layoffs

Though I no longer subscribe to the paper version of the Los Angeles Times, only because it is impossible to do so, it was still very disheartening to find out that Carina Chocano was one of 75 staffers laid off today. She's one of my favorite current film critics. She combines intelligence, warmth, and strong opinions to write really witty, insightful, often spot-on reviews.

She also manages to slip in some biting and too-true cultural commentary in some of her writing. Here is the (somewhat prescient, hopefully not so much so that the currently wildly popular Fey suffers a backlash) last paragraph to her Baby Mama review:

Fey has spent several years proving that she's very good at what she does, and she may spend the next few years having to prove that she deserves any success that comes her way. But hey, this is America -- where the fact that a woman is running for president is still talked about with a kind of gee-whiz-look-how-far-we've-come disingenuousness, despite the many countries that have already seen one or more women presidents. If a Fey backlash happens, I hope Hillary buys her a drink.

Places to read her stuff:

L.A. Times reviews and film writings.

Salon magazine pieces.

I hope she quickly gets an amazing job offer.