Drop Anchor at Galway Hooker
I’m a big fan of the Emerald Isle, from the accents to the wool to the love of beer. When I heard about an Irish Pub just east of Macy’s, I wanted to see if Galway Hooker was more mediocre Blarney Stone, or if the place could hold its own against the city’s many Irish spots. The name, incidentally, has nothing to do with the oldest profession, but instead refers to a sailing boat used in Galway, Ireland. Read more
The Men Who Stare at Goats
George Clooney meet Dusan Makavejev: Hollywood clown to Yugoslavian art-movie satirist. Clooney’s dismal new comedy The Men Who Stare at Goats makes it essential to re-learn what good political satire means. There’s no richer example than Makavejev’s films, and three of them are now packaged in Criterion’s DVD box set, Dusan Makavejev: Free Radical. Read more
Michael Jackson’s This Is It
Fans will cheer Michael Jackson’s This Is It. Haters will sneer (as expected). But Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Oliver Stone and other first-class filmmakers who failed to transition Jackson onto the big screen during his pop-idol years ought to weep at the missed opportunities that This Is It makes apparent. Read more
