As far as grand entrances go, 2023 was rather underwhelming, slipping in under the radar a week ago while we were off at C's cousin's house outside Tampa. Unlike last year at the same location, no trip to the ER was necessary. In fact, the only sport played this year was a game of archery with rubber-tipped arrows that should, theoretically, have gone south (considering my luck with holidays) but didn't. Since then, I finally managed to finish up Jeannie Basinger's and Sam Wasson's massive new tome, Hollywood: The Oral History (739 pages, Harper) as a prelude to catching Damien Chazelle's Babylon (189 minutes, Paramount) at my local cineplex. Frankly, given its lackluster reviews and poor box office performance, I was surprised to see Babylon still playing. A word to those who haven't seen Babylon : it's not terrible but it's also not very good. If you simply must see it, wait until it pops up on a streaming service. Or just read Hollywood: The O