Today's "fractal cookie" is Daisy Blue. I chose it for a couple of reasons: first it seems like it might be a good name for one of the Characters in Oklahoma done by Performance Riverside (the show I'll be reviewing), Second, it seems like it might be a quilt design from that era or maybe one of those blue plates so popular back then. OK, maybe it's not that much of a reason but its all I've got. So--on with the review!
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Oklahoma is a truly "classic" of the American stage. The accessible plot, relatable characters, tuneful melodies (that stick in your head long after you've left the theater) and ease of production mean this show will be produced again and again and again. (Sadly, it also means that folks like me will SEE it again and again and again!) There's not a lot of room to "re-invent" the show (since reinventing Oklahoma is a lot like trying to re-invent the wheel: there is simply no room for improvement.) Because of this, if you've seen the show as many times as I have (seven or eight--in versions from the latest National Tour to small Community Theater productions) it begins to lose some of it's magic. For a production to truly fly it really needs to be completely first class and, this being Performance Riverside, you know there's going to be some problems.
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I can't fault the Lighting, Set Design or Costumes in the show and, for once the sound mix at the Landis Performing Arts Center wasn't a muddy mess. The choral work and dance sequences were first rate so that was another plus. Musically, the stage band was first rate (as always) but I found it a bit heavy in the brass and woodwinds: I could have done with a second keyboard to fill out the piano and strings to give an even fuller sound but I guess you can't have everything.
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Bryan Vickery (as Curly) is convincing in his role and he has a magnificent singing voice. (I think he's classically trained.) If there is any criticism of his role is that Vickery may be just a bit "too" perfect in his part and that he only has two volumes--loud and ear-splitting. (That being said, I'm not sure if the guy just has a really big voice or if he was simply over mic-ed.) Emily Lopez (as Laurie) is a charming ingenue with a voice that matches Vickery's in timber perfectly. Chelsea Emma Franko doesn't provide any revelations as Ado Annie but she's believable in her role. Casey Garritano's Will Parker uncomfortable reminded me of Austin from The A List New York but there's no denying the boy can dance! Performance Riverside veteran Patricia Scarborough gives a creditable Aunt Eller. I'd like to have seen a bit more oil and ethnicity from Travis Lincoln Cox in the role of Ali Hakim but maybe the Director was trying to be sensitive. Paul Kehler (Jud Fry) has a beautiful bass voice but doesn't bring the menace and his dark shadings are no more than medium gray. The guy comes off about as scary as a Teddy Bear. Jason Wesley Green as Andrew Carnes lacks the "big" voice of the leads and it shows on stage. Still, he gets the best "insert" in the show (from, of all places, The Monkees!) so props to him.
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I do have to give kudos to the entire cast for one thing: no matter how little energy they got back from the audience (and the Sunday Matinee crowd was DEAD!) they never flagged. As a former Actor I can't tell you how difficult it is to keep the energy flowing to an audience that isn't giving anything back. Hooray for their professionalism! Thank you all for trying so hard in what had to be a difficult situation. Kudos also to show Director and interim Producing Artistic Director Matt Neves for keeping his pre-show announcements short and sweet. I'm sorry to see Rey O'Day leave the position but she did have a tendancy to go on and one. If Neves keeps the position I hope he keeps the pre-show patter just like he did for this show.
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As a show Oklahoma might not be the best vehicle for a sour old critic like me but for the casual theater-goer this production would be 2 1/2 hours of utter delight. Check it out if you want to see some nice theater in the Inland Empire.
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FINAL GRADE: C (for sour old critics) A- (everyone else)
I was looking for an image that was red, black and white (like the Five Guys Burgers And Fries colors) but I could only find one image that I'd used a bunch of times. So I chose Squared Arabic 35 because of its gold coloring. (Crowns are gold and this post IS about the new "Burger King"...) Now that you have the scoop on with the review!
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Several years ago (then-Candidate) Barack Obama caused a bit of a local controversy when hesaid that Five Guys made the best burger. A lot of locals (including some News Anchors) were incensed that he would disrespect local chain In-N-Out Burger. Of course at that point Five Guys had most (if not all) of their franchises east of the Mississippi. Well now, Five Guys Burgers And Fries had made its way to the West Coast in a BIG way and, agree or disagree with Obama's policies the Prez knows his burgers! I can say, as a burger connoisseur, that Five Guys completely blows away In-N-Out.
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Five Guys Burgers And Fries takes the hamburger back to basics. The restaurant has a minimum menu including hamburgers in two sizes (with or without American Cheese and Bacon), hot dogs, a grilled cheese sandwich and veggie sandwich. You can also get fries in two sizes (made without trans fats but plenty of salt). Burgers come with a host of toppings (all free except for the bacon and cheese). Unlike In and Out there's no "secret menu" that you can order from to get special products. Everything is made AFTER you order then packed in foil and sent out to you in double-quick time. (If there's a long long it may take a bit to place your order and get your food.) The burgers are quite wet but you can't make a better burger at home.
