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Separated at Birth
May 25, 2014
Melky Cabrera… …and Donna McKechnie (all roads lead to musical theater, dontcha know…)
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Gordon Willis, Cinematographer, 1931-2014
May 20, 2014
If he’d only shot The Godfather, Annie Hall and Manhattan, Gordon Willis’s reputation would be secure as one of the visual artists responsible for Hollywood’s last golden age of artisanal filmmaking. But his other films were equally masterful–this was the man who also did Pennies from Heaven, Woody Allen’s wonderful run of 80s films (Zelig,…
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The Jackie Robinson Moment
May 12, 2014
First Jason Collins and now Michael Sam: the pro-sports glass ceiling has been broken, ushering in waves of support and (no surprise) standard-issue good ol’ American homophobia. Check out the media weigh-ins on CNN and the New Yorker, and don’t forget: when you express your happiness by kissing a loved one, by all means “think…
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Vampire Elegies, 50s Negroes and White Folks With Guitars
April 15, 2014
On screen, onstage, in concert: here’s some stuff I got to see last week. Only Lovers Left Alive (Jim Jarmusch, director). What could be more modern? Two lovers live on opposite sides of the continent; when Adam (Tom Hiddleston), a legendary rock star recluse holed up in Detroit, becomes suicidal, his lady, Eve (the tres elegant…
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In the theater, giving sorrow words
March 29, 2014
We go to the theater to renew our ties to the world. Sometimes we’re reminded of things, lives, people we used to know, or feelings we’ve tucked away long ago. When it’s working, a play can unearth those buried treasures, though the effect isn’t always pleasant. At a recent performance of Mothers and Sons, a…
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James Rebhorn, Ubiquitous Character Actor, 1948-2014
March 23, 2014
Rarely the lead; usually a guest; embodies either the saint, or the devil; appears everywhere at once: such is the definition of a working character actor, which James Rebhorn was throughout a laudable career that unfolded mostly on television, though he had his moments on the big screen too (The Talented Mr. Ripley as Matt…
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Philip Seymour Hoffman 1967-2014
February 2, 2014
Calling him the Master wouldn’t begin to cover it. He was everything you’d want in a character actor. He could be funny and tragic, often at once (Capote); he could be imperious or blustery (The Master), yet he was capable of conveying great tenderness and vulnerability (as the lovelorn techie in Boogie Nights, and as…
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Comes another year
January 21, 2014
There’s a certain slant of light, Winter afternoons— That oppresses, like the heft Of cathedral tunes Emily Dickinson Winter is the cruelest season, though for me it’s not so much about the cold (though we’ve had our chilly moments, this time of year our apartment often feels like summer). What kills me is the darkness. …
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Joan Fontaine 1917-2013
December 17, 2013
One of the first Hitchcock blondes. When she won her Oscar for his Suspicion in 1942, she was the youngest best actress winner ever (at the age of 24). Check out the Times obit here. RIP.
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Peter O’Toole 1932-2013
December 15, 2013
Two favorites: O’Toole with Audrey Hepburn in How to Steal a Million. What an ultra, and the end of an era–check out UK’s Guardian obit here. RIP.
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