Author Archives: Blowhard, Esq.

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About Blowhard, Esq.

Amateur, dilettante, wannabe.

Movie Du Jour: “Cluny Brown” (1946)

Posted on June 20, 2017 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: Lubitsch’s last completed movie which, for some reason, isn’t discussed or cited as frequently as his other classics. Charles Boyer and Jennifer Jones are excellent. Pauline Kael wrote: A girl with a passion for plumbing is terribly repugnant … Continue reading →

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Quote Du Jour: This Is Your Captain Speaking

Posted on June 17, 2017 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: Anyone who travels very much on airlines in the United States soon gets to know the voice of the airline pilot…coming over the intercom…with a particular drawl, a particular folksiness, a particular down-home calmness that is so exaggerated it … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Publishing and Writing | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Juxtaposin’: Wisdom Literature

Posted on June 14, 2017 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: In the New Yorker, Richard Brody writes: Of course, “Wonder Woman” is a superhero movie, and it fulfills the heroic and mythic demands of that genre, but it’s also an entry in the genre of wisdom literature that shares … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Philosophy and Religion | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Couldn’t Do It Today: “Sweet Deceptions” (1960)

Posted on June 14, 2017 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: Via Wikipedia: The film tells one day in the life of a young adolescent girl who is discovering her sexuality. Francesca (Catherine Spaak), a 17-year-old girl, who has a vivid dream of making love to Enrico (Christian Marquand), a … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Sex | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Architecture Du Jour

Posted on June 9, 2017 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: Modernism: Making every place the same place for over a century.

Posted in Architecture | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

The Art of the Opening Title: True Detective, Season 1

Posted on June 8, 2017 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: A new series where I share some of my favorite TV opening titles. Sometimes I love the show, sometimes I don’t, but I think each montage captures the spirit and tone of the show in an entertaining way. … Continue reading →

Posted in Television | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Amazon’s Bricks and Mortar

Posted on June 7, 2017 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: After laying waste to meatspace retail book sellers, Amazon has bizarrely decided to get into the game. Their first NYC store opened over the Memorial Day weekend so I headed down there to check it out. My overall … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Publishing and Writing | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Notes on “Get Out” (2017)

Posted on May 29, 2017 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: I finally caught up with GET OUT, writer-director Jordan Peele’s racial satire. A box-office smash beloved by critics (well, most of them), Peele takes Ta-Nehisi Coates’s “black bodies” rhetoric and recasts it into a horror-thriller. Chris Washington, a … Continue reading →

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Juxtaposin’: The King Threatens?

Posted on May 17, 2017 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: In June 1170, Roger de Pont L’Évêque, the archbishop of York, along with Gilbert Foliot, the Bishop of London, and Josceline de Bohon, the Bishop of Salisbury, crowned the heir apparent, Henry the Young King, at York. This … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Politics and Economics | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The Russians Return!

Posted on May 16, 2017 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: Just when I think I’m done with the Cold War, it pulls me back in. What I’m WATCHING now: THE AMERICANS, season 5. Also BETTER CALL SAUL season 3 and THE UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT season 1. What I’m … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Publishing and Writing, Games, Linkathons, Television | Tagged , , | 4 Comments