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March '16 Digital Week II

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Parent Category: Film and the Arts
Category: Reviews
Published on Wednesday, 09 March 2016 04:23
Written by Kevin Filipski
Blu-rays of the Week
Coming Home 
(Sony Classics)
His latest collaboration with muse Gong Li finds director Zhang Yimou in a melancholic mood with a story set during China's Cultural Revolution about a family torn apart when the father is jailed: upon his return 20 years later, his wife doesn’t believe that it’s him.
 
Gong heartbreakingly transforms from loving wife and mother to a woman unable to process a "new" reality in a sensitive drama that comments obliquely on Mao's destructive policies. The film has a splendid hi-def transfer; extras are a director's commentary and Toronto Film Festival Q&A.
 
In Defense of Food 
(PBS)
Author Michael Pollan, who has written several books about our dangerous eating habits and getting back to healthy basics, has branched out into television with his Netflix series Cooked and this important two-hour film about how far we've strayed from good food in order to continue giving the public cheaper if less healthful options.
 
As always, Pollan's pertinent points are made with both humor and a seriousness that doesn't become sanctimonious; he valiantly defends proper eating habits against both governmental and corporate villains. The hi-def transfer is first-rate.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
In the Heart of the Sea
(Warner Bros)
Ron Howard has never been a director to admire—even his Oscar-winning A Beautiful Mind was too gooey by half—but he deserves plaudits for his absorbing adaptation of Nathaniel Philbrick's book about a real whaling ship calamity in 1820 that was the basis of Herman Melville's classic novel Moby-Dick.
 
Howard admirably succeeds at showing the simultaneous majesty and horror of the unknown sea in this large-scaled, old-fashioned adventure. The film has a superb hi-def transfer; extras include several making-of featurettes and interviews, and deleted and extended scenes.
 
Jane B. par Agnès V./Kung Fu Master! 
(Cineliciouspics)
French director Agnès Varda's long and varied career—her 1961 debut is the New Wave classic Cleo from 5 to 7, while her last feature, the 2008 self-portrait The Beaches of Agnès,is also among her best—includes the middling entries included here: 1987's Master, with Jane Birkin and Varda's son Mathieu, and a Birkin portrait, Jane B.
 
Especially coming on the heels of her masterly Vagabond, both films are indisputably slight, but it's interesting to see an artist strike out in different, if not always successful, directions. Both films have been restored and look sparkling on Blu; extras comprise new Varda interviews about both films.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Strange Brew 
(Warner Bros)
Bob and Doug McKenzie were the spiritual godfathers of Wayne and Garth—it’s no surprise that Mike Myers, like Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas (who co-starred, co-directed and co-wrote this), is Canadian—but the McKenzies' fitfully amusing 1983 feature doesn’t have the silly comic gravitas of Wayne's World.
 
Moranis and Thomas work hard, and even manage a few good laughs, but their satirical look at their laidback homeland is more smile-inducing than gut-busting. The movie looks decent if soft on Blu; extras comprise three short featurettes.
 
The Tribe 
(Drafthouse Films)
In Myroslav Slaboshpytsky's astonishingly fearless drama, there is no dialogue or subtitles to follow a group of deaf-mutes through a brutishly nasty world of passion, sex, dog-eat-dog violence and—in two unsettling, even upsettingly clinical sequences—abortion and murder.
 
Slaboshpytsky could be criticized for showing the worst of humanity within an insular community, but it's been directed so persuasively and enacted so fiercely by an accomplished deaf-mute cast (led by Griogriy Fesenko and Yana Novikova) that its rawness is impossible to turn away from. The film looks luminous on Blu-ray; extras are a director's commentary, Novikova interview and the director's 2010 short, Deafness. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CDs of the Week
Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here Symphonic 
(Decca)
Since Pink Floyd's music already has a symphonic quality, it's unsurprising that these orchestral arrangements of the band's classic 1975 album work—to an extent: conductor/arranger Peter Scholes and the London Orion Orchestra sound best on the multi-part "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" suites.
 
Still, David Gilmour's peeling, powerful electric and acoustic guitar playing is missed despite the presence of two able guitarists; guest musicians include pianist Rick Wakeman and none other than Alice Cooper, who sings the title song and "Welcome to the Machine."
 
Sweet Charity—Original London Cast Recording 
(Masterworks Broadway)
In this immensely entertaining 1966 musical loosely based on the classic Fellini film The Nights of Cabiria, Juliet Prowse’s endearing Charity boisterously blasts Cy Coleman's lively "If My Friends Can See Me Now" and "I'm a Brass Band," while costars Josephine Blake and Paula Kelly knock "Big Spender" out of the park.
 
