Chris Barsanti's Blog, page 176
March 31, 2014
Now Playing: ‘The Lunchbox’
Making up ‘The Lunchbox’
InThe Lunchbox, a sad-eyed office worker nearing retirement in Mumbai gets his regular lunch delivery, only to discover that it’s meant for a married man. But the food is delicious, so he keeps the mistake going and takes up exchanging letters with the cook, a lonely housewife trying to get her husband to notice her.
The Lunchbox is playing now in limited release. My review is atFilm Racket:
The sweet and savory epistolary romanceThe Lunchboxspins a variation on the adag...
March 30, 2014
Reader’s Corner: Bookpub
This idea seems like it was a longtime coming. Take the micro- (or nano-) brewery concept that’s been gathering speed across the country, particularly throughout the Midwest, and combine it with reading. Books and beer.
Per theIndianapolisStar, University of Michigan English majorJason Wuerfelis starting up a certain kind of awesome with his new “Books & Brews” storefront:
A personal touch isn’t the only thing setting Books & Brews a part from the competition. All of the beer served in the bar...
March 29, 2014
Now Playing: ‘Anita’
Anita Hill vs. the men of the Senate Judiciary Committee
In 1991, the first of the decade’s great, somewhat shameful, televised scandal melodramas was broadcast: Anita Hill’s grilling by the Senate Judiciary Committee over her allegations of sexual harassment by Clarence Thomas. Then, as now, Hill is a dignified figurewho chooses her words carefully and keeps emotion in check. Although the society at large has, surprisingly, moved on from this watershed moment, Hill finally gets her overdue co...
March 28, 2014
Department of Weekend Reading: March 28, 2014
The thing about that old favorite, Imo’s: “Legally, it’s not even like pizza.”
First it was guns everywhere, now, knives!
So,isthere kale to be found in New Orleans, and why would that matter?
Warning: This story (well, most stories) may contain material that you or somebody will find offensive.
“Truthiness, insinuations, and allegations are a vital part of political speech”; P.J. O’Rourke’s awesome Supreme Court amicus brief.
Apparently, some people still listen to Rummy.
Crimea ultimately not so...
March 27, 2014
New in Theaters: ‘Noah’
Noah and family get ready for the flood
Every so often it seems that Hollywood gives the Bible epic another go. But there’s something about the genre that could well be so mired in the past that it refuses to be updated; Gibson and Scorsese couldn’t help but fundamentally remake it. Now comes Darren Aronofsky, last seengiving ballerinas nightmares in Black Swan, with his own unique take on the Bible story.
Noah is playing now everywhere. My review is atPopMatters:
In order to tell the story of N...
March 26, 2014
Now Playing: ‘Enemy’
Gyllenhaal vs. Gyllenhaal in ‘Enemy’
Last year in Prisoners, director Denis Villeneueve pulled a performance out of the normally downbeat Jake Gyllenhaal whose vibrant intensity stunned even in a film filled with it. WithVilleneueve’s followup, a thinly creepy take on a Jose Saramago novel, Gyllenhaal somehow delivers less in a story that asks him to play two visually identical but spiritually opposite roles.
Enemyis playing now in limited release; my review is atFilm Racket:
Jake Gyllenhaal pla...
March 24, 2014
Now Playing: ‘Bad Words’
Jason Bateman vs. children in ‘Bad Words’
Jason Bateman has been crafting comedy genius for so long in front of the camera that it’s perhaps inevitable he would eventually move behind it as well.Bad Words is his directorial debut, a promising and blessedly short if wildly uneven hour-and-a-half of rude comedy about a misanthropic adult who crashes a kids’ spelling bee.
Bad Wordsis still playing just about everywhere. My review is atPopMatters:
Guy Trilby is custom-made for Bateman’s perfected ad...
March 23, 2014
Reader’s Corner: The Monastery Library in Admont
The Admont Benedictine Monastery was established in Austria in the year 1074 and is still a going concern. Impressive enough. But add on to that the existence of its stunning Baroque library, finished in 1776. Inside its glorious assemblage of bright walls and frescoed ceilings, the library contains tens of thousands of volumes, including 530incunabula (books printed before 1500).
The Admont’s builder, Joseph Hueber, was a man of the Enlightenment, who believed in beauty of all kinds:
As with t...
March 22, 2014
New in Books: ‘The Sixth Extinction’
Men standing with bones of a mastodon, which were likely hunted to extinction by humans in North America over 10,000 years ago (Library of Congress)
According to scientific writer Elizabeth Kolbert (Field Notes from a Catastrophoe), there have been five waves of mass extinctions in Earth’s history. They all had natural causes. In the current epoch —called by some researchers the Anthropocene in recognition of humanity’s transformative effect on the planet’s ecosystems —there is another wave of...
March 21, 2014
Department of Weekend Reading: March 21, 2014
Gary Kasparov on Putin as poker player with a weak hand facing feckless opponents.
This is the first thing the GOP will dismantle if they ever retake the White House.
Things that didn’t happen on the Internet…this week.
Distraction is real; ADHD, maybe not so much.
Martin Amis: In today’s Britain, cash has finally conquered class.
The new Chris Christie scandal that’s way worse than Bridgegate but won’t get 1% as much coverage.
Jemis truly outrageous. Truly.
Snowbilly grifter to get her very own tee...