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The restaurant posts justifiably rave reviews all over the red-and-white tiled walls. One commented that the place had "all the ambiance of a clean bathroom (which is oh so true). The tiled walls, concrete floor and metal ceiling make the place incredibly noisy but at least the metal chairs and table are reasonably comfortable. Still, I could have done without the sterilization-volume classic rock soundtrack courtesy of SiriusXM. Even with all this there's still no better place to mac a meal (provided if all you are looking for is a hamburger and french fries).
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FINAL GRADE: A++
I think the title of this review pretty much explains why I chose Faded Blue as today's fractal cookie. Now, on with the review of the National Tour of West Side Story.
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On the surface West Side Story looks like it can't miss. The script re-sets Romeo and Juliet in 1950s New York City with the star-crossed lovers as members of rival groups. Leonard Bernstein provides the mid-century moderne score full of hip, jazzy flare and Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim got his first big break providing the lyrics. The show can best be described as "iconic" (and "iconic" means there's a lot of room to fall). The music, of all it's beauty, is tricky and requires first class performers. Bad acting can turn the show into an unintended caricature. Is the latest professional offering of West Side Story bad? No, but the production is not without its problems.
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Chief among those problems are leads Kyle Harris and Ali Ewoldt. Harris has the right look but his nasal singing and vibrato that can best be described as "unrestrained" ruins a lot of his solos. Worse he has a tendency to go flat on his big notes. Ewoldt has an awesome soprano voice but her Puerto Rican accent sounds like some sort of bad mockery rather than sincere imitation. (OK, maybe I'm just over-sensitive here--but accents are a big thing to me--and this one wasn't so great.) Still, she made you believe her performance. She has one of the best moments in the entire show with the "Diva battle" in I Feel Pretty. (Go see the production if you want to see what I'm talking about.) Sadly, Ewoldt and Harris don't blend that well and they should be seamless.
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The rest of the cast are fine singers and dancers and they all play their parts well. Of course, having seen West Side Story more times than I'd care to remember I've finally come to realize that besides leading characters Tony and Maria--NOBODY is that likable with the exception of minor character Doc the Drugstore Owner who vainly tries to show the characters a better way. As for the rest of the characters they are just sad--and NOT in a good way. In addition, the more times times I see the show the harder it is for me to suspend my disbelief: yes it's "musical" logical but sometimes even musical logic stretches the bounds of verisimilitude.
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On the plus side, the three-piece orchestra managed a remarkably full sound although I'd have preferred a bigger orchestra for a more-varied sound (this show was pretty heavy on the brass). The minimal (but not Minimalist) sets were effective as was the lighting design. The costumes were suitably 1950s and realistic enough: I found I could tell one group from another so that was a good thing.
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Sadly, I could have done without a lot of the "updates" to the show: a couple of songs had extensive lyrics in Spanish: if you knew the language or the show you were fine but if not you're lost. Likewise I really could have done without the symbolic rape scene near the end of Act Two (although it does give Anita a proper reason for betraying the young lovers). That being said, updates are going to be an inevitable part of the show and I suppose they could have gone much grittier and far nastier than some implied violence. (They could have littered the lyrics with "F-Bombs" for example.) Maybe I should be grateful for what I got.
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Now that has all been said I think it's only fair to report that my opinion is in the decided minority: the Orange County Performing Arts Centre was nearly sold out and most of them really seemed to enjoy the show. West Side Story has enough content to challenge the casual viewer without frustrating them. The show isn't a complete Air Biscuit so the audience can go away thinking they've actually SEEN something and had a worthwhile evening. Bitter old Critics like might might not love the show but the average theater-goer will find a lot to like.
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FINAL GRADE: B-
I'm not sure why I chose Ribbon Twist as today's fractal cookie: when I chose the image I had some idea that it would fit into the latest "tempest in a teapot" over at Dancing With The Stars but for the life of me I can't remember why I thought it would be important. Ah well--on with today's commentary...
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So Dancing With The Stars has announced the latest cast: I call this latest version the "Freaks and Geeks Edition". They departed a bit from the usual formula this time: there's nary a Disney Star (like Kyle Massey or Sabrina Bryant), mouthy black lady (like Niecey Nash or Wendy Williams) or a "WTF" guy (like Adam Corolla or Mike Catherwood). We do have the usual Professional Athletes (Ron Artest or is he Meta World Peace this week? and Hope Solo) a surfeit of Reality Stars this year (Kristin Cavalieri, Rob Kardashian and Carson Kresley). We also have several bunch of Faded Stars trying to raise their profiles (this time represented by Ricki Lake, China Phillips and David Arquette). The "out of left field" choices are "Tot Mom" nemesis Nancy Grace and Sonny and Cher's only child Chaz (formerly Chastity Bono). Oddly enough, it's Chaz Bono that's causing the most controversy.
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The inclusion of Bono has lots of conservative types threatening to boycott the show. Worse yet, some folks are even sending death threats!!! Come on people--death threats! Over THIS??? Do you guys really have that much free time? Honestly, I can't fathom this no matter how hard I try to wrap my head around it. I guess the feeling is that somehow having a transgendered individual in such a public setting will somehow encourage our children into "deviant" lifestyles. Of course nothing could be farther from the truth.
