Like Updike, Anthony Burgess, and Vladimir Nabokov, Cynthia Ozick writes reviews with lush prose, each essay a stimulant to those seeking the beautiful interplay of ideas, language, and strong opinions. Continue reading The Art of Reviewing: Critics, Monsters, Fanatics, and Other Literary Essays, by Cynthia Ozick
Every blog needs a large-scale project. The Art of Reviewing will explore reviewing as an art form and as a valuable element to understanding society. During this project, I will profile specific reviewers of merit. Several specific cases also explore other facets of reviewing. Introduction Jeremy Clarkson Special Case File #1: The movie “300” Clive James Nathan Rabin The 20-minute “Avatar” review by Harry S. Plinkett (aka Red Letter Media) Cintra Wilson Anthony Bourdain Roland Barthes Forthcoming profiles: Anthony Burgess Susan Sontag Michel Foucault Harold Bloom Joe Bob Briggs James Wood Walter Benjamin Joris-Karl Huysmans Continue reading The Art of Reviewing
After an overlong hiatus, “The Art of Reviewing” returns with a profile of Roland Barthes, exploring his the French semiotician and literary critic expanded the subject matter for reviewers, his influence of pop culture studies, and his usefulness in curatorial practice. Continue reading The Art of Reviewing: Roland Barthes
Anthony Bourdain’s impact on food writing. Continue reading The Art of Reviewing: Anthony Bourdain
Every blog needs a large-scale project. The Art of Reviewing will explore reviewing as an art form and as a valuable element to understanding society. During this project, I will profile specific reviewers of merit. Several specific cases also explore other facets of reviewing. Cintra Wilson Cintra Wilson was a columnist at Salon, retail reviewer in the New York Times Fashion & Style section (Critical Shopper), and lately political columnist (the C-Word), appearing in the New Haven Advocate, the Hartford Courant, and the Fairfield Weekly. Wilson also authored the ferocious cultural commentary entitled A Massive Swelling: celebrity re-examined as a … Continue reading The Art of Reviewing: Cintra Wilson (Part One)
Every blog needs a large-scale project. The Art of Reviewing will explore reviewing as an art form and as a valuable element to understanding society. During this project, I will profile specific reviewers of merit. Several specific cases also explore other facets of reviewing. If you haven’t seen it already, it’s making the rounds on Ye Olde Nettertubes. It’s a twenty-minute review of James Cameron’s blockbuster Avatar. Here’s the review, in two parts: *** COMMENTARY This review is a bit long and a bit cynical, but it makes a number of valid points. It is an artful combination of pop … Continue reading The Art of Reviewing Special Edition(TM): The 20 Minute “Avatar” Review
Every blog needs a large-scale project. The Art of Reviewing will explore reviewing as an art form and as a valuable element to understanding society. During this project, I will profile specific reviewers of merit. Several specific cases also explore other facets of reviewing. Noted Nathan Rabin impressionist David Cross. Nathan Rabin is the hip hop music reviewer for the AV Club. He hails from Chicago and calls himself “the world’s most secular Jew.” His other noteworthy contributions to pop culture criticism include “Nashville or Bust,” a long-term series exploring country music, and “My Year of Flops.” With the latter, … Continue reading The Art of Reviewing: Nathan Rabin
Clive James and his many books Every blog needs a large-scale project. The Art of Reviewing will explore reviewing as an art form and as a valuable element to understanding society. During this project, I will profile specific reviewers of merit. Several specific cases also explore other facets of reviewing. Clive James and the Spice Girls. A fascinating interview. Clive James has done it all. He’s a poet, wit, lyricist, TV presenter, cultural commentator, author, and memoirist. This Australian native represents the Old Guard, sharing a similar background with Christopher Hitchens and Martin Amis. His critical stance may be a … Continue reading The Art of Reviewing: Clive James
Every blog needs a large-scale project. The Art of Reviewing will explore reviewing as an art form and as a valuable element to understanding society. During this project, I will profile specific reviewers of merit. Several specific cases also explore other facets of reviewing. Special Case File #1: The movie 300 In this installation of the Art of Reviewing, the focus will be on a single cultural product. The movie is 300 (Zak Snyder, 2006). In the halcyon days of Dubya’s second term, the film adapted a comic book written by Frank Miller. In the process creating a sensational CGI … Continue reading The Art of Reviewing: Special Case File #1: The movie “300”
Source: The London Times Every blog needs a large-scale project. The Art of Reviewing will explore reviewing as an art form and as a valuable element to understanding society. During this project, I will profile specific reviewers of merit. Several specific cases also explore other facets of reviewing. Jeremy Clarkson. Depending on whom you talk to, mentioning his name usually follows adulation or vilification. The tall, shaggy-haired presenter of Top Gear and Driving columnist for the London Times, brings a sensational edge to the staid world of automobile reviewing. Prone to bombastic statements, dismissive of anti-pollution legislation, and a worshipful … Continue reading The Art of Reviewing: Jeremy Clarkson
The Driftless Area Review 