If any one theme connects the recent documentaries of Werner Herzog, it’s that the director, narrator and inevitable participant in his films boldly goes where few have gone before – whether it’s engaging with the few human inhabitants of the North Pole (Encounters at the End of the World), flying above rarely seen rainforests in a helium-fueled contraption (The White Diamond) … [Read more...]
Archives for November 2011
Rockers come and go, but The Dillengers stay on rootsy road
If history dictates one fact of musical life, it's that most bands are too big not to fail. That's because they're formed through relationships between three or more people, which makes them even more complex than romances. Most will therefore crumble within a year, and even successful ones are lucky to last for five. But 20 years? It's a mark only a few South Florida groups … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Nov. 25-30
Film: Yes, it does sound like an oxymoron -- “A Martin Scorsese family film” -- particularly when the family is not the Mafia. But put Hugo on your viewing list and you are likely to enjoy the many pleasures of the great director, more versatile than he is usually given credit for, taking his first foray into adapting children’s lit for the screen. Set in Paris in the 1930s, it … [Read more...]
Handsome, well-sung ‘Luisa’ at FGO hampered by weak score
Florida Grand Opera’s first-ever zarzuela production, of Federico Moreno Torroba’s Luisa Fernanda, is a handsome thing in many respects. In a production that originated at Madrid’s Teatro Real, Emilio Sagi effectively uses a simple color scheme of white, black, orange and green, plus old-fashioned theater tricks (think hand shadows on the wall of your bedroom after lights out) … [Read more...]
Clooney gives breakthrough performance in riveting ‘Descendants’
For an actor as compelling as George Clooney, he’s the kind of matinee idol who has been asked only on the rarest of occasions to stretch his abilities behind his chiseled-hunk personality type. My two favorite performances of his – in Michael Clayton and Up in the Air – were both Clooneyfied: minor deviations from his smooth, fast-talking persona. Even his Batman was less … [Read more...]
‘Magnificat’ strong and sturdy as Master Chorale hymns holidays
In its concert this past weekend of J.S. Bach and holiday music, the Master Chorale of South Florida both continued in its traditions and explored a newer path that may pay bigger dividends for the group in the future. In its first appearance under its new director, Karen Kennedy, the chorale offered up a seasonal program that began with J.S. Bach’s Magnificat (BWV 243), … [Read more...]
‘Lombardi’ entertains, but wears thin when it comes to message
Originally produced on Broadway by the National Football League, you can rest assured that the biodrama of the Green Bay Packers’ legendary coach, titled simply Lombardi, is an unwavering tribute to the man. Sure, it shows he had a short-fused temper, barking orders to his players and his wife, as if they all worked for him. But as playwright Eric Simonson sees it, that … [Read more...]
Dying author faced the end by insisting on happiness
As medical director of Dean Ornish’s Preventive Medicine Research Institute in California, Lee Lipsenthal regularly helped patients overcome their fear of pain and death. But just short of his 52nd birthday in 2009, Lipsenthal was diagnosed with esophageal cancer and told he had at most only a few years to live. Enjoy Every Sandwich is the author’s upbeat account of how he … [Read more...]
‘Flags’ delivers provocative, ambiguous message
A month ago I sat to write the art preview for the upcoming season and included a then-future exhibit at the Norton Museum that promised to make us think. But I did not know how just yet. Dave Cole: Flags of the World has been running since early November and delivered on its promise. A commanding 15-by-30 foot American flag hangs in the middle of the white room. This is the … [Read more...]
Firebird’s evening of serenades shines, enchants
The days when your basic high-end party for the swells featured fresh music by a talented local composer are long gone, but the music itself lives, and in a good performance, can go some way toward reviving a lost era of graceful living. The Firebird Chamber Orchestra’s current program of serenades does just that, with refreshingly buoyant and engaging performances of early … [Read more...]