In 1999, the now infamous film “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace” was released. Featuring an overly-complicated plot involving space politics, characters people wish never existed, and hordes of CGI robots, the film today possesses a small cult following, but the vast majority of its viewers wish they could reclaim their forever lost two hours and...
Anthony Esolen’s plan for saving American culture is as incendiary and inspiring as its governing metaphor — a phoenix rising out of the ashes of what he sees as a decimated society. But it may be just as mythical. Out of the Ashes, the latest book from Providence College English professor, author, Divine Comedy translator,...
BAM! A right cross to that sniveling Charles Darwin and his so-called “Theory of Evolution.” Then … WHAP! A slap to Noam Chomsky and his sycophantic band of MIT-desk-bound Darwinian linguists. That’s the conceit of “The Kingdom of Speech,” New York City-based journalist Tom Wolfe’s 2016 book which argues that it is language, not natural...
1948 was a crazy year. It was the year Harry Truman won against all odds, one of the greatest upsets in American history. Porsche made its first car. Andrew Lloyd Webber was born. And it was the year “Kiss Me, Kate” hit Broadway. Today we have our own presidential upset, Porsche has an SUV,...
Before I dive into detailed discussions of each category and film, let’s start with this: the 2017 Academy Awards will be a sweep for “La La Land.” By taking six Golden Globe awards out of seven nominations in early January, it broke the record for most awarded to a movie. It won seven Critic’s Choice...