Lost in perfection, or Tokyo
There are several scenes in Lost in Translation (opens Friday, September 26, at the Little), Sofia Coppola’s brilliant follow-up to The Virgin Suicides, that were blindingly hysterical on the big screen. But somehow, as I sit down to write this review, they just don’t seem as funny on my little screen. I know what I…
Almost squeaky clean
Because it won prizes at Canadian fringe festivals, I expected Clean Irene and Dirty Maxineto be an edgy example of experimental, counterculture theater. In fact, it’s a cute, family entertainment. Anna Chatterton and Evalyn Parry, the talented two young women who created and play it, are likable and frisky. Except for their occasional, seemingly unmotivated…
Sex and punishment in Ireland
A scene occurring rather late in The Magdalene Sisters shows a group of female inmates of a peculiar Irish Catholic institution known as a Magdalene Asylum, along with the nuns who supervise them, gathered on Christmas Day to watch a movie effusively introduced by the mother superior. The movie of course is The Bells of…
Cash died of a broken heart
by Frank De Blase A world where no Republican is safe: anywhere New York City’s Ed Hamell is performing. Hamell’s Thursday, September 11, show at Milestones was edgy and engaging. His lyrics and between-song banter were hysterical — not just with their occasional absurdity but with barefaced insight and honesty. Sure, Hamell plays acoustic, but…
Facing the crisis
Picture Monroe County with its public parks abandoned, trails and shelters in disrepair, Highland’s lilacs and conservatory a shambles, Ontario Beach permanently closed. Some arts organizations and museums shuttered and others dramatically reducing their offerings. The zoo shut down, the airport in disrepair, roads full of potholes. Residents and businesses fleeing a city that…
News briefs 9.24.03
Marshall James by Dan Bindert I was saddened to hear the news last weekend of Nightstalkers singer Marshall James’ passing. I remember the first time I heard him sing. It was at the Runway Lounge by the airport, back in the late ’80s. He had the type of voice that sliced through the cigarette smoke…
A room of her own
We are quite often interested in artists who have exceptional lives. And if those lives involve scandal, intrigue, or illness, we become fascinated. This fascination manifests itself not only in the biographical, but in the work itself. We want to see the life illustrated in the work of these artists — Vincent Van Gogh…
Reader feedback 9.24.03
Latin sounds, praised; VA, Wegmans panned
Learning curve
Part II of a two-part article
Hocus focus
The first in an occasional series exploring the impact of continued corporate downsizing on the region. Thanks of a special sort are in order: Pop guru Spencer Johnson, co-author of The One Minute Manager and purported master of “taking complex subjects and presenting simple solutions,” also has given the world Who Moved My Cheese? …
Will PaeTec bail out?
The city is committed. The state — following a tumultuous week where it looked like things might fall apart — is committed. The Rhinos, certainly, are committed to getting a soccer-specific stadium built in Rochester. So is the team still feeling the love from its stadium’s namesake, PaeTec Communications? The Perinton-based telecommunications company…
Going bust
Monroe County is in deep trouble — Marianus Trench deep. Staggering deficits, crushing taxes, youth flight, jobs vacuum, partisan bickering, and a stagnant economy spell a bleak future unless we start turning things around, and quick. How bad is bad? Business leader Tom Richards goes so far as to say that the city of…