Director-choreographer Bob Fosse's wife Gwen Verdon—who originated Charity on Broadway—isn’t entirely missed because this is audio-only: she was made for Fosse's slinky, suggestive dance moves. And happily, Prowse is a more than capable vocal replacement in this original London cast recording.

March '16 Digital Week I

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Parent Category: Film and the Arts
Category: Reviews
Published on Wednesday, 02 March 2016 00:27
Written by Kevin Filipski
Blu-rays of the Week
American Horror Project—Volume 1 
(Arrow USA)
Arrow's new boxed-set series is off to an inauspicious start with a trio of forgettable flicks: 1973's Malatesta's Carnival of Blood, an inept midway-set cannibal shocker; 1976's The Witch Who Came from the Sea, a strange drama about a woman whose gruesome fantasies may just be reality; and 1976's The Premonition, a goofy thriller about a deranged woman who steals a young child claiming she's her real mother. 
 
Except for Millie Perkins' bravura performance in Witch, there's little distinction to these films, and fewer frightening moments. There are fine hi-def transfers; intros, commentaries, featurettes, interviews and short films round out a packed extras slate that also includes a 60-page booklet and stylish collectible box.
 
Burt Bacharach—A Life in Song 
(Eagle Rock)
The legendary career of one of the last century's notable songwriters is honored with this concert at London's Royal Albert Hall, with Bacharach himself onstage discussing his songs, and the likes of Rebecca Ferguson, the Moody Blues' Justin Hayward and Alfie Boe (recently seen in The Who's Quadrophenia concert) singing his classics "Alfie, " "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head," "I Say a Little Prayer" and "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?" 
 
There's a certain sameness to hearing some two dozen Bacharach songs back to back, but there's no denying their craft and polish; alongside impassioned singing is exemplary playing by Bacharach and his own band. Hi-def video and audio are first-rate; extras are three bonus songs.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Creed 
(Warner Bros)
In Ryan Coogler's auspicious reboot of the Rocky Balboa/Apollo Creed franchise, Michael B. Jordan consolidates his charismatic star power as Apollo's boxing son Adonis, while Sylvester Stallone still makes an endearing Rocky, perfectly encapsulating the movie's mix of nostalgia and moving on with the story. 
 
Although way overlong, with overdone fight sequences—especially the final bout that turns into an anti-climax—but Creed is both an old-fashioned and new-fangled crowd-pleaser. The film's grit remains on Blu; extras are featurettes and deleted scenes.
 
The Danish Girl 
(Universal)
In Tom Hooper's biopic about Einer Wegener, the early 20th century Swedish painter who was among the first men to surgically transition to a woman, Eddie Redmayne is almost too spot-on in his portrayal, ending up more convincing during the wrenching physical changes near the film's end. 
 
The chilly movie's heart, however, is the remarkable Alicia Vikander, earning huge sympathy (and an Oscar) as Einer's faithful wife and fellow painter Gerda. It is her through her eyes that we see this incredible and still-relevant story, even if Hooper's clinical direction keeps us at an emotional remove. The movie looks great on Blu; lone extra is a making-of featurette.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Fall—Series 2 
(Acorn)
After serial killer Paul Spector escapes and flees town, Detective Superintendent Stella Gibson (Gillian Anderson) remains on his trail, especially after he commits another heinous crime. 
 
Along with Anderson's strong performance, Jamie Dornan's Spector is a truly scary villain, and the supporting cast—including Archie Panjabi and John Lynch as Gibson's associates—rounds out an estimable cops-and-robbers team. The hi-def transfer is excellent; extras comprise a behind-the-scenes featurette and deleted scenes.
 
Frankenstein 
(Alchemy)
Writer-director Bernard Rose—creator of the intriguing Immortal Beloved, about Beethoven, and the creepy Candyman—updated Mary Shelley's classic with unfortunate results: aside from extreme gore, it doesn't add much to the timeless, horrifying story. 
 
Xavier Samuel does what he can, especially as the creature gets progressively more monstrous and horrible—and human; Carrie-Anne Moss and Danny Huston are wasted as the doctors who brought him to life and who try to defend themselves when he vengefully returns. There's a stellar hi-def transfer.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Good Dinosaur 
(Disney)
The latest Pixar entry is an uproarious comedy about Arlo the dinosaur, living in a world that he shares with humans, since the meteor that might have caused all dinosaurs to go extinct ended up missing the planet completely. 
 
As always, the animation and the humor are clever, while the friendship between Arlo and a young boy is touching, making this another perfect Pixar pic for children and parents. The Blu-ray image is exceptionally detailed; extensive extras include filmmakers' commentary and interviews, promo clip, featurettes and deleted scenes.
 
