Written Reviews

Shake It Up: Great American Writing on Rock and Pop from Elvis to Jay Z

July 6, 2017

The Library of America recently released a fantastic collection of music journalism spanning from the 1966 to 2014. Shake It Up: Great American Writing on Rock and Roll from Elvis to Jay Z is a valuable collection of great writing about music and its place in American culture over the past fifty years.

The Marseille Trilogy

July 4, 2017

After falling in love with cinema, playwright Marcel Pagnol began adapting his plays for the screen, starting with Marius, a play about desire and the forces that pull us home and abroad. He soon followed this up with sequels Fanny and César, forming the remarkable Marseille Trilogy. The Criterion Collection has just released this trilogy in a lovely box set.

Hye-young Pyun: “Caring for Plants”

July 3, 2017

This week’s New Yorker story is Hye-young Pyun’s “Caring for Plants,” translated from the Korean by Sora Kim-Russell.

The Eclipse Viewer 58: Late Ozu Part I

July 2, 2017

In this episode of The Eclipse Viewer, David and Trevor are joined by Matt Gastier to discuss the first two films in Eclipse Series 3: Late Ozu.

Nicholas Ray: They Live by Night

June 27, 2017

Trevor reviews Nicholas Ray’s 1948 film, They Live by Night, recently released on home video by The Criterion Collection.

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Episodes of The Mookse and the Gripes Podcast: discussions of books and authors, shaped by curiosity, rereading, and the pleasures of talking things through.

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The Mookse and the Gripes Instagram features a more immediate space with posts and videos about current reads, recent finds, including a steady dose of Criterion films.