Journal

The Henry Ford Carver-Carson Moveable Feast Dinner launches School Lunch Initiative | Chaz’s Journal

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As a young student interested in science, both Mr. Carver and Ms. Carson were heroes of mine. George Washington Carver’s knowledge of agriculture, and particularly of peanuts and soil rotation helped to revolutionize the science of soil depletion, leading to increased sustainability of food sources. Booker T. Washington appointed him head of the Agriculture Department at Tuskegee Institute where he also … Read more

When A Film Critic Gets Married At The Movies | Chaz’s Journal

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When the couple’s wedding rings, which take the ingenious form of film strips, arrived late to the night, they filled the time by instinctively breaking out into the whimsical dance number previously performed onscreen by Laurel and Hardy. It was such a joyous occasion that I couldn’t resist screaming out “Two Thumbs Up!” to the couple during the … Read more

Ten Must-See Films at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival | Chaz’s Journal

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2. THE BURIAL I am also excited to see Maggie Betts’ “The Burial,” based on Jonathan Harr’s extraordinary 1999 New Yorker article about funeral home owner Jeremiah O’Keefe (Tommy Lee Jones) whose business is rescued by Willie Gary (Jamie Foxx). When I was a litigator long ago, Willie Gary was well-known as a successful and unconventional lawyer. He … Read more

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have a Dream Speech Turns 60 | Chaz’s Journal

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I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will … Read more

National Cinema Day to Offer $4 Movie Tickets on Sunday, August 27th | Chaz’s Journal

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The Cinema Foundation, a non-profit branch of the National Association of Theatre Owners, has named this Sunday, August 27th, National Cinema Day, a one-day event that will see participating locations sell movie tickets for prices as low as four dollars. This special effort aiming to reinvigorate moviegoing will occur at more than 3,000 theaters across the U.S., … Read more

R.I.P. Film and Opera Renaissance Director William Friedkin (1935-2023) | Chaz’s Journal

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I am on the board of the LA Opera, and the President and CEO, Christopher Koelsch, notified us of the quite extensive opera background of Friedkin’s that I was not aware of. “Billy had a profound impact on the LAO community with his extraordinarily insightful and extremely popular productions of Bluebeard’s Castle/Gianni Schicchi (2002), Ariadne auf Naxos (2004) and Il Tabarro/Suor … Read more

Regina Taylor to Premiere New Play, Exhibit, as Part of Aspen’s Solo Flights in September | Chaz’s Journal

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<span id=”selection-marker-1″ class=”redactor-selection-marker”></span> A native of Dallas, Texas, actress Regina Taylor earned praise early in her acting career for portraying Minnijean Brown, a member of the Little Rock Nine, in 1981’s “Crisis at Central High.” She gained the attention of mainstream audiences in 1989’s “Lean on Me,” in which she played an auspicious student’s drug-addicted mother. For … Read more

Martin Scorsese was Roger Ebert’s Favorite Director | Chaz’s Journal

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1990’s”Goodfellas“earned another four stars from Roger, who felt that Scorsese was the only director for this material because he knew it inside and out.”Most films, even great ones, evaporate like mist once you’ve returned to the real world; they leave memories behind, but their reality fades fairly quickly,” Roger wrote. “Not this film, which shows … Read more