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December 16, 2015 The Skanner Page 7 Arts & Entertainment Book Review: ‘The Complete Infidel’s Guide to Isis’ Helps Readers Separate Fact From Fiction Book By Robert Spencer Regnery Publishing Paperback, $19.99, 384 pages ISBN: 978-1-62157-453-8 Review By Kam Williams For The Skanner News “The Complete Infidel’s Guide to Isis contains everything people of the free world need to know about the Islamic State. Islam is the foremost threat to freedom, and to every free person, in the world today. This book shows how ISIS plans to sow murder and mayhem in our countries, how it is setting out to realize those plans, why it is so ap- pealing to Islamic youths in the West, and above all, how it can and must be stopped.” -- Excerpted from Preface by Geert Wilders (pg. i) D onald Trump created quite a stir with his recent remarks advocating a moratorium on Muslim entry into the United States. Everybody knows that what’s behind the suggestion is not a hatred of all Muslims, but rather a growing concern about whether ISIS might strike again here. The Islamic State is a brutal, regime of radical Islamists who rule a region of Iraq and Syria with an iron fist. The media-savvy savages post much of their dirty work on the Internet. Appar- ently, they are proud of the fact that they stone homosexuals, behead Christians who refuse to convert, torture women caught with their heads uncovered and immolate their enemies. But does it pose a threat to the West? That is the question eloquently addressed in The Com- plete Infidel’s Guide to Isis, an informative opus by Robert Spencer, the best-selling author of 14 books. Don’t be duped by his timely tome’s light- hearted title, for his tone is invariably dead se- rious in nature. For instance, in a chapter entitled “ISIS Comes to America,” he quotes extensively from the ter- ror group’s June 2014 manifesto. The 9 specific threats issued therein include “Every Ameri- can citizen is a legitimate target for us,” “Every American doctor working in any country will be slaughtered,” and “Any company in Arab countries which employs Americans is a legiti- mate target for every Muslim.” Other chapters discuss the caliphate’s check- ered history, ISIS’ irresistible recruiting meth- ods, whether it is consistent with the tenets of Islam, and its to-do list, to name a few topics. Overall, a valuable tool for anyone trying to separate fact from fiction about the radical ji- hadists promising to unleash hell all across this country. Film Review: ‘Youth’ a Surreal Meditation on Mortality, Friendship and Age By Kam Williams For The Skanner News F red Ballinger (Mi- chael Caine) has chosen to withdraw from the limelight after a storybook career as a celebrated composer and conductor. He’s pres- ently being pampered with mud baths and massages at a scenic spa nestled in the Swiss Alps where he’s vacationing with his daughter Lena (Rachel Weisz) and his his best friend, filmmak- er Mick Boyle (Harvey Keitel) Despite being well into their 70s, Mick is work- ing on the script for his next movie with the help of a quintet of young collaborators. For these purposes, it is good to know that Mick’s son Julian (Ed Stoppard) is married to Lena, who has just been dumped for a British pop singer (Palo- ma Faith herself ). While in the midst of di- viding his days between reminiscing with his BFF and soothing his emo- tionally-distant daugh- ter’s fragile psyche, Fred gets a surprising request to come out of retirement by an emissary (Alex Macqueen) of the Royal Family. Queen Elizabeth II is offering knighthood in exchange for playing his most popular piece, “Simple Songs,” at Prince Philip’s impending birth- day concert. However, Fred sum- mons up the strength to decline the command performance coming with an honorary title attached. For he has al- ready shed any attach- ment to his public perso- na in favor of meditating on his mortality and giv- ing Lena the quality time “ Michael Caine and Paul Dano in ‘Youth’ formative years Thus unfolds Youth, a surreal mix of heartfelt introspection and escap- ist fantasy reminiscent of Federico Fellini. The A surreal mix of heartfelt introspection and escapist fantasy reminiscent of Fed- erico Fellini she was denied as a child. After all, she still hasn’t forgiven him for focus- ing so selfishly on clas- sical music during her What are people saying about Black Nativity? “THIS SHOW IS AWESOME” “WELL DONE” “POWERFUL SINGING” “UPLIFTING” “FANTASTIC” “EXCITING” “A MOST SEE PRODUCTION” “INVIGORATING” “DYNAMIC VOICES” movie was written and directed by Fellini’s fel- low paisan, Paolo Sor- rentino (The Great Beau- ty) who is not shy about juxtaposing a variety of jarring images certain to leave a lasting impres- sion, even if you’re not quite sure what to make of the visually captivat- ing menagerie. Caine and Keitel en- joy their best outings in ages, albeit in service of an inscrutable adventure that deliberately does it darndest to defy defini- tion. HHH Very Good Rated R for profanity, sexuality and graphic nudity 118 minutes
