Ready Player One (2018) *

Supremely crafted YA dreck made more so by Mr. Spielberg's annoying habit of spelling out every last detail and nuance to the audience. Scenes of live action and CGI are seamless, and the sequence replicating The Shining is fun.

Researchers find a way to mimic clinical trials using genetics - MIT Technology Review

They noted that epidemiology has an admirable track record in identifying the causes of infectious diseases from AIDS to Zika, in part because hypotheses can be tested in laboratories and in the field, and because governments have been easily convinced to do such tests. But chronic conditions like heart disease and cancer present an entirely different challenge. Epidemiology can provide correlations between diet, lifestyle, and disease, but that’s all it does. It generates hypotheses about possible causes, and little more than that. What concerned Davey Smith and Ebrahim was that epidemiologists had taken to jumping the scientific gun: they were advising people how to live and eat on the basis of mere hypotheses, without doing the rigorous (and very expensive) trials that might determine whether they were right.

Annihilation (2018) ***

Thinking person's sci-fi with a few more layers than most.

Ghost World (2001) ***

Well made depiction of the post high school teen, 1990's version. Funny and thoughtful.

Hollywood Ending (2002) **

Hollywood satire misses the mark which is like missing the side of a barn. Disappointing.

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) **

Noirs tend to be convoluted but this takes the cake. It's well made but probably too faithful to the source material as the plot is not credible and the film is too long.

Personal Shopper (2016) **

A mishmash of genres that never makes sense and only serves as a Kristen Stewart showcase. Which is not such a bad thing.

Passport to Pimlico (1949) *

It was probably hilarious at the time and the place, but 70 years later it is an artifact of post-war Britain at best.

Please Give (2010) ***

A terrific Catherine Keener anchors this solid character driven film.

The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018) **

Amusing attempt at an action comedy, never really succeeds at either. Saved from disaster by Ms. McKinnon.

Dreamchild (1985) *

It's only 94 minutes but seems much longer. Not worth the time.

Columbus (2017) **

Subtle (a little too subtle) look at two lives going in different directions intersecting in a mid-western town known for its architectural sights. Some nice visuals.

Oliver Twist (1948) ***

Mr. Lean displays his masterful visual acumen, casting eye and pacing, and when he lays off the heavy-handed music the results are riveting.

Her (2013) ***

Well-made, thoughtful near future story about the human desperation for companionship. Well, some humans anyway.

Touch of Evil (1958) ***

A flawed masterpiece of interesting, oddball choices and some terrific bit parts. Mr. Heston playing a Mexican sticks out like a sore thumb but without him the picture doesn't get made. Orson tries his best and throws everything he has into it and nearly succeeds.

The Wind in the Willows Isn't Really a Children's Book | Literary Hub

But for the most part, the book is about a group of well-off, leisured English gentlemen. Even more importantly, the book hardly ever addresses itself to an audience of children: as Humphrey Carpenter put it, “The Wind in the Willows has nothing to do with childhood or children, except that it can be enjoyed by the young.”

Yuval Noah Harari: ‘The idea of free information is extremely dangerous’ | Culture | The Guardian

You say if you want good information, pay good money for it. The Silicon Valley adage is information wants to be free, and to some extent the online newspaper industry has followed that. Is that wise?

The idea of free information is extremely dangerous when it comes to the news industry. If there’s so much free information out there, how do you get people’s attention? This becomes the real commodity. At present there is an incentive in order to get your attention – and then sell it to advertisers and politicians and so forth – to create more and more sensational stories, irrespective of truth or relevance. Some of the fake news comes from manipulation by Russian hackers but much of it is simply because of the wrong incentive structure. There is no penalty for creating a sensational story that is not true. We’re willing to pay for high quality food and clothes and cars, so why not high quality information?

Actually, there ARE penalties for publishing fake news, or there used to be. Fraud used to be a punishable crime but prosecutors have stopped even attempting to uphold such laws. Even so, there is no guarantee that paying for something equates to high quality. That is an incredibly naive misunderstanding of human nature. Since human beings created newspapers they have published sensational, untrue stories. Harari (a historian???) needs to google "yellow journalism" for a start.

Kathleen Turner, In Conversation

What do you think about the approach of actors like Dustin Hoffman or Daniel Day-Lewis, who famously do all this intense in-character preparation in order to play a role?
In Crimes of Passion I was playing a designer by day, $50 whore on Hollywood Boulevard by night. Do you think I was going to hang out with whores on Hollywood Boulevard and find out what the fuck that was like? I have an imagination, you know. My belief is that all the information I need is in the script. And if it’s not, then it’s not a good enough script.

Robert Redford Retiring From Acting Officially, Actor Confirms – /Film

Robert Redford is going out with a bang. Because what better way to cap off a 58-year career that contains some of the all-time classic roles and movies in cinema history? But it’s a bang that he’s been planning for quite a while now, since he first announced his intention to retire back in 2016. Now Redford can officially announce that he’s retiring from acting following his final role in the aptly titled drama, The Old Man & The Gun.

Quite the body of work for this almost always interesting actor/movie star.

The Breaking Point (1950) ***

Tough, gritty noir may not have star power but it has fine actors and no nonsense direction.