Oscars for Foreign Language Films: Omar and Bethlehem
Omar, one of the five nominees for Foreign Language Film Oscar did not win. The sumptuous Italian film, The Great Beauty, did. But the Palestinian entry, about a young Palestinian man who, despite his...
View ArticleA Starry Night at the Oscars
Some hideous gowns and too much make up: That is my overall skin-deep reaction of the 2014 Academy Awards ceremony. Of course, there were exceptions and awesome sights, but some celebrities seriously...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Evil -- Marvelously Portrayed -- Why Do You Watch 'House of Cards'?
Evil -- Marvelously Portrayed Why do you watch House of Cards? Lloyd I. Sederer, M.D. "If you don't hunt it down and kill it, it will hunt you down and kill you." -- Flannery O'Connor "The world is a...
View ArticleWhat Really Happens When You Use the R-Word
We are free to express ourselves (in accordance with the law), just about any way that we choose to. I do not enjoy hearing the "R" word: "retard" and "retarded." And I will tell you why... As these...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Bachelor Season 18, Episode 10: The Women Tell All, Juan Pablo 'Loves Gay...
Welcome back to the wonderful world of white wine tears, roses, grammatical incorrectness and two-month journeys toward engagement. That's right, "The Bachelor," has returned -- this time with the...
View ArticleThe Son of God: Safe and Comfortable Middle Class Jesus
The beauty of the Gospels lies in the way they force us to interpret the life of Jesus. The stories look straightforward enough. A deity is born to humble parents. He gradually reveals himself through...
View ArticleClik here to view.
10 Reasons the Tattoo Community Doesn't Respect Tattoo Reality TV Shows
I am speaking to you from deep within the trenches of this silent war. I reside inside of the tattoo community. I'm deep within the middle ranks of those that have lasted over 10 years in the trade....
View Article4 (Beauty) Reasons Jared Leto Is Our Fantasy Boyfriend
Dear Jared Leto, Not to be creepy (or... too creepy) but we've been in love with you since roughly 1994. When Angela was stalking Jordan, we thought about our own Jordans -- those mysterious, slightly...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Rodrigo Santoro Co-stars in 300: Rise of an Empire
A tidal wave of warriors' blood turns the sea a dark crimson red. War! Greeks against Persians. Only the courageous will survive to fight another day. Who will be the victors in this mythological tale...
View ArticleOscar Night 2014. Hooray for Hollywood. Okay -- Hooray for Ellen!
"ELOQUENCE is a painting of the thoughts," said Pascal. •WELL, many of Sunday night's Oscar winners dipped brushes into their palette and came up with some of the most exquisitely touching and...
View Article6 Lessons Military Families Can Learn From the Movie Titanic
The movie Titanic is probably one of the most often played movies on television. Each time I stumble across it, I find myself glued to the familiar but riveting plotline. First class and steerage....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Karen Kilgariff Live at the Bootleg
Somebody might listen to the new AST release, Karen Kilgariff's Live at the Bootleg, and spend days, weeks, months, years wondering what exactly makes it so wonderful. More likely, one may listen to...
View ArticleThe Oscars: More Human
I'm going to continue a theme that I've seen running so far this year during all the event television we've been experiencing in pop culture -- event television meaning these big live events that...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Are We All Cyborgs? Talk With Futurist and Filmmaker Jason Silva About RoboCop
Your friendly neighborhood cyborg cop, RoboCop, is back. You may have already seen the new movie remake of the 1987 classic. Thinking back on the original movie, as a kid, I felt it offered a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
RuPaul's Drag Race Season 6, Ep. 2 Extra Lap Recap: 'RuPaul's Big Opening,...
Yes, sometimes even RuPaul needs her beauty sleep. Get more from Episode 2 of the new season of RuPaul's Drag Race in my latest "Extra Lap Recap"! Got Milk? How about Bianca Del Rio? Or maybe a big ol'...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Week in Film: Grand Budapest Hotel, The Face of Love
How do I love the work of Wes Anderson? Let me count the ways. Anderson may be the most consistently original filmmaker to emerge during the 25 years I've been writing about film in New York. He has a...
View ArticleThe Long Shadows of War
This month the Nazis are back in the news and in the movies. Have they ever been really gone? A 110-year-old Holocaust survivor dies, an old Nazi war criminal gets caught, and letters of one of the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Why Anne of Green Gables Is Big in Japan
In 1939, a translator of children's literature named Hanako Muraoka was given a book as a keepsake by a missionary friend from New Brunswick named Loretta Shaw. Miss Shaw left Japan just as hostilities...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How Rob Minkoff Turned 'Mr. Peabody & Sherman' Into the Original 'Modern Family'
It's kind of ironic that Mr. Peabody & Sherman has a sequence involving the Trojan horse. Because according to what Rob Minkoff -- the director of this DreamWorks Animation production -- says, this...
View ArticleA-Sides with Jon Chattman: "Smooth" Stylings of Vinyl Thief; Spencer...
If you've seen electro-rockers Vinyl Thief live you know their shows are highly energized and boisterously awesome. Last month, the Nashville band treated me to the antithesis of that by playing it...
View Article