Allen Barra

How the West was lost

In a movie season crowded with westerns, "True Grit" -- the great, unsung novel of the American frontier -- celebrates its 40th anniversary.

Allen Barra Tuesday, Nov 27, 2007 11:14 AM UTC 15
Entertainment Fiction, Books

Nixon knows best

Richard Nixon continues to fascinate and repel us. On the 35th anniversary of Watergate, is it time to stop kicking Dick around and reconsider his accomplishments?

Allen Barra Friday, Jun 15, 2007 11:00 AM UTC 92
Entertainment Books

The greatest living critic

If a team of scientists crossed the DNA of Edmund Wilson with Pauline Kael, and added a dash of Wilfrid Sheed, they would come up with Clive James.

Allen Barra Monday, Apr 9, 2007 11:05 AM UTC 22
Entertainment Books

“Travels in the Scriptorium”

When Paul Auster is at his best he's like a brilliant magician. When he's not -- as with his latest -- it's as if he's sawing away without a woman in the box.

Allen Barra Wednesday, Feb 7, 2007 12:10 PM UTC 11
Entertainment Fiction, Books

Too much Gore

Vidal's second memoir merely retells the stories we already know from his enormous -- and potentially irrelevant -- body of work.

Allen Barra Wednesday, Jan 3, 2007 12:19 PM UTC 77
Entertainment Memoirs, Books

Bond, by the book

With the release of "Casino Royale," I read Ian Fleming's classic Bond novels again and discovered a talented spy who was "just like us" and a writer devoted to pleasure.

Allen Barra Saturday, Nov 25, 2006 1:00 PM UTC 26
Entertainment England, British Election, Books

“The Return of the Player”

In Michael Tolkin's follow-up to "The Player," Griffin Mill leaves the movie business behind -- but he's still out for blood.

Allen Barra Thursday, Oct 26, 2006 11:03 AM UTC
Entertainment Books

One fumbles, one scores

Two ambitious high school football dramas, "Two-A-Days" and "Friday Night Lights," hit the small screen this season.

Allen Barra Tuesday, Oct 3, 2006 11:30 AM UTC 10
Entertainment Football, Friday Night Lights

Nelson Algren’s New Orleans

The 1956 classic "A Walk on the Wild Side" captured the Crescent City as we'll never see it again -- seedy, brutal, alive.

Allen Barra Thursday, Sep 7, 2006 12:00 PM UTC 14
Entertainment Fiction, New Orleans, Books

In too deep

Douglas Brinkley's epic account of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath stops short of laying blame where it belongs: On President Bush.

Allen Barra Tuesday, Jun 27, 2006 11:30 AM UTC 10
Entertainment New Orleans, Books

Destination: Venice

Get to the city of canals before it disappears -- and don't forget to grab Calvino, James and, of course, Thomas Mann.

Allen Barra Monday, Jun 26, 2006 1:00 PM UTC 17
Entertainment

The new true West

From Larry McMurtry and Thomas Berger to "Deadwood" and the gay cowboys of "Brokeback Mountain," the American West is alive and wilder than ever.

Allen Barra Monday, Jun 12, 2006 12:00 PM UTC 24
Entertainment Books

White’s albums

Rejecting Freudian analysis and embracing his true identity, Edmund White penned two landmarks of gay literature and redefined the autobiographical novel.

Allen Barra Wednesday, Apr 26, 2006 11:00 AM UTC
Entertainment Fiction, Books

Who was John Fante?

The Italian American author of "Ask the Dust" was the quintessential L.A. writer, a big brother to the Beats and the voice of immigrant America.

Allen Barra Friday, Mar 10, 2006 12:46 PM UTC
Entertainment Books

Reading “Lolita” in Alabama

Fifty years after its publication, and 20 after my first reading, Nabokov's masterpiece is still dangerous -- but not for the reasons you might think.

Allen Barra Thursday, Dec 22, 2005 12:00 PM UTC 20
Entertainment Fiction, Books

“The Warriors” fights on

Twenty-six years after being shunned by the mainstream, the cult classic rises again (and again, and again).

Allen Barra Monday, Nov 28, 2005 12:54 PM UTC 10
Entertainment Movies

Love in the time of viagra

Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcma Marquez's new book follows an aging man who seeks out illicit sex -- but finds something else.

Allen Barra Wednesday, Nov 9, 2005 12:30 PM UTC
Entertainment Fiction, Books

The man who knew too much

Edmund Wilson had four wives, dozens of affairs, a drinking problem -- and the sharpest critical mind of his generation.

Allen Barra Tuesday, Oct 4, 2005 6:58 PM UTC
Entertainment Fiction, Books

Shadow man

In "King of the Jews," Nick Tosches takes on Arnold Rothstein, the legendary gangland figure who fixed a World Series, mentored young hoodlums, and inspired F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Allen Barra Tuesday, Jul 12, 2005 10:40 PM UTC
Entertainment Books

Angelina Jolie’s Hollywood exile

The most ferocious performer on film today is proof there are still big stars -- it's the pictures that got smaller.

Allen Barra Saturday, Jun 11, 2005 9:56 PM UTC
Entertainment

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