Everything we hope to find in the theater, as most commonly found Off-Broadway: thought-provoking subject, great ensemble acting, honest dialogue, gripping story and tragic, but not sad, ending. The subject was how the American justice system treats convicted sex offenders: it presented the raw deal they get, while acknowledging the pain they cause. But regardless […]
An effective and moving dramatization of the women’s collective in Chicago, 1968, that provided compassionate but illegal abortions pre-Roe v. Wade. Sigourney Weaver is Oscar-worthy as the group’s leader and Elizabeth Banks does almost as good a job filling the screen as the Betty Crocker housewife turned activist. In its setting, its politics and its […]
There is little in the way of dramatic arc or suspense in this documentary about the discovery of the last slave ship in Mobile Bay in 2020. Rather, the film should be seen as a portrait of the community of descendants from that ship’s cargo still living in the Africatown district of Mobile. The film […]
Why bother? The original film was memorable, and presumably is still available, and was sharper, more intelligent and, of course, more original. The actors in the musical are appealing, especially when viewed from our seats in the second row, center, but inevitably invite unfavorable comparisons with Billy Crudup, Kate Hudson and Philip Seymour Hoffman, not […]
A deeply personal play–and he wants you to know it–by Tom Stoppard, an apologia for not knowing until late in life that he is (100%) Jewish and most of his family died in and around the Holocaust. By honoring so many of his ancestors he assembles a cast of characters that challenges the audience’s understanding […]
A deft combination of the personal and political, pathos and humor, this historical drama was held together, above all, by Ricardo Darin’s remarkably human portrayal of Julio Strasseras, tasked with prosecuting the Argentine military junta for its decade of torture and disappearances. In composition and appeal his family echoed Tony Soprano’s, and the film was […]
The setting: how many dramas are set in and around a symphony orchestra? The dialogue: starts as a New Yorker interview and remains at that lofty level. The acting: Cate Blanchett is a lock for an Oscar nod, and the great German actress Nina Hoss (Barbara, Phoenix) is just as good in a subtler featured […]
(Theater). An intimate four-hander about, I think, the human need for companionship, and the agony that can result therefrom. It was beautifully staged and impeccably acted, but I found the story needlessly confusing–i.e., I didn’t understand the husband-wife relationship or when scenes were taking place. The casting of “differently abled” actors turned out to be […]
A loud and frantic collage of David Bowie’s personae, songs and thoughts, in that order, without concern for dramatic arc or, even, chronology. You could watch almost any fifteen minutes of the two-hour-plus film and see all there is to see. The songs are different, but none play out at length. Greater attention is given […]
A charitable view sees this as a Marvel super-hero tale, ignoring the “inspired by true events” prologue, for there is not a believable action or bit of dialogue in the entire film. The battles are bloody and one-sided and the moral message is simplistic: “palm oil good, slavery bad.” A mature Viola Davis is rather […]
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