Chris Barsanti's Blog, page 146

TV Room: ‘House of Cards: Season 3′

“That damned, smiling villain…” Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright in ‘House of Cards’ (Netflix)

The third season ofHouse of Cardsis out now on DVD for those of you out there not streaming. My review is at PopMatters :

When last we left Francis Underwood (Kevin Spacey) in the frenetic second season ofHouse of Cards, he had bested all challenges and ensconced himself in the Oval Office. It was a thunderclap of a climax, his school ring rapping on the desk like a gunshot, the echo calling to mind the l...

Writers’ Desk: Future Library

Trees into books … eventually.

Because there is apparently no end to the inventive riches of Scandinavian literary culture, we now have the Future Library Project.

They are planting a forest of 1,000 pine treesin Norway north of Oslo that will be harvested a century in the future and used to print an anthology of writing. In the manner of a literary time capsule, thepieces for the anthology are being written now at the rate of one per year and held in secret until publication in 2114.

Margare...

Screening Room: ‘Magic Mike XXL’

No need for shirts in ‘Magic Mike XXL’ (Warner Bros.)

ForMagic Mike, Steven Soderbergh took an effortlessly charming Channing Tatum, an impeccably entertaining Matthew McConaughey, threw them together with some classic rock hits, male stripper dance moves, and a backdrop of economic insecurity, and made it into one of the most unlikely successes of 2012. Now there’s a sequel, and quite incredibly it beats out the original in every way.

Magic Mike XXL is playing pretty much everywhere now. My...

Weekend Reading: Independence Day Edition

This is what the White House looked like last Friday. … and then the Girl Scouts showed up. America finally agrees … on hating this recipe. Christie the great American truth-teller. Well, it started when Columbus discovered barbacoa… A history of American fireworks. Confederate flags, then and now. Time to open up the old embassy. Print and read: What will America be like when we can’t base our lives around work anymore?

Screening Room: ‘Amy’

One face of ‘Amy’ (A24)

It’s too early to start really talking Oscars, but if we were, then Asif Kapadia’s moving and unromantic Amywould be a strong contender.

Amy opens in theaters tomorrow; seek it out. You can read my review atFilm Racket:

Before becoming a punch line for tabloid-huffing, talkshow-loving misery vampires, Amy Winehouse wasn’t just a star talent, she was a constellation unto herself. Bursting into the moribund pop music scene of the early 2000s with verve and danger, she ca...

Screening Room: ‘Jimmy’s Hall’

‘Jimmy’s Hall’ (Sony Pictures Classics)

Ken Loach’s latest slice of life from the British isles is based on the true story of Jimmy Gralton, an activist deported from Ireland for political agitation who returns in 1932 toreopen his community hall. Trouble, with “mother church” and other forces of oppression, follows.

Jimmy’s Hall is opening this week in limited release. My review is atFilm Racket:

Wearing a big progressive heart on its union-made sleeve,Jimmy’s Hall could easily have been a c...

Writer’s Desk: Stephen King on His Muse

Calliope — she was the muse responsible for those writing epic poetry. (Library of Congress)

There are writers who like to talk about their muse. They don’t have to necessarily be thinking about one of the classical nine Greek muses, just trying to personify that indefinable thing which is inspiration. It’s an easy thing to wax poetic about because, well, most writers don’t truly understand this thing that we do.

Stephen King has his own way of describing his muse, when talking about his writ...

Weekend Reading: June 26, 2015

And to think that you missed International Typewriter Day … again. There’s a speech doctor in Hollywood who helps actors sound less “gay.” More immigrants now coming from China than Mexico. Why so scared to acknowledge racism exists? Ebola might have caused the Plague of Athens in 430 B.C. Why is the Yale rare-books library saving Chipotle cups? Deconstructing Syria as the only viable option left. According to the studio, Peter Parker must be white, straight, and a non-smoker. NATO returni...

Screening Room: ‘Dope’ – Nerds in the ‘Hood

Rick Famuyiwa’s antic comedyDope tracks the adventures of three LA nerds obsessed with everything their peers aren’t — ’90s hip-hop, manga, skateboards, flat-tops — and just trying to survive high school in one piece.

Dope is playing now; my review is atPopMatters.

Here’s the trailer:

Writer’s Desk: Alone Time

Is there anybody here who can write in a loud room full of people? There are people out there who can somehow accomplish that feat; your average journalist, say, who doesn’t have the luxury of going off to find a cozy tea shop with decent coffeeand good Wi-Fi. They’ve got 45 minutes to pound out that 1,100-word piece on the newest unemployment numbers or a listicle on the month’s top 10 most cringe-inducing GOP candidate flubs, and a deadline waits for no man or woman.

Prose is a different ma...