Theater/Film Reviews
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I Love You, Beth Cooper
With all the teen-aged boys acting as bullies or nerds, and all the girls of similar ages painted as sluts, and both genders looking to hook up in a mass drunken orgy, we have "I Love You, Beth Cooper," in which nerds triumph over bullies, and coincidentally lose their virginity, on the night they graduate
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The Stoning of Soroya M.
It is only fair warning to point out the horror and fright one faces during "The Stoning of Soraya M.," a powerful statement against cruelty, sadism and sexism in terms of the ultimate power of the male/husband in Iran, if not in the entire Middle East. But a 20-minute scene of a woman being stoned
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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Another sequel? Yes, another sequel, but it’s a pleasure to report that the response is more of an oh-boy than a ho-hum. The legendary English schoolboy returns in "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", which opens today. The plot has advanced, and the actors are a little older, but most have not lost any of
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Painting Churches
Theater at its finest – a rich, literate script; poised, thoughtful direction and unvarnished but deeply moving acting – is on stage at little Insight Theatre’s space at Nerinx Hall, and it’s a joy to see all the pieces come together in a rich, rewarding production of "Painting Churches," which opened on Friday to run
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The Rocky Horror Show
A vital part of the late night theater experience since it first opened in Athens, where Aeschylus, Sophocles, Aristophanes and their pals sat in the audience and took notes, "The Rocky Horror Show" arrived in St. Louis again the other night, offering a history-and-trivia lesson at the Tower Grove Abbey, where it will run through
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Tokyo Sonata
Strange. Very strange. That’s "Tokyo Sonata," opening here today, the latest effort from Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurasawa. The film begins with the firing of the man of the house, Ryokei (Teruyiki Kagewa), continues as he constructs an elaborate tissue of lies, dressing in coat and tie every morning, taking briefcase as he leaves the house,
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Moon
Sam Rockwell delivers an exciting performance in "Moon," almost a one-man tour de force. He co-stars with himself and with the voice of Kevin Spacey in a tense, entertaining drama that will offer moments of comparison with "2001" and others of the genre. It opens today. Rockwell, as Sam Bell, has been living alone on
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Whatever Works
Welcome home, Woody After shooting fitfully funny films in England and Spain, Woody Allen returns to New York, and, working in predictable territory, brings forth an oh-so-predictable movie, "Whatever Works", and if he doesn't blast a home run out of the park, he rifles a double off the wall. With a script written for Zero
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Barrymore
One-person shows, especially about actors, are major problems for small theater companies. With few exceptions, these are about great actors, and small St. Louis companies don’t have great actors. They have very good actors, like John Contini in "Barrymore," which opened over the weekend as a production of the Avalon Theatre Company at its space
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Cheri
Michelle Pfeiffer, as Lea, is uncommonly beautiful, glittering like a diamond and equally hard. As an actress, she’s sometimes satisfactory, mostly inadequate, as she shows (but never too much, in terms of skin) in "Cheri." On the other hand, Kathy Bates, as Charlotte, may be plus-sized and voluptuous, but she’s a splendid actress, and her