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Recent Posts
- On Maggie Gylenhaal’s “The Bride”: Bonnie & Clyde in Stitches
- On George Saunders’ New Novel “Vigil”: Jumping the Shark Across the Heavens
- On HBO’s New Series “DTF St. Louis”: Charm & Glory of the Mundane
- On “Dr. Strangelove” 62 Years Later: General Jack Ripper in Charge Now
- On Tom Waits in “Father Mother Sister Brother”: Grifter Like Me
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Author Archives: williamjcobb
On Maggie Gylenhaal’s “The Bride”: Bonnie & Clyde in Stitches
The only thing worse than Frankenstein remakes are Dracula remakes. But this one rocks.
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On HBO’s New Series “DTF St. Louis”: Charm & Glory of the Mundane
So the best show on TV I’ve seen lately is the new HBO series DTF St. Louis, starring Jason Bateman, Linda Cardellini, and David Harbour. I’d heard a little about it but was pleasantly surprised. For one thing, it’s billed somewhat … Continue reading
On “Dr. Strangelove” 62 Years Later: General Jack Ripper in Charge Now
“A mentally unstable American President orders a missile attack on the Islamic nation of Iran, triggering a path to global holocaust that politicians at a war room in Mar-a-Lago, while noshing on boiled shrimp and cocktails, does everything to encourage.” Continue reading
On Tom Waits in “Father Mother Sister Brother”: Grifter Like Me
So I came to appreciate the genius of singer/songwriter Tom Waits much later than I should have, even if I did know the Eagles version of his song “Ol’ 55” in early college years. (Waits thought their version was “antiseptic” … Continue reading
On “After the Hunt” and “The Tavern at the End of the World”: Land of the Lost Professors
So the lives of professors are fodder for contemporary fiction and film, as evidenced by these two respective gems: the recent Julia Roberts’ film After the Hunt (2025) and Morris Collins’ just-published novel The Tavern at the End of History. … Continue reading
On Morris Collins’s Novel “The Tavern at the End of History” (2026) and the Coen Brothers’ Film “A Serious Man” (2009)
So years ago a good friend of mine had seen the new Coen Brothers’ film A Serious Man before I had and I asked his opinion. He liked it but added, “It’s very Jewish.” Which, now that I know the … Continue reading
“Song Sung Blue” Makes Kate Hudson Oscar Worthy
So I’ve never given the actress Kate Hudson much thought: She’s Goldie Hawn’s daughter so I’ve probably unconsciously (and unfairly) dismissed her with the ubiquitous “nepo baby” label (see under: Gwyneth Paltrow). I liked her in the unlikely Larry David … Continue reading
Posted in books/film, Film, Oscar Movies 2026
Tagged :The Prestige" film, "Song Sung Blue", Kate Hudson
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On Randall K. Wilson’s “A Place Called Yellowstone”: Award-Winning History of Yellowstone National Park
So as a devoted National-Park aficionado I learned of Randall K. Wilson’s A Place Called Yellowstone: The Epic History of the World’s First National Park last Spring when it was announced as winner of the Barbara and David Zalaznick Book Prize for the best … Continue reading
On Candice Millard’s “River of Doubt” and “River of the Gods”: Bugs, Snakes, and Disease Aplenty
So a couple years back my wife read Candice Millard’s excellent nonfiction book The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey (2005). She raved about it and I put it on my reading list, but somehow or other I ended up reading … Continue reading