Film: With meticulous attention to period details and an engrossing history-based story that humanizes the struggle of a British king like no movie before it, The King’s Speech is great, albeit old-fashioned, filmmaking. Colin Firth stars as Bertie, a/k/a Prince Albert (Colin Firth), who unexpectedly becomes King George VI as World War II looms, due to his older brother’s … [Read more...]
Archives for December 2010
Theater reviews: Bracing ‘ Freud,’ endearing ‘Goldie’
Dennis Creaghan and Chris Oden in Freud’s Last Session.(Photo by Alicia Donelan)By Hap ErsteinWith Freud’s Last Session, playwright Mark St. Germain follows a simple formula for success -- put two compelling characters with differing viewpoints onstage, then stay out of their way and let them speak.In this case, the characters are two towering thinkers of the … [Read more...]
At the theater: Bracing ‘Freud,’ endearing ‘Goldie’
With Freud’s Last Session, playwright Mark St. Germain follows a simple formula for success -- put two compelling characters with differing viewpoints onstage, then stay out of their way and let them speak. In this case, the characters are two towering thinkers of the 20th century. There is Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis and a staunch atheist, and C.S. Lewis, a … [Read more...]
Music review: Jazz bassist Parrott, trio show creativity, surprise in JAMS show
Jazz bassist and singer Nicki Parrott. (Photo by Mary Jane Photography)By Bill MeredithSinging bassist Nicki Parrott’s trio walked on to the stage at the Harriet Himmel Theater in West Palm Beach on Tuesday while still getting used to dry land.Parrott, Italian pianist Rossano Sportiello and drummer Ed Metz Jr. had just exited a Crystal Cruise line ship earlier in the day … [Read more...]
Jazz bassist Parrott, trio show creativity, surprise in JAMS show
Singing bassist Nicki Parrott's trio walked on to the stage at the Harriet Himmel Theater in West Palm Beach on Tuesday while still getting used to dry land. Parrott, Italian pianist Rossano Sportiello and drummer Ed Metz Jr. had just exited a Crystal Cruise line ship earlier in the day after playing a 10-day jazz-themed sail from Fort Lauderdale to the Caribbean. And while a … [Read more...]
Music feature: Aussie bassist Parrott masters American jazz
Nicki Parrott, who plays the JAMS seriestomorrow night at CityPlace.(Photo by Mary Jane Photography)By Bill MeredithFor every Jaco Pastorius or Charles Mingus, there are countless jazz bass players who never become household names, so most take up the workmanlike instrument for deeper reasons than attaining celebrity.In the case of Nicki Parrott, it was family.At age … [Read more...]
Aussie bassist Parrott masters the art of American jazz
For every Jaco Pastorius or Charles Mingus, there are countless jazz bass players who never become household names, so most take up the workmanlike instrument for deeper reasons than attaining celebrity. In the case of Nicki Parrott, it was family. At age 15 in her native Australia, she started her performing career when her older sister, saxophonist Lisa Parrott, needed a … [Read more...]
The View From Home 17: New releases on DVD
By John ThomasonKobayashi Four (Facets)Standard list price: $71.99Release date: Nov. 23Facets celebrates its new release of Masahiro Kobayashi’s 2001 film Man Walking on Snow by repackaging three of the director’s previously available releases into a box set titled Kobayashi Four.Watching these four titles from the criminally neglected Japanese auteur reveals … [Read more...]
The View From Home 17: New releases on DVD
Kobayashi Four (Facets) Standard list price: $71.99 Release date: Nov. 23 Facets celebrates its new release of Masahiro Kobayashi’s 2001 film Man Walking on Snow by repackaging three of the director’s previously available releases into a box set titled Kobayashi Four. Watching these four titles from the criminally neglected Japanese auteur reveals a bracing talent with a … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Dec. 17-19
Mark Wahlberg (back to camera), Christian Bale and Melissa Leo in The Fighter. Film: There have been plenty of fact-based boxing movies and most get trapped on the ropes with sports clichés. But David O. Russell’s The Fighter is as much about “Irish” Micky Ward’s wildly dysfunctional family as it is about the fight game. Mark Wahlberg plays Ward well enough … [Read more...]