Neal Pollack

Tuesday, November 24, 2020

‘Mank’ in the Tank

November 23, 2020November 24, 2020 Neal Pollack 0 Comments Amanda Seyfried, Charles Dance, Citizen Kane, Coen Brothers, David Fincher, Gary Oldman, Jack Fincher, Louis C.K., Madonna, Mank, Trumbo, William Randolph Hearst

David Fincher’s Old Hollywood movie is a pretentious snooze

CREATORS Politics

Can Joe Biden Save the Arts?

November 18, 2020November 18, 2020 Neal Pollack 0 Comments Amazon, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Kanye West, the arts, Wynton Marsalis

We’ve got a country, let’s put on a show

‘A Teacher’: An Afterschool Special For The Age of Prestige TV

November 17, 2020November 18, 2020 Neal Pollack 0 Comments A Teacher, Afterschool Special, Hannah Fidell, Kate Mara, Nick Robinson, Scott Baio

A subtle and disturbing drama of teacher-student sexual abuse

AUTHOR STUFF

No “Great Works” Will Emerge From This Pandemic

November 11, 2020November 14, 2020 Neal Pollack 0 Comments Anna Deveare Smith, Bill Murray, Cardi B, George Saunders, John Slattery, Megan Thee Stallion, Michael Bay, pandemic, Peter Marks, Songbird, The Conners, WAP

Or maybe they will. Who knows? Who cares?

Remembrance TELEVISION

Alex Trebek, RIP

November 8, 2020November 18, 2020 Neal Pollack 13 Comments Alex Trebek, Jeopardy!

Legendary Jeopardy! quiz host dead at age 80. To the show’s contestants, he meant the world.

TELEVISION

Check, and Mate

November 6, 2020November 20, 2020 Neal Pollack 0 Comments Anya Taylor-Joy, Marielle Heller, The Queen's Gambit, Thomas Brodie-Sangster

‘The Queen’s Gambit’ is the best show on TV right now

CLASSICS FILM

For Election Day: Political Satire Songs from Movies

November 3, 2020 Neal Pollack 0 Comments

Laugh your cares away with these comic tunes of doom

Actors CREATORS FILM

Sean Connery, RIP

October 31, 2020November 2, 2020 Neal Pollack 0 Comments David Mamet, James Bond, Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, The Untouchables

Some scenes from ‘The Untouchables’, his Oscar-winning role

FILM

Time Trip

October 26, 2020October 26, 2020 Neal Pollack 0 Comments Aaron Moorhead, Ally Ioannides, Anthony Mackie, Jamie Dornan, Justin Benson, Synchronic

‘Synchronic’: a time-traveling bromance thriller with a surprisingly emotional subtext

FILM

‘Borat’ Versus the Virus

October 23, 2020October 28, 2020 Neal Pollack 0 Comments Borat, Donald Trump, Maria Bakalova, Mike Pence, Rudy Giuliani, Sacha Baron Cohen

Sacha Baron Cohen pranks Rudy Giuliani, and America, in a high-concept pandemic sequel

FILM

European Study Reminds Us: It’s Safe To Go To The Movies

October 22, 2020November 2, 2020 Neal Pollack 2 Comments Another Round, COVID-19, Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train, Hocus Pocus, Mads Mikkelsen, Movie theaters, Sonny Bunch, Will Leitch

Not one case of COVID-19 traced to moviegoing, anywhere in the world

FICTION

I’m Still Reading The Booker Prize Novels So You Don’t Have To

October 20, 2020October 22, 2020 Neal Pollack 0 Comments Booker Prize, Brandon Taylor, C. Pam Zhang, Diane Cook, Douglas Stuart, Hilary Mantel, How Much Of These Hills is Gold, Real Life, Shuggie Bain, The Mirror and the Light, The New Wilderness, This Moveable Body, Tsitsi Dangarembga

The slog continues

FILM TELEVISION

Understuffed

October 13, 2020October 16, 2020 Neal Pollack 0 Comments Barbara Hershey, Dennis Quaid, Disney, Jeff Goldblum, Kim Stanley, Pamela Reed, Sam Shepard, Scott Glenn, The Right Stuff, Veronica Cartwright

‘The Right Stuff’ TV remake is an embarrassment

CREATORS Politics

We’ve Destroyed the Arts

October 6, 2020October 14, 2020 Neal Pollack 8 Comments Atlanta Opera, Austin, ballet, Blur, dance, Dave Rowntree, Josephine Baker, Los Angeles, Louise Alder, New York City, Opera, Pagliacci, Theater

Apparently, in a pandemic, culture is meaningless

TELEVISION

‘The South Park Pandemic Special’

October 1, 2020October 6, 2020 Neal Pollack 0 Comments Matt Stone, Pandemic Special, South Park, Trey Parker

Only 20 percent more messed up than actual reality

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