Archive for February, 2010
No Small Parts
Back in the ’90s I rented Philip Haas‘s film The Music of Chance, starring Mandy Patinkin and James Spader and based on the novel by Paul Auster. It is an agreeably creepy and unsettling little movie, but the thing I remember best about it, which happens at the end, has nothing to do with the [...]
Old Friends, or: Bill Clinton, C’est Moi
It used to be said about Bill Clinton that if he was in a room with 300 people, 299 of whom adored him, he could be found in a corner trying to win over the one who didn’t. Lord knows I ain’t Bill Clinton, but I sometimes think I practice an analogous folly. I chase [...]
And the Oscar goes to . . .
Many moons ago on the Weekend Update segment of Saturday Night Live, Bill Murray did run-downs of Oscar-nominated films — never mind that he hadn’t watched them all. Here to perform a latter-day version of that dubious service is your very own Cliff Thompson. Avatar? The Hurt Locker? Haven’t seen ‘em! But here are thoughts on [...]
Old Racist Books
I know black people who read only books by other blacks. In part they want to support the work of black writers — a laudable goal. Partly they enjoy seeing themselves, their experiences and concerns, reflected in what they read. (Who doesn’t?) And the choice is also partly about self-protection. There are enough casual displays [...]
