Everything else is just made up
Review of Page One: Inside the New York Times directed by Andrew Rossi Rating **** This documentary looks at the impact digital media has had on the moribund print media. It’s also an inside look at the New York Times. The biggest question raised by the film is whether or not the New York Times [...]
Review of Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo Rating *** 1/2 This nonfiction tale of life in a Mumbai slum has been highly touted in the press. The Kindle version, however, lacked much-needed maps and photos, which made the book hard to follow. It’s a shame that publishers put so little effort into their [...]
Two of the biggest stories in the news today have something very much in common – they both demonstrate how the same event can be interpreted in different ways depending on your perspective. Take the Trayvon Martin case. Try putting yourself in George Zimmerman’s shoes for a minute. You’re a neighborhood watch volunteer in a gated [...]
The Internet is a wonderful thing. If you know how to use the medium to market a product, you can reach a wide audience at very little cost. That’s exactly what I’ve been able to accomplish with my book 35 Miles From Shore. So when my distributor informed me a few weeks ago that the [...]
This blog is full of stories that show that one person with an idea can make a difference in the world. We live in a time of hyper media, where stories can quickly go viral, where a video uploaded to Youtube can be viewed by millions in a matter of days. Such is the case [...]
Review of If a Tree Falls written & directed by Marshall Curry Rating ***** This was one of five documentaries nominated for this year’s Oscars for best documentary. Since I’ve been unable to view the winning documentary Undefeated, I can’t compare the two. But this was certainly a worthy contender. The film is about the [...]
Like many others watching last night Oscars, I was interested in seeing which documentary film would take home the award. I normally try to see all five films prior to the show. Afterall, these are the best of the best. Unfortunately, I was only able to see three of the five films, one of those [...]
Review of Hell and Back Again directed by Danfung Dennis Rating *** 1/2 This is a documentary film nominated for this year’s Oscar. I watched the film on my iPad. More on that later. Like Restrepo, last year’s Oscar nominated film about Afghanistan, this documentary goes behind the scenes with a group of soldiers fighting [...]
I started this dumbest commercial category late last year and didn’t have enough contenders to announce a year’s worst. This year I’m sure I’ll have plenty of bad commercials to choose from. This one is from Allstate Insurance, the same company with the amusing Mayheim commercials. My guess is that this series of commercials is [...]
Moneyball by Michael Lewis – Rating **** 1/2 Moneyball the film directed by Bennett Miller and written by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Zorkin Rating **** I always enjoy having the option to read a book and then seeing that book come to life in film. This blog is full of examples of this. One that comes to [...]
Amazon recently tested a marketing program called 100 books for under $3.99. This is for Kindle books only. The test program went so well that they decided to make it a regular feature. Hey, everyone likes a good deal. So when my distributor asked me a few weeks ago if I wanted to participate I [...]
Review of Dead Reckoning by Caitlin Rother Rating ***** I first learned of this story from a 48 Hours episode. Or maybe it was Dateline. It could have been 20/20. The fact is that all of these shows and more covered this story. It’s one of the dumbest yet heinous crimes imaginable. A kid in [...]
One of the great things about having a blog like this is knowing that there are people all over the world accessing the content. So whenever a writer or filmmaker reaches out to me, I’m always happy to help them spread the word. Such is the case with this post. A filmmaker/musician from Osaka, Japan, [...]
Review of The Murder of The Century by Paul Collins Rating ***** This book involves a murder that took place in 1897. It’s not so much a mystery. Two people were arrested and charged with the murder, with both pointing the finger at the other. What makes this story so interesting are the parallels of [...]
