A Detour Before Dying

I hesitated to publish this story under the rubric of humor; but there is something ‘awfully’ funny about it. The lesson seems loud and clear: When your doctor says you are terminally ill, do go and seek a second opinion! By JIM MALONE AS TOLD TO PAIGE WILLIAMS Nearly eight years ago, just after Christmas in 1996, [Read More]

Before Sunrise

After watching its sequel Before Sunset, I wanted to see the first part of the story. A young American (Ethan Hawke) and a young French student (Julie Delpy) meet in a train. She decides not go on to Paris as planned but step out of the train with him in Vienna and spend the image [Read More]

Spiderman 2

Peter Parker a.k.a. Spiderman once again finds himself with too many heroic acts on his daily calendar. This prevents him from excelling at his studies at Columbia University and making sufficient money to pay his rent. New York needs a fulltime Spiderman just to keep the city functioning. Again Spiderman battles a mad scientist who image [Read More]

Miami Beach, Florida

Miami Beach is so different from any other place I have been to in the U.S. It is Santa Monica, plus a tropical climate, plus a bit of southern Europe atmosphere sprinkled in, plus a large number of people from all over the world who have taken an oath to have fun every single day image image image image [Read More]

Before Sunset

Do not read this review before reading my review of its predecessor film “Before Sunrise.” Nine years ago two young people spent, we are told, an amazing night in Vienna togehter. To play with fortune they did not exchange phone numbers but promised each other to meet on a particular day six months later in image [Read More]

A History of Sex

From The Economist print edition, Sep 23rd 2004, p. 95 New Evidence that people have been promiscuous for a long time. LOTHARIOS everywhere will be pleased to hear that monogamy does not appear to be a natural human state. That, at least, is the conclusion of a study conducted by Michael Hammer at the University of Arizona [Read More]

Fantastic New Series: Jack & Bobby

Last Sunday a fantastic new series started on the WB Channel. It follows how a teenage boy become president of the USA in 2040. The writing is clever and insightful. One has the feeling that Washington insiders have written the script. In the middle of a presidential campaign, it is all the more fun to image [Read More]

The Prince & Me

It is a regular fairy tale, but there a few clever twists. The writers located most of the action in Wisconsin. A playboy Daenisch prince discovers a farm girl who does not like dating because it could interfere with her going to medical school. She turns him into an responsible adult and is invited to image [Read More]

Last Tango in Paris

Even good acting (Marlon Brando) cannot save a script that has no depth and a director who lacks an eye for how to pick stories that are worth telling. If one is confused in one’s head (as writer or director), it does not make for good art to let confusion take over the story. The image [Read More]