document.write("Movies about race and religion. The Apostle takes a nuanced view of religion -- Duvall's preacher is complicated, not just painted as a hypocrite despite his flaws. But it takes a not-so-suprisingly Hollywood take on race. Duvall's redemption comes from his acceptance by a rural black community and his building of an integrated church. It's the old "black people are the source of authenticity" trope. My Son the Fanatic, on the other hand, takes a nuanced view of race/ethnicity -- Om Puri masterfully plays a Pakistani taxi driver in a UK town who's truly a man without a place. However, it takes a standard movie line that religion is equal parts fanaticism and hypocrisy. I'd pick MSTF, if only for Puri's performance.
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document.write("Lashou Shentan (Hard Boiled). John Woo + Chow Yun-Fat + a nursery full of babies = pure comedy gold! Yeah, there's some actions sequences too.
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document.write("Summer blockbusters: T3 did everything the third act of a trilogy should do: become self-aware (Terminator as Tom of Finland icon, for instance), up the stakes (end of the world and all that), plus huge fights, car chases, etc. And Claire Danes was great in the 'I'm really acting in this movie' role formerly played by Linda Hamilton. Pirates of the Caribbean was a perfect blend of Bruckheimer (big action and effects) and Disney (minor characters who almost steal the movie). Major points for Depp's hilarious role.
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document.write("The Trick of It, Michael Frayn. I needed something slim; this epistlatory book about the literal (in both senses) marriage of author and critic made me laugh. Cf. The Last Rock Star Book and Pale Fire.
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document.write("Titus Groan. I first heard of The Gormenghast Novels on this list of strange books. One of the most densely visual books I've ever read; grotesque characters struggle for power and life in a castle that feels part Camelot, part Morpheus' castle in the heart of the Dreaming.
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document.write("Golden Days (The Story of the Stone, or The Dream of the Red Chamber, Volume 1), Cao Xueqin. Sort of a Remembrance of Things Past of the Chinese aristocracy, wrapped inside a magical framework. The Stone of the title is a magical item, the soul of the protagonist, and the text of the story itself.
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