Friday, December 13, 2013

Master Class: Beyoncé’s “Visual Album”

›
It was the mic drop heard ‘round the world. Beyoncé’s sudden, stunning announcement that she had not only recorded an entire new album ...
Saturday, May 11, 2013

Cinematically Inclined: “The Great Gatsby”

›
Who knew an old high school English class chestnut would be one of the main cultural events of the summer movie season? It’s been ove...
Sunday, December 2, 2012

Cinematically Inclined: “Anna Karenina”

›
“I thank God that the curse of love has been lifted from me.” I first studied Leo Tolstoy’s mammoth Anna Karenina in my senior year of...
Monday, November 5, 2012

Open Letter: Why Eduard Khil’s “Trololo” Should Be the Christmas #1

›
Every so often, a wondrous Internet meme of a non-lexical, nonsense song becomes earworm. A prime example is Adriano Celentano’s “Prisenco...
Sunday, October 28, 2012

Cinematically Inclined: on Michael Haneke’s “Amour”

›
“Dance me to the end of love” – Madeleine Peyroux What happens when happily ever after ends? Michael Haneke, the distinguished Austria...
Monday, October 8, 2012

The German Opera Project: “Wagner’s Dream” (VIFF 2012)

›
It’s nice to know that in parts of North America, high culture can still be a big deal. In the fall of 2010, New York was in a furor when ...
Sunday, October 7, 2012

VIFF 2012: “A Royal Affair”

›
I love palace intrigue. If the naughty goings-on of Prince Harry this summer in Las Vegas were any indication, so does the rest of the fre...