Ann Lemons Pollack
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The Price
The musty, dusty attic makes one’s fingers simply itch to touch things, to peek into dresser drawers, to handle 78-rpm records, to pluck a string from an old harp that stands partially covered, probably out of tune, to put a record on an old Victrola and hear the phony Irish accents of Mr. Gallagher and
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The Company Men
A review for "The Company Men" ran here on Jan. 21, two weeks before the opening of the film today. To read it click here The film will be on a number of screens, beginning today.
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My Dog Tulip
The love between people and their pets creates a strange and permanent bond, rarely shown better than in the intimate and fascinating "My Dog Tulip," following the 15-year relationship between English author and critic, J. R. Ackerley, and the German shepherd he rescued. The dog, named Queenie, was renamed for Ackerley's memoir and for the
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Biutiful
Javier Bardem is a great actor. Great actors seek challenges in almost every role, but Bardem may have overreached a little in "Biutiful," which opens here today. It's not that the role of the tragic Uxbal is too much for him, but that the entire film, and the confused direction of Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, provide
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Another Year
English writer-director Mike Leigh has a very sharp eye for the foibles of his countrymen, their manners and morals, their attitudes. “Another Year,” which opens today features a pair of interesting people, acted brilliantly by Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen as Tom and Gerri (the writer’s little joke?). They are in their 60s, quite successful,
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Boxing Gym
Frederick Wiseman is one of our greatest documentary filmmakers. In more than 40 years, he has directed 37 movies depicting the cruelty of an insane asylum, the glory of a sports arena, the beauty of a park, the discipline of ballet, to name just a few. His latest, "Boxing Gym," which opens today as part
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This Week’s Wine, February 2, 2011
The opportunity to open a good Zinfandel always lowers the odds for a delightful dining experience. Opening four of them is almost as much fun as winning a lottery. And when the wines come from Sonoma County's Dry Creek Valley, under the label of Dry Creek Vineyards, they can be opened with confidence. A recent
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Babbo’s Spaghetteria
It’s no secret that Babbo’s Spaghetteria in Chesterfield is a sibling of Sugo’s Spaghetteria in Frontenac. But the distance between the restaurants is considerably more than the 11 or so miles door to door. The crowd is different, even though the menu is similar, and the vibe is different, despite many similarities in the décor.
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Shadowlands
Joan Didion's husband dropped dead at their dinner table. C. S. Lewis' wife died in a hospital after a three-year battle with cancer. Two stage versions of those tragedies have opened in the last fortnight, with "Shadowlands," the William Nicholson drama about the late-life romance between Lewis and American poet Joy Davidman Gresham, took the