Now You See Me (2013)

IMDB

Now You See Me (2013): I wish I hadn't. I never suspended disbelief in the hole-filled plot. Movie magic, yes. Movies about magic, no. C+

Copenhagen (2014)

IMDB

Copenhagen (2014): Too young Effy befriends too immature Will seeking his long-lost grandfather. Not creepy. Charming. City is a co-star. B+

Exceptionalism or Tribalism

I've never been a fan of Exceptionalism, the notion that the U.S. is favored by God and is exempt from historical forces that have affected other countries. I've believed those who hold this notion to be guilty of, at best, hubris and at worst, preposterousness.

Even though I can't subscribe to (capital "E") Exceptionalism, I do believe that American history is (small "e") exceptional. I used to think the difference between (capital "E") Exceptionalism and (small "e") exceptional was a difference of degree, not kind. But something Paul Krugman said recently has changed my mind.

Review: 1493

Amazon

From 1493, by Charles C. Mann:

What happened after Columbus, this new research says, was nothing less than the forming of a single new world from the collision of two old worlds -- three, if one counts Africa as separate from Eurasia. Born in the sixteenth century from European desires to join the thriving Asian trade sphere, the economic system for exchange ended up transforming the globe into a single ecological system by the nineteenth century -- almost instantly, in biological terms."

After the jump, my review.

Winter's Tale (2014)

IMDB

Winter's Tale (2014): Fantasy romance between thief and consumptive heiress. Magic horse. Devil. Miracles. Too many WTF elements to work. D+