James Valenti has just gotten off a plane to West Palm Beach, so he’s dressed casually in shirt, shorts and flip-flops as he tucks into some salad and crudités before talking about his career on the operatic stage. No one passing by at CityPlace on a beautiful December afternoon realizes that the tall, friendly, dark-haired man at the table will soon be breaking the heart of a … [Read more...]
Florida, regional critics agree: ‘Social Network’ was year’s top film
There is no dominant front-runner for this year’s Best Picture Oscar, but you would never know that from the polls of the Florida Film Critics Circle and the Southeastern Film Critics Association (the two groups I belong to as a voting member). Both tapped The Social Network, David Fincher’s account of the founding of Facebook, as the best film of 2010 and, as happens only … [Read more...]
Southeast film critics cheer ‘Up in the Air,’ ‘Hurt Locker’
See, I told you Up in the Air was the best picture of 2009, and now I have two critics’ groups -- the two that Palm Beach ArtsPaper just happens to be a voting member of -- to back me up. Both the Southeastern Film Critics Association (SEFCA), representing reviewers in nine states in this region, and the Florida Film Critics Circle (FFCC), representing reviewers in our state, … [Read more...]