Parker Posey again proves her necessity to the indie film world with her complicated performance in Zoe Cassavetes’ feature debut.
Demonstrating that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, the screenwriter-director has delivered a well-observed film boasting highly realistic performances and dialogue, if not plot elements. But it’s Posey’s fascinating portrayal of a thirtysomething Manhattan […]
Alessandra Ferri and Kyra Nichols, beloved ballerinas with more than a half-century of performing between them, are as different in style and temperament as they come.
But over the weekend, they were linked forever by a quirk of circumstance: They ended their storied New York careers in emotional performances one day apart. It was a weekend […]
The “analog” world strikes back in “Live Free or Die Hard.” In his return to the signature character he originated in 1988’s “Die Hard” and continued in two ’90s sequels, Bruce Willis and his everyman hero, John McClane, use bare-knuckles brawn and brain to take on a computer-age villain bent on “virtual terrorism.”
Meanwhile, the movie […]
There should be a warning label on the Bad Brain’s new album: “Caution: Contents are Volatile.”
The first album in five years from this hugely respected punk/dub band is explosive.
Produced by the Beastie Boys’ Adam Yauch using analog tape and equipment, “Build a Nation” delivers a potent mix of speed, wicked riffs, and HR’s powerful vocals. […]
Chick Corea’s discography includes memorable duet recordings with vibraphonist Gary Burton and pianist Herbie Hancock with whom he shares a common jazz heritage. But the pianist breaks new ground on “The Enchantment” by teaming with progressive bluegrass banjo master Bela Fleck.
Fleck and Corea have appeared on each other’s albums before, but this is their first […]
A transatlantic trip seems to have done wonders for the epic stage version of “The Lord of the Rings” that has just opened in the West End following a dire opening run in Toronto. What was slammed as long and tedious in Canada has had 40 minutes trimmed and become a genuine theatrical spectacle that […]
“Sammy’s House” - Kristin Gore: Can sweetness survive a trip through the high-speed spin machine of the White House?
Kristin Gore, the 30-year-old daughter of Vice President-turned-ecowarrior Al Gore, tackles the question head-on in “Sammy’s House” — the continuing saga of Samantha Joyce, an idealistic, insecure twentysomething trying to balance the demands of her White House […]
War is hell, but personal bravery never goes out of style. That is the thrust of actor Stephen Lang’s one-man play “Beyond Glory,” which is having its New York premiere off-Broadway at the Roundabout’s Laura Pels Theatre. Adapted by Lang from Larry Smith’s 2003 oral history, the show is an affecting, if limited, portrayal of […]
“Live Free or Die Hard” is the sort of movie you approach like last year’s “Basic Instinct 2″ or “Rocky Balboa.”
You go in expecting the worst and figure you’ll at least get some laughs out of seeing an aging protagonist embarrassingly trying to reclaim old glory.
Luckily for Bruce Willis and the audience, his die-hard cop […]
Brad Bird and Pixar Animation Studios are proving to be an unbeatable combination.
Bird, the cartoon writer-director with delightfully off-kilter sensibilities, and Pixar, the cutting-edge computer-animation company that places so very much emphasis on character, have their second hit together in “Ratatouille,” a follow-up to the universally popular “The Incredibles.” Who would think a rat in […]
“You lose something in New York, it don’t come back.”
So begins the appropriately titled “Gone Missing,” a lighthearted and experimental comedy that opened this week at off-Broadway’s Barrow Street Theatre.
This giddy, likable musical is a series of loosely related monologues, skits and songs and was created and developed by The Civilians, a production company that […]
Ratatouille” may be the first Pixar movie that is so advanced, so sophisticated, it doesn’t feel like it was made for kids.
On a fundamental level, sure, children will probably enjoy watching the animated adventures of Remy, a plucky Parisian rat who leaves the colony to pursue his dream of becoming a gourmet chef. There’s some […]
