Joe Wright is a literary man. Having previously adapted "Pride & Prejudice" (2005), as well as Ian McEwan's "Atonement" (2007), he's proven himself adept at making the transition from novel to feature film, making the shift into action movie territory with "Hanna" all the more beguiling.
A ticking countdown of days, hours, minutes and seconds normally indicates an event of significant importance. For example, when featured in movies, the detonation of a bomb that threatens the entirety of human existence is often preceded by ominous shots of a countdown clock attached to a complex series of wires. Countdowns are also great for holidays (see: New Year's Eve), sporting events and space shuttle launches. Countdowns are a big deal, OK?
Generally speaking, two things mixed together tend to be better than one. Chocolate−and−vanilla swirl frozen yogurt is better than either flavor individually. New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys have fused to form a new boy band supergroup with the potential to surpass all '90s fame. And the same goes for Newbury Street's Trident Booksellers & Cafe, which assumes the roles of bookshop and restaurant simultaneously.
Dale Chihuly has suffered a number of injuries. A 1976 car accident, for example, left him blind in one eye. But he has never allowed these setbacks to deter his creativity. As a highly celebrated artist among those using the glass medium — arguably the most famous since Louis Comfort Tiffany — Chihuly has created thousands of pieces during his career, ranging vastly in size and scope.
During the recent legislative budget debates, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) falsely claimed on the Senate floor that abortions account for "well over 90 percent" of what Planned Parenthood does. After it was revealed that abortion services actually count for about 3 percent, Kyl's office issued a statement that the figure was "not intended to be a factual statement," to which Stephen Colbert promptly replied on Twitter with a swarm of his own not-intended-to-be-factual statements.
Cold Cave, the musical brainchild of Wesley Eisold, has significantly evolved from its last studio album, "Love Comes Close" (2009). The band's original sound was an amalgamation of synthpop and haunting melodies showing tribute to the new-wave goth movement that Eisold discovered in New York City.
Kitsch, when wielded properly, can produce masterpieces — the Teletubbies, movies about horses, so on. It's the kind of personalized, winking absurdity that makes shows like "Jersey Shore" shine. Unfortunately, CBS' new government-themed comedic drama "CHAOS" just doesn't quite get it.
Every city has its culinary specialty. In New York, you eat pizza; in Munich, it's bratwurst; in Boston, it's the lobster roll.
What do "Two and a Half Men," "Glee," "NCIS" and "House" all have in common? To start, they are four of the most popular shows on television. But they also share a trait that is endemic throughout television and the broader entertainment industry: They are all led by white actors, with few (if any) performers of color making up the supporting casts.
I was having trouble starting this column. For whatever reason, nothing jumped out at me this week. It's not writer's block, exactly, because I wrote a few hundred words and then decided they weren't up to snuff. It was more like false starts.
Ballerinas generally don't often choose their career with the expectation that they will emerge from their time on the stage as seasoned actors. Years of daily classes with 15 other girls in black leotards accompanied by the plinking of a single pianist isn't exactly an environment that lends itself to the development of a highly tuned sense of the theatrical - that's something you learn gradually on the stage.
In an age of Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber, the understated talent of a lone man with an acoustic guitar often goes underappreciated. However, since their inception in 1991, The Mountain Goats have been breathing new life into indie folk music, and have recently started to make their music accessible to a wider fan base.
"Meek's Cutoff," Kelly Reichardt's articulate new film, is technically a Western, though it is nothing like the ones people are accustomed to seeing. The film has little in common with the cowboy pictures John Wayne and Clint Eastwood used to star in. Instead, it is actually more like Reichardt's last film, "Wendy and Lucy" (2006), in that it is a fascinating, minimalist character study of wondering and desperate individuals.
All right, there's officially a conspiracy. Big−name studios are ensnaring talented, indie−minded directors and using them to churn out shoddy films. First came the catastrophic blunder of "X−Men Origins: Wolverine" (2009), then last year's critical misfire "The Tourist" and now this. OK, in all fairness, "Source Code" isn't actually shoddy. But as a disappointing follow−up from Duncan Jones, the man who brought us "Moon" (2009), it can't help but be a heartbreaker for his fans, in spite of its relative decency.
A gaggle of students clothed in bright, silky garments huddled together onstage, clasping hands and hopping up and down on bare feet. The energy was palpable. Director Luke Jorgensen seemed swept up in the buzz of excitement, too, as he called out to the cast of Mary Zimmerman's "Arabian Nights," "This is a giant theme party, and you're about to rock the audience's world. They don't even know what they're getting into."
With the graduation of our current horde of all−knowing seniors fast approaching, it only feels right to warn the enlightened class of some impending challenges of navigating the next great hot mess: the working world. Lamentations of the unemployed quickly turn into lamentations of the over−employed. Those who work too hard, too long and for jobs that deprive them of a soul often find themselves doing things they would otherwise not do had their sanity been preserved.
"happythankyoumoreplease" tries to answer the age−old question, "How do you find love and happiness in this world?" The film sidesteps cliches by addressing these ideas in a non−sensationalist, nonurgent way, allowing the actors to blossom under the wing of writer, star and first−time director Josh Radnor.
Movie and TV comedies seem to be moving away from slapstick humor and more toward the offensive and crude. Some newer comedies have been able to pull it off. "Get Him to the Greek" (2010) and "The Hangover" (2009) are two of the best examples of comedies that truly have no borders, but have their audiences laughing uproariously throughout the entire movie.
Was your most profound moment of disillusionment when you learned that Spotty wasn't really living on your uncle's farm in upstate New York? Or maybe when you found a pack of Camels in your mother's coat pocket, though she swears she's never touched a cigarette? For me, it was reading Francine Pascal's "Sweet Valley Confidential" and discovering that the woman who created a series that forms a major building block of my identity is a complete moron and that I was possibly also a complete moron for avidly devouring these books as a kid.