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Lets discount the fact that Chaz Bono is an out-of-shape (read fat) little person who is reportedly "rhythmically challenged" and he doesn't have much of a fan base. (The LGBT Community aren't going to vote for somebody simply because he's transgendered: they have too much taste for that.) Bono is likely to be voted off VERY EARLY. Itty bitties who happen to be watching the show (and there's a whole blog on THAT waiting to be written!) aren't likely to know what "transgendered" is--unless the parents make an issue of it! Children old enough to be aware of what that IS will already likely have had their opinions influenced by family and peers. The bottom line is--unless a child is ALREADY Gay, Lesbian or Transgendered it's going to have no effect on them whatsoever unless maybe their the idea that LGBTs aren't any different than other people. But we can't have that now, can we?
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On one level I suppose I can (sort of) understand why parents wouldn't want their children exposed to a dangerous lifestyle: that being said, I just don't see how that could have much of a negative effect on the little darlings if they weren't already leaning in that direction. Further, I can't see why ANYONE would feel the need to publish death threats against ANYONE. I mean, come on people, we don't live in Iran! I thought Americans respected the right for others to have different beliefs. I know that most of this is just smack-talking perpetrated by the anonymous nature of the Internet but it saddens me that the United States has come (or is it come back?) to this.
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In the end only time will tell how much the threatened boycott will have on Dancing With The Stars. Personally I doubt that there will be anything more than a very minor blip. Still, I'm sure that if the ratings DO take a major dive I'm sure DWTS will find some way to boot Bono. (I'm pretty confident there won't remotely be a need of that.) It's just too bad that those upset by the guy's presence won't use it to open a dialog or maybe re-examine their own prejudicess.
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'nuff said.
I had quite a time picking a "fractal cookie" for my review of Rise of the Planet of the Apes and had just about decided to pick a random image when I came across an old image called Monster Spiral. Yes, the connection is tangential at best but I couldn't really find anything better. Check out the review of the movie.
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I'm sad to admit that I'm old enough to have seen the FIRST Planet of the Apes movie (way back in the 1960s). I didn't see it in the theater (the folks wouldn't let me go) but I caught it on television. Several sequels followed (getting progressively worse) and a few a few years ago there was a pretty awful remake of the original (starring "Marky" Mark Wahlberg). Robyn tells me that somewhere in there was a story that told how the Apes rebelled and eventually took over the world--but I don't remember that. Now we finally get a story that (almost) makes sense.
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Dr Will Rodman (played by James Franco) is researching a cure of Alzheimer's because of his father's dementia. He has developed a drug that shows amazing promise in his ape subjects and is ready to present his results when something goes horribly (and fatally) wrong. It turns out the female test subject was trying to protect her newborn baby. Still, the project is ordered shut down by the big boss (David Ovelowo). Thanks to one of those "only in the movies" moment the baby chimp is taken in by Will who is surprised to learn that the enhancements he gave to the mother has been passed on the baby Caesar. Still, as we know from the real world (the lady who's pet chimp ripped her face off for example) we know that things are bound to end badly. And end badly they do when Caesar (played by Andy Serkis in a Motion-Capture Suit) gets sentenced to a "Sanctuary" (read prison) for apes. Then the real fun begins. If you want the rest of the story go see the movie--but know it doesn't end well for humanity...
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There are a few holes in the plot you can drop a planet through but the story is well-enough acted and fast-paced enough that you don't really notice them until well after you've left the theater. Andy Serkis deserves an Oscar nomination (but won't get one) for his portrayal of Caesar. He says only a few words but his physicality and facial expression convey more emotion than anyone else in the movie. The rest of the actors do the best with what the script gives them but most of them are one-note characters put in to advance the story. Still, I should probably let "Harry Potter" fans know that Tom Felton--who played Draco Malfoy has a role in the movie (he's just as rotten as the "Potter" character he played--just not as classy.)
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While I was watching the movie I really enjoyed it but I found I enjoyed it less after I left the theater: too many small details leaped out and bothered me. Still, you don't go to a movie like this for deep characters and high philosophy. Rise of the Planet of the Apes shows surprising heart (due mainly to Andy Serkis' performance). That being said, Rise of the Planet of the Apes has a certain emotional honesty and a verisimilitude that makes you think this is an all-too-possible future. This movie may not be for the ages but it certainly is one of the better this summer.
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FINAL GRADE: B+
I chose Nightfire as today's fractal cookie because it reflects something that happens in the movie Cowboys and Aliens. Enjoy today's review (unless of course you've made other plans--in which case what are you doing reading this post!)
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I think I saw the first trailer for Cowboys and Aliens on Christmas Day 2010: it made Tron Legacy almost bearable. I looked at Robyn and said something like "oooh--we gotta go see that!" (In fact, after the last "Harry Potter" film this was the movie I most