Word: often
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Dates: during 2010-2019
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...characters are colorful and their personalities are strong. Moreover, the actors who play them do a remarkable job of bringing out these often obnoxious personas. With a cast comprised of such seasoned comedic actors as Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, Luke Wilson, and Danny Glover, it’s clear that the film does not lack for acting talent...
Where the movie does falls short, however, is in its often confusing and poorly-written script. Among the antics, the movie seems to lose its focus on the reason why the family is gathered in the first place—a funeral. Instead, the actors get lost in the numerous subplots which, though funny, often seem excessively tangential. A gay midget, a high boyfriend, a stubborn ex, and a financially irresponsible brother dominate the plot throughout, and while in some ways the circuitous nature of the film is intentional, one can’t help but picture the actors...
...strength and weakness of philosophical novels is that they often feel like a multiple choice test for which the author has circled several answers to the same question. Whereas a traditional philosopher must present a rigorous argument that is carefully constructed and proven, the philosophical novelist revels in the ambiguity of his or her characters, and the conflicting ideas that make up their lives and conversations. Rebecca Goldstein—who has made a career out of presenting philosophical concepts in fictional form—offers with her latest book a showcase of the advantages and frustrations attendant to this...
...films like this poses some interesting theoretical questions about authorship: who deserves credit for a successfully resurrected film like “Heaven?” How can we discuss films like this in terms of artistic intent? But as compelling as unfinished works are as case studies, they often amount to significant violence upon a filmmaker’s oeuvre. Instead of being remembered as prolific, successful, and complete, Kubrick’s career will seem to trail off, leaving behind a collection of troubling uncertainties that will hover over his work long after “Lunatic...
...focusing on the Greek writer Herodotos: “Herodotos is an historian who trains you as you read. It is a process of asking, searching, collecting, doubting, striving, testing, blaming and above all standing amazed at the strange things humans do.” The study of history often raises more questions, Herodotos argues, than it resolves. Carson’s elegy is indeed similar to Herodotos’ concept of history. Although she does not fully arrive at an understanding of her brother’s life, Carson seems to find consolation through the very process that Herodotos...