Despite my complaints, of which there are have been many, I just can’t quit The Newsroom. But it’s for episodes like this one that I’m glad I stick around. The simply titled “News Night with Will McAvoy” was easily the best episode of this second season, a self-contained masterpiece that juggled what seemed like dozens…
The danger in naming your movie The Spectacular Now is that it creates unreasonable expectations. If it falls flat, you’ve made the job of film critics everywhere all too easy: the headlines will read “Not so Spectacular” or “The Spectacular Not.” Thankfully for all involved, the film is certainly nowhere near bad enough to warrant…
Let’s start with a list. Here are the movies currently playing at my local independent movie theater: Blue Jasmine, Before Midnight, The Attack, Fruitvale Station, and The Way, Way Back. Earlier this summer, it screened The Bling Ring, Frances Ha, and Much Ado About Nothing. Tastes may vary, but I saw most of those, and…
I’m not breaking any news when I say that there are a lot of folks who don’t like The Newsroom. Their criticism, however, comes from many places. Some are frustrated that the show seems to be just a vehicle for Sorkin to voice his liberal politics. Others have have pointed to its inaccuracies (“Embedded reporters…
Let’s get right to it: Blue Jasmine is one of Woody Allen’s most bleak and dreary films in years. It also happens to be one of his best, which says much about where the old filmmaker’s strengths now lie. It’s been quite a while since he made a good straight comedy. Anybody remember Scoop? Didn’t…
First of all, I’m flattered by the attention. Yesterday, Erik Kain of Forbes.com published a rebuke of my article in The Atlantic on a recent trend in Hollywood blockbusters of depicting war profiteers as villains. He makes a couple good points but gets some crucial details wrong. Here is an excerpt: Gittell argues that Iron Man…
This one’s for serious Sorkin fans only. Yesterday, blogger JustMeMike and I had a lengthy disucssion about last Sunday’s episode of “The Newsroom” on his site. NOAH: But enough about these relationships. I’m starting to feel like a gossipy high school cheerleader (which is one of the reasons I have problems with the show). I came…
Although Alison Pill was barely in this episode, I feel compelled to begin this review with her, largely because of the vitriol I directed at her character last week. I am currently breathing a sigh of relief. It only took them thirteen episodes, but the writers of The Newsroom finally figured out how to use…
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