I love St. Patrick’s Day. It’s so inclusive. By that I mean that though it’s a bona fide religious holiday, you don’t need to be particularly pious to enjoy it. Beyond its religious significance, Wikipedia aptly describes March 17th as a celebration of Irish history and identity, including “…prominent displays of the color green, feasting, copious consumption of alcohol, religious … More Details
Robert Duvall, one of our finest living screen actors, turns 81 tomorrow. Born to a career military officer from Virginia and his wife, an amateur actress and descendant of General Robert E. Lee, Duvall’s childhood was peripatetic, as his father was transferred frequently to various bases around the country. (The military bearing Duvall absorbed from his father would later come … More Details
Several weeks ago, I was sitting at lunch opposite my twenty-eight year old second cousin once removed, with a host of other family members. It being a reunion of sorts, the mood was jolly. I have always liked my cousin- she is smart, brassy, funny- extremely well spoken and well educated. The kind of person that gives you hope for … More Details
This piece is aimed not only at buffs who already recognize the genius of Albert Finney in the full context of a fifty-plus year career (!), but also at those (likely younger) movie fans who know him best as the father in Sidney Lumet’s final film, “Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead” (2007) or the ultimate insider bad guy in … More Details
It’s been nearly two years since the kerfuffle when Faye Dunaway made the admittedly unfortunate, off-hand remark on hearing that Hilary Duff (who calls herself an actress) was playing Clyde’s moll Bonnie Parker, a role Faye after all originated. Her reaction: “Couldn’t they at least cast a real actress?” Rather than rise above it, Hilary, a performer who has every … More Details
Anyone who missed Matt Richtel’s piece in last Sunday’s New York Times (“Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction”) should lay hands on it now. It’s a sobering if not downright frightening report on eroding attention-skills among today’s high schoolers, who increasingly forsake their summer reading- and sustained reading of any sort- in favor of video games and sites like Facebook … More Details
On the first of this month, Walter Matthau, who left us just a decade ago, would have turned ninety. Ruminating on this unnoticed milestone made me consider anew what a unique and gifted screen actor he was. Matthau was never endowed with the superficial attributes of your typical Hollywood star: he had a pronounced New York accent, a stooping gait, … More Details
As the most barbaric event of the twentieth century, the Nazis’ mass extermination of Jews during World War 2 has served as the basis of countless books, plays, and films over the past sixty years. No surprise there, since we humans have always drawn our most powerful, memorable stories from the most tragic events of our time. In great tragedy … More Details
Welcome to those post-Labor Day blues, when the days dwindle down and chilly evening breezes return. Often at this time, we enjoy a heady dose of Indian summer, but even these sweet moments are tinged with melancholy, serving as sweet yet fleeting reminders of what we’re about to lose. Almost instinctively, we re-immerse ourselves in our professional lives, the activities … More Details
