New York City. Russel tries to say something deep about American life while at the same time giving [Read More]
Diary

The World remembers Nelson Mandela

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Everybody seems to want to say good-bye to Nelson Mandela and participate in his sainthood. Here is a nice obituary from the New Yorker. . POSTSCRIPT: NELSON MANDELA, 1918-2013 by He was the last of the twentieth century’s national liberators. He became a global symbol of righteousness and reconciliation. He led his [Read More]
Books

Middlesex

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In October 2012, I started reading Middlesex. It did not know until I started this book that a certain percentage of people are neither fully male nor female. It is the story of a Greek family immigrating and then making a life in America after World War 1 to current times. I found the initial [Read More]
Movies, Phantasy

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

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I raved about The Hunger Games film. It was fresh and novel. The sequel reminds me of the disappointment I felt when I saw the second installment of Twilight: it was entirely repetitive. The same mood, the same visuals, the same constellation of conflicts and affections. Apparently the director followed to book quite closely. [Read More]
Astute Observations, Diary

Adam Gopnik on JFK

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On the 50th anniversary of the JFK assassination Adam Gopnik writes an amazingly insightful review of the event that endless conspiracy literature that it has spawned. You will understand better why the event has been such a fertile ground of conspiracy stories and why the American public never saw the presidency in the same way [Read More]
Documentary, Drama, Movies

Stories We Tell

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We all know the dynamics of our immediate family. But unless we spent a lot of time—let’s say at the house of our best friend—we know very little about whether what happens in our family is typical or quite different from what happens in most other families. Sarah Polley opens up her family for us. [Read More]
Drama, Movies

Rush

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I am not a fan of Formula One racing or any car racing for that matter. But Niki Lauda is an intriguing figure and Rush received very high ratings by critics and the viewing public alike. So I went to see this new film by Ron Howard. The story is a simple one-a rivalry [Read More]