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FAVORITES

“WASN’T THAT A GREAT MOVIE?” “HUH?”

June 25, 2017
ACTIVITIES, FAVORITES, LITERARY CRITICISM, THINKING AND THOUGHT
4 Comments

“And the Oscar goes to La La Land….  No!  No!  Wait!  That can’t be right.  It isn’t right.  The Oscar goes to Moonlight!”  “Huh?”

It’s complicated, this movie reviewing stuff.  But maybe reviewing is simply a matter of telling persons who are busy what is better to see than to see something else, simply what NOT to see: “Don’t waste your time.”  “It’s a waste of money.”  “Don’t bother.  See X instead.”

However, do I want a review, or a formal analysis of a movie?  “Thumbs Up” or 5-Stars, or cultural response, production history, or values discussion?

What do you NEED to make you WANT to see a particular movie: old, new, classic, recent, color, black and white, documentary, drama, comedy, Netflix, Redbox, STARZ, Cobb Theatres; story, technology, actor or actress, theme, technique–and more, much more?  Does the critic count for you?  Explanation and evaluation?    

“Critics would be useful people to have around if they would simply do their work, carefully and thoughtfully assessing works [of art], calling attention to those worth noticing, and explaining clearly, sensibly, and justly why others need not take up our time.”  –John Gardner, On Moral Fiction (1978)

SO: Watch these movies for “greatness”–or NOT!”

UP IN THE AIR

CASABLANCA

P.S. I LOVE YOU

A GOOD YEAR

LOVE ACTUALLY

JERRY MCGUIRE

ALIEN

BLADE RUNNER

THE HOURS

THE ENGLISH PATIENT

GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING

* * *

“Art is meant to be experienced, and in the last analysis the function of criticism is to assist that experience.”  –David Daiches (1956; 1981)

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A CUBAN REUBEN: DOES THIS COUNT ON SAINT PATRICK’S DAY?

March 17, 2017
FAVORITES
8 Comments

Whence the “Reuben”?  One account holds that the Reuben’s creator was Arnold Reuben, the German-Jewish owner of the famed Reuben’s Delicatessen (1908 – 2001) in  New York City.  According to an interview with Craig Claiborne, Arnold Reuben invented the “Reuben Special” around 1914. The earliest references in print to the sandwich are New York–based, but that is not conclusive evidence, though the fact that the earliest, in a 1926 issue of Theatre Magazine, references a “Reuben Special,” does seem to take its cue from Arnold Reuben’s menu. [Wikipedia]   A Reuben is a hearty-sized sandwich of corned beef, sauerkraut, and Swiss cheese on Russian rye bread.

reuben Katz's Delicatessen

TRADITIONAL REUBEN SANDWICH ON RYE

CUBAN REUBEN: “Hot pressed, on fresh Cuban bread from America’s oldest Cuban bakery: pastrami, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and Thousand Island dressing.”  Havana Harry’s Market and Cafe [Largo, Florida]cuban-sandwich

ONE VARIATION OF MANY CUBAN SANDWICHES

BUT: This is the special day of the Saint, for the Irish and those who wish they were Irish, who exchange their Cubans and their Reubens for the U&C, Usual and Customary:

corned beef and cabbage and guinness

WHAT SOME CONSIDER THE PERFECT MARRIAGE

©  James F. O’Neil  March 2017

170px-Irish_clover

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HOLIDAY SHOPPING: CLASSIC BOOKS. “OOOPS! WHAT CENSORED BOOKS?”

December 2, 2016
AUTHORS, FAVORITES, PEOPLE, READING
2 Comments

“. . . the freedom to choose or reject ideas, to read books of one’s choice, and to publish freely is the very bedrock of our free society.  . . .  No book placed in a public library should be forcibly removed.  No textbook should be burned.”  –Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

 

 

  1. I Am the Cheese: Robert Cormier, 1977.
  2. Fahrenheit 451: Ray Bradbury, 1971.
  3. Anthem: Ayn Rand, 1975.
  4. 1984: George Orwell, 1975.
  5. Native Son: Richard Wright, 1940.
  6. The Catcher in the Rye: J. D. Salinger, 1951.
  7. Slaughterhouse-Five: Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., 1969.
  8. To Kill a Mockingbird: Harper Lee, 1960.
  9. Forever: Judy Blume, 1975.
  10. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Mark Twain, 1884.

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“WHAT’S A TEDDY?”

December 31, 2015
EVENTS, FAVORITES, PEOPLE
1 Comment

Definition:  1) a woman’s one-piece undergarment

2) a soft toy in the form of a bear. Developed in the early years of the 20th century, and named after President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt, the teddy bear became an iconic children’s toy, celebrated in story, song, and film. [Since the creation of the first teddy bears, which sought to imitate the form of real bear cubs, “teddies” have greatly varied in form, style, and material. They have become collector’s items, with older and rarer “teddies” appearing at public auctions. Teddy bears are among the most popular gifts for children and are often given to adults to signify love, congratulations, or sympathy.] –Wikipedia

3) an award given annually by Joe Klein, of TIME magazine, for “doers, diplomats, and leaders who ignored our worst instincts.”

“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs, who comes up short again and again … who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.” –Teddy Roosevelt

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Note: Joe Klein’s Teddy Awards for 2015: Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Jerrold Nadler, Bob Corker, George H. W. Bush, James Baker, Jeb Bush, John Kasich, John Kerry, Mohammad Javad Zarif, and Fox News Presidential Debate (“proving that good politics can be substantive and entertaining”).  (See, TIME, December 21, 2015, p. 46)

 

 

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