Published: Salon (December 13, 2015)
As I watched “The Ridiculous Six,” my mind kept returning to an old episode from the popular Web series “Half in the Bag.” While reviewing the comedy “Jack and Jill,” critic Jay Bauman came up with a list of stale tropes that predictably appear in all of Adam Sandler’s movies.... Read Original Article
Published: The Good Men Project (December 1, 2015)
When future cultural historians look back on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I suspect they will find the character arcs of Iron Man (aka Tony Stark) and Captain America (aka Steve Rogers) to be particularly fascinating. Whether intentionally or otherwise, each superhero has wound up embodying distinct aspects of our contemporary political zeitgeist, and I suspect that by the time “Captain America: Civil War” hits theaters next year, one message in particular will be prescient – namely, that ideological evolution is necessary for personal growth.... Read Original Article
Published: The Good Men Project (November 24, 2015) – co-authored with Jill Di Donato
Donald Trump’s ascent as a presidential frontrunner is, without question, one of the major political events of our lifetime. Even if he doesn’t ultimately win the Republican nomination next year, he has already dominated in the polls long past the time when most experts believed his star would wane.... Read Original Article
Published: The Good Men Project (November 12, 2015)
I recently discovered some lyrics from a Beatles song that resonated so strongly with me that I needed to include them here.
Courtesy of “Eleanor Rigby”:
Eleanor Rigby, picks up the rice
In the church where a wedding has been
Lives in a dream
Waits at the window, wearing the face
That she keeps in a jar by the door
Who is it for?... Read Original Article
Published: Salon (November 1, 2015)
Chris Christie might have thought it was ludicrous for the CNBC debate moderators to ask about the booming yet ethically murky “daily fantasy football” industry, but they had defensible reasons for doing so. Websites such as Draft Kings and FanDuel now generate tens of billions of dollars, by way of a product that bears striking similarities to online gambling.... Read Original Article
Published: Salon (October 26, 2015)
As the new biopic “Steve Jobs” continues to receive rave reviews, it seems appropriate to stop and take a look at its predecessor — the “Citizen Kane” of made-for-TV movies, “Pirates of Silicon Valley.” I’m not simply comparing this film to “Citizen Kane” as a way of drawing attention to its quality.... Read Original Article