Paul Levinson
Bio
Novels The Silk Code, The Plot To Save Socrates, It's Real Life: An Alternate History of The Beatles; LPs Twice Upon A Rhyme & Welcome Up; nonfiction The Soft Edge & Digital McLuhan, translated into 15 languages. Prof, Fordham Univ.
Stories (742)
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Review of 'The Man in the High Castle' Season 4
I've been saying ever since Trump began running for President with his anti-immigration polices that The Man in the High Castle and its alternate reality of literally Nazi America had special relevance to the reality in which we now all reside, in which the Allies not the Axis won the Second World War. In the final season of this extraordinary adaptation of Philip K. Dick's extraordinary 1962 novel, immigration plays a major role in the story, especially in the very last scene of the series.
By Paul Levinson6 years ago in Futurism
Review of 'Watchmen' 1.3
Watchmen checked in with a clarifying, excellent episode 1.3 this week, introducing Jean Smart as FBI honcho and super good-guy killer Laurie Blake, and giving us a nice extended rendition of Desmond Dekker's "Israelites," one of my many all-time favorite songs (in fact, I'm listening to it on YouTube right now).
By Paul Levinson6 years ago in Geeks
Review of 'His Dark Materials' 1.1
His Dark Materials debuted on HBO Monday night. It was good to see—especially Ruth Wilson as the mysterious and alluring Marisa, the very night after The Affair concluded, splendidly, on Showtime, where Wilson played the alluring Alison, of which I'll say no more in case you haven't seen it.
By Paul Levinson6 years ago in Geeks
Review of 'Terminator: Dark Fate'
So here we go again. The critics panned it. The box-office in the first few days is not impressive. All manner of self-appointed prognosticators pronounce the franchise deader than an outmoded Terminator model, because that's what it is.
By Paul Levinson6 years ago in Futurism
Review of 'Mnemophrenia'
I just watched Mnemophrenia, put up yesterday on Amazon and made last year. It's a brilliant, provocative, startlingly original movie, with no actresses and actors I've heard of, and written, directed, and produced by Eirini Konstantinidou, her first time out with a feature-length movie. I'll predict flatly that Mnemophrenia is destined to become a classic, and the first of movies made by Konstantinidou that will be similarly received.
By Paul Levinson6 years ago in Futurism
Review of 'Watchmen' 1.1
I guess I'm either the best or worst kind of person to watch and review Watchmen on HBO: I've of course heard of the iconic comic book story and its adaptations over the years, but I never read or saw any of it, and really know nothing about it. But with a cast consisting of Regina King and Don Johnson, and the creator being Lost's Damon Lindelof, how could I resist?
By Paul Levinson6 years ago in Geeks
Review of 'El Camino'
El Camino, aptly described by IMDb as "a sequel of sorts, to Breaking Bad," is nothing but a success, unqualified. The "of sorts" does apply to El Camino's status as a sequel, and one of the key reasons, perhaps the key reason, why it is so satisfying. Walter (Bryan Cranston), Mike (Jonathan Banks), and Todd (Jesse Plemons), none of whom survived the original series, each appear in El Camino in flashback scenes that we haven't seen before in Breaking Bad. Todd's was much better than Mike's, and Walter's was sheer magic, but all three in-and-of themselves make El Camino eminently worth watching.
By Paul Levinson6 years ago in Geeks
Review of 'Evil' 1.3
A good Evil 1.3 last night, which pits hacking vs. possession as the reason a victim's Alexa-like device is plaguing him. Digital technology vs. demon is a logical and appealing variation on the general science vs. religion central tension of this series, and it provides a good spotlight for Ben (well played by Aasif Mandvi), the techie third leg of the powerful David-Kristen-Ben triad. Demons have a great history of being in machines, and even in the popular parlance, as the phrase "ghost in the machine" amply demonstrates.
By Paul Levinson6 years ago in Horror
