Film: No, it will never be confused for art, or even much of a story line, but if you could use a few laughs these days, you have got to see Seth MacFarlane’s feature film directing debut, Ted. MacFarlane voices the title character, John’s (Mark Wahlberg) foul-mouthed teddy bear, and everything he says is as funny as it is crude. Ted is getting in the way of Wahlberg’s … [Read more...]
The View From Home 39: New releases and notable screenings, June 11 to July 8
Today’s boring, mass-produced, digitized, one-size-fits-all uniformity of cinematic projection would leave no room for an iconoclast like William Castle. The late director of more than 50 B-movies – bearing titles like Zotz! and Let’s Kill Uncle – was a veritable industry of site-specific theater innovation. At least 11 of his movies from 1958 to 1975 were accompanied by … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: May 19-20
Editor’s note: Technical difficulties prevented this entry from being posted at the correct time. Theater: One of the most unlikely adaptations is Victor Hugo’s serpentine, 1,200-page novel Les Misérables, which was turned into a surprisingly accessible epic musical almost 27 years ago. To celebrate its longevity, producer Cameron Mackintosh had the show redesigned and … [Read more...]
With just voice and guitar, Cornell mesmerizes Fillmore crowd
Seattle-born vocalist and guitarist Chris Cornell delivered a tidy 90-minute solo set at the Fillmore Miami Beach on Wednesday, blending acoustic intimacy, grunge guitar tunings and a church revival fervor. Attired in the post-grunge formal wear of jeans and a white T-shirt and surrounded by seven different guitars, the frontman for Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog and … [Read more...]
The View From Home 38: New releases and notable screenings, May 15 to June 9
Not since A Clockwork Orange has Beethoven’s music been imbued with as much primal sexual urgency as in The Kreutzer Sonata (Zeitgeist, $19.93), a present-day transplant of a controversial 19th-century novella by Tolstoy. In the performance montage scenes of the titular sonata, the violin and piano play off each another like generous lovers. The players penetrate one another … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: May 12-13
Art: Today marks the last day of the Florida Atlantic University’s exhibit on the history of surfing in Florida (here’s a YouTube promo). The University Galleries won a grant of almost $17,000 in late 2009 to research and mount the exhibit, which has been on display since March 17, and will head to Pensacola Museum of Art this summer. The show, Surfing Florida: A Photographic … [Read more...]
‘Camp 14’ a horrifying picture of the North Korean gulag
The horrors described in Escape from Camp 14 are so extreme that one might assume this is a work of fiction. But the sad reality is that this is a spellbinding true account of life inside a North Korean prison camp, told from the viewpoint of Shin Dong-hyuk, who was born in Camp 14 and fled to the West after a dramatic escape that defies the imagination. In spare prose … [Read more...]
Lost-dog tale treats its humans with generosity
If you believe, as I do, that the world is divided between dog people and non-dog people, then you know which one you are. We dog people are mighty and cliquey, often only hanging around each other. Like right-wing conservatives or Celine Dion fans, I know that non-dog-lovers exist -- I just don’t run in the same circles. If you’re one of these non-dog-people, you may watch … [Read more...]
First-time filmmaker Hyde-White takes on ‘Hamlet’ – and father’s legacy
Which is a more foolhardy mission? Rehearsing Shakespeare’s greatest play, Hamlet, in only three days or making your directing debut by filming those rehearsals on a ramen-noodle budget? Judge for yourself by checking out Three Days (of Hamlet), screening Friday evening, April 13, at the Palm Beach International Film Festival. As Alex Hyde-White, who directed the production as … [Read more...]
The View From Home 37: New releases on DVD, April 10-24
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...]