PG-13 | 1h 36min | Comedy, Satire | 7 April 2023 (USA) Recalling the works of Christopher Guest, Alexander Payne, and Wes Anderson, “Paint” is a bone-dry satire from sophomore feature director Brit McAdams (“Kat Williams: American Hustle,” 2007). Also written by McAdams, the movie draws inspiration from real-life nature painter Bob Ross who, from 1983 through 1994, was one of…
Film Review: ‘Paint’: Owen Wilson Doesn’t Quite Portray PBS Artist Bob Ross in This Bone-Dry Satire
Book Review: ‘Raising Victims: The Pernicious Rise of Critical Race Theory’
Leonydus Johnson book’s “Raising Victims: The Pernicious Rise of Critical Race Theory” is a good salve for treating the cuts and scrapes on a national psyche bleeding from ideologies that seek to divide and separate. In his thoughtful and well-researched book Johnson quietly disassembles the shaky foundation of Critical Race Theory (CRT) with calculated logic,…
An Empty World Explodes With Life: Tintoretto’s ‘Creation of the Animals’
It’s an immense task to try to capture the essence of God’s creation, although one artist made a powerful attempt. Jacopo “Il Tintoretto” Robusti (1518–1594) apprenticed in the workshop of the leading Venetian artist at that time, Titian. A 2019 retrospective exhibition of the artist’s work at the National Gallery of Art in Washington marked the…
Film Review: ‘A Good Person’: Expect to See Florence Pugh at the 2024 Oscars
R | 2h 9m | Drama | March 24, 2023 “A Good Person” was written and directed by Zach Braff, who’s still fondly remembered for his 2004 hit “Garden State” in which he starred with Natalie Portman. After an immensely annoying and cloying beginning, “A Good Person” eventually hits its stride and turns into a movie you…
Germany’s Heidelberg Castle: A Monument to Past Greatness
Heidelberg Castle rises high above the medieval town of Heidelberg, Germany. First mentioned in 1214 as a fortified medieval castle, Heidelberg Castle later served as a royal residence for the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire. Different architectural styles are present throughout the complex. The Ruprecht’s Wing, the oldest castle, is an example of Gothic…
Leonardo da Vinci’s Remarkable Touch
Every year, thousands of art lovers flock to Santa Maria delle Grazie (Church of Holy Mary of Grace) in Milan, Italy, to view Leonardo da Vinci’s painting of “The Last Supper.” It is a huge mural, approximately 15 feet high and 29 feet wide. It is a rare privilege to gaze upon the work of such…
Zacatecas Cathedral: Mexico’s Baroque Masterpiece
The Zacatecas Cathedral, located in Zacatecas in the north-central Mexican state of the same name, is a masterpiece of Spanish Baroque architecture. In the 18th century, this historic town prospered because of its rich deposits of silver. To celebrate their good fortune, miners built the Catedral Basílica de Zacatecas between 1729 and 1760, replacing two…
Book Review: ‘Field of Corpses: Arthur St. Clair and the Death of an American Army’
When it comes to the Indian Wars, there are names that are familiar to us, like Apache, Comanche, and Cherokee, as well as battles, like Custer’s Last Stand, Battle of Wounded Knee, and Battle of theLittle Bighorn. Less familiar may be the Miamis, the powerful Ohio tribe, and the Battle of theWabash. In his new…
Popcorn and Inspiration: ‘The Notebook’: So What If It’s a ‘Tear-Jerker’?
PG-13 | 2h 3m | Romance | June 25, 2004 “The Notebook.” Rotten Tomatoes critics: 53, audience: 85. What? Are you kidding me? Few things drive me up a wall these days more than ridiculous Rotten Tomatoes critic/audience opinion-skews, when you can drive a Mack truck between them. Because somebody’s clearly out of touch and missing the point….
Popcorn and Inspiration: ‘Jesus of Nazareth’: Franco Zeffirelli’s TV Miniseries Masterpiece
It originally aired back in the day when Americans had three TV stations to choose from, and when every household had a designated channel changer instead of remote control. In a way, the limited channels brought the country together. From the subways to the mountains, from the rich to the poor, young and old alike,…
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