Ron Krauss’ Gimme Shelter is a social-problem film, the sort of earnest exploration of a tendentious topic that Stanley Kramer might have made — if Stanley Kramer were a 21st-century Tea Partier. Or maybe a 20th century John Bircher, because none of the film’s targets feel especially new. Either way, the drama’s dog-whistle conservatism is so pernicious that it eats away at … [Read more...]
Spalding shows she’s a rising force in jazz
No one who attended Saturday night's show at the Duncan Theatre by the rising young jazz bassist and composer Esperanza Spalding could have any doubt about her talent. The Portland, Ore., native is a striking presence on the stage, slim and tallish, with a mountain of very cool hair that she had to tie up and get out of her eyes after the first couple songs with her backing … [Read more...]