Nick Thurston and Geoffrey Wigdor in White Irish Drinkers.Film: Writer-director John Gray (credited with creating TV’s Ghost Whisperer) grew up in Brooklyn and his latest feature film, White Irish Drinkers, feels like it has autobiographical elements in its coming-of-age tale of a young, sensitive artist trying hard not to sucked into the world of crime of his … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: April 29-May 1
Street Surfer (1986), by Robert Vickrey.Art: The technique of egg tempera painting, perhaps most memorably wielded by artists such as Giotto, was eclipsed by oil painting in the 15th century.But egg tempera still draws creators, and the acknowledged modern master of this technique was the American artist Robert Vickrey, whose paintings of nuns, children, … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Oct.1-3
Kodi Smit-McPhee and Chloe Moretz in Let Me In.Film: I am no fan of vampire movies, particularly the Twilight series, with its two-dimensional, catatonic acting. But two years ago, a subdued, suspenseful Swedish film, Let the Right One In, put a new twist on the undead genre with its tale of a 12-year-old boy who is befriended by a seemingly young vampire … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Sept. 4-7
Self-Portrait (1889), by Vincent van Gogh.Art: One of the most revelatory, absorbing art shows I’ve ever seen was The Studio of the South, an exhibit exploring the relationship between Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin and the work they created while briefly living together in the French town of Arles in late 1888. I caught it at the Art Institute of Chicago … [Read more...]
Music review: Johnson’s friendly, green, intimate vibe not well-suited to Cruzan
Jack Johnson brings his mellow vibe to the Cruzan.(Photo by Thom Smith)By Thom SmithIt’s 6 p.m. The South Florida sun is still hot enough to cook eggs on the pavement. Most performers would be chilling in their tour buses or having dinner at the Four Seasons. Not Jack Johnson. Armed only with guitars, he and his old buddy G Love set up on his “village … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Aug. 13-18
Brad Paisley.Music: Brad Paisley got his start in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia, and since then he’s gathered up every important award in country music. He’s on the road a lot, too, and on Saturday afternoon, he’s at the Cruzan for a stop on his H20 World Tour. The tour will feature a “water world plaza” meant to evoke summer and water … [Read more...]
Music review: Winwood underwhelms, but Santana cooks at Cruzan
Carlos Santana at the Cruzan Amphiteatre on Sunday. (Photo by Tom Craig/Live Nation)By Thom SmithBoth were boy wonders. Both were performing in public before they reached puberty. Both have kept the fires burning, enthralling, inspiring and enlightening audiences for more than five decades.But perhaps Sunday’s show at Cruzan Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: July 30-Aug. 5
Julie Kent and Marcelo Gomes. Dance: Julie Kent, long a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre, takes the title role tonight and through the weekend in Giselle, with the Boca Ballet Theatre at Florida Atlantic University’s University Theatre. Kent, one of the best-known ballerinas of her generation, partners with another ABT standout, Marcelo … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: July 2-5
Marisa Berenson, Pippo Delbono, Tilda Swinton,Alba Rohrwacher, Mattia Zaccaro, Flavio Parentiand Maria Paiato, in I Am Love.Film: There is an alternative to the vampires and werewolves of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and the sci-fi fantasy of The Last Airbender. It’s I Am Love, a sensuous film from debuting Italian director Luca Guadagnino with a starring performance by Oscar … [Read more...]
Music feature: Conductor, guitarist happy to be touring with Sting
Gordon Sumner, better known as Sting.By Bill MeredithPop music went through the beginnings of a seismic shift in late 1976, when the artist formerly known as Gordon Sumner decided to give up a teaching career in his hometown of Newcastle, England.The 25-year-old Brit was also a vocalist and bassist who'd taken on the stage name Sting, and he was preparing to move … [Read more...]