DVD of the Week
The Summer of Sangaile 
(Strand)
In this bracing low-key romance, Lithuanian writer-director Alanté Kavaïté follows the developing relationship between two 17-year-old young women (played with sensitivity by lead actresses Julija Steponaitytė and Aistė Diržiūtė) during summer vacation. 
 
Refreshingly,  Kavaïté presents his lesbian couple at face value, giving us a sympathetic portrait of young love at its most authentic.

Broadway Revivals—Forest Whitaker in "Hughie," Danny Burstein in "Fiddler on the Roof"

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Parent Category: Film and the Arts
Category: Reviews
Published on Tuesday, 01 March 2016 15:40
Written by Kevin Filipski

Hughie
Written by Eugene O’Neill; directed by Michael Grandage
Performances through June 12, 2016

Fiddler on the Roof
Book by Joseph Stein; music by Jerry Bock; lyrics by Sheldon Harnick; directed by Bartlett Sher
Opened December 20, 2015

Frank Wood and Forest Whitaker in Hughie (photo: Mark Brenner)


Despite its brevity (55 minutes), Eugene O’Neill’s Hughie is a full-bodied character study masquerading as a monologue. On Broadway in 1996, I saw Al Pacino tackle the role of Erie Smith, a down-on-his-luck gambler returning to his fleabag hotel after a drunken five-day bender precipitated by the death of the hotel’s desk clerk Hughie.
 
Pacino gave a terrifically likeable performance full of vitality and not a little self-pity, which is what Forest Whitaker sometimes taps into in Michael Grandage’s sturdy but stiff staging. O’Neill composed what’s essentially a symphony for an actor who hits all the usual notes—sorrow and laughter, anger and heartbreak, resignation and defiance, all in the face of death—that the playwright returned to throughout his storied career, neatly encapsulated in his rarely-done one-acter.
 
Whitaker prowls Christopher Oram’s imposing set—this rundown hotel's staircase and revolving entrance doors are too grandiose, but that's what's needed on a big Broadway stage—so as not to be swallowed up in it. He also heavily relies on O’Neill’s humor; however engaging he is, however, there’s little to suggest that Erie is preoccupied with thoughts of death.
 
Whitaker is flawlessly complemented by Frank Wood as the clerk to whom Erie pours his heart out. While rarely speaking, Wood offers a textbook lesson in how to interact with another actor onstage. Hughie might be minor O’Neill, but even this less than ideal production provides another glimpse into his tortured mindset.
 
Danny Burstein (center) in Fiddler on the Roof (photo: Joan Marcus)
 
Beloved since its 1964 Broadway premiere, Fiddler on the Roof has had its classic status consolidated by the long-winded 1971 movie starring Topol and by several ensuing revivals, of which Bartlett Sher's grandly entertaining production, with a particularly winning Danny Burstein as Tevye, is the latest.
 
Notwithstanding an unnecessary prologue and epilogue in which Burstein plays a parka-wearing tourist, guidebook in hand, visiting the show's fictional town of Anatevka, Sher's fleet staging, spacious but intimate, shows off his canny ability to make over-familiar musicals seem fresh and alive, like his current King and I. Sher's first-rate production team—choreographer Hofesh Shechter, costumer Catherine Zuber, set designer Michael Yeargan, soundman Scott Lehrer and lighting designer Donald Holder—again proves adept at clarifying the perfect setting of another authentically classic American musical.
 
Burstein’s inspired Tevye boasts many humorous touches yet unabashedly wears heartbreak on his sleeve. This could be cloying, but it's anything but: Burstein catches the nuances of this rich character while making such touchstone songs as "Tradition" and "If I Were a Rich Man" his own. Tevye's marriageable daughters are played with spunky charm by Alexandra Silber, Samantha Massell and Melanie Moore; their rendition of "Matchmaker, Matchmaker" is another highlight.
 
This Fiddler isn't perfect: as Tevye's wife Golde, Jessica Hecht gives the same mannered, fussy performance we’ve seen from her for years. And the final images are too on the nose referencing the current Syrian refugee crisis. But Sher's production provides further proof that, when it comes to tuneful musicals with staying power, this one by songsmith Jerry Bock, lyricist Sheldon Harnick and book writer Joseph Stein is miles ahead of anything more "modern." 


Hughie
Booth Theatre, 222 West 45th Street, New York, NY
hughiebroadway.com

Fiddler on the Roof
Broadway Theatre, Broadway and 53rd Street, New York, NY
fiddlermusical.com

The Creepiest Build Your Own Adventure Game Yet

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Parent Category: Film and the Arts
Category: Reviews
Published on Wednesday, 24 February 2016 02:39
Written by Catherina Gioino

Screaming rats. Possessed humans. A non-gender specific student astronaut.
Of all the things I was told I can be, I never thought I would ever get a chance to be a student astronaut. I mean, astronaut, yeah, I can do that, but not a student astronaut, let alone one lost in space with screaming rats and possessed humans.

Introducing Lifeline, an interactive text-based story app detailing the adventures of Taylor, a student astronaut who contacts you after Taylor’s ship crashed and is all alone. You lead the character through multiple stories, protecting this random person from the elements and whatever mysteries lie out there in the world.

Just recently named App of the Week on the iTunes store, Lifeline was launched in April 2015 and written by Dave Justus, under 3 Minute Games LLC, but the game is anything but. The first time you play, you abide by real time actions, like Taylor sleeping or taking an hour to walk around, or even more. Alright, so what, you ask. Well it just so happens that the story picks up right as it reaches sleepy time. You’re on the edge of your seat, you can’t tell if you made the right choice, you’ve become addicted and there’s nothing left for you to do but wait and see if he makes it out alive. This gets annoying pretty quickly, with the storyline gaining suspense and you’re subjected to waiting for time to pass, twiddling your thumbs. You could do something productive, like catch up on some Netflix or get some food, but no, you sit there staring at your phone until Taylor responds.

Don’t worry, just die. That’s right, just kill Taylor off. And trust me, that’s gonna happen more often than not, sometimes intentional and sometimes in utter frustration. For the first run through, the game makes you play it in real time, not giving you the option to speed things up. Finally, after the first time you die, the game will ask if you want to go into fast mode, despite several warnings that it is not the way that the game developers intended. But you see, you just suffered the agonizing pain of waiting for Taylor to wake up—and find death instead. So screw what Justus and 3 Minute Games think, you’re gonna go into fast mode so you can beat the game already.
 
Whoops, wrong move rookie. You just committed the worst sin known to man: willingly letting yourself become addicted and brainwashed by machines. It’s the thing Harrison Ford warns us about all the time in Blade Runner, and I’m sure Big Hero 6 had something on it as well. However, you signed your death sentence, so let’s continue.

Because you now are in fast mode, you get updates and Taylor’s annoying jokes (that push me up to on-par with Tina Fey really) immediately, meaning no waiting for Taylor to take a long walk or to sleep or anything. Great, right? Well wrong. Not only are you now always on your screen reading the texts as they come in one by one, you now feel guilty for not checking up and see what choice you have to make next. Your addiction as won the best of you and now you’re alone in the world, secluded from everyone, much akin to Taylor’s situation. So be wise with the timing of the game, because waiting is annoying but not being able to unglue yourself from the screen is a problem in itself.
 
And let’s actually talk the game play. You are Taylor’s only communication: the space ship crashed on some random planet, no astronaut friends are alive, and Taylor’s lab mice are nowhere to be found. Oh, plus the whole “being on an alien planet with no food or shelter and basically being by yourself” thing. But you know, Taylor has you to make the decisions, so don’t screw up. You guide Taylor through the planet, deciding whether a walk to a peak or a walk to the wreck site will garner you more information about what’s happening. You make the decisions, you decide what to do and whether to risk Taylor’s life.

That’s the fascinating part of the whole thing: the game is pretty simple with it being text based and all, but it’s a choose your own adventure game turned horror movie. You actually fear for Taylor’s life, you have no idea what you’re gonna eat tonight and now you’re entrusted with saving this random person? The game drags you in from the beginning and the entire time you’re always second guessing yourself, asking “what if” every time you make a decision. There’s nothing that can help you until you beat it and store the app proudly for weeks afterwards because you just can’t get rid of a masterpiece of perfect answers.
 
Everything you do leads onto something else which leads to something else and so on. That’s the magic of the game. But, that’s also where it falls short. Had the game truly been a choose your own adventure, it wouldn’t force you to follow it’s formula. From what I gathered from the Reddit and my and my friend’s times dying, there are only six or so outcomes, two positive, one neutral, and three negative.

And after realizing that a certain move dictates whether I live or not, I tried my best avoiding it. I would always choose the other option, and for a while, the game would follow suit. But then Taylor gets annoying and starts asking you about that move, and you keep saying no. Finally the game breaks and says something along the teenage angsty lines of “I don’t care what you think, I’m going where my gut feels right.” Of course, you having the knowledge of death beforehand know it’s a bad idea and you’re cursing at Taylor, but still can’t get away, because it’s just so addicting.
 
So for this sleep deprived lunatic, Lifeline is definitely worth the dollar in the app store, available for iPhones and Androids. While there are a number of setbacks, you’ll be addicted nonetheless, and then you’ll get Lifeline 2 and start it all over again. And, don’t forget to turn on the volume for some extra creepy and scary breathing—and other noises.

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  1. February '16 Digital Week IV
  2. February '16 Digital Week III
  3. An Evening of Bach with the Chamber Orchestra of New York

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