Tom Hardy, who has proved in recent years that he could be the Bane of Batman’s existence and that he could carry an entire movie alone in a car (this past spring’s inventive Locke), reveals, in The Drop, another compelling facet of his actorly toolbox: the noir patsy. As Bob Saginowski, a bartender at a New York City watering hole that doubles as a “drop site” for bookmaking … [Read more...]
Elizabeth Price: An actress embarks on career’s Act II
By Dale King Act II of The Theatrical Life of Elizabeth Price is about to begin. Act I started 18 years ago when Price, then 22, with a bachelor’s degree in English from Tulane University and years of stage acting experience, headed west to Los Angeles and a hoped-for career in TV, film and theater. Three years later, “I had given up,” said Price, now a grad student at … [Read more...]
Bland, predictable ‘And So It Goes’ aims for safe audiences
You can tell a lot from a movie by its opening shot. Rob Reiner’s new film, And So It Goes, opens with a crane shot delicately gliding over a landscape of absolute tranquility. We’re in a verdant seaside town in Connecticut, where the skies are always clear, there’s never any traffic, and the residences and businesses are storybook-quaint. These images — which scream … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks, July 12-13
Theater: What does a theater company do when it loses its prime asset? To find out, head to Jupiter’s Carlin Park this weekend and next to see a Palm Beach Shakespeare Festival production of Much Ado About Nothing, dedicated to its co-founder, longtime artistic director and leading man, Kevin Crawford, who died suddenly at the end of 2013. Crawford had edited the text in … [Read more...]
‘Life Itself’ a beautiful tribute to a great man of film
As with a lot of premature deaths, I took Roger Ebert’s continued existence for granted, and I didn’t appreciate him enough when he was alive. For many years, his critical voice was an easy one for a snobbish cinephile to dismiss, for a number of seemingly viable reasons: The former scribe of Beyond the Valley the Dolls didn’t have an appreciation for truly radical cinema. His … [Read more...]
Jazz guitarist Najar flies in on Byrd’s wings
If he had it to do again, nylon-string jazz guitarist Nate Najar would be playing a different instrument. “If I could start over, I'd play piano,” he says. “I once had a wonderful teacher named Frank Mullen, and he often brought a classical guitar to my lessons before I played one. He talked me into trying it, and made me realize how much more piano-like a nylon-string guitar … [Read more...]
The A-word, and one sharp comedy
Obvious Child is the best and funniest comedy about women’s reproductive options since Citizen Ruth, but that alone isn’t saying much. The subject of abortion is still largely a third rail in mainstream films, despite the pretense that Hollywood is a bastion of leftism. Even when they’re unplanned, movie pregnancies are usually taken to term and are viewed as gifts. The A-word … [Read more...]
Rare Mozart sparkles with Bergonzi, Todd
The richness of Mozart’s oeuvre can’t be fully appreciated unless you’re able to hear good performances of every part of it, from his church sonatas to his first attempts at opera. That applies, too, to his chamber music. While performances of the later string quartets and quintets are frequent, and the Clarinet Quintet always gets an airing when a good enough clarinetist is … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: June 20-22
Art: Community centers are not usually associated with striking art, but a chance encounter with vibrant colors at the Sugar Sand Park Community Center challenges that notion. Currently adorning the center’s walls are imaginative works featuring organic shapes and intriguing textures that bring to life what Farida Morris calls her happiest moments. Every color and composition … [Read more...]
Schlocky ‘Cougar’ aims low and stays there
Apologies in advance if you are a fan of Menopause: The Musical, Waist Watchers: The Musical or The D Word. There is a word that sums up these shows and it is “schlock.” But it is schlock that sells, so no amount of critical disapproval will probably end — or even slow — the arrival of these lowest common denominator entertainments. Still, critics are an optimistic bunch, so … [Read more...]