Category Archives: reviews

Serial: Not a Monster

Posted on December 19, 2014 by susanmsink@gmail.com

Sarah Koenig reached a conclusion. And it was not about the guilt or innocence of Adnan Syed, but about the lack of evidence and the poor case against him. Reviewing the evidence (again and again) and speaking to everyone who … Continue reading →

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Opening Night (Birdman 2)

Posted on December 3, 2014 by susanmsink@gmail.com

I feel like I could write blog entries only about Alejandro González Iñárritu‘s film Birdman from now until Christmas. But I’ll try to keep my discussion to just this second post. To see what I have to say about the choice of … Continue reading →

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What We Talk About When We Talk About “Birdman”

Posted on November 22, 2014 by susanmsink@gmail.com

There is so much to talk about in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s film Birdman.  I have tons to say about the point of view of a single shot, for example. Then there’s all the complicated references between real world/movie world/theater world. We’re aware Michael … Continue reading →

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Serial and the Art of Storytelling

Posted on November 18, 2014 by susanmsink@gmail.com

I have turned against Serial, the podcast from This American Life that has been sweeping the nation. Oh, I’m going to listen to every episode, but I don’t understand why a quick search of the Internet turns up only praise for … Continue reading →

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Mysteries of Lisbon

Posted on November 10, 2014 by susanmsink@gmail.com

It’s snowing like crazy outside, and so I’m settling in for a bonus day of writing. In this spirit, we enjoyed a long, challenging film this weekend, the 4 1/2 hour period piece by Raul Ruiz, Mysteries of Lisbon. I don’t know how … Continue reading →

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Her: The Utopian Nightmare

Posted on May 26, 2014 by susanmsink@gmail.com

We watched the Spike Jonze film Her on Saturday night. It’s about a man named Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) who has a romantic relationship with a computer operating system (OS). I wish I’d seen it on the big screen, in part because it … Continue reading →

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Love and Information

Posted on April 23, 2014 by susanmsink@gmail.com

The two best cultural events of this past winter/spring were two plays I saw by Caryl Churchill. The first was at the College of Saint Benedict, A Number, performed by two theater professors. I expected it to be somewhat difficult to … Continue reading →

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Lamb Kofta Feast

Posted on April 17, 2014 by susanmsink@gmail.com

I made this lamb feast a week ago, as part of my ongoing exploration of Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi’s cookbook Jerusalem. The recipe is available on the London Telegraph’s  website here. I was thinking about this feast because it’s Holy Thursday, traditionally for … Continue reading →

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My Favorite Book

Posted on February 2, 2014 by susanmsink@gmail.com

I have given away more copies of The Snowy Day by Jack Ezra Keats than any other book I’ve ever read. And even though my early reading was dominated by Dr. Seuss, it is The Snowy Day that has stuck in my imagination. I … Continue reading →

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Ricky Jay, Magician

Posted on February 1, 2014 by susanmsink@gmail.com

Happy February 1. It is still winter. January was a blur of days and days below zero and evenings watching movies on Netflix. I’m not surprised to see I didn’t keep up my twice a week blogging schedule because, well, … Continue reading →

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