Reviews

Quick Movie Review – House at the End of the Street

September 24, 2012 — Leave a comment
The acting abilities of Elisabeth Shue (Leaving Las Vegas), Jennifer Lawrence (Hunger Games, Winter’s Bone) and Max Thieriot (Jumper) made an otherwise B movie something worth sitting through. This thriller is about a broken family moving into a wooded neighborhood across from a house in which a family was murdered. For a film that’s supposed to make me jump out of my skin, I couldn’t help but feel that too much time was wasted on character development. Somehow the drawn out dialogue, flashbacks and explanations stole from the suspense and shock. 
6 out of 9
Guest blogger from Seattle

Quick Movie Review – Arbitrage

September 24, 2012 — Leave a comment

Normally, summer means attending tons of movies, action, dramas, raunchy comedies.  This summer, I haven’t been able to  go as often as I like.  For me, one of the pleasures of going to the movies is reading reviews afterwards. My friend is a big movie goer and writes reviews for each one. I’ll be searching a select few until I start going to movies on a regular basis again.

 

Arbitrage is a sobering look at greed and the price of integrity. Richard Gere (Brooklyn’s Finest, Unfaithful) plays a silver-haired CEO on the brink of selling his company. Susan Sarandon plays his age-appropriate wife running their charitable foundation and holding down the family. A series of events quickly reveal that Robert Miller’s confidence and success are a mask. As Michael Bryer, Tim Roth plays the detective more than happy to tear it off. With a top-notch cast the tension in Arbitrage was believable and the audience hesitated to leave. Even though I didn’t find any real protagonists in this film, I was left wondering what comes next for them all.

7 out of 9

Guest Blogger at the movies

Quick Review: Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

September 16, 2012 — Leave a comment

 

 

 

 

Astra Dance is currently performing the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari based on the classic silent film. The company has ambitious plans to combine elements of dance, film and acrobatics to retell the story of Caligari “a suspenseful tale of love, murder at the turn of the century, filled with science and madness.”

While there were interesting elements of the show, the music and dialogue cards, overall the piece was a disappointment.  When going to see a dance company, I expect to see a lot of dancing and during the first act, there wasn’t much.  The piece begins with Francis telling an unnamed man, the story of his tragic past. A Mountebank enters the town of Holstenwall and proceeds to set up a traveling side show.  At the fair Caligari controls a somnambulist who tells the town people their futures.  During the set up and through out the first act, the Astra relied on text cards and pantomime instead of choreography to tell the story.  A major part of the problem was that the leading man, Francis, wasn’t strong enough to carry this production. During the first act Francis did very little dancing, which is odd considering he is one of the leads.  The other feature players, Dr. Olson and Dr. Caligari in particular also did little dancing throughout the entire piece.  The police officers are the only characters that consistently brought strong dancing.

The second major problem that Astra faced is that there was too much activity on the stage at once.  During the first stop at the circus, it seemed that all of the acts were performing at the same time.  The strong men, the contortionist, man on stilts and dancers crowded the stage together.  Taking into account the text cards being flashed on the sides of the stage, your eyes weren’t sure where to rest.  Because of this busyness, I didn’t get a sense of whimsy that a circus or side show should have.

After an intermission that lasted way to long (25 minutes), the company returned with a stronger second half.  The focus and storytelling were stronger.  The dances sets were longer and moved the plot forward without heavily relying on pantomime and text cards.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is an interesting premise that needs to be rework before it can be consider a success.

 

Quick Movie Review – Prometheus

June 20, 2012 — Leave a comment

Ridley Scott returns to the science fiction genre in fine form with Prometheus. After a dazzling opening sequence in which we see a mysterious humanoid ingest an acidic liquid and crumble into a river, we meet a team of scientist on archaeological dig.  They are searching for the answer to our origins.  Set a few years before Alien, Prometheus seeks to answer questions, that plagued humans for centuries regarding our origins, faith and science.  In 2089, 17 scientists, explorers and engineers unite to undertake a 2-year odyssey in search of our creators, who are referred to as the “engineers.” After reaching their destination, the team encounters obstacles that they never imagined.  With different motivations for being onboard, who can be counted on when the extraterrestrial hits the fan is part of the suspense.  Following in the steps of its fore bearers, Prometheus includes one of the best horror scenes that I seen in a long time.

The ensemble cast of Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron and Idia Elba hits most of the rights notes. Noomi as Dr. Elizabeth Shaw continues the tradition of kick ass resilient women that we have encountered in the various Alien incarnations. With this role, Michael Fassbender creates the standard for playing an artificial life form. This talented crew almost overcomes the weak writing in the third act.  While the film doesn’t quite answer all of its larger questions, it is gorgeous to look at. Ridley Scott and Dariusz Wolski create a breathtaking visual feast. The stunning planet and the quiet beauty of the spacecraft and the voyage to the unnamed planet, Prometheus is a showcase for a crew at the top of their game.  The special effects highlighted by a pitch perfect use of 3D raises the bar for science fiction films.  

I can’t wait for the story to continue.

For what the movie its right and wrong about science see: Blastr

For a peck at Michael Fassbender as David:

 

Quick Movie Review – Lockout

April 27, 2012 — 1 Comment

Just months before the U.S. is about to dedicate an international prison in outer space for business, the President’s daughter (played by Maggie Grace) takes a tour on a humanitarian mission. A small lapse in the new prison’s security system results in the release of America’s most dangerous criminals – previously contained through chemically induced sleep.

Snow, some sort of secret operative, has been wrongly convicted is given the opportunity to win his freedom by rescuing the President’s daughter against a sea of 500 psychopaths.

This is a classic B movie, great special effects and terrible writing. Guy Pearce excels as Snow, with corny one liners and a hard ass persona. As typically seen in B movies, some of the strongest performances were found in the supporting cast. Lenny James is a standout as national security bureaucrat (Shaw). Vincent Regan  (Alex) lends credence to the argument, which I just made up, that all bad guys should be Scottish and Peter Stormare (Langral) always shines a person who motivations one is never sure of.

It may not be the best movie of the year but it is definitely a fun one.

Challenge Update – Foundation Trilogy

March 7, 2012 — Leave a comment

Last September, after discovering that I had read only a fraction of NPR Top 100 Sci Fi/Fantasy, I wanted to read all of the books on the list. How could I call myself a sci fi fan without having read what are consider classics of the genre.  I started with the classic Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov.  It was a great way to kick off this journey. The Foundation Trilogy consists of Foundation, Foundation and Empire and Second Foundation.  It is a multigenerational story that covers the collapse of a great empire and the race to prepare society for what follows.  Hari Sheldon is a psychohistorian who along with his team uses social, mathematics, and psychology to plot a way to contain the chaos. Sheldon establishes two foundations who work independent of each other to propel the Sheldon Plan along.  The Sheldon plan is never fully explained but the citizens of the foundation believe that its calculations will automatically solve any problems that arise with the implosion of the galactic empire. With a complex plot and a vast number of characters to keep track of, The Foundation series is nonetheless a page turner.

Asimov is a titan in the Science Fiction world and rightfully so.  Although his writings were simplistic in style, his influence can still be felt.  Asimov was recently featured on The Science Channel show The Prophets of Science Fiction.

The Prophets of Science Fiction

Classic interview with Bill Moyers

Next up on the challenge: American Gods by Neil Gaiman

An Evening of Love and Passion…

February 20, 2012 — Standard — Leave a comment

Who would ever think that the dark minds of Edgar Allan Poe and Clive Barker would inspire an original dance pieces by Astra Dance Company

The evening began with In Dreams inspired by I Dreamed I Spoke in Another’s Language. While a woman (Cynthia Marie Mendez) lies sleeping, a man (Ben Sayles) dances into her dreams. Various music and video images helped convey the different moods of the piece, whose goal is to communicate the different types of love.  The second segment was the strongest element of the piece, which conveyed a believable sensuality missing from the rest of the dance. With his acrobatic background, Sayles brings an air of vitality to the dance.

The evening’s main piece – Eleonora is a tale of loss and ultimately, a tale of redemption (director’s note) – is narrated by David Wilkinson. Andrew Claus stars as Pyrros, Georgia Reed as Eleonora and Autumn Fawn as Ermengarde.  The backdrop should receive its own credit. The digital screen really helped to express a since of time and place.  Pyrros and Eleonora lived and found love in the Valley of Many Colored Grass.  Claus and Reed do a great job of expressing love and loss.  They make up the night’s strongest dancing pair.  Claus and Fawn to a serviceable job in the second part of Eleonora and the piece ends on a surprising up note considering the source.

Tickets are at available on www.goldstar.com or www.astradance.com.

