The Women, the Movie

The Women is directed by Diane English. It could have been significantly better, most definitely. Annette Bening's talents were underused. As were those of Candace Bergman, even Meg Ryan's.
Another thing that Diane English could have tackled is the reality of class differences and class mobility. The film left much to be desired, especially on this account.
Also, I realize that fashion and the aesthetics of the field are, indeed, relevant and important to many, but isn't the 'text' of fashion been covered enough?
All the Patricia Field 'texts' and the 'Project Runway' and 'Project Runway'-ish shows havent' quite been enough?!
When Meg Ryan's character, Mary, shows her 'fashion line' at the end of the film, I believe I heard something like, 'oy!' sighed somewhere. I concur with that sigh. Fully.
graph per movies.yahoo

How to Decide Whether to Read a Book?

How long does it take you to decide whether you want to read a book or not? It takes Tyler Cowen over at MR about five minutes to do. It takes some other people a little longer. I tend to try to read new releases based on their premise and thematic relevance to that on which I am currently work and interested in. I'm also noticing that I'm spending more time on the concluding pages. The 43 folders site lists a few things some being:
"# At the highest level, is this book’s topic based on the typical “zeitgeist” product that gets greenlit by someone who watches lots of golf on TV and who seldom finishes reading the 1,000-word “features” found in in-flight magazines?
# Does the book have one of those irksome, “Everything You Know About Everything is Completely WRONG!” titles?
# Is the author’s large, whitish face the primary feature of the cover?
# Mistral!Does the cover art contain high heels, Mistral, or any reference to either Oprah Winfrey, Joel Osteen, or “Dr. Phil?”
# Can you find the word “secret” anywhere on the cover of the book?
# Is the book published by a company that you’ve never heard of — or, far worse, does that company appear to share the last name of the author or his yacht?
# In the event that this is a book by a “famous” person: if the book were written by someone you’d never heard of, would your interest in the book or its topic wane significantly?"
Read more here.
graph per 43 folder

Brothers' Coen: Burn After Reading

Those of you interested in the the Brothers' Coen cinematic texts, will be pleasantly entertained by this Times feature. A bit says:
"With its complexly interwoven stories, political backdrop and the central presence of a bearded George Clooney, the film comes across a bit like “Syriana for Dummies,” though given the original this seems somewhat redundant. "
I'm voting for this sentence as the best one read today.
A review of the film will ensue.
Read more here.
graph per ny times