On the Socially Conscious Filmmaker, Sidney Lumet
Maura Spiegel's biography provides a thorough and compelling look at the life and films of the progressive New York icon filmmaker, Sidney Lumet.
Christopher John Stephens
Do We Already Know the Answer to the Question, ‘Are Men Animals?’
Matthew Gutmann's Are Men Animals is and interesting but flawed, rushed look at masculinity that suffers from digressions and an unwillingness to be as political as it could have been.
‘Adults and Other Children’: The Bitter and the Sweet
The similes in Miriam Cohen's impressive debut short story collection, Adults and Other Children, are perfectly attuned to the essence of her characters.
Short Story Author Larry Brown’s Big Love for His Small Characters
Although his works evoke Charles Bukowski, Flannery O'Connor, Carson McCullers, and William Faulkner, Larry Brown's unapologetic characters were always his own.
John Hodgman Is Flying High in Memoir, ‘Medallion Status’
TV star/writer/podcast host -- just don't call him a standup comic -- John Hodgman tackles class aspiration and other inconveniences in his memoir, Medallion Status.
Ian McEwan’s Brexit Satire, ‘The Cockroach’, Leaves Little to the Imagination
With his latest, The Cockroach, the otherwise masterful British novelist Ian McEwan proves that too much cleverness can kill satire.
Dave Eggers’ ‘The Captain and the Glory’ Barely Stays Afloat
Dave Eggers' latest is a slim satire about the sinking ship of Donald Trump and the potential sinking of the glorious ship of State.
Sam Wasson’s ‘The Big Goodbye’ Puts Roman Polanski’s ‘Chinatown’ in Its Place
Social historian Sam Wasson's The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood, is a graceful and compelling elegy to both Roman Polanski's landmark film, and the end times of old Hollywood.
‘Mister Rogers and Philosophy’, for the Children Now Grown
Mister Rogers and Philosophy considers reality, fantasy, and our philosophical role in both worlds of the long-running PBS children’s program.
What’s So Great About Dennis Hopper’s ‘Easy Rider’?
Steven Bingen's Easy Rider: 50 Years Looking for America makes clear that he thinks Dennis Hopper's Easy Rider is a great film and it's not for the critics to decide.
‘Masked and Anonymous’ and Today’s Dispossessed and Disoriented
Larry Charles' misunderstood dystopic arthouse movie from 2003, Masked and Anonymous, becomes real in Trump's 2019 Impeachment America.