As the axiom goes, you’re not paranoid if they really are out to get you. During his quest, which began in 2000, to urge the SEC to investigate Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, Harry Markopolos was indeed a paranoid man. Toppling one of the kingpins of Wall Street is not an enviable job, Markopolos suggests in Chasing Madoff (MPI, $24.99 Blu-ray, $22.99 DVD), the recently … [Read more...]
Caldwell Theatre’s Cholerton: ‘We are not folding’
The first thing Clive Cholerton wants you to know is that the Caldwell Theatre is not folding. The Boca Raton playhouse has been in a financial bind ever since it took out a $6 million mortgage on its new theater in 2008. But it sees an end to its difficulties with an imminent filing for Chapter 11 reorganization bankruptcy. “The decision has been made and that is what we’re … [Read more...]
A great night for Francophiles, if not Oscar predictors
The best thing that happened to the Oscars this year is that Brett Rattner shot off his mouth with some wince-inducing homophobic comments a few months ago and was forced to resign as the telecast’s producer. Then his designated emcee, Eddie Murphy, walked out in a show of solidarity. That led Brian Grazer to the rescue, a man who understands how to move the usually lumbering … [Read more...]
‘Extraordinary’ apt description for Flagler’s Urban retrospective
Certain media, subjects and sizes benefit an artist more than others. And something in the creation process usually gets lost, while going from one to another. Some highlight skill while others harm it. Some encourage innovation while others enforce limits. It is hard to be consistently extraordinary. But the Flagler Museum’s current show focuses on a man who was. Named … [Read more...]
The View From Home 9: New releases on DVD
Close-Up (Criterion) Release date: June 22 Standard list price: $36.49 This two-disc Criterion reissue of one of the greatest – if not the greatest – films of the 1990s replaces the out-of-print edition from Facets, and hopefully a new crop of young cinephiles will discover it. Iranian master Abbas Kiarostami wrote and directed the film after reading a short magazine article … [Read more...]
New West Palm dance company sets May 1 debut
Ballet Florida, a West Palm Beach institution for almost a quarter-century, closed its doors in June 2009, leaving a vacuum that a new not-for-profit professional dance company hopes to help fill. Explore Dance Theater, founded in 2009 by two former principal dancers of Ballet Florida, Tracy Mozingo and Douglas Gawriljuk, is hosting its premiere company showing at the … [Read more...]
DeLillo’s ‘Omega’ not worth the trouble
So many unkind ways to begin a discussion of Don DeLillo’s new novel present themselves, I can hardly bring myself to choose. First and easiest: This should be called “Pointless Omega” (ba-bum!). Or how about: If you think $24 is a lot to spend for a 117-page novel, don’t worry, you’ll get your money’s worth -- because it reads like a thousand! But I suppose I should behave … [Read more...]