Bill Moyers Journal: The Conversation Continues contains the transcripts from shows broadcast from 2007 to 2010. My problem with some of the interviews was that time had made them dated. My favorite interviews were Jon Stewart and David Simon (The Wire). Here’s the entire list of the 47 interviews:
Table of Contents:
Jon Stewart
Michael Pollan
Louise Erdrich
Nikki Giovanni
Andrew Bacevich
Robert Wright
David Simon
Victor Gold
Nell Painter
Jim Hightower
Richard Goldstone
Robert Bly
Jeremy Scahill
Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot
John Lithgow
William Greider
Karen Armstrong
Ross Douthat and Mickey Edwards
Grace Lee Boggs
Games K. Galbraith
Douglas Blackmon
Sam Tanenhaus
Maxine Hong Kingston
E. O. Wilson
Simon Johnson
Holly Sklar
Jane Goodall
James Cone
David Boies and Ted Olson
Wendell Potter
Benjamin Barber
Margaret Flowers
Philippe Sands
Howard Zinn
Michelle Alexander and Bryan Stevenson
Thomas Cahill
Shelby Steele
Robert Kaiser
Barbara Ehrenreich
Martín Espada
John Grisham
Susan Jacoby
Jim Yong Kim
W. S. Merwin
Mike Davis
Reverend Jeremiah Wright
Barry Lopez.

Set about 20 years from now, Alastair Reynolds’ new short novel, Troika, explores the effect of a humongous alien spacecraft that enters our solar system. The alien craft is the size of a moon, but seems damaged. The Chinese and U.S. send probes to the strange object, but the results are confounding. The New Soviet Union, the only country that still has a space program, sends a three-cosmonaut mission to the giant derelict. What they find will change the world forever. This Subterranean Press edition is a bit pricey, but if you’re an Alastair Reynolds fan, this is a must-buy. GRADE: B+

Owen Wilson plays a frustrated writer about to marry the fetching Rachel McAdam, when the magic of Paris enters his life. Wilson is whisked back in time to the Paris of the 1920s where he meets Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Zelda, Gertrude Stein, Cole Porter, and a dozen other writers and artists. Wilson returns to contemporary Paris, but is frustrated by life in the 21st Century so each night he returns to the Paris of the past. Like Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Midnight in Paris explores the creative process and the choices that shape our lives. Owen Wilson surprises in convincing us this fantasy could really be happening. Rachel McAdam isn’t given much to do. The rest of the cast is solid. I enjoyed Midnight in Paris and you probably would, too. GRADE: B+

I picked up a copy of Taschen’s Men’s Adventure Magazines at Barnes & Noble for $14.98. Given the heft of this volume of cover artwork from the Fifties, Sixties, and Seventies issues of men’s magazines, this is a steal! Rich Oberg, Steven Heller, Max Allan Collins and George Hagenauer provide essays that illuminate the post-WWII genre of men’s adventure magazines. Hundreds of color covers, inside spreads, and campy titles to the “articles” will dazzle you. Like most of the Taschen books I own, this is a quality product. Grab a copy before they’re gone! GRADE: A

Despite the lukewarm reviews of Green Lantern, I enjoyed this version starring Ryan Reynolds. The key to this movie is Reynolds. He plays hot-shot test pilot, Hal Jordan, to perfection. Yes, Hal Jordan is cocky, but he also has a Deep Secret. When an alien crash-lands on Earth, Hal Jordan is chosen by the Green Lantern ring to become part of the Galactic police force with incredible powers. Those of you who’ve grown up reading the Green Lantern comics know the familiar story. Blake Lively (Gossip Girl) plays Hal Jordan’s boss and love interest. Yes, there is creditable on-screen chemistry between Reynolds and Lively. Reportedly, $300 million was spent on this CGI extravaganza. When the movie ended, the crowd cheered. A sequel is already in the works. GRADE: B+

Stan Burns commented a few posts ago that he enjoyed Jack Vance’s “Sheriff” novels best. As a long-time fan, I’ve been rationing the few remaining Jack Vance books that I haven’t read. And, I hadn’t read The Fox Valley Murders featuring Acting Sheriff Joe Bain. Bain was a rowdy kid growing up, but he did a tour in the military, went to college on the G.I. Bill, earned a Criminal Justice degree, and was a top deputy when the Sheriff of San Rodrigo County in California dropped dead. Facing an election to keep his job, Bain confronts the puzzling series of fatal “accidents” by witnesses who testified in a rape/murder trial. Jack Vance is best known for his classic SF and fantasy fiction, but he could write a solid mystery, too. I have a copy of the other “Sheriff” novel, The Pleasant Grove Murders, that I’ll review in the months ahead.

Rio explores themes like friendship, trust, love, and exploration. Jesse Eisenberg is the voice of a rare bird, Blu. Through serendipity, Blu finds himself taken from Rio as a baby bird and abandoned in Minnesota. Fortunately, a kind girl named Linda finds Blu and adopts him. Fast-forward a few years and Linda (Leslie Mann) is approached by a scientist from Rio who convinces her that Blu might be one of the last birds of his kind. The scientist has an equally rare female bird of the same species. Linda reluctantly agrees to travel with Blu to Rio. Blu mets the female bird (Anne Hathaway) and sparks fail to fly. A gang of thieves steal the two rare birds and Linda and the scientist are frantic to save them. Of course, this all occurs during Carnival so plenty of music and color decorate the film. Other voices in the movie belong to George Lopez, Jane Lynch, Tracy Morgan, will i. am, and Jamie Foxx. Watching Rio would be a great way to spend a hot afternoon. GRADE: B

Advertising is in a crisis mode. People are ignoring commercials. They use their remotes to escape paid advertisements. They DVR everything and skip the commercials. So new techniques need to be developed. The Art of Immersion by Frank Rose shows how advertisers are turning to social media like Facebook and Twitter to get their message out. I enjoyed the way Lost and The Closer created fictional worlds and used their web sites to draw viewers in with additional content. The section on the making of Avatar points to the next step for advertisers: create believable worlds for consumers to get immersed in. Much of this approach goes back to the whole concept of a Star Wars universe with almost infinite detail. The Art of Immersion captures the present state of advertising to an astonishing degree. GRADE: A

What I like most about Win Win is the movie’s honesty. Paul Giamatti plays a small-town lawyer who’s struggling financially. He’s a decent man, but the economic downturn threatens his business and his family. In a moment of weakness, Giamatti’s character agrees to become the guardian of a client with dementia who wants to stay in his own house instead of going to a nursing home. Giamatti will receive $1500 a month as the guardian. He figures this is just enough money to keep his law practice and family afloat until the economy recovers. But, as so often happens in Life, everything goes Wrong. After placing his client in a nursing home, Giamatti discovers the client has a grandson he didn’t know about. The client’s daughter is in drug rehab and the boy sought the grandfather he never met. The boy has been abused by his mother’s current boyfriend. Giamatti is also a volunteer coach of the town’s high school wrestling team. It turns out, the boy is a gifted wrestler. But, his mother gets out of rehab and Giamatti is faced with the end of his career because of his actions. Amy Ryan plays Giamatti’s forceful wife. Alex Shaffer plays the troubled teenager. Burt Young, Jeffery Tambor, and Bobby Cannavale round out the solid cast. Make an effort to see this movie! GRADE: A-