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Film

Film Review: “Big Fan” Shoots a Freak in a Barrel

Robert Siegel has an undeniable talent for capturing the desperation and despair of his downtrodden character, but the director never tells us why he is plumbing the lower depths of America’s mania for sports. Big Fan, directed by Robert Siegel, showing at Kendall Square Cinema. Reviewed by Justin Marble Like Robert Siegel’s first script, “The […]

By: Justin Marble Filed Under: Featured, Film Tagged: Big Fan, Film, Justin Marble, Kendall Square Cinema, Patton Oswalt, Robert Siegel

Film Review: “Beeswax” — Hyper Realism Triumphant

by Justin Marble Beeswax, directed by Andrew Bujalski, showing at Coolidge Corner Theatre. Boston native Andrew Bujalski’s third feature film, “Beeswax,” does not reel off the trials and tribulations of superheroes, pirates, serial killers, or giant transforming robots. There’s no killer shark, no Godzilla, no guns, and no aliens. Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts do […]

By: Justin Marble Filed Under: Featured, Film Tagged: Andrew Bujalski, Beeswax, Boston native, Film, Funny Ha Ha, Justin Marble, Mutual Appreciation

Book Review: Christopher Plummer Recounts His Life

By Caldwell Titcomb There are those who have proclaimed that Christopher Plummer is the greatest classical actor in North America. There is certainly no gainsaying that he has for some time been in the tiny group at the top of the acting profession. Now as he nears the age of 80 he has brought forth […]

By: Caldwell Titcomb Filed Under: Books, Featured, Film, Theater Tagged: Caldwell-Titcomb, Christopher Plummer, In Spite of Myself

Short Fuse: The Baader Meinhof Gang as Action Film

By Harvey Blume The Baader Meinhof Complex (Der Baader Meinhof Komplex) Directed by Uli Edel At Kendall Square and Coolidge Corner Cinemas There are some things the German Red Army Faction — the RAF, or Baader Meinhof Gang — had in common with ultra-militant elements of the American New Left, as I knew and participated […]

By: Harvey Blume Filed Under: Featured, Film Tagged: American New Left, Baader Meinhof Gang, Film, militant, RAF, revolution, Short Fuse, The Baader Meinhof Complex, Uli Edel

Short Fuse: Tarantino’s Nazi-killing Cotton Candy

By Harvey Blume Let me tell you why I heartily dislike and contemn Quentin Tarantino’s “The Inglorious Basterds.”

By: Harvey Blume Filed Under: Featured, Film Tagged: Jews, Nazi, Quentin Tarantino, Short Fuse, the Holocaust, The inglorious Basterds

Culture Vulture: A Unique Blend of Jewish Memoir and Musicology

THE THOMASHEVSKYS: MUSIC AND MEMORIES OF A LIFE IN THE YIDDISH THEATER. Written and hosted by Michael Tilson Thomas. Directed by Patricia Birch, with members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood. by Helen Epstein I’m a fan of the serious introspective kind of memoir, that tries to wrest meaning from existential and emotional chaos. […]

By: Helen Epstein Filed Under: Classical Music, Featured, Film, Music, Theater, World Books Tagged: american-theater, BSO Players, Culture Vulture, Michael Tilson Thomas, National Jewish Film Archive, Tanglewood, Yiddish Theater, Yiddish. Thomashefsky

Culture Vulture: NYTimes wrong about “Julie and Julia”

by Helen Epstein Go here for information about a live-chat, scheduled for August 23rd, with Helen Epstein on “The Art of Narrative Writing.” Despite what the NYTimes thinks Meryl Streep cooks up a storm in “Julie and Julia.” I usually trust the Times‘ A. O. Scott on movies, but this time I don’t share his […]

By: Helen Epstein Filed Under: Featured, Film, Food Tagged: A. O. Scott, Culture Vulture, Julie & Julia, Meryl Streep, new-york-times, Nora Ephron

Movie Review: “Tyson” — Interpretation, Explanation or Sheer Exploitation?

James Toback’s new documentary about boxer Mike Tyson explores a demonic urgency that fattens on the destruction of others. By Harvey Blume At the end of “Tyson,” James Toback’s documentary about him, the ex-heavyweight champ, now 43 years old, breathes heavily and falls silent. He seems talked out, and is certainly, by his own admission, […]

By: Harvey Blume Filed Under: Featured, Film Tagged: Bobby-Fischer, Featured, Film, James-Toback, Mike-tyson, Short Fuse

Film Commentary: Spoiling “Oil!”

By Gary Schwartz Director Paul Thomas Anderson is no Upton Sinclair. Half an hour into Paul Thomas Anderson’s film There Will be Blood, shown on Dutch television the other night, I told Loekie how intensely happy I was that the film existed. A few months ago I read the book on which the film is […]

By: Gary Schwartz Filed Under: Featured, Film Tagged: Featured, Film, Gary-Schwarz, Oil, Schwartzlist, There-Will-be-Blood, upton-sinclair

Fuse Flash: Revving up Cultural Tourism

By Bill Marx “Boston is adrift in the brave new competition among big American cities vying for tourist dollars.” Maureen Dezell, WBUR Maureen made that charge back in July 2006 in an article that turned out to be one of the last posts on the late WBUR Arts Online. Now that the quote, along with […]

By: Bill Marx Filed Under: Books, Featured, Film, Jazz, Theater, Visual Arts Tagged: arts-and-business-council-of-greater-Boston, Books, Featured, Film, Fuse Flash, Jazz, Julie-burns, phillyfunguide, Theater, Visual Arts

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  • beverly schwartz January 17, 2021 at 3:23 pm on Book Review: A.B. Yehoshua’s “The Tunnel” — A Serious Romp about an Aging BrainDid not understand the end of "The Tunnel" By A.B. Yeshoshua
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