The Wind Rises, the self-professed final film from Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away), is as visually masterful as ever. It’s filmed in his preferred, largely hand-drawn and 2D style, with deep attention paid to the flickers of light and the accuracy of shadows, to the right amount of ash and flames swirling above an earthquake-stricken city and to the … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Feb. 7-9
Comedy: Jay Leno left his 22-year stint at the Tonight show on Thursday night with a teary farewell in which he referenced the loss of his parents and brother, and said his work colleagues were the only family he’d ever known. It was moving and unexpected, but he’s legendary in show business for his blue-collar approach to work, and only two days after saying goodbye, he’s on … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Aug. 2-4
Music: For most of its 25-year existence, Fort Lauderdale’s Symphony of the Americas has presented summer programs in Broward and Miami-Dade counties and abroad, particularly Panama, where conductor James Brooks-Bruzzese grew up. This weekend, it plays one of its final Summerfest concerts Saturday night at the Crest Theatre at the Delray Beach Center for the Arts. Musicians … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: April 15-17
Film: Sure, he won an Oscar 30 years ago for making Ordinary People, but Robert Redford remains an underrated director. To see how he can bring history alive, involving and even a little instructive, check out The Conspirator, his take on the aftermath of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, as seen through the conspiracy trial of Mary Surratt. The luminous Robin Wright plays the … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Feb. 19-21
Film: Fans of great acting have a new must-see movie opening this weekend in The Last Station, a diary-based fictional account of the final days of Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy. He is played with crafty charm by Christopher Plummer, but the film really revolves around his wife Sofya (Helen Mirren, giving the single best female performance of 2009). Tolstoy is a communist, in … [Read more...]