Review

WATCH CLOSELY: Black Mirror S5: Now More Digital Than Ever!

June 14, 2019
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All three episodes have intriguing storylines, with plenty of human pathos and drama: but I admit to finding the first and third episodes a bit too digitally-focused for my taste.

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Video Game Review: “Rage 2” — Time to Rage on

June 14, 2019
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This wide-angle richness — a world filled with things to do, myriad side-distractions — is the mark of exceptional game design.

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Book Review: The Critic as Wildean Artist — Peter Schjeldahl’s Elements of Surprise

June 14, 2019
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Peter Schjeldahl debunks (and praises) works of art, while also acknowledging the strategic importance of beauty.

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Film Review: “The Complete Howard Hawks” — Making American Mythology

June 13, 2019
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Director Howard Hawks’ signature statement was the depiction of the American (or mostly American) male group with a task to accomplish.

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Concert Review: Perry Farrell at City Winery — Letting It Fly, For Better and Worse

June 12, 2019
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The guy who once seemed dangerous and mysterious as frontman for Jane’s Addiction proved earnestly accessible to fans.

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Visual Arts Review: Jack Shainman Gallery: The School — “Basquiat x Warhol”

June 12, 2019
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Perhaps this review is an autopsy for which I offer an apology.

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Film Review: “The Fall of the American Empire” — Corporate Cant versus Socialist Kant

June 12, 2019
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For all its bite, Fall is oddly endearing, too, leavening its harsh portrait of money-madness with aw-shucks moments of solidarity and kindness.

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Music Review: New Releases of May 2019

June 11, 2019
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May 2019 pushed far on the Summer Hit front.

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Film Review: “Framing John DeLorean” – Back to What Might Have Been the Future  

June 10, 2019
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John DeLorean remains an unwieldy figure whose story is difficult to frame — the new film leaves much unreported and unexplored.

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Opera Review: Boston Early Music Opera’s “Orlando” — Divine Madness

June 10, 2019
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This entertaining opera is a real soap opera, given that it chronicles the fallout of the passionate protagonist’s unrequited love.

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