For pure unadulterated, wah-infused 70’s style this flick is hard to beat. Beyond that, it’s a pretty standard heist story. Referred by Ted

Following in the footsteps of Dog Day Afternoon is a tall order, and this film steps up to the plate. I didn’t mind the inevitable social commentary added by Spike Lee – after all, Dog Day is all about social commentary. There are the obligatory references and homages, and a reasonably fresh plot. Pretty good…

Eerily accurate skewering of indiscriminate rural white 80’s culture (with a Mormon slant) as it’s “rescued” by urban & hispanic influences. I enjoyed it, but remain somewhat mystified by the popularity that originally made me wary of the film. Maybe it’s attributable to the absolutely bizarre presentation, or the apparent idiocy of the characters. Somehow…

Before the music begins we’re intrigued by the sight of four different clarinets waiting at center stage. We’re not sure what they all are, but after some wikipedia digging I’d guess we saw soprano, alto, bass, and conta-alto clarinets there. These mysterious instruments do nothing to prepare us for the music that will come from…

I must admit this show was a kind of addiction for me, stronger at some times than others, but present at some level in my life for over a year. Now that it’s over, there is both relief and withdrawal. I’ll miss hanging out with the engagingly dysfunctional Fishers now and then. The first season…

We have to break our routine to catch this chance to see Olga Kern play, one night only, on a weeknight. We have four tickets, birthday gifts to Ann from Dad last April. Ann, in continuity with our departure from habit, invites two twin boys we know to come for their first classical concert. This…

A whodunit suffers at first from over stereotyped characters and some stiff dialogue, but recovers nicely by taking an original turn. The idea that our investigations in the world are inevitably investigations of ourselves is a good one. Referred by Ted

This book represents one of two epiphanies I’ve experienced this year. Both involve discovering something I’ve been ignorant of most of my life, but relied on heavily nonetheless. In this case the discovery is an entity crucial to my daily survival – the food chain that sustains me. It’s very revealing of our powers of…

A real story of extreme amnesia debunks some of the Hollywood amnesia mythology, leaving the piercing philosophical questions exposed. Our good fortune is that the amnesia struck a financially independent man with a video camera, who previously had a nosey friend with a video camera. So we’re able to see what might happen to a…

This Australian coming-of-age film follows the struggles of a 16-year-old girl who runs away from home to a small ski town. It does a pretty amazing job of exposing some of the difficulties of establishing relationships as a teenager, and just surviving, that shows how some painful lessons might change a person and yet leave…