I imagine the reason Inside Llewyn Davis has gotten more critical buzz than any Coen Brothers picture in recent memory is because it’s pure, distilled Coens. It doesn’t have the commercial concessions of a Ladykillers or a True Grit or even a Fargo. It’s not the “fun” Coens of The Big Lebowski or O Brother, Where Are Thou? This is the Coen Brothers of Barton Fink and A … [Read more...]
Archives for December 2013
Fine singers tell of female progress in ‘Respect’
By Dale King Aretha Franklin sang the definitive song about respect, but it was Vanderbilt University professor Dorothy Marcic who wrote the definitive book on the subject. Her tome, Respect: Women and Popular Music, traces the upward progress of women through the 20th and early 21st centuries as reflected in the music popular during different eras. The book morphed into the … [Read more...]
PB Opera opens season with a grand afternoon of singing
The weather gods looked favorably upon Saturday’s festive gathering at the Meyer Amphitheatre on Flagler Drive. The sun shone behind clouds, and cool breezes from Lake Worth fanned across the gladed greenery. Even better, the Palm Beach Opera’s 2013-14 group of seven Young Artists made a positive impression, breathing new life into old arias. Distinguished tenor James … [Read more...]
News briefs: Four Arts’ Duggan to retire; FAU prof wins Knight grant
Ervin Duggan, president of The Society of the Four Arts since 2000, announced Friday he will retire after the current season. Duggan will remain with the Four Arts through June, after which he and his wife, Julia, will retire to North Carolina. Former president and CEO of the Public Broadcasting System, Duggan is credited with recognizing the potential for the Society to … [Read more...]
Little magic in Disney’s shallow, sour ‘Saving Mr. Banks’
There is exactly one scene in the two hours of Saving Mr. Banks that feels real, organic and truthful. It happens about two-thirds of the way into the picture, when P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson), the irascible creator of the Mary Poppins books, taps her feet to the very first rehearsal of Let’s Go Fly a Kite by Richard and Robert Sherman (Jason Schwartzman and B.J. Novak), in a … [Read more...]
Sundays: The end of an idea
By Myles Ludwig I am wondering if America’s grand illusions have become America’s grandiose delusions. Have we passed the best-used-by date of that lovely and sacrosanct idea of American Exceptionalism: An idea so long the comforting quilt of nationalistic narcissism that warmed past generations, a vanity that expressed itself in the political rationale for genocide in the … [Read more...]
Ayikodans exhilarating in Rinker show
By Tara Mitton Catao Is there anything more thrilling than entering a dark theater, not knowing what to expect, and to be pulled, like a magnetic force, into the performance and then, when the lights come up, to feel both exhilarated and satisfied? Ayikodans has that magnetic effect. Under the artistic vision and leadership of Jeanguy Saintus, this group of outstanding … [Read more...]
Theater roundup: ‘The Lion in Winter,’ ‘Annie’
Two solid productions have arrived for the holidays, each prominently featuring the Christmas season in its plot. The Lion in Winter is salted with plenty of humor and (spoiler alert!) none of the dysfunctional Plantagenets assembled for a Christmas reunion to decide who will inherit the crown from aging King Henry II gives his life during the cutthroat war of words. So James … [Read more...]
Northwest rockers The Thermals show some Florida love
By Hilary Saunders The Thermals’ sound is fitting for Wynwood’s aesthetic. The Portland, Ore.-based trio is scuzzy and malleable, and its most recent album, Desperate Ground, is its darkest opus yet. But The Thermals have a sing-along (or at least shout-along) quality that gives the band a semblance of accessibility. And like Wynwood, there’s a reason people keep coming … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Dec. 13-15
Art: Was there any artist so indelibly associated with the late 1960s as Peter Max? The Art Students League-trained painter’s bright colors and quirky figures did as much to define the look of the age as hippiedom did. Max has continued working since those high-profile days, and has recently been painting portraits of singer Taylor Swift, which will be on sale Saturday when the … [Read more...]