I picked Satin Arabesque 31 as today's fractal cookie for one simple reason--the red and white color scheme is always used in programs and advertisements for the musical Annie. Now--on with the review!
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I feel like I've seen Annie at least a million times: the reality is that it has only been about half a dozen between the stage and screen. (Still--it feels like a million but maybe that's just me...) The latest production I saw (via Performance Riverside) doesn't add anything new to my experience and only served to reinforce my notions about the show. Annie is a broadly-drawn cartoon of a musical (based on a broadly-drawn cartoon--so maybe that's not such a bad thing). The show is sappy-sweet with a few good numbers with a script to match. The show has one note--full on: everything runs full-out with no subtlety whatsoever. Still, the whole thing is sweetly harmless fun for the whole family. Maybe that's not such a bad thing but it is what it is.
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Jaidyn Young is a classic Annie--cute as a button with a paint-peeling belt that can paste you to the back wall. She did well with what she was given although I did notice a couple of pretty serious voice "cracks" during Act II. (Is her voice changing or did she simply not have the vocal strength to keep up with the whole show?) The chorus of orphan girls are cute but very LOUD. Rhett Guter (as Rooster) so far outperformed Kirklyn Robinson as Miss Hannigan that it was almost embarrassing: either he needs to bring his performance way down or she needs to bring hers way up.
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The rest of the cast was adequate if not stand out in their performance with one exception, Sutton--the dog who played Sandy. One of the most difficult aspects of mounting a non-professional production of this show is casting the dog. (I've seen everything from an apricot Poodle to a German Shepherd Seeing-Eye Dog play the role.) This poor doggie-dog was clearly not into his part: yes, he hit his marks but really didn't seem to be having a good time--and he couldn't get off stage fast enough. Ah well--such is the problem with working with kids and dogs.
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Technically the show had some ups-and-downs, the nine-piece orchestra played well enough but it wouldn't be a performance at the Landis without some sound mixing issues. The costumes looked rented (and cheap) and the sets were on par with a good high school production. The choreography was nice if not overly complex.
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Annie isn't a show for jaded old grumps like me: still, the show is a fast-paced, easy to follow and fun for the whole family. It's a great show for grandparents to take their grandchildren to or for those who don't regularly attend the theater to cut their teeth on. Even so--it doesn't hold up to repeated viewings so go once, enjoy it and then leave.
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FINAL GRADE: C+
I can't think of a better fractal "cookie" for my review of Titanic 3D than Waterdeep. The connection seems pretty obvious to me. Now that I've said it--on with the review!
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Unless you've been living under a rock (or at the very least boycotting movie theaters) you probably already know the story told in Titanic. If you're not familiar with the history you probably know the movie--the love story, the epic effects the sheer spectacle on screen and the near-record setting take at the Oscars--not to mention becoming the world's highest-grossing movie. Fifteen years later a 3D version of the film was released to coincide with the ship's 100th anniversary. Was it done in honor of the anniversary or just as a grab for more cash I cannot presume to speculate.
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The bad news is that the after-production 3D addition really doesn't add a lot to the movie. The good news--it doesn't take away anything from the magnificence that was the original film. The movie is still epic, loaded with accurate details in the sets and costumes. The effects (left unenhanced from the original release) are still pretty spectacular even after all these years. It's amazing to see how impossibly young and pretty Kate Winslet and Leonardo di Caprio were way back then. It's also pretty awesome to see the wonderful performances of the many supporting actors gave. Yes, the movie still deserves to be seen on a big screen--and the bigger the better but you have to be a serious "Titanophile" to be willing to part with the extra money for a ticket.
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FINAL GRADE: A
I'm reviewing a movie about Snow White so it would have been great if I had a fractal of that title: since I didn't I chose Winter White as today's fractal "cookie". Now--on with the review of Mirror Mirror.
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Revisionist fairy tales have been around for quite a while: I first came across the idea with the FIRST televised edition of Once Upon A Mattress (starring Carol Burnett, Ken Berry, Jack Gilford and Bernadette Peters). In the years that followed I had quite a broad choice of fantasy novels and now movies and television have caught up. Right now Snow White seems to be the current favorite: she's featured prominently in Once Upon A Time and two separate theatrical releases. Mirror Mirror was just released to tepid reviews and reception while Snow White And The Huntsman bows in June.
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Mirror Mirror follows (at least initially) the standard fairy tale. Snow White (Lily Collins--who looks perfect for the role) is as sweet and plucky as she is pretty. Her stepmother the Queen (and that's all the name she gets) is played by Julia Roberts is obsessed by beauty and power. Snow is destined to meet Prince Alcott (Armie Hammer--from The Social Network). Both Snow and the Prince encounter the Seven Dwarfs (not Dwarves a la Walt Disney)--villagers exiled into banditry by the Queen's decree. The apple is involved but the story changes from there bu it still ends with the requisite "happily ever after" (and a weird Bollywood dance number).
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The movie tries to be all things to all people with limited success. The romance works well enough but not all the action and comedy bits go over. Some are good but many just left me cold. The whole script seemed curiously flat--until the very end of the movie when things changed vastly for the better. The actors work well with what little they've got--but only Julia Roberts manages to rise above the mediocre script. Mirror Mirror is interestingly shot with a painterly quality that reminds me of paintings by the Brothers Hildebrandt. Costuming and Set Design are suitable fantastic and like nothing you've seen and almost make it worth the price of admission--to a matinee at least.
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In the end, Mirror Mirror simply isn't funny, exciting or dramatic enough to really succeed. It is all that BAD but really isn't all that GOOD either. I really wanted to like this movie and was sadly disappointed when it wasn't what Id hoped. The movie should be out on DVD soon enough but you might want to wait until you can see it for free on television.
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FINAL GRADE: C
