Chris Barsanti's Blog, page 86
July 21, 2018
Reader’s Corner: Social Justice at Comic-Con
Though it will probably spur a backlash from the troll-ier corners of fanboy world, this year’s San Diego Comic-Con—the ever-more-massive pop culture lollapalooza currently taking over a good part of the city’s downtown—features a broad focus on diversity and social justice issues. Per the San Diego Union-Tribune, here’s a few of the events being highlighted: Panel: “Radical …
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July 20, 2018
Screening Room: ‘Eighth Grade’
My review of Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade is at PopMatters: Unlike most movies about school-age outsiders, Eighth Grade doesn’t rely on the traditional dramatic tropes of embarrassment and rebellion. Kayla wants desperately to have friends. Like most shy kids, she’s paralyzed in social settings. But unlike most shy kids, she pushes herself past that cocoon of diffident silence. First …
July 19, 2018
Screening Room: Summer Movie Sequels
My essay on the ever-more sprawling world of movie franchises, “Sequel Summer: Deadpool Fights Thanos in Jurassic World,” is at Eyes Wide Open: After banking a billion-plus revenue from Black Panther, Disney kept the Marvel machine humming with the late April release of Avengers: Infinity War. The first half of an apocalypse two-parter, this was less a standalone …
July 18, 2018
Screening Room: ‘Equalizer 2’
The sequel to Denzel Washington’s surprise hit The Equalizer is hitting theaters this week. My review is at Film Journal International: When Antoine Fuqua’s sequel begins, Robert McCall (Washington) is far from his blue-collar Boston life. We find him in a Muslim cap and beard on a train through Turkey, reading Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me and …
July 15, 2018
Writer’s Desk: Immerse Yourself
Michael Ondaatje doesn’t work fast. He spent six years on his seminal novel The English Patient—which actually just won the Golden Man Booker Award (meaning it was the Booker Award-winner of the past 50 years). That is in part because he likes to drown himself in the material. Per this interview from BookPage, Ondaatje prefers to get …
July 14, 2018
Reader’s Corner: Travel Destinations for Book Lovers
Since it’s the weekend, why not look at some gorgeous pictures of places around the world for bibliophiles to visit? Check out this sumptuous spread from Conde Nast Traveler.
July 11, 2018
Screening Room: ‘Dark Money’
The newest movie from Kimberly Reed is a scorcher of a documentary about the corrosive effects of big outside money on elections in underpopulated states. Dark Money is opening in limited release this week and should appear soon on a PBS affiliate near you. My review is at Film Journal International: The Montana that Reed (Prodigal …
July 8, 2018
Writer’s Desk: Get Raw
In her astounding 2015 novel, Eileen, Ottessa Moshfegh conjured up a grubby, bleak, funny neo-noir whose female narrator didn’t mind in the least just how unpleasant she came off. That’s not a surprise, given how much Moshfegh takes after Bukowski. But even in today’s supposedly more open-minded publishing landscape, the presence of an unlikable protagonist (particularly if a …
July 1, 2018
Writer’s Desk: Don’t Sell Yourself Short
In the documentary Dreams with Sharp Teeth, the late and astoundingly great Harlan Ellison told a story about the time a film company asked to use a clip from an interview he’d given about Babylon 5 (a show he’d worked on). Ellison said, sure, just pay me. This took the caller by surprise. Per Open Culture, Ellison responded …
June 28, 2018
Screening Room: ‘This is Congo’
One of the year’s most gorgeous, emotional, and harrowing movies, This is Congo, is opening this week in limited release. Make sure to find it. My review is at Film Journal International: “To grow up in Congo,” says a man at the start of Daniel McCabe’s lacerating new documentary, “is to grow up in paradise.” This comes …
