The trouble with “Reign Over Me” is that it isn’t remarkable enough one way or another to even get worked up about writing a review. It’s not a dull movie, but neither is it consistently fascinating. The performances aren’t bad, but there are also no standouts. And while the plot has potential, albeit only as a much tamer photocopy of “The Fisher King,” it’s, well, not “The Fisher King.”
My relation to dance has always been, well, spotty. I respect it greatly, of course, and I certainly appreciate the talent and skill that goes into it. But beyond that, I can’t say I’ve ever really connected with dance. Hip-hop? Fuhgettaboutit. Western Ballet? Yawn. Tap and Broadway-show style dance numbers? Okay, I’ll bite. Ballroom? I’ve tried it, it turns out I don’t have two left feet, I like it. Bellydancing? You got me: I fully admit to being enchanted with this and other Middle Eastern dances. And that Gothic Bellydance DVD, however flawed, left me infatuated with its blend of goth and dance, and a willingness to experiment. But cementing my reevaluation of dance as something that’s more than simply enjoyable to watch is classical Indian dance. Here’s something else to fall in love with.
Second of 2 parts
[Editor’s Note: Part 1, “And the Winner Is…,” ran March 8.] The real founder of Legendary Hollywood (remember it’s only a state of mind, not a location) was Adolph Zukor, an immigrant from Hungary.
He started out sweeping floors in a New York fur store and ended up the prosperous owner of a fur business in Chicago.
How It Started
In 1903, he entered the penny arcade business, joining forces with Marcus Loew, (who founded Loews Theatres.) In 1912, Zukor formed his own production company, "Famous Players."
Two years later, he teamed with Cecil B. DeMille, Jesse Lasky and Samuel Goldwyn (Goldfish) to form "Famous-Lasky-Paramount Pictures."
At 2 hours and 42 minutes in length, it’s inevitable that “Into Great Silence” will feel long, even a bit repetitive at times. It’s the kind of movie length that, without any intermissions, is liable to induce fidgeting and the occasional leg cramp. But if that’s the price for experiencing a sublime cinematic achievement, so be it. It’s a small price, and well worth paying.
As the almost legendary story behind the film goes, directed by Phillip Groening asked the Order of the Carthusians to film at their Grande Chartreuse monastery in 1984. They said the time was not yet right — perhaps it would be in 10 years or so. Sixteen years later, Groning receives a call telling him that the time had come. Equipped with various cameras and essentially alone in filming, he spent six months documenting the monks.
Culver City High School’s Academy of Visual and Performing Arts’ musical, The Cradle Will Rock, by Marc Blitzstein, which opens a 10-day run tonight, is a clamor of contradictions.
If you were to run a search on William Wilberforce, religion, and the abolition of slavery, you’d come across a small controversy about “Amazing Grace” that hasn’t spilled over into the headlines. There are those who would use Wilberforce as an example of how atheism failed to abolish slavery where religion succeeded, while others point out that Wilberforce wasn’t as shiny, holy or even important as he’s made out to be. But the arguments aren’t particularly illuminating.
First of 2 parts
Michael Hall, owner of the Fine Arts Theatre, Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Hills, sent me an invitation to view the 79th Academy Awards on the big screen in high definition television at his 450-seat auditorium.
I drove there with my partner, Ken Lock, grabbed a box of popcorn. Along with 200 other non-contenders, I sat back in a plush seat and watched the drama unfolding from the Kodak Theatre.
It may sound nit-pickey.
But what was missing from the event was the glamour of earlier years.
Factory Girl: The title is appropriately loaded with meaning given the story were offered. Edie Sedgwick (Miller) the conflicted ingénue and socialite was a factory girl in the sense that she was taken in by Andy Warhol (Pearce) to hang out at his wild New York art studio. But just as Warhols art was produced, assembly-line style, by his superstars, so was Edie processed and chewed out in the assembly line of people Warhol took in, propelled to greater fame, and eventually discarded. A girl at the factory, a tragic product of the assembly line. Sienna Miller does a more than credible job portraying Edie, evoking irresistible likeability tempered by the dark gloom of her self-destructive tendencies.
Freakonomics
The only thing freaky about this book is its popularity.
Why has Freakonomics (HarperCollins: 2005) been such the rage?
We couldn’t find anything new or original in it.
Recycling Old News
Economic and moral incentives working behind-the-scenes to influence various situations — from theft of bagels to cheating at sports — is hardly a new discovery.
The author even begins one sentence at the end of the book by saying,
The Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences deserves a huzzah this year for giving us a bit of variety with their Oscar nominees. This is the first year in recent memory in which it seems as if no single film is set to dominate. Instead, there’s a chance for extraordinary achievements to be found and recognized everywhere.
Of course, what everyone is dying to know for Sunday’s Academy Awards show is, what picture does the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences think is the best for 2006? Let’s look at:
