Chris Barsanti's Blog, page 112
January 20, 2017
Quote of the Day: Inauguration Edition
In 1935, journalist Dorothy Thompson reflected on the rise of dictators:
No people ever recognize their dictator in advance … He never stands for election on the platform of dictatorship. He always represents himself as the instrument [of] the Incorporated National Will.
She also noted how the same thing would happen in the United States:
When our dictator turns up you can depend on it that he will be one of the boys, and he will stand for everything traditionally American.
(h/t Smithsonian )
...
Weekend Reading: January 20, 2016
[image error]
Oh, irony: Now that they’re running things, GOP voting to fund same ACA they were recently suing to kill. Some people think that silencers have been just tooeasy to buy. The lights are back on in Detroit. Maybe it’s time to stop making excuses for why so many people in Middle America voted for hate. “I love this new world, I no longer have to be politically correct,” said the Connecticut Republican, allegedly, before assaulting a woman, allegedly. Fiddling and prevaricating while the planet...January 18, 2017
Screening Room: ‘The Founder’
Even though Ray Kroc referred to himself as the founder of McDonald’s, he didn’t exactly invent the idea. That would be the McDonald brothers, who ran a popular burger stand in Southern California in the 1950s, when Kroc came across it. What happened next is described inThe Founder, featuring Michael Keaton in a showy turn as Kroc.
[image error]The Founder played briefly last year and is opening wider this week. My review is atPopMatters:
Sometimes a hamburger isn’t just a hamburger. Consider how many Am...
January 17, 2017
Screening Room: ‘His Girl Friday’
Criterion’s two-disc edition of Howard Hawks’sHis Girl Fridayhit stores last week and it’s a real pip. Packaged with all the usual supplemental features and interviews, you’ve also got the full edition of Lewis Milestone’s first film adaptation of the playThe Front Page from 1931. But all you really need is the film itself, a sparkling new 4K restoration that makes every gag from this whirlwind-speed screwball comedy ring clear.
[image error]My review ofHis Girl Fridayis atPopMatters:
Unlike his lionized...
January 16, 2017
Quote of the Day: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Edition
[image error]This is what Evan McMullin (yes, a Republican) had to say about the president-elect’s attacks on Rep. John Lewis:
On this Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, let it be clear that John Lewis is an American patriot. Trump’s attacks on him further confirm it.
Now, go and buy yourself theMarch trilogy of graphic historical novels that Lewis co-wrote.
If you can find a copy, that is.
January 15, 2017
Writer’s Desk: Stay Excited
Roughly ten years ago, novelist Michael Cunningham (The Hours) received one of those calls very few of us civilians ever receive: “This is David Bowie. I hope I’m not calling at an inconvenient time.”
[image error]The collaboration that followed was for a never-realized musical about an alien marooned on Earth. Cunningham was to write the book and Bowie the songs. Given that Cunningham was a somewhat obsessed fan and Bowie a little sketchy on the details of what he wanted to do, things started off a littl...
January 14, 2017
Reader’s Corner: The Book Bus
Eau Claire, Wisconsin just had a pretty cool idea:
As early as late spring, all 22 city buses could be outfitted with special racks filled with books that people can read on the ride or bring home if they want to – free of charge. Consider it a road-bound riff on the Little Free Library movement that began in Hudson a few years ago and spread throughout Wisconsin and the world, with literally thousands of book-filled boxes springing up at homes, businesses, and schools. In this case, the free...
January 13, 2017
Weekend Reading: January 13, 2017
[image error]
Frank Sinatra wouldn’t have performed at the Inauguration, either, because racism. Eisenhower said, “disorganization … can easily lead to disaster”—get ready for a chaotic next four years. Wait, there’s been fiveUnderworld movies and they’ve made a half billion dollars? The kids programming your future: “Lawyers will be completely gone, like, pretty soon … Same with cashiers. They make no sense. And non-automated cars? Those are dangerous.“ How corruption begins: Donateto president-elect, g...Eyes Wide Open 2016: The Best
‘American Honey,’ #3 on the list of year’s best (A24)
So now that it’s January, time to get working on all those films you meant to see over the holidays but never quite got around to. Not sure what to see first? Check out this list of the 25 best films of 2016, published over atEyes Wide Open.
It’s broken down into three parts: here, here, and here.
[image error]There’s something there for pretty much everybody, from great dramas like Manchester by the Sea and Denzel Washington’s Fences to screwball come...
January 10, 2017
Eyes Wide Open 2016: The Worst
Usually around this time each year, I would be finishing up the new edition ofEyes Wide Open, my annual guide to the best and worst films of the past year.
Since a good part of last year was spent working on two new books that will be coming out this summer—The Handy New York City Answer Book in May and Monty Python FAQ in June—there just wasn’t enough time to put togetherEyes Wide Open 2016.
But, there was still a lot to talk about in 2016, film-wise. So, this week over at theEyes Wide Open...
