From Cary Grant To Groucho: Captured In Caricature
From Cary Grant To Groucho: Captured In Caricature
CATCHING UP WITH BLU-RAYS
As I said in my recent post, I’ve been laggard in keeping up to date on this website. The…
From Cary Grant To Groucho: Captured In Caricature
I love caricatures and always have. This Wednesday, my friend Drew Friedman, one of today’s most inventive artists, is joining his gifted colleague Stephen Kroninger in presenting an illustrated lecture called “12 Legendary Caricaturists You’ve, (probably), Never Heard Of” at the Society of Illustrators in Manhattan. They plan to show more than 300 prime examples of celebrity caricatures that span the 20th century—many of them unseen in decades—by such unsung masters as John Johns, Alan Jedla, Lou Hirshman, Sam Berman, George Wachsteter, Abel Ianiro, Bill Utterback, Al Freuh, Einar Nerman, Alex Gard, Jacques Kapralik, and William Auerbach Levy. At one time, almost every newspaper and magazine employed at least one such artist, before photography supplanted the more whimsical approach to celebrity portraiture. Some of these…
Summer Movie Preview On Reelz
Here we go again: Grae Drake, Senior Editor of Rotten Tomatoes, and I are hosting another half-hour special on ReelzChannel that starts airing this weekend. Grae and I have fun together and hope that comes across as we review a handful of current films, preview some of the summer blockbusters, and tell you whether we think the latest movies available on DVD and On Demand are worth your time. You can check out one segment HERE: Reelz airs nationally on DirecTV (channel 238) and DISHNet (channel 299), and also appears on a number of cable systems. To see if it’s available where you live, click www.reelz.com and type in your zip code. 5/2 12:30pm EST/9:30am PST 5/3 11am EST/8am…
Summer Movie Preview On Reelz
Summer Movie Preview On Reelz
Joss Whedon Tries To Top Himself In Avengers: Age Of Ultron
It’s all Joss Whedon’s fault! He made The Avengers in 2012 and set the bar for the comic-book movie genre with his ingenious, funny writing and engaging interplay of superheroes. He’s the reason I had high hopes for Age of Ultron, even though it bears the burden of being a sequel. But I’m sorry to say I came away disappointed. Long, loud, and confoundingly cluttered, the film shows stress cracks early on, as it tries to disturb the temporary harmony its characters achieved in the first film, just so Whedon can pull them back together for a rousing finale. It doesn’t quite work. Yes, it’s fun to see the Marvel stars at odds with each other, spouting wisecracks galore. Robert Downey, Jr.’s Iron Man is…
Joss Whedon Tries To Top Himself In Avengers: Age Of Ultron
Joss Whedon Tries To Top Himself In Avengers: Age Of Ultron
Carey Mulligan Drives Men Mad in ‘Far From The Madding Crowd’
There are many rewards in this adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s famous 1874 novel, chief among them the leading performances. Carey Mulligan captures us in the opening scene, where we meet the willful, independent-minded Bathsheba Everdene. She wears a knowing smile on her face as she overturns conventions and makes her way in a man’s world. When she inherits an uncle’s sheep farm she unhesitatingly takes control and tells her staff that she intends to “astonish” them…which she does. Out of stubbornness and habit, she shuns the advances of a handsome shepherd (Matthias Schoenaerts), even though she likes him. He can’t dismiss his feelings for her so easily, and lingers on her farm if for no other reason than to keep an eye on her. Over…
