Before Kurt Vonnegut signed my copy of Bluebeard, he asked me two questions: What’s your name? and Whadda ya do? Which is pretty unremarkable, even coming from Kurt Vonnegut. It’s just another way of asking anyone, Who are you? Today, however, when someone wants to know who you are, he, she, or AI may very … Continue reading My Almost Jewish Me →

    UPDATE (12/01/15): Sylvester Stallone has won Best Supporting Actor from the National Board of Review. This is very happy making. UPDATE 2 (12/03/15): Carl Weathers, the original Creed, talks about how insulting Stallone may have gotten him the gig in Rocky One. Early on in Creed, a young Adonis Johnson (Michael B. Jordan) … Continue reading A Strange Review: Creed →

Perhaps not. But it's up there: a former slave's reply to his former master's request that he come back and work his farm. The response is priceless, and demonstrates both a subtle and lacerating wit that would have made a Twain or a Wilde grin ear to ear, and an innate intelligence that finally found its expression. … Continue reading The Greatest Letter Ever Written? →

So the studio has put out a five-minute preview of Creed, something more telling than is typical in a mere trailer, perhaps in honor of Philly's having actually named a day for Creed: Director Ryan Coogler along with Stallone and his new co-stars Michael B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson were on hand in Philly for the proclamation of Creed Day on November 25th, which … Continue reading That Time I Worked for Rambo →

So Jillian worked with me at Commentary, as part of the online team. You can't be exposed to Jillian's whirlwind energy for long without being caught up in it. In what seems now like a really short period of time, she has gone from toiling as an online editorial assistant to smoking cigars with Christopher Hitchens … Continue reading Jillian Melchior, Superstar →

https://youtu.be/QajyNRnyPMs Only thing missing is Bogie or Coop walking in, guns drawn. H/T: my wife

"Hah?" is what you're saying to yourself right about now, or "Huh?" or "Heh?" or "Where's my avocado?" So I was rummaging through what's new on Netflix and came across this gem of a Britcom I had never heard of before, and if you know me, you know that's strange, because I love and adore … Continue reading A Strange Review: W1A →

So Roger Moore thought the erstwhile star of The Wire and Luther couldn't play James Bond because Bond should be "English-English," which is to say white. And the author of the latest James Bond novel who is not Ian Fleming thinks Elba can't play James Bond because Elba's too "street," which I think is code … Continue reading Idris Elba and the James Bond Kerfuffle →

The only stories I love to read more than "The Making of ..." this or that film are stories about films that almost got made, kinda got made, never got made. I recently treated myself to a popcorn book, The Greatest Movies You'll Never See, and although I knew broadly about several of these would-be … Continue reading A Very Strange Preview: Sergio Leone’s The Siege of Leningrad →