Waiting in line with 18 to Party
December 4, 2020
18 to Party peaks early, which is one thing a party should avoid. Its opening shot is also its most memorable image: a slow truck across a tableau of
Chris Shalom
The Matchmaker offers a few inspired moments of slapstick and some surprises
February 1, 2019
The Arts Club production of Thornton Wilder’s The Matchmaker is a nostalgia piece, but at least it’s nostalgic for something good. The play’s wry one-liners crackle as much as ever,
The Return of Marshall Mathers: The Mad Clown Remains
November 4, 2013
I admit it – I was kinda ticked off when “Rap God” came out in advance of Eminem’s new album, The Marshall Mathers LP 2. The album’s first single, “Berzerk”,
An Event Well Worth the Wait – Deltron 3030
October 3, 2013
Remember when this album was coming out in 2007? In a way, Event II arrives with a clean slate. Three years after Deltron 3030, the prospect of a second album
“Blackout”: Indie Hollywood
September 20, 2013
Indie filmmakers take one of two routes with no-budget features. They can do their own thing (Clerks, Buffalo 66, other defining films of the US indie explosion) or they can
‘Something Else’ Is Some of Tech N9ne’s Best Yet
July 31, 2013
If you don’t like Tech N9ne… well, you’re not alone. The Kansas City rapper tends to alienate some listeners with his dark tone, some with his aggressive Chopper style, and
As Lynchian As Ever
July 21, 2013
On DVDs of David Lynch movies, there are no chapter stops. Lynch refuses them. He sees his films as dreams, their impact emotional rather than argumentative. They should be experienced
No Expiration Date Yet
July 8, 2013
The godfather of Canadian hip hop is as fresh as ever. Maestro Fresh Wes’ album Orchestrated Noise, which he describes as a conceptual extension of his breakout album Symphony in
The Price is Wrong
May 2, 2013
At Any Price is boring, but that doesn’t count against it quite as much as you might think. Partway through its running time, the film’s affably conventional melodrama somehow achieves
Bastards is old news
April 16, 2013
Director Craig Scott Rosebraugh is clearly very aware of his film’s precarious position. On one hand, the film argues that doubts around global warming are so flagrantly opposed to scientific
Does Anyone Know the Score?
April 14, 2013
I admit it – I don’t get it. There’s a wonderful tone to David McFadden’s What’s the Score?, and it’s philosophically evocative, and some of its individual lines are striking.
Evil Dead is Horror Worth Remaking
April 6, 2013
Well, the buzz was 50,000 gallons of fake blood, and the surprise is that it’s well used. Even more strange, the buzz was a well-designed, not overly-derivative remake of a
