Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance: Back in 2003, I didn’t really buy into the hype surrounding Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy — with the exception, of course, of its unforgettable, single-take, 4-minute tracking shot that remains one of the best fight scenes ever filmed. But after seeing its predecessor, Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance (Tartan, Blu-ray, $29.95), I’ll need to give it a second … [Read more...]
Mizner Park crowd turns out for the Monkees
By Dale King Monkee-mania gripped Boca Raton for a couple of hours last Saturday night. The surviving three members of the Monkees — the put-together pop quartet assembled by NBC executives in the mid-1960s for a TV show designed to capitalize on the success of the Beatles flick, A Hard Day’s Night, are still performing 47 years later. The Mizner Park Amphitheater concert … [Read more...]
‘Clybourne Park’ playwright wants to get under your skin
Playwright Bruce Norris has no use for writing scripts that do not provoke audiences. Typical of his work, if there is such a thing, is Clybourne Park, which looks at race relations in this country and suggests that communities change faster than our racial attitudes. “Well, we’ve obviously made some very important political strides and obviously some very important things … [Read more...]
Conductor, guitarist happy to be touring with Sting
Pop music went through the beginnings of a seismic shift in late 1976, when the artist formerly known as Gordon Sumner decided to give up a teaching career in his hometown of Newcastle, England. The 25-year-old Brit was also a vocalist and bassist who'd taken on the stage name Sting, and he was preparing to move to London as Christmas approached. Playing a farewell Newcastle … [Read more...]