Author Archives: williamjcobb

On Daniel Woodrell's "Winter's Bone," Coming This Summer to a Theater Near You

I’m in the mood for some good reading right now, have pegged a few titles for summer reading out of sheer curiosity, and while casting a wary eye at the Summer Movies list, it’s a pleasant surprise to see this … Continue reading

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On the Backfires of Rave Reviews, ala Tom Rachman's "The Imperfectionists"

Why is it that the giddiest rave reviews often somehow make their books sound suspect? I note this just having read Christopher Buckley’s rave of Tom Rachman’s The Imperfectionists in todays NY Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/books/review/Buckley-t.html?ref=books The book does sound fun, but … Continue reading

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On Jake Silverstein's "Nothing Happened and Then It Did"

Here’s a url to my review of Jake Silverstein’s book of fiction/nonfiction, Nothing Happened and Then It Did, reviewed in today’s Dallas Morning News. Parts of it were funny, in an absurdist vein, such as the bad poet’s convention, and … Continue reading

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Tea Party Claptrap in the NY Times

So here’s a quote from today’s article about the Tea Party “patriots” in the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/15/us/politics/15poll.html?hp): “I just feel he’s getting away from what America is,” said Kathy Mayhugh, 67, a retired medical transcriber in Jacksonville. “He’s a … Continue reading

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"I Shouldn't Be Alive" and Other Guilty Pleasures

I know I should be reading Milton’s Paradise Lost or at least the new Ian McEwan novel, but in lieu of more intellectual pursuits, The Animal Planet program “I Shouldn’t Be Alive” most definitely deserves the Best Trashy TV award, … Continue reading

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Vera Farmiga in "Orphan," So Bad It's Good

Slaking my appetite for horror-flick diamonds in the rough, I watched Orphan (2009) the other night, with bigshot actors Vera Farmiga and Peter Saarsgard, which definitely fits in that most excellent category of SoBadIt’sGood. It’s like a mix between The … Continue reading

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End of Hiatus, Novel Style

After months of working too hard and sometimes grueling revisions, I’ve pretty much completed my new novel, The Bird Savior, and will return to posting about books and film again. I’m ready to think/write about something else. Although I already … Continue reading

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Are Europeans Evil?

When I can’t sleep, which is often, I watch horror films. (Yes, this makes total sense.) And I’ve noticed an odd trend of late in a number of horror/suspense films, including several big budget howlers: Taken (2008, with Liam Neeson … Continue reading

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The End Is Near: Drowning in the Gadget Hype

So I’m reading the morning papers and come across this little gem: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35781194/ns/technology_and_science-wireless/ And what I’m thinking? It’s a phone! A tiny little gadget so we can all blab blab blab to each other, or worse yet, text our lives … Continue reading

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Lars Von Triers Does Tourism Ad for Denmark

So I haven’t seen Lars Von Triers’s Antichrist yet but will as soon as it hits DVD, and in the meantime, the wits at The Onion have shown what a Danish tourism ad would look like if done by Von … Continue reading

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