A year ago, Jeffrey Katzenberg hit the promotional circuit to support his green baby Shrek, and even before its release, he proclaimed that its successor would be “bold and daring and unlike any other animated movie ever made.” If by “bold” he meant “monotonous” and by “daring” he meant “histrionic,”…
Thirty-four years later, Carson has returned to the school to deliver a series of lectures on the power of fable and film as metaphor, and he asked Coppola, whose film was partially inspired by David Holzman, to join him. Carson–who appears in Coppola’s feature debut, CQ, and who helped Roman…
What a difference a week makes. In the last issue of New Times, Florida Stage in Manalapan was lauded as the Best Theater in South Florida. Now along comes its final show of the season, Women Who Steal, which is, to be blunt, the worst show of the stage’s season…
The bad news for Memento fans is that Christopher Nolan’s Insomnia is far less complex and challenging in form than the backward-edited art-house hit that sparked as much disdain as devotion among moviegoers last year. The good news for Memento-haters is that Insomnia is far less complex and challenging in…
You’d think the words “hot-air balloon” and “race” would never be uttered in the same breath. It seems by their very nature that these gargantuan yet gentle flying contraptions were created simply to float up slowly and go where the wind takes them. Weather permitting, the third annual Delray Beach…
Did you know that Lauderdale-by-the-Sea is the Shore Diving Capital of the World? Sure, it doesn’t look like much more than your basic, archetypal beach community, what with all the little surf shops, bars, and restaurants with names such as the Sea Ranch Diner, along with the beachfront motels and…
Three years have passed since The Phantom Menace thrilled some and infuriated others, yet the schism in the Church of Lucas remains. Die-hard supporters still refuse to admit that Episode I has some truly awful acting, dialogue, and borderline offensive caricatures; and dyed-in-the-wool detractors remain bemused, even offended, that some…
It’s appropriate that Universal would debut About a Boy against the latest installment in the Lucas juggernaut. Certainly it’s daring, which is the last thing one ever expected to say about a film starring Hugh Grant. Consider: Clones is an enormous movie that signifies nothing outside of itself, as disposable…
Normally, my jurisdiction as art critic for New Times Broward-Palm Beach extends no farther south than North Miami’s Museum of Contemporary Art, the inclusion of which I’ve managed to justify because no other South Florida museum consistently features such vital, cutting-edge art. (The Palm Beach Institute of Contemporary Art in…
Murder mystery alert: Some devilish scheming and startling plot twists are lying in wait for unsuspecting audiences in Murderer, which opened recently at the Actors’ Playhouse in Coral Gables. Theatergoers may also be surprised by some rough language as well as explicit violence and nudity, decidedly a departure from the…
At first, they approach tentatively, their pens and posters timidly extended as though afraid the two men standing beneath the blank movie screen might bite or bark them out of the theater. “No, no,” insists Chris Weitz, standing next to his older brother Paul. “I’m happy to sign your poster,”…
Combine the most nauseating aspects of Florida kitsch — things like pink flamingos, pastel buildings, and seascape paintings — and extreme amounts of drugs, massive gunfights that result in staggering body counts, and good old, stark-raving insanity and you have… well, actually, you have the state of Florida. But no…
New Orleans being the musical hotbed that it is, it’s not surprising when you hear of a band coming out of the Crescent City. It’s even less surprising when the band in question plays a style of funky acid-jazz. What is shocking is that a group of such disparate souls…
Ten years after “the scandal” — and its negative effect on the size of his audiences and his power and independence — Woody Allen broke his long-time avoidance of the Oscar telecast with his pro-New York standup shtick at this year’s ceremony. The positive audience response suggested that all is…
Last month, GQ ran a disquietingly flattering profile of Joe Roth, who, in January 2000, quit his gig as Walt Disney Studios’ chairman to “revolutionize the industry” (GQ’s words) by forming his own studio. With a billion bucks on loan from men with money and bridges to burn — among…
At first glance, you wouldn’t think there’s much in common between the ragtag Mad Cat Theatre Company in dirty downtown Miami and the stylish Dreamers Theatre in restaurant-infested Coral Gables. Mad Cat goes for in-your-face gonzo drama and aims for a pierced, punk crowd, while Dreamers opts for more elegant,…
Three years ago, Sean LaPierre was toolin’ around Fort Lauderdale, just minding his own business, when he was rear-ended by a semi truck that seemed in no hurry to slow down. Now, in most situations, that would be the end of the story. But LaPierre didn’t wind up a grease…
Forget about going to the beach this weekend and snoozing in the sun or listening to the relaxing, smooth sounds of the waves. The only sounds you’re likely to hear are whacks and thumps and the occasional victory cry. Hundreds of beach volleyball fans and players will descend upon the…
Kick a boy enough times and he’ll become a man. The question is, of what sort? In his long-awaited feature portrait of the comic-book hero Spider-Man, director Sam Raimi brings forth a kaleidoscopic answer full of hope and verve. Flashy enough for kids and insightful enough to engage adults, the…
Deuces Wild is, like Vulgar and Chelsea Walls, yet another new release that is now inexplicably being distributed theatrically after having explicably sat on the shelf for upward of a year. The film’s age is immediately evident both from how young Frankie Muniz looks (compared to recent episodes of Malcolm…
Several months ago, I surveyed the Websites of nearly a dozen South Florida museums, only to find… not much of interest. The sites provide such basic information as hours of operation, directions, and descriptions of exhibitions. Otherwise, they serve as not much more than teasers, e-ads for the actual museums,…
Most everyone knows the two masks of the theater: the sorrowful mask of tragedy and the gleeful one of comedy. Tragedy (or at least drama) is usually serious and “elevated” and therefore tends toward social acceptability: Because drama is serious, the society it portrays is to be taken seriously. Comedy…
