Critical Mass: 'Perry Mason': The case of the iconic shyster
Four years ago, when HBO first announced it was rebooting "Perry Mason," you might have been interested; initial reports were that Nic Pizzolatto, late of the University of Arkansas' Creative Writing ...
August 9, 2020
On books/Opinion: 'Eldorado' ambitious, great read
Writing a novel is a daunting prospect, and I know a few working writers who have attempted and maybe finished one or four of them. Usually, if they have any sense at all, they look at what they've do...
August 9, 2020
Cotton's "gaffe"
I've been thinking about what Tom Cotton told our Frank Lockwood last month when he was bad-mouthing The New York Times' 1619 Project that aims to "reframe American history" around slavery and the con...
August 9, 2020
REVIEW: ‘Made in Italy’ pleasant, forgettable comedy with charming people and some pretty scenery
We've recently begun watching "Schitt's Creek," the Canadian sitcom that became a streaming favorite after it was picked up by Netflix. I haven't made up my mind about the show, which seems to swing b...
August 7, 2020
ON FILM
Watch Philip Martin’s OnFilm column at: arkansasonline.com/87film/
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August 7, 2020
PHILIP MARTIN: Anchors aweigh
My mother is thinking of retiring.
Next year, maybe, she says. She's made no decision. She's probably been thinking about it for a while.
I tell her that sounds great, if it is what she wants to do....
August 4, 2020
PHILIP MARTIN: Unintended consequences
Maybe we're born believing things.
We learn most of what we think we know from our parents and other adults we're around when we are young, from teachers and peers. But we do have certain instincts--...
August 2, 2020
Critical Mass
Philip Martin is taking the day off.
August 2, 2020
REVIEW: ‘Summerland’ gives us a sanitized lesbian affair through flashbacks
Jennifer Swale is a young English playwright and theater director who is making her cinematic directorial debut with "Summerland," a movie she also wrote.
It stars Gemma Arterton, whom Swale previous...
July 31, 2020
ON FILM
Watch Philip Martin’s OnFilm column at: arkansasonline.com/731film
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July 31, 2020
RESTAURANT REVIEW: Barely known Mr. Cajun’s Kitchen offers excellent fare
We humans like to think of ourselves as special, and we dearly love when we discover something that the herd hasn't caught onto yet. The Joy of Being In is the obverse of the Fear of Missing Out.
And...
July 30, 2020
PHILIP MARTIN: Common ways of the heart
"Let me tell you some more about myself ..."
-- Pete Townshend,
"The Sea Refuses No River"
"I was born a poor Black child ..."
-- Navin R. Johnson (Steve Martin)
in "The Jerk" (1979)
The last ...
July 28, 2020
PHILIP MARTIN: Love in the time of covid
Being a great editor is an invisible talent. You slide in and make surgical repairs, tiny cuts and ligatures, reduce the bloat, wipe the crystal clear. Sometimes you might have to tear the engine down...
July 26, 2020
Critical Mass/Opinion: A summer without . . . blockbusters
It is understandable that someone who sees 300 or more movies in a year might look at the form differently from the average moviegoer, who even before this pandemic hit typically watched fewer than 10...
July 26, 2020
OnBooks/Opinion: 'Utopia' a good read this summer
I know enough about David Mitchell's work to be wary of making any grand pronouncements about his latest, "Utopia Avenue" (Random House, $30). For all I know, it contains a lot of secret messages for ...
July 26, 2020