Movies, Phantasy

New Moon

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The sequel to Twilight is a big disappointment for the adult mind. Only teenage girls with a crush on Robert Pattison will enjoy this film. Nothing new happens. Bella’s vampire boyfriend, Edward (Robert Pattison), leaves her so she can be safe.  Bella is crushed and becomes depressed.  She spends a lot of time with Jake, image [Read More]
Diary

Fiction: The Use of Poetry

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After watching the film “Atonement”, the name “Ian McEwan” is burned into my mind. His recent story in the New Yorker starts out very strong and was a pleasure to read. It surprised no one to learn that Michael Beard had been an only child, and he would have been the first to concede image [Read More]
Diary

Getting Obama Right

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DAVID BROOKS (NY Times) responds the last week’s column by Frank Rich and explains why it is so difficult for Obama to create on overarching narrative. The poltical odds seem to have changed. Right now the money is on health care passing. Who is Barack Obama? If you ask a conservative Republican, you are likely to hear image [Read More]
Diary

The Up-or-Down Vote on Obama’s Presidency

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The money in Washington is on Health Care legislation not passing this year. FRANK RICH is hedging his bets on this issue.  But he articulates forcefully that Obama needs to create an overarching narrative before it is too late for his presidency. WEDNESDAY’S health care rally was one of President Obama’s finest hours. image [Read More]
Curious News, Diary

An Amazing Nordic Tale

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David Brooks reports an amazing Nordic Tale that I want to see made into a movie. The Hard and the Soft (NY Times) The United States, a nation of 300 million, won nine gold medals this year in the Winter Olympics. Norway, a nation of 4.7 million, also won nine. This was no anomaly. Over the years, image [Read More]
Drama, Movies

Up in the Air

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What is a perfect night at the movies? A splendid dinner before! Short ticket lines! Then a surprisingly deep film with George Clooney in the lead! The words “deep” and “George Clooney” typically don’t go hand in hand. But a strong novel by Walter Kirn and a director (Jason Reitman) who can bring into image [Read More]
Diary

Somebody’s Mother

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by Mary Dow Brine The woman was old and ragged and gray And bent with the chill of the Winter’s day. The street was wet with a recent snow And the woman’s feet were aged and slow. She stood at the crossing and waited long, Alone, uncared for, amid the throng Of human beings who passed her by Nor heeded the glance of image [Read More]
Diary

Candy

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The first half of the film was so painful to watch that I considered turning off the DVD player. Strangely enough when words on the screen announce that we are now entering HELL (this is after the two lovers Dan (Heath Ledger) and Candy (Abbie Cornish), according to earlier words of the screen, were in image [Read More]