Review

Rock Album Review: Nick Cave’s “Wild God” — A Time for Joy

September 21, 2024
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With the release of “Wild God,” his stirring 18th studio album, it seems as if the charismatic poète maudit has achieved, and more impressively maintained, his own version of peace.

Film Reviews: Toronto International Film Festival – Mike Leigh, Edna O’Brien, Sean Baker, and Rhodesia’s Last Days

September 20, 2024
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The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) had much to offer this year, once you walked through construction debris to get to the theaters. Here are some films worthy of note. 

Theater Review: “The Hound of the Baskervilles” — More Frenzied Than Funny

September 20, 2024
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As the run continues, the torrent of gags will probably settle into place and proper narrative rhythms emerge. But for now, the game’s aground.

Theater Review: “The Hombres” — Calming the Savage Beast

September 19, 2024
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There’s plenty of potential in Tony Meneses’ script about men sharing their inner lives with other men, but it is filled with too many silent types.

Book Reviews: Joan Acocella and Andrea Marcolongo — Writers Who Think Fearlessly

September 19, 2024
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Joan Acocella is more than a critic. She is a thinker, writing at a time when thinkers are not valued much, when exegesis in places other than scholarly journals sometimes seems like a lost art.

Book Review: “We Solve Murders” — A Slight Whodunit

September 19, 2024
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This novel is a fun, light read. But best-selling author Richard Osman needs to take more time to delve into his characters if he wants to equal his previous cozy mysteries.

Television Review: FX’s “English Teacher” — Educating During the Culture Wars

September 19, 2024
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“English Teacher” is a wearier, snarkier version of “Abbott Elementary”.

Classical Album Review: American Organ Concertos, Performed With Plenty of Swagger

September 18, 2024
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Paul Jacobs, the day’s reigning organ virtuoso, has assayed a fascinating assortment of Americana that showcases the King of Instruments against an orchestra.

Book Review: “Prison Life: Pain, Resistance, and Purpose” — No Man Should be an Island

September 18, 2024
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What Ian O’Donnell underlines so powerfully in “Prison Life” is the necessity of positive human interaction anywhere, including among incarcerated citizens.

Opera Album Review: Baroque Music Enlivens the Boston Music Scene and Two New French Recordings

September 17, 2024
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The Boston Early Music Festival announces its 2024-25 season, and our critic welcomes world-premiere recordings of operas by Mondonville and Destouches, splendidly sung and glitteringly played.

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