Blog Readability Test

TV Reviews

Thank you for being a friend.

THE DARK KNIGHT (2008)

Film opinion

Directed by Christopher Nolan
Written by Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan
Story by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer
Characters created by Bob Kane
With Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Morgan Freeman

Exceeded my lofty expectations by twisting the dramatic tension tighter and tighter. Christian Bale is great, as usual, as both Bruce Wayne and Batman. Heath Ledger's Joker is as terrifying, disturbing, hilarious and mesmerizing as everyone says. I was pleasantly surprised at how well Harvey Dent was crafted, and Aaron Eckhart deserves credit for imbuing him with charisma, humanity and tragedy. Stunning set pieces highlight what is ultimately a character-driven crime drama that is closer to The Departed and Heat than X-Men and Iron Man. Epic in scale, I didn't want the film to end even is it clocked in at two and a half hours. Very dark. Left me wondering where the story will go from here.

GRADE: A

GYPSY

Theater opinion

Music by Jule Styne
Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by Arthur Laurents
Suggested by the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee

Directed by Arthur Laurents
Original choreography by Jerome Robbins, recreated by Bonnie Walker
Music Directed by Vaccariello
With Patti LuPone, Laura Benanti, Boyd Gaines, Leigh Ann Larkin, Tony Yazbeck, Alison Fraser, Lenora Nemetz, Marilyn Caskey

At the St. James Theatre, New York City.

A funny thing happened on the way to the masterpiece. With the latest revival of Gypsy taking three out of the four acting awards at 2008 Tony Awards, including a Best Actress win for star Patti LuPone, I was prepared to take in what is widely hailed as the definitive production of what some consider the best musical of all-time. Right upfront, I will say that I am a big Patti LuPone fan and I rank Gypsy among my Top Ten favorite musicals. Furthermore, I saw the much-criticized 2003 revival starring Bernadette Peters and directed by Sam Mendes, and I loved it. For better or for worse, I had difficulty not comparing this current production to that recent revival, but having read many reviews, it seems that most professional critics couldn’t keep from making comparisons either. That being said, I disagreed with most of the critics in 2003, and I disagree with most of the critics in 2008.

In short, I preferred Bernadette Peters to Patti LuPone, I thought the supporting actors were better in the 2003 company than the current one, and I felt that Sam Mendes did a far better job of directing than Arthur Laurents did.

To be clear, Patti LuPone was terrific, a fine Mama Rose, doing the belting and chewing the scenery as everyone expected her to do. But that’s the thing: Ms. LuPone played Mama Rose exactly as expected, with few surprises save a handful of strong, different but ultimately distracting choices when singing her songs. I missed the coyness and vulnerability of Ms. Peters’ Mama. For Ms. LuPone, Mama’s breakdown happens in “Rose’s Turn,” the tour de force closing number, but the break doesn’t feel earned; instead, it feels that Mama breaks down at that point because that’s where “Rose’s Turn” arrives in the script. In 2003, Mama Rose’s true break happened earlier in the show, when she volunteers her daughter Louise to take the place of a stripper in the burlesque show. I remember the audible gasp in the audience when Ms. Peters did that, her face open to the audience, the others (especially Louise) arranged beautifully to react to this mother essentially prostituting her daughter. Louise somehow rises from this debasing low-point to achieve stardom, on her own terms, and this is what begins Mama Rose’s downward spiral, so that “Rose’s Turn” is the rock-bottom of a slow, agonizing descent of recognizing that she was wrong all along. And Ms. Peters broke your heart when she sang it because you felt that yes, Rose could have been somebody -- maybe -- had she had someone like her to encourage and nurture her. In 2008, Mama’s self pity feels unearned, though you do feel bad for her because her daughters are so nasty to her.

Laura Benanti won a Tony for playing Louise in this production. Tammy Blanchard did not win a Tony for playing Louise in the 2003 production. Those facts should be switched around. Ms. Benanti does have a few touching moments, most notably in “Little Lamb,” a poignant song that communicates everything the audience needs to know about Louise’s childhood. But her transformation from fragile child to queen of burlesque is not believable, mainly because Ms. Benanti plays awkward as stilted and buffoonish. The story requires Rose to transform into Gypsy Rose Lee over the course of a series of “Let Me Entertain You” numbers, a fault in the book, in my opinion. Tammy Blanchard managed to pull it off in 2003, though, because her Louise when from gawky to graceful, innocent to risque. You felt that she could break, emotionally and physically, at any moment. In 2008, Laura Benanti’s Louise goes from dorky to bitchy, sheepish to angry. By the time Benanti’s Louise screams at Mama near the end of the show, I felt only that I was watching a Tony winner “play angry” in a way that they could see way up in the balcony.

I had other problems with this production. Boyd Gaines also won a Tony for his Herbie, but he didn’t much register for me. The Junes, Dainty (Leigh Ann Larkin) and Baby (Sami Gayle), gave downright poor performances. Baby June must have been directed to give grotesque smiles, and maybe they looked cute from way up there, but from up front they were disturbing. And grown-up June just pissed me off with her cruelty to Louise, her strange voice modulations, and unprofessional breaking character. Tulsa (Tony Yazbek) danced well, but as my esteemed colleague [name removed to protect his anonymity] noted, he looked way too old and “he played Tulsa like he was retarded.” Also, I felt that I had seen Tulsa’s dance before because, well, I had, in every single professional production of Gypsy. “Original choreography by Jerome Robbins” is a phrase I have come to loathe, though I suppose one can argue that choreography is as much a part of constructing a musical story as the book, music and lyrics are. But for the love of God, Jerome Robbins Estate, please relent and let some other choreographer take a crack at interpreting the works that the man directed and choreographed!

"You Gotta Have a Gimmick" is a can't-miss number, and it didn't miss in this production. In fact, Tessie Tura (Alison Fraser), Mazeppa (Lenora Nemetz), and Electra (Marilyn Caskey) were, besides Patti LuPone, the best part of the show. Ms. Fraser did go through about ten accents, from Bronx to Irish to Grizabella the Slut Cat, but I didn't care too much. Ms. Caskey's Electra was my favorite because she played the character as if she'd been shocked by her electric suit more than once. The way she stiffly moved and stared at the audience, ozone-eyed, was hilarious. The set was alright. I liked how everything looked very, very cheap, including the curtains and costumes. The large orchestra was placed on the stage behind a scrim, perhaps because this is a tradition for productions transferred from Encores at City Center. It didn’t work, especially when Mama makes multiple references to the conductor in front of the stage, directing her instructions instead to the front row of the house.

So, I was very disappointed, but I can’t say that Gypsy was a bad production. The show, especially that terrific score, is just to strong to fail that easily. It is indeed worth seeing for Patti LuPone’s performance. She doesn’t let you down when she belts out “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” and “Rose’s Turn.” But Mr. Laurents needs to get back to work and freshen up these performances, or perhaps let an assistant director take a crack at it. Mr. Laurents will soon be directing a long-overdue revival of West Side Story, "with original choreography by Jerome Robbins." (Hear my plea, Jerome Robbins Estate!) One twist is that Mr. Laurents wants the Sharks and their girls to speak and sing in “some” Spanish. (I would love to hear Mr. Laurents talking Stephen Sondheim into revisiting his lyrics in Spanish translation.) I hope that Mr. Laurents devotes himself to updating that script and decides to let someone else tackle directing responsibilities. His fine writing work deserves a strong director to truly make it come alive.

GRADE: C

IN THE HEIGHTS

Theater opinion

Music and Lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda
Book by Quiara Alegria Hudes
Conceived by Lin-Manuel Miranda
Directed by Thomas Kail
Choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler
Music Directed by Alex Lacamoire
With Lin-Manuel Miranda, Andrea Burns, Robin De Jesus, Carlos Gomez, Mindy Gonzalez, Christopher Jackson, Priscilla Lopez, Olga Merediz, Karen Olivo, Seth Stewart

At the Richard Rodgers Theatre, New York City.

First of all, it was truly stunning and inspiring to see a Broadway stage filled with Latino performers, and to hear Latin and Caribbean beats pulsating from the orchestra pit of the Richard Rodgers Theatre. The crowd was the most racially diverse one I had seen since The Color Purple in 2006, and it was heartwarming to hear Spanish on stage and in the audience. In the Heights is a milestone for Latino artists and stories in American theater. Though Latin beats have been a mainstay in musicals since West Side Story in 1957, this is the first one created by Latino artists to find commercial and critical success.

In The Heights defies stereotypes of what a Broadway show looks and sounds like, but it is, in many ways, a rather conventional musical. The story goes exactly where you think it will go. Will the protagonist, Usnavi, leave Washington Heights? (For a hint, note that this show is not titled Out of the Heights.) Its characters follow tried-and-true character arcs, it gives its supporting players plenty of crowd-pleasing moments, and it leaves audience members feeling good about their trip to the barrio … even if most will still avoid actually going there. The assertion that gentrification (e.g. whitification) of neighborhoods is bad has become cliche, though the show glosses over the fact that the predominantly Latino population of Washington Heights is just one incarnation of a constantly evolving neighborhood. (I would like to see a musical about the tensions that arise when Latinos move, as one character in this show does, into predominantly black neighborhoods in the Bronx, neighborhoods that were once predominantly white.) That being said, my primary complaint about the show is the frequency of songs that feature characters stopping the action to sing about what they’re thinking. However, though the story structure lacks originality, it compensates for it with high energy and terrific music that had me grooving in my seat. Though I can be critical in hindsight, I will tell you that I greatly enjoyed the show as I was watching it.

Of course, the heart and soul of In The Heights is its creator, composer, lyricist and star, Lin-Manuel Miranda. He has fantastic charisma and comic timing. To see him take in a standing ovation at curtain call was to see a man still in awe of the fact that his labor of love has been so warmly embraced by the Broadway community. His performance is the anchor of the play. In fact, it is difficult to imagine what watching the show would be like without Mr. Miranda playing the lead. Woe to the understudy who has to face an audience expecting to see the boy genius. In The Heights had been performing to half-full houses before Mr. Miranda accepted the Tony Award for Best Score with a charming rap. The night I saw it, the house was full and everyone was having a great time. It ought to have a good, long run as long as Mr. Miranda stays in the show. Judging by how much fun he was clearly having, he will likely stay with his baby for a long, long time.

GRADE: B

MY WINNIPEG (2007)

Film Opinion

Directed by Guy Maddin
Written by Guy Maddin and George Toles
With Darcy Fehr, Ann Savage, Amy Stewart, Brendan Cade, Wesley Cade

Probably the most visually intriguing and narratively confounding "documentary" I have ever seen. One is never sure just how much of Guy Maddin's history of Winnipeg is actually true but, man, is it fun to watch. Laugh out loud funny at times, poignant and sad at others, MY WINNIPEG had me mulling it over for days afterwards. Don't be turned off by the seemingly heavy poetic voice-over early in the film; it takes off and soars eventually.

GRADE: A-

WALL-E

Film Opinion

Directed by Andrew Stanton
Written by Andrew Stanton and Pete Docter
Vocal Talent: Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin, Fred Willard, John Ratzenberger, Kathy Najimy, Sigourney Weaver

This is Pixar's best so far. The first forty-minutes are truly sublime despite (or maybe because of) almost zero dialogue. Scathing satire and beautiful imagery are both in service to a central love story that reminded me of Charlie Chaplin films. I will see this again soon.

GRADE: A

2.0

After a long hiatus, Bub's Studio will be returning with a vengeance. Over the next few days, expect fresh opinions on theater, film and books. As long as I have this thing, I should very well use it.

FDR

Franklin Delano Roosevelt said:

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

He was lying.

Dan the Monster Man!

4MinuteDragon - Funny home videos are a click away

THERE WILL BE BLOOD

Film Opinion

Written and Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
Adapted from OIL! by Upton Sinclair
With Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Dillon Freasier, Ciaran Hinds, Kevin J. O'Connor

Paul Thomas Anderson's latest film, THERE WILL BE BLOOD, is a powerful, haunting film driven by the incomparable Daniel Day-Lewis in the lead role. Proving that the best book-to-film adaptations draw on weak material, Anderson mined dramatic gold from Upton Sinclair's anti-capitalism novel, Oil!. Much of the film story reminded me of a John Steinbeck with Eugene O'Neill ending. The director's canvas is large, and he fills it with gorgeous imagery: a flaming oil tower, a muddied father holding his injured son, endless brown fields and then, suddenly, the sea. And, most surprisingly, vast expanses of blackness pierced by a fire-lit demon's head, or the reflections of a few bits of silver in the rock. So assured is Anderson with his imagery that there is only one line of dialogue -- "There she is. There she is." -- in the first twenty minutes of the film.

With all of that said, the film's soul is Daniel Day-Lewis. The actor delivers one of the greatest film performances I have ever seen in capturing the ambitious, ruthless, yet strangely loving entrepreneur, Daniel Plainview. Much has been written about his performance by critics elsewhere: his kabuki-inspired facial expressions, his deceptively reassuring voice, his ability to shift from joy to rage in the blink of an eye. For me, Plainview's pragmatic "rebirth" in Eli Sunday's church is the pinnacle of his mesmerizing turn. In that scene, Day-Lewis is alternately annoyed, embarrassed, enraged, ashamed and vengeful, and he allows all those emotions to pass across his face, indeed throughout his entire body, almost simultaneously. He is the true master of cinematic acting, but I did fault his performance near the end of the film. More on that in a bit.

Prior to this film, I was underwhelmed by Paul Thomas Anderson's work as a director and writer. In fact, I thought he was very overrated. Boogie Nights bored me. Magnolia irritated me because it rang false. I did enjoy Punch-Drunk Love, however. With this record, I was skeptical of the rave reviews for There Will Be Blood, but encouraged by those who said it was a departure for the film-maker.

At almost two and a half hours, Blood does drag at moments. The intriguing central conflict, oil man vs. prophet, practically disappears in the third quarter of the film. Perhaps the true conflict is man vs. self? The ending of the film, which takes place twenty years after the majority of the action, is bizarre and out of sync with the rest of the film. Sadly, after two-plus hours of following Daniel Plainview, I was suddenly reminded that I was watching an actor, albeit it a great one. I fault Anderson for this mostly, because he lets the story get out of hand. Plainview and Sunday mostly played subtle games of one-upmanship, but they go broad at the end. The brilliance of the first two hours of the film was that we could see the road that Plainview's ambition was taking him; actually seeing that end seemed unnecessary, and in fact detracted from the overall experience.

That being said, There Will Be Blood is one of the best films of 2007, and probably in the last few years. Though it is only playing in a few theaters, all cinemaphiles should seek it out. It must be seen on the big screen to be fully appreciated.

GRADE: A-