Theater/Film Reviews
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Brighton Rock
This is the second time around for "Brighton Rock," from a Graham Greene masterpiece. It's not quite up to the 1947 original, when a young Richard Attenborough, later to direct "Gandhi," made Pinkie Brown into a frightening killer, but it's an effective thriller with fine performances from Andrea Riseborough as Rose, who loves Pinkie beyond
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The Swell Season
"The Swell Season" is not an overture to autumn, but the name of a singing duo — he's Irish, she's Czech — and a film about their adventures in the folk-rock world. It opens tomorrow as part of the Webster University Film Series, and like all movies about performers, if you like the group, you'll
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The Interrupters
No, "The Interrupters" is not a comedy about rude people at a cocktail party. Despite its unfortunate title, it's a sad documentary film about an attempt to reduce the number of young black men murdered by other young black men in Chicago. Directed, photographed and co-edited by Steve James, who directed "Hoop Dreams," about eager,
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Falling
For almost all of its 75 minutes, "Falling" is a tense, gripping piece of theater, a visit with a family bound so tightly together that a seismic split is peering over our shoulder.Right there! There it is! But playwright Deanna Jent, ducking much of her responsibility as an author, tosses us a rubber bone when
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Chasing Madoff
It's extremely difficult to make a film when the title character shows up only briefly, and then in handcuffs, but that was only the first giant problem that faced Jeff Prosserman when he set out to make a movie from "No One Would Listen," Harry Markopolos' book about his decade-long struggle to get someone —
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The Tree
With supernatural beings all around us, nesting in the widest variety of places, there’s no reason not to believe that the spirit of Peter O’Neill is living in the giant Moreton Bay fig tree that grows outside his house. “The Tree,” which opens here today, is a tale about the tree and Peter’s eight-year-old daughter,
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Senna
Ayrton Senna was a dominant force among Formula One drivers for almost a decade in the 1980s and 90s, until he was killed in a crash at the San Marino Gran Prix in 1994. Born in Brazil in 1960, into a well-to-do family, he's the subject of an exciting documentary, "Senna," which uses brilliantly edited
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This Way of Life
The story of Peter and Colleen Karena and their six children is not about to send thousands of Americans to the North Island of New Zealand, to live in tents on a beach and to wrangle some four dozen horses. The Karenas are the stars of “This Way of Life,” a strange way indeed. The
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Guys
As we approach the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, it’s only proper that “The Guys,” the first play to react to the terrible day, receive a St. Louis production. It’s a good one, too, with Alan Knoll and Laurie McConnell offering excellent work. The play opened last night in a Crestwood Court performance space,
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Our Idiot Brother
Ned is so innocent and trusting that he counts his money on the New York subway and then, when something distracts him, he hands it to a total stranger to hold while he deals with the distraction. No wonder he’s the title character in “Our Idiot Brother,” a charming, very funny comedy that opens here