The third and latest LP from indie singer-songwriter and composer Julia Holter proffers a vision of urban ecstasy.
Review
Fuse Theater Review: Barrington Stage Company Serves up a Lavish “Much Ado”
From the first clearly projected lines to the last, it’s obvious that director Julianne Boyd set out to direct a production of Much Ado where language rules supreme.
Jazz CD Reviews: John Scofield’s “Überjam Deux” and Dave Holland’s “Prism”
Dave Holland’s Prism tells stories, several of which are very effective. Scofield’s, like his earlier Überjam releases, extends the jam-band esthetic into jazz without completely giving in to it. And neither of them would be as they are without the great looming shadow of Miles Davis.
Film Review: “Blue Jasmine” — Woody Allen’s Evocative Triumph
What carries Blue Jasmine over the moon is the breathtaking, Oscar-worthy performance of Cate Blanchett, whose tortured Park Avenue socialite on the skids is among the most stunning performances by an actress in years.
Film Review: “Lovelace” — A Provocatively Written, Well-Acted Biopic
Amanda Seyfried gives a sensitive performance as Linda Lovelace; Peter Sarsgaard is chilling as Chuck Traynor, the abusive husband who saw her as sex-object and potential money-making machine.
Film Review: “Elysium” — The Sound and Fury of CGI Signifying … Not Much
Overall, Elysium is an entertaining distraction posing as a meaningful global allegory.
Film Review: “Le Pont du Nord” — An Entertaining Exercise in Playful Dis-Ease
This entertaining and provocative work, made in 1981 by the now 85-year-old director, fits into his oeuvre as a complement to his best known movie among American art-film fans, 1974’s Céline and Julie Go Boating.
Theater Review: “Laughing Stock” Redux
The current revival of Laughing Stock, directed again by the playwright, has softer edges than I remember in the earlier one, played with fluidity rather than crackle.
Theater Review: Shakespeare & Co Mounts a Powerful Staging of “Mother Courage”
Olympia Dukakis makes good on her desire to evoke the weakness the indomitable Mother Courage fights so hard to cover up: the actress conveys the highs and lows of this gargantuan character with enormous power.
Fuse Album Review: Mark Dresser’s “Nourishments” — Music Tough and Pretty, Smart and Fun
Nourishments is an emphatic musical statement from a seasoned bandleader, returning to the front of a traditional quintet.