I'm currently reading The Emperor by Ryszard Kapuscinski. It's an account of the overthrow of Haile Selassie, told ostensibly through firsthand interviews with the servants of the court. There is a lot of debate over whether and how much Kapuscinski invented, and the book is probably best appreciated as "magical…

Journalism was my first Sacco. I liked it a lot. He has obviously developed a great deal as an artist and author since writing Palestine.

Journalism was my first Sacco. I liked it a lot. He has obviously developed a great deal as an artist and author since writing Palestine.

I tried reading Palestine earlier this year after reading and enjoying Journalism. I honestly couldn't get into it. It's obviously a foundational work in comics journalism, but the drawing is pretty messy, Sacco writes way too much (and bizarrely places the narration in about a thousand different boxes), and its view…

I tried reading Palestine earlier this year after reading and enjoying Journalism. I honestly couldn't get into it. It's obviously a foundational work in comics journalism, but the drawing is pretty messy, Sacco writes way too much (and bizarrely places the narration in about a thousand different boxes), and its view…

The poster tagline, on the other hand, is one of the greatest of all time — so great Rob Zombie had no choice but to steal it for a White Zombie lyric.

The poster tagline, on the other hand, is one of the greatest of all time — so great Rob Zombie had no choice but to steal it for a White Zombie lyric.

I happened to read Athos in America (which, by the way, I could have sworn came out last year) the same week as I watched a Bresson film (Mouchette, I believe). That turned out to be quite a revelation. The deadpan expressions, the lack of extraneous detail, the precision of the "cuts," the ultimately powerful…

I happened to read Athos in America (which, by the way, I could have sworn came out last year) the same week as I watched a Bresson film (Mouchette, I believe). That turned out to be quite a revelation. The deadpan expressions, the lack of extraneous detail, the precision of the "cuts," the ultimately powerful…

I loved that guy so much. His description of the five states within Texas  had me dying.

What did you think of Elena? I liked it a lot. It's apparently intended to be a commentary on the class divisions in Russian society, but I liked it even more as a story about the obligations and limits of parents.

@paraclete_pizza:disqus That was one of my biggest problems with the movie, too. It pretends to give Ralph a difficult, meaningful choice and then completely undercuts it almost immediately. Also, just as a story, I thought it got way too bogged down in Sugar Rush and Vanellope, neither of whom was all that…

Now that I'll be gainfully employed and hopefully living within walking distance of two movie theaters (one of which is the AFI Silver), I'm hoping to massively step up my theatrical screenings in 2013.

I'm practically Carrie Nation by law student standards.

yep, you guessed it.

My theory about Bardem's hair is that Mendes (or whoever) wanted that character to suggest Julian Assange. White hair, "Euro-chic" quality, leaker, hacker; there's even a brief description in the movie of an encrypted network similar to Tor, the anonymity network used by Wikileaks to shelter the identities of its…

Did you see a theatrical release? I believe it was shown in three one-hour installments on TV in the UK, so I'm wondering if we're getting the full version here in the US or an abridged version.

Did you see a theatrical release? I believe it was shown in three one-hour installments on TV in the UK, so I'm wondering if we're getting the full version here in the US or an abridged version.

The best 2012 releases I read were Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City by Guy Delisle and Thinking the Twentieth Century by Tony Judt with Timothy Snyder.

The best 2012 releases I read were Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City by Guy Delisle and Thinking the Twentieth Century by Tony Judt with Timothy Snyder.