World History Ideas Film “I have done that,” says my memory. “I cannot have done that,” says my pride, and remains inexorable. Eventually—memory yields. –Friedrich...
ArgoStar WarsDie Hard I finally got around to seeing “Argo” earlier this week, and was astounded at how thoroughly it failed (in my view) to measure up to the considerable hype. I’d...
Fight ClubThe Battle Of Algiers I’ve refrained from saying much about Boston because I don’t have any special information, expertise or knowledge, and I’m not particularly interested...
Interstellar “Interstellar” has become the fodder, already, for numerous online and in-person discussions. Most reviewers disliked Christopher Nolan’s newest film—some critics...
Culture Art FilmThe Grand Budapest Hotel In his study of “how Europe went to war in 1914,” The Sleepwalkers, Christopher Clark challenges the conventional wisdom that Austria-Hungary was...
FilmThe GrayThe Way Back “The Gray” is about oil workers surviving a crashed plane in Alaska. They crash in a wolf pack’s territory. The survivors try to make their way out. ...
Culture Film CasualWhite House Down “White House Down” A Hollywood-White House-Democratic Party ProductionStarring Barack H. Obama as the PresidentJohn A. Boehner (Speaker of the House)...
War Pop Culture John Podhoretz has a very fine review of American Sniper. I think he’s hit on why the film has been so successful. I hadn’t thought of it this way. Excerpt: American Sniper bowls...
FilmAmourFunny Games As we handed over our tickets to see Michael Haneke’s Oscar-nominated “Amour,” the ticket-taker said, “Theater is on your right. Enjoy!” My companion,...
Christianity War A reader sends this piece about a small convent of Trappist nuns living in Syria. These nuns established their presence in conscious imitation of the martyred French Trappist monks...
World History FilmNo In “No,” the new satire about the ad campaigns waged by both sides in the 1988 vote that led Augusto Pinochet to step down, the anti-Pinochet side faces a much more...
Culture war Gay Marriage Three cheers for Michael Kinsley, who not only favors same-sex marriage, but commissioned Andrew Sullivan’s landmark 1989 essay arguing for it, for telling SSM supporters...
The Rock On the season finale of Saturday Night Live this past weekend, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson faux-announced that he would run for president in 2020, with actor Tom Hanks as his running...
FilmWhat Maisie KnewMaisieA Separation There may not be many movies with happy endings more heartless than the one in “What Maisie Knew.” The new adaptation of Henry James’s novel...
The Spy Who Loved MeQMGoldenEyeQuantumSkyfallDr. No Fiction sometimes has a way of transcending its most ardent limitation, which is that it is fiction. Just ask Eric Holder, who probably never thought...
Fight ClubThe Big LebowskiStar WarsToy StorySpirited AwayGroundhog DayThe ShiningAfter HoursThe Princess BrideThe Court JesterSome Like It HotThe ApartmentOne Two ThreeThe Lady EveThe Philadelphia StoryFlirting...
Speaking of lists: it seems especially silly to recap the year in theater, since unlike with books or movies, you can’t use a list of “the year’s best” as a guide for what you...
Twenty years after the 9/11 attacks, the federal government continues blindfolding the American people. Four presidents have either actively engaged in a cover-up or have kowtowed to the FBI and other...
I’ve told this story many times in this space. If you’ve already heard it, feel free to pass. I’m telling it again because this morning is the twentieth anniversary of its happening. That, and it...
Infinite Regress: A Novel by Joshua Hren (Angelico Press, 2022), 296 pages.
Arts & Letters
A Book from the Brink Joshua Hren’s...
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