The more "conservative" caller who called in this morning who was talking about ways to avoid yesterday's shooting was treated respectfully, as were those more critical of ICE and the police. The callers also all spoke in a measured way. Well handled.
On the one hand, yes, recliners bring "the comforts of home" to a theater. On the other hand, in what other public art event are you given a seat where napping is totally fine? At what concert, play, or art show are you seated in a chair where you're encouraged to lie back?
It feels like something more akin to the flight industry, where you're trying to make passengers more welcome in a place they don't want to be, vs something you'd offer for someone about to take in an arts event.
I seriously wonder for example whether I've had the same amount of attention to subtlety or also have gotten as easily excited and on the edge of my seat in reclining seats.
What's been your experience?
Besides Roots and The Stand, what other TV miniseries caught your attention back in the day, told interesting stories, and don't get talked about? Also note I refer to TV miniseries by the American definition which is usually a one-off approximately 4-6 episode series happening over a short period of time. I don't know if other countries define this differently.
If you see this sign on your way and whisper to yourself "Is A Nails Spa! Is definitely a Nails Spa!" welcome home, you lovely loonies.
"Well what do you want me to do?"
"I want you to walk to the sea. And when you get to the sea, I want you to keep walking, with your mouth open."
-Kristin Scott Thomas, Slow Horses, s3 e2. Gods be praised they write some zingers on this show.
Every time I walk around Astoria and go out on my apartment balcony, I'm struck by the sheer number of apartment balconies and the single-digit number of times I see anyone on them, day or night. Admittedly, some people prefer to hang out on their rooftops or parks when the weather is nice, but as someone raising a kid who takes her out to sit there about every day, it's a little crazy to me on a sunny day that I never spot anyone hanging out on their balcony, relaxing, whether with some music, or reading, having a drink or anything. I'd love any insights on this.
Rylance's Oscar-winning role as the Soviet spy Rudolf Abel remains so rewatchable, so effortlessly captivating. Like Judi Dench and Ralph Fiennes, Rylance also has an impressive body of work in classical and modern theater. Whoever they choose for the new Bond, they could do themselves a favor by trying to get Rylance as the new "M."
Last one I remember was in the basement theaters at Theatre Row back in the 2000s. I saw Love & Basketball in the summer of 2000, a few months after its initial release run, at a discount price in a full theater. I wonder whether there'd ever be a market for that again, especially if the films were presented without any commercials beforehand for example, and at a single-digit price.
Odysseus could also have had a trilogy called Odysseus: Far From Home, Odysseus: No Way Home, and Odysseus: Homecoming.
One fun exchange in "Oppenheimer" was when David Krumholtz's Isaac Rabi, in bonding with Oppenheimer, asks him how it is he could be an NYC kid and Jewish and never learned a word of Yiddish. Robert says, "Not as much of it spoken on my side of the park." Rabi smirks at the classist remark and tells Oppenheimer to go f**k himself, and they're friends from then on. But has that kind of division in Manhattan Jewish culture remained today, or how has it shifted?
I saw Operation Mincemeat two weeks back and the performance Jeff Kready gave, especially in "Dear Bill", is still vivid. I wonder for those who have seen both Jeff and Jak's takes what were some of the biggest differences between their approaches. Jeff felt like kind of a cross between Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie and a lot of Danny Kaye energy. I never saw Jak's performance.
Mac's reactions from the gang is exactly how the Marvel fans acted when Kumail Nanjiani got ripped. As he said in Night Thoughts, "I was the first celebrity to get ridiculed for getting in shape! How the FUCK did that happen?"
The good guys, so to speak, win. The worse guys go to jail, and the rest survive though not unscathed. A brutal finale for sure but looking back, were we better off as fans with it?
I am a non-Muslim and was at a playground recently in my neighborhood with my infant daughter. We went to the swing set and encountered a mother in a full-face hijab (eyes only) pushing her son in the swing. She said to me, "Hello there!" And I said, "Oh hello!" And she said, "Do you remember me from the other day?" And I said no of course, because my neighborhood has many Muslim women who wear full-face hijabs. I wonder though whether there are legitimate ways that those with full-face hijabs have of recognizing those who are friends of theirs or even family, without having to say anything? I always assumed such veils make someone completely anonymous by their very nature, but are there ways around that to ease interactions in public life?
Hear me out. A performer struggling to make a name for himself through thankless gigs, his best friend who can’t seem to hold down a job, another friend who is possibly a bit insane and often off on random adventures, and a woman friend who seems like she should be above their antics yet often falls into them anyway. Kind of both shows, no?
Of course the tones are different but take away the laugh track from “Seinfeld” and think about some of their episodes featuring Crazy Joe Davola. That actor (Peter Crombie) got laughs but he played that lunatic pretty straight. If you take away laughter from the clown/opera trip episode, it’s often a bit more veering into horror. Likewise, both shows had episodes that basically seemed to have almost no plot at all: if you described Seinfeld’s Chinese Restaurant episode or Atlanta’s “BAN” episode to some execs, both could elicit reactions of bafflement from the lack of story or character development.
I wonder where Donald Glover and Larry David might find some common ground when it comes to their senses of humor. Seems like both of their shows got at the awkwardness of everyday banal activities; where Glover was able to often bring in the tension faced by poor and black Americans, I think Larry has always got at the tension of being born with a natural urge to question seemingly unnecessary social norms, and the FAFO of what happens when his characters violate them.
Anyways, just a thought. Would love reflections from fans of both shows.
We've all been there. Titles are tricky. Every cinephile needs to be able to make sure that whether they're hosting a movie night, or coming to one, that there are no accidental Sandra Bullock movies either rented or missed out on. Sandra Bullock is awesome, but she is uniquely vulnerable to accidental rental, as this gallery demonstrates. Remember, when it comes to Sandra, knowing is HALF the battle.
To Peter and the "Wait, Wait" producers,
When Faith Salie tells you during an "Odyssey" discussion that she made out TWICE with Matt Damon in college, you don't move on to asking "what insect is this summer's biggest issue?" You WAIT. You pause, and you ask the questions! Like, how was it, of course? But also, was Faith "the one that got away"? Was Faith in fact the inspiration for Minnie Driver's character in "Good Will Hunting"? Did Matt meet Faith in a bar with a history buff who tried to pick up Faith with his knowledge of Gordon Wood? Did he years later wish he had driven cross-country to go find her, and consequently is Faith Salie the inspiration for Matt's Academy Award-winning movie which is what turned him into a STAR?
You're a news station: this time, you totally buried the lede!!
P.S. If you don't think that I wrote this in jest, and that I worship the audiowaves Mr. Sagal and Paula oscillate on, then you're missing the point.