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Archive: May, 2010
Filed Under: Printed Matter
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| Russell Crowe in a gruff-and-tumble Robin Hood |
- Shaun Brady takes the lead spot for his not-so-positive review of the umpteenth version of Robin Hood. The takeaway? "He comes off more Braveheart than Prince of Thieves."
- Bruce Walsh pays a visit to abstract painter Jacqueline Cotter, who's losing her eyesight but not her vision. "She's come up with something very personal, and not all artists get to that point," says the owner of Rosenfeld Gallery, where her works are on display this month.
- Robin Rice Re:Views the owners of Twelve Gates Art Gallery, which seeks to shine a light on "the Indian and Pakistani diaspora."
- Peter Burwasser's Suite Spot sits back and takes a listen to a recent concert featuring Louis Andriessen's masterpiece De Staat, which "hews toward a rock sensibility."
- Sam Adams gives Please Give a B- in this week's Flick Pick. Though it's unlike its "Ephron-bot" chick-lit compatriots, director Nicole Holofcener's fourth feature doesn't ask enough questions.
- Mark Cofta found enough joyful moments in 1812 Productions' An Evening Without Woody Allen to get over the fact that Allen's prose is better enjoyed on the page than the stage.
- Movie Shorts on The Good Heart (D), Harry Brown (B), Letters to Juliet (C) and Sweetgrass (A).
- Kaleidoscope quick hits on Everybody Was in the French Resistance ... Now!, McSweeney's litmag, Broken Social Scene and the Art Star Craft Bazaar
- A+E Picks on Dr. Dog, The Lindsay Buckingham Appreciation Society, Rhymes with Opera, Laura Marling and more
- An Agenda section full of treats like Icepack, a feature on Rodgers and Hammerstein are Dead, a ton of Picks, and Felicia D'Ambrosio's twice-monthly fashion column, Shopping Spree.
We like American Idol. Too much.
Tommy Button: To no one's surprise...
Molly Eichel: Least of all ours.
TB: ...Big Mike's luck ran out last night. Of everyone in the top four, he was probably the most consistent. even more than Powersox, who I suspect, may have been voted off this round if this season's contestants weren't so piss poor. But sorry, Mike, America doesn't like consistency. We like uncertainty and feeling like the bottom could drop out any minute. It's how we like our economy, it's how we like our nation security and god dammit, its how we like our American Idol!
ME: The saddest part about Big Mike's departure is that his goal was to make it into the top three and he fell just short. That would be like if my goal was to sleep with Alec Baldwin and I ended up with Billy.
TB: On a side note, why haven't the members of Bon Jovi stopped wearing leather outfits?
He is still a winner!
Filed Under: Arts | Now See This
Looks like AJW,one of our favorite Space 1026ers, is branching out into the video world. Hmm, his first one seems to be the old make-somebody-pee-in-their-sleep trick and OH MY GOD. Just... just click on the pic below, to get redirected to his YouTube page.
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For their last outing as Neighborhood Watchers, Josh and Julia decided to do it up right in the Gayborhood, where you'll always be sure to find gays, girls and, if you're lucky, a truckload of trannies.
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| Photos | Josh Middleton and Julia West |
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If anyone has the chops to be a supermodel it's 6-foot-tall Victoria B. (20). In fact, she is a working runway, catalog and swimsuit model. She says she looks to current fashion icon Chanel Iman for fashion inspiration because they possess many similarities. To her, deciding what to wear is an outlet for personal empowerment. "With fashion it's basically your own unique style, bringing it to life and not worrying what anyone else thinks about it," Victoria says. You better preach it, honey child.
Filed Under: TV Idol Hands
We like American Idol. Too much.
Molly Eichel: Seacrest started off the night by introducing everyone with a close-up of each face in the background. I wish when they focused on the contestants' mugs, their faces morphed into one another like in the "Black or White" video. Either way,this is your top four, people.
Tommy Button: The top four are real clusterfuck this year. Powersox is really the only player in the game still with the chops to be here but a big part of her success has been the sucking of others.
ME: Know who doesn't suck: Jamie Foxx. I forgot that Jamie Foxx just spouts out vague platitudes that don't really mean anything. Next time he comes on, we should play a drinking game: Take a shot every time he mixes a metaphor?
TB: I'm pretty sure it has something to do with his head tattoo. It takes a special kind of retarded to get a tattoo on your skull so seeing Jamie Foxx half an inch from sticking his tongue in Lee Dewyze's mouth wasn't much of a shocker.
ME: Ugh, Lee's "Kissed by a Rose" was Rip Van Winkle-boring. They keep talking about how he has this great voice for radio. But would I stop the radio dial if I heard this? No. But I do for Seal because I enjoy epic songs that don't make sense. And large penises.
TB: You suck. Put on your 'Contestant' T-Shirt. Unless, Jamie Foxx wants to whip you up a 'Douche' shirt real quick.
ME: While Big Mike may have deserved the Contestant shirt for his lukewarm "Will You Be There" from Free motherfuckin' Willy (alright, but not Idol-worthy), I'm gonna go with Artist because the poor guy is a sitting duck, which is especially heartbreaking because his only goal was to make it into the top three. He's going home tonight and nothing short of a Jesus rising from the dead for a duet would help him.
TB: Mike, I'm afraid America is going to do to you what those nasty aquarium people wanted to do to Willy. Too bad there are no starry-eyed white boys to save you.
ME: Then the duets! Powersox and Lee --
TB: Bowerweyze.
ME: Okay, Tommy, Bowerweyze did "Falling Slowly" from Once.
TB: The duets were about one bajillion times better than the solos.
ME: I agree but I think their voices didn't fit well together. And Lee came out on top while Powersox wasn't done justice.
TB: Disagreed. I don't know if they were more comfortable or having more fun, but no one could seem to stand on their own last night. I thought Bowerweyze did nice job with that number. I could see those two drunk in a bar singing that song then making out in an alley.
ME: I think their biggest asset was their song choice. Unlike Casey James who did "Mrs. Robinson." That was a stupid song choice. Too iconic to be fucked with like that.
TB: I actually thought Casey had the best song choice of the night and had he maybe sexxxed it up a little more or just fucking tried. I suspect Casey has made his way through a number of cougars so I expected a little more.
ME: See, you agree. He doesn't take this seriously. Every time I see him smile, it looks like he doesn't give a shit about American Idol and just wants to be banging the bongos McConaughey-style.
TB: The really stupid song choice was Powersox's "I'm Alright." I like Caddyshack and cowbells as much as the next American but give me a fucking break. The only reason that song is so popular is because it's synonymous with the image of a dancing gopher.
ME: Are you kidding? That was amazing! She took a totally ridiculous song and made it legit. Goddamn, I wanna hear "Danger Zone" next. But what was more amazing was Powersox's boyfriend's pants: American flag pants! One leg was stars, the other was bars.
TB: Touche, Mr. Powersox. Next up, "Have you Ever Loved a Woman" by Casey and Big Mike. Or Big Masey Lames.
ME: Oh Tommy, I'm embarrassed for you. That was nice but I still would have rather heard Casey/Lee and Big Mike/Crystal.
TB: Ladies, Big Mike and Casey James are here ... and they want to fuck you. Or maybe just each other.
Molly, morphing faces are the worst things ever!!! Need I remind you of the horrible Roseanne opening credits morph? And they do it on Two and Half Men too and it freaks the shit out of me. And would America please vote Lee off the show already? God damn it, I can't stand that kid. Or maybe it's just my presumption that he loves all things jam band/dave matthews band related and I can not, and will not, get behind that. And Idol aside, Kenny Loggins was made to make songs for movies. They are always the best!
We know Bob De Niro's got another day on Dark Fields' set and that the whole she-bang should be finished filming in Philly by the end of May. We'll be sorry to see y'all Dark Fielders go but we need you guys to be more careful while you're here. Not only did we hear that De Niro busted some DelFrisco's glassware by accident during that shoot I mentioned on Monday. But days before that there was a minor unplanned auto accident not in the script when a cab swiped a minivan — both with New York state license plates — and knocked its mirror into pieces during a scene where Bradley Cooper vomits onto the street. Hey, I don't come to your house and puke in your garden, do I sport? (Thanks Ryan M for the info.) Now get out of town before you make more of a mess.
Filed Under: Big Ups
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| mattsoncreative.com/blog |
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| abctvstore.seenon.com |
In line with their dedication to "re-imagined classics" and Russian theater traditions, Red Square Theatre presents the world premiere of an Anton Chekhov short story, adapted for the stage. The company's respect for the beloved Russian playwright is especially apparent in their costumes and scenery; this commitment to classic conventions is admirable, but it's difficult to make appealing in more modern venues.
Set in a small Russian town in the mid-1880s, The Swedish Match presents a universal plot line of two polar-opposite detectives (or "buddy cops" in later permutations) attempting to muddle through a murder mystery. While the plot, and the predictable cast of suspects, present no surprises to modern viewers, it is interesting to see firsthand how Chekhov established these now-common conventions. Unfortunately, though, the play's four writers offer little innovation of their own. At Sunday's matinee performance, the already-stiff dialogue wasn't helped by the actors' low energy, which didn't pick up until the climax.
The main challenge in watching The Swedish Match is sorting out who's who. There were a total of 12 characters, with several names, portrayed by 10 actors, and the program does little to help the audience keep track of everyone. Director Mark W. Robson seemed to have stressed that his actors make their multiple characters as distinct as possible, to make the ensemble piece look less cluttered. This tactic was employed with varying levels of success: Some standouts were Jeff Luttermoser, as the apprentice detective Dukovsky, whose over-eager sleuth was the only consistently energetic presence; and Matt Mancuso, as the groundskeeper Pytor, who stayed committed to his increasingly unlikable character.
Red Square Theatre's earnest desire to entertain is evident in The Swedish Match, and likely achievable with a little more innovation, practice and caffeine.
Through May 16, redsquaretheatre.weebly.com/events.html.
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