It’s been over 25 years since director Spike Lee debuted with She’s Gotta Have It and more than 20 since his 1989 film Do The Right Thing was released to critical acclaim. He’s had his highs and lows since then, with his lows particularly low. Perhaps that’s why Lee decided to revisit the world of his best film in Red Hook Summer.
With so much indie theater in New York City it’s impossible for me to make it to every production I’m invited to review. So before I even get into my review of The Seeing Place’s double-bill of Harold Pinter’s The Lover and John Patrick Shanley’s Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, I feel obligated to point out that this is the third Seeing Place production that I’ve been invited to review this season and perhaps the biggest compliment I can pay them is that I make sure I have been there every time.
It seems like almost every septuagenarian actor is required to do at least one “grumpy old man” movie role in which its pretty typical for such a character to go from a cranky and surly old coot to a smiling, kindly grandfather with a young heart by the end of the film. Thankfully, in Robot and Frank director Jake Schreier and writer Christopher D. Ford, with a great performance by Frank Langella, find a way around that cliche by sticking the grumpy old man with… a robot pal.
Could you and your friends create a musical in 24 hours? Not only create it, but rehearse and have it performed? That’s the idea behind 24 Hour Musicals and the story of the wonderful documentary, One Night Stand.
Shankman has successfully turned a hit musical comedy that was lively and fun into a slow moving slog but…. with Tom Cruise putting in a fantastic performance, you just might like it.
With a cast that includes Frances McDormand, Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, newcomers Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward and frequent Anderson players Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman, Moonrise Kingdom is everything Wes Anderson lovers expect; the visual style, quirkiness, originality and humor.
Starring Hugh Dancy (currently appearing in the wonderful Venus in Fur on Broadway) and Maggie Gyllenhaal, Hysteria is based on the true story of Mortimer Granville and how he came to invent the world’s first electric vibrator.
The good news is that the sequel we’ve all been waiting for (we have, right?), Men in Black 3, doesn’t suck.
A play with the provocative title C– is going to raise eyebrows (especially with the marquee outside the Duke on 42nd Street says it). The provided plot description makes it even more appealing: “When John and his boyfriend take a break, the last thing he expects is to suddenly meet the woman of his dreams. Now he has a big choice to make.”
I’m over the Tim Burton/Johnny Depp Goth Period. Like way over it.
The Raven, James McTeigue’s fictionalized account of the last days of Edgar Allen Poe’s life, is a complete snooze-fest.
I’m happy to say that the new version of Jump Street doesn’t suck, in fact, it’s hilarious and that’s thanks to – go figure – Channing Tatum.
God Bless America is Writer/director Goldthwait at his potential best.
Safety Not Guaranteed is a charming, funny, heartfelt and romantic film that is, as of this writing, my hands-down favorite film of the year.
While the titular sisters of Anton Chekhov’s play Three Sisters aren’t particularly humorous, the cast of the current production by The Seeing Place at the Sargent Theater does a remarkable job of playing up the humor in even the play’s most tragic elements.
This film is right up my alley. Since I was a kid, I’ve dreamed of something like this happening to me so I was totally looking forward to this. But, sadly that didn’t happen.
If you’ve been looking for an old-school ghost story, well then this weekend, you’re in luck.
