Chris Barsanti's Blog, page 180
February 27, 2014
New on DVD: ‘The Grandmaster’
Zhang Ziyi and Tony Leung compare styles in ‘The Grandmaster’
The great Hong Kong romantic Wong Kar Wai (In the Mood for Love) hadn’t completed a feature film since 2007′s misfireMy Blueberry Nights. So it was pretty good news to hear that his latest film was going to be a classic martial-arts extravaganza, reuniting Tony Leung and Zhang Ziyi withThe Matrix choreographer Yuen Wo Ping.
The Grandmaster, which received well-deserved Oscar nominations for cinematography and costume design, will be...
February 25, 2014
Department of Cocktails: The Faulkner Recipe
William Faulkner said a lot about drinking; which makes sense, given how much he wrote while drinking. As he once noted:
You see, I usually write at night. I always keep my whiskey within reach; so many ideas that I can’t remember in the morning pop into my head.
For all those wanting to know what the man’s favorite tipple was, it’s simple: Whiskey. Any kind. And here’s his preferred way of taking it (your basic mint julep, simple):
whiskey
1 tsp sugar
ice
mint
served in a metal cup
(h/t The Migrant...
February 24, 2014
Quote of the Day: LBJ’s Rules of Life
A few select items from Lyndon Baines Johnson’s Rules of Life:
Remember the CIA is made up of boys whose families sent them to Princeton but wouldn’t let them into the family brokerage business.
Never trust a man whose eyes are too close to his nose.
The fact that a man is a newspaper reporter is evidence of some flaw of character.
When things haven’t gone well for you, call in a secretary or a staff man and chew him out. You will sleep better and they will appreciate the attention.
These rules mi...
February 23, 2014
Writer’s Corner: The Devil Procrasination
Every writer knows the pain of procrastination. Just about none of them know the answer to this question: Why do we put ourselves through it? By and large writers knowexactlywhen they have to turn in their article/book/whatever and nearly everything about it (word count, tone, subject). And yet, time after time, deadlines are treated as little more than tissue paper-thin suggestions to be brushed aside at the last minute when work has finally (maybe) begun.
It’s a ridiculously neurotic cycle,...
February 21, 2014
Department of Weekend Reading: February 21, 2014
After Michael Dunn and another killing of a black teenager: “My son has a father and mother. We cannot protect him from our country, which is our aegis and our assailant.”
Reasons not to want Hillary Clinton to get the nomination.
Both parties in Kansas City agree that sometimes “protecting religious values” is just discrimination.
More fracking, more earthquakes.
When politicians care more about German shareholders than American workers.
In the 1870s, half of Boston burned down and the US Cavalry...
February 20, 2014
New in Theaters: ‘Omar’
‘Omar’: Terrorists or freedom fighters?
In the Oscar-nominated thrillerOmar, a young Palestinian man in the West Bank is faced with two challenges: First, how to convince his friend that he’d be a good bet to marry the friend’s little sister? Second, and more importantly, how does he escape the law after helping to murder an Israeli soldier?
Omar opens this week.My review is atFilm Racket:
For such a razor-sharp thriller, the West Bank-setOmarsmuggles a dense packet of ambiguity into its compact...
February 19, 2014
New in Theaters: ‘Child’s Pose’
Luminita Gheorghiu schemes in ‘Child’s Pose’
Winner of the Golden Bear at last year’s Berlin Film Festival, Child’s Pose is playing now in limited release, and is worth seeking out. My review is atFilm Racket:
“A mother’s love” has rarely felt more dagger-like or malevolent than in the chilling morality thrillerChild’s Pose. Part anatomy of a villain and part crime procedural, Calin Peter Netzer’s film follows what happens after a domineering upper-class Bucharest mother finds out her coddled s...
February 18, 2014
Reader’s Corner: Ice-T Goes Fantasy
After having gone from being the rare gangsta rapper who had actually lived the life instead of just rapping about it to loud monotone fixture onLaw & Order: SVUand too many horrendous movies to count, Ice-T has a new gig: Recording audiobooks. It makes sense, given his clear, bottom-heavy voice. But according to Paste, he talked on a recent podcast about running into some trouble recording an unnamed Dungeons & Dragons novel. Just realizing the depths of nerd-dom that he’d gotten into (“They...
Department of Shameless Self-Promotion: ‘Eyes Wide Open 2013′ new editions
The Year’s Worst Movie, ‘Man of Steel’: “…overblown, overlong, and overdone.”
The brave new world of publishing being all about access, it seemed appropriate to make Eyes Wide Open 2013: The Year’s 25 Greatest Movies (and 5 Worst)as widely available as possible. Otherwise, how else would you find out what the year’s best movies (yes, Gravitywas one of them, but it wasn’t number one) and worst were (bothMan of SteelandThe Great Gatsbymade the cut).
So now you can also buy Eyes Wide Open 2013 in...
February 17, 2014
Now Playing: ‘Gloria’
The sublime daffiness of Paulina García in ‘Gloria’
Chile’s submission for this year’s Foreign Film Academy Award,Gloria, doesn’t have the most instantly engaging of storylines: single woman tries to find love. But with deftly rambunctious storytelling and one of the greatest, most soulful performances you’re likely to see all year, it achieves tragicomic greatness.
Gloria is playing around the country right now in limited release. My review is atPopMatters:
…[The film]is shaded with both a dark...