Two shows 7:30 and 10:00 at the El Portal Theatre through February 25

Links to the original poems:

I Dreamed I Spoke in Another’s Language

Eleonora

Quick Movie Review – Carnage

January 20, 2012 — Leave a comment

Roman Polanski’s new movie Carnage is an adaption Yasmina Reza’s Tony award winning play God of Carnage. Penelope and Michael Longstreet invite Nancy and Alan Cowan over to discuss a fight between their sons at a public park in New York City. Jodie Foster and John C. Riley play the parents of the injured boy (Ethan) while Kate Winslet and Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds) stand in for his attacker (Zachary). On its surface Carnage is a movie about a simple gathering that spins wildly out of control. Part of the hilarity stems from the character development – which is cleverly forged out of their interactions with each other and inanimate objects. The rest is based upon pure dialogue expertly executed. Shot in real time it was fascinating to see a film focused on four people transform into something so dynamic when it was shot in such a small space. With a top notch cast, somehow John C. Riley manages to steal the show.

Quick Movie Review – In Time

November 17, 2011 — Leave a comment

Playing out as an uncanny metaphor to the anti-Wall Street movement, In Time paints a future in which corporate greed trades longevity for currency. A scruffy Justin Timberlake plays Will Salas, a man born in the wrong zone. In this version of the future, every human being is allotted 25 years of life then drops dead. Everything is paid for with time that they wear on their arms like a neon sleeve and the prices are fixed by companies. People have to barter, work, steal or kill for more time to live. Since the aging residents in Will’s zone are struggling to stay alive minute-by-minute, the story begins when a man with enough time for 4 generations walks into Will’s neighborhood bar. 

Cillian Murphy (one of my all-time favorites) plays a Time Keeper – the future’s version of police. The tension between the officers and the people exercising their survival instincts was as tight as a rubberband about to snap. There is plenty of action to keep the heart pumping, and the acting in context to such a nightmarish future was believable. 

Guest blogger from Seattle

Quick Movie Review: Anonymous

November 4, 2011 — Leave a comment

Who was William Shakespeare and did he really write the dramas, comedies and sonnets attributed to him?  That’s the question at the heart of this movie. 

The movie begins with Derek Jacobi delivering a monologue regarding the truth behind the most famous author in the English language. Quite soon we learn this isn’t a typical period piece but a political thriller.  We fade away to Ben Johnson running from the authorities to hide in his theater.  The authorities believe that Johnson (Sebastian Armesto) knows the true identity of the playwright who has enthralled the people with a host of inflammatory plays that have been recently performed. 

We are soon jumping through time meeting a cast of flaxen gentlefolk like the Earl of Oxford (Rhys Ifans), the Earl of Southampton (Xavier Samuel) and the Earl of Essex (Sam Reid) who are concerned with the secession of Queen Elizabeth (Vanessa Redgrave as the old Queen and Joely Richardson as the Young Queen). Southampton and Oxford believe that Essex would be the perfect ruler after the Queen. They are pitted against William Cecil and later his son Robert Cecil who act as the Queen’s advisors and prefers James I of Scotland to be the next King of England.

The Earl of Oxford believes that the written word is powerful and came be a force for change and enlists an unsuccessful playwright to be the face of his work. Working as a professional writer is consider being beneath the status of an Earl.  Johnson is reluctant to associate himself with the musings of an Earl and soon an actor with the troupe sees an opportunity and jumps on it.  William Shakespeare (Rafe Spall) is more than happy to take part in the ruse. Although he Shakespeare is reluctant to give up acting, he loves the notoriety and attention he receives as a playwright.

In the beginning it is hard to keep track of all the Earls and playwrights we meet.  But the viewers’ patience and paying close attention is reward in the end. 

Some people believe that William Shakespeare a commoner could not have the education nor the knowledge to write some of the detailed dramas like Hamlet, Richard V and Julius Caesar.   

The truth regarding William Shakespeare is moot and this point.  A wondrous body of work has been left for us to enjoy.  Next summer, try to catch a bit of Shakespeare whether it is in a park, by the sea or in Stradford-upon-Avon.

Independent Shakespeare Company: http://www.iscla.org

Shakespeare By The Sea: http://www.shakespearebythesea.org

Royal Shakespeare Company: http://www.rsc.org.uk

Public Theater (NYC): http://www.publictheater.org

To learn more about the Oxfordians check out their website:  www.shakespeare-oxford.com