The major studios and film producers are still holding the big Oscar candidates for release next month, but four films that might get some Oscar notice are already in theaters.  Each merits attention.  Here are capsule reviews: “The Martian” – With Ridley Scott as its director and Matt Damon as its star, this film has […]

The civilized nations of the world, most especially those who are industrialized, were shocked at the brazen and murderous attacks in Paris last week.  And, to be sure, they were horrible, both in terms of the devastation they created, but even more significantly, because of the extreme vulnerability they exposed within the most ordinary of […]

The Russian passenger jet, the one that seems to have exploded in mid-air last week killing all 224 on board, may not have been downed by a bomb, but it is hard to avoid the thought that it could have been.  And if you truly understand what ISIS is all about, you know that things […]

Benjamin Franklin is one of the most popular and highly regarded of the country’s “founding fathers.”  His life story has been told in any number of biographies (most notably H.W. Brands’ “The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin” (2000) and Walter Isaacson’s “Benjamin Franklin: An American Life” (2003)).  But little is commonly […]