The 70s are often regarded as the best decade of filmmaking. Cinema was in a rapid state of flux: the old studio system had died and Hollywood hadn’t quite figured out how to go on without it. A lot of riskier fare got made because for the moment the rulebook didn’t exist. All that would change … More Ranking Every Best Picture Oscar Winner of the 1970s
“Every immigrant is the person he might have been and the person he is” Charles Wang left China for the American dream and made it big. He’s been living it up ever since and he has the vain, empty, emotionally distant family to prove it. But now he’s lost everything in the financial crisis of … More Rising China and the Dashed American Dream: The Wangs vs. the World
“I wanted to say, My life is full. I chose this life because it’s a constant assault of color and taste and light and it’s raw and ugly and fast and it’s mine. And you’ll never understand. Until you live it, you don’t know.” One of the most appealing things about Sweetbitter is that the … More Sweetbitter, by Stephanie Danler: Book Review
“We believe the one who has the power. He is the one who gets to write the story. So when you study history, you must always ask yourself, Whose story am I missing? Whose voice was suppressed so that this voice could come forth? Once you have figured that out, you must find that story … More Homegoing, by Yaa Gyasi: Book Review
If you’ve followed my Rizzoli and Isles reviews, you know that I think Tess Gerritsen is a solid thriller writer. I haven’t liked all of the Rizzoli and Isles books but she’s good enough to keep me coming back for more again and again. This was the first non-Rizzoli and Isles book of Gerritsen’s that … More Playing With Fire, by Tess Gerritsen: Book Review
“The truth is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution.” Kind of like how The Force Awakens calls back to the first Star Wars, Cursed Child introduces Harry Potter’s next generation with help from old heroes by revisiting all their greatest hits from the original series. And so we begin where Harry Potter … More Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Book Review
“Nothing was more terrifying than what families could do to each other.” I’ve had a problem with a certain type of novel for a few years now: I’ve found that I have this enormous struggle reading books about white dudes who can’t get their shit together. Why? Because these white guys who can’t grow up … More Sons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty, by Ramona Ausubel: Book Review
“You only live twice: Once when you are born And once when you look death in the face.” Twelve books into Ian Fleming’s James Bond series, the strain to keep things interesting is showing. This is a Bond novel that laughably pretends rock, paper, scissors can be a high stakes game like Bond’s casino showdown with … More You Only Live Twice, by Ian Fleming: Book Review
I’ve been a movie buff for a long time. For a time in my early twenties I actually studied the Oscars. Seriously, I studied them. I got to the point where if you named a year from 1950 to present I could have told you the move that won Best Picture that year and who won … More West of Eden, by Jean Stein: Book Review
The overarching problem of this desperately quirky novel is that is can be summed up thusly: “you were an insanely narcissistic creep who treated me like dirt. That’s why we broke up.” Honey, walk the other way and stop navel-gazing. This boy was never worth your time in the first place. In addition, because this … More Why We Broke Up, by Daniel Handler: Book Review
Supposedly Fun 