Author: JohnValbyNation

Review: Admissions scandals are mere symptom of inequalities highlighted in ‘Unlikely’

Recent scandals exposing celebrities who paid their children’s way into prestigious universities serve as a timely point of departure for Adam and Jaye Fenderson’s conventionally informative documentary “Unlikely.” Narrated by Jaye Fenderson, a former admissions officer at Columbia University, the film dissects how higher education obstructs equal opportunity by obscenely favoring wealthy applicants with legacy…

By JohnValbyNation October 31, 2019 0

Review: Vanessa Redgrave and Timothy Spall square off in vividly acted ‘Mrs. Lowry & Son’

“I am a man who paints. Nothing more, nothing less,” repeats L.S. Lowry (Timothy Spall), a suffering artist thwarted by his elderly mother Elizabeth (Vanessa Redgrave), throughout the gripping, gorgeously acted biopic “Mrs. Lowry & Son.” It’s a haunting mantra that speaks volumes about a self-effacing talent who became one of England’s most famous contemporary…

By JohnValbyNation October 31, 2019 0

What's on TV Thursday: 'Superstore' on NBC

SERIES Superstore Amy (America Ferrera) amps up the store’s Halloween spirit to impress the new district manager, but her haunted house terrifies Glenn (Mark McKinney) in this new episode of the workplace comedy. 8 p.m. NBC Grey’s Anatomy In a new Halloween episode, Alex (Justin Chambers) is feeling optimistic that he can impress investors at…

By JohnValbyNation October 31, 2019 0

Candace Bushnell: 'Sex' at 60

Click:prevent hairloss On a recent afternoon, Candace Bushnell and I were sitting at the poolside bar of the Beverly Hills Hotel. It had been 25 years since she had submitted her first “Sex and the City” column to the New York Observer, the weekly broadsheet where I was an editor. In that quarter century, during…

By JohnValbyNation October 31, 2019 0