Splice Today

At a recent lecture for Turning Point USA, Tucker Carlson returned to a favorite theme—American decline. Forget foreign wars and transgenderism, he preached: Can we create an economy where people can make a decent wage and survive? Carlson: “Can my children have a roughly approximate life that I had? How about just a middle-class life? Can they get married young and have four kids like I did? Can they do that? Or is that such a remote possibility that you need to tell me Iran is the real threat... Читать дальше...

Nothing much to report here. I’ve been coming up short lately. No one knows what to do with me. I could’ve been a leading bird. I could’ve played Lear (Farm Version). Things were supposed to happen for me in Stratford-on-Avon in the 17th century, but Billy had to take everything I had and make it “his own.” There weren’t cell phones back them, I couldn’t tell. I couldn’t tattle on William Shakespeare because no one would’ve believed me; more likely, I would’ve been killed or elaborately tortured. Читать дальше...

At the end of last week, in a generous frame of mind that, on reflection, might’ve been hasty, I made a case that the most believable media “offerings” are bylined opinion columns—ghost-written garbage for politicians don’t count—since the writer (often, but not always, well-remunerated) crafts an argument, perhaps sends it to an editor, and if they’re lucky people will read it and comment pro or con.

Mary Pat Dabb, widow of Anytown Gazetteer journalist Oliver Dabb and mother of the now virtually catatonic Parker (seven), stood in the hallway of Anytown General’s ICU, drinking bad coffee out of a Styrofoam cup, rubbing her red-rimmed raccoon eyes with her fingertips between swallows of the stale, lukewarm stuff. It’d been a rollercoaster, whirlwind couple of weeks for the young woman——just days ago, she and the boys (in addition to seven-year-old Parker, she and Oliver had Lawrence, a precocious five-year-old who... Читать дальше...

All last week conservatives attacked the new Superman movie. I assumed they knew what they were talking about. The ones I read on X—Peachy Keenan, Mark Hemingway—do know what they are talking about 95 percent of the time. Those I hear on radio and TV—Buck Sexton and others—have almost as high a batting average.

A byproduct of the dominance of superhero content within popular culture is that filmmakers interested in working with substantial topics must filter their ideas through the lens of established comic book mythology. This is a gift and a hindrance based on the individual creator’s adaptability. Positive examples include Chistopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy, which told a Michael Mann-esque crime saga within Gotham City, or the Tom Holland-led reboot of the Spider-Man series, which turned Peter... Читать дальше...

Toby leaned forward, over the Dart's steering wheel, as if those extra inches could help him see more deeply into the black. He drove on in pursuit of the girl in the Ford woody, but to no avail. After 10 minutes of not seeing it, or any other vehicle, he sighed, made a U-turn, headed back to Garrisonville, to his motel. Along the way, about where he'd lost sight of her, he spied a dirt road to his left. Could she have turned off there? Another U-turn and he was bouncing down the primitive path. Читать дальше...

I’m not even supposed to be here today. We’re supposed to start shooting soon, so soon… so so soon that I guess I’m not part of the first stretch of production? If so, um, wow. Wow. I thought we had a connection, Quentin. Long nights in the cigar bar, watching old movies in your private movie theater, “The Church,” getting to know all of the squirrels and other small animals on your property. I hope you took my recommendation for a landscaper, your ferns are overgrown and you may be fined. You never know, someone could report you. Читать дальше...

As an indication of the underwhelming cinematic output of this year’s first six months, 2025 has seen an unusual level of attention for films that celebrated their 20th anniversary. Brokeback Mountain’s re-release solidified how glaring its loss for Best Picture at the Academy Awards was, as the decision to award Crash was an embarrassing blunders ever. Other 2005 films reintroduced to the market include Joe Wright’s adaptation of Pride and Prejudice and Star Wars: Episode III- Revenge of the Sith... Читать дальше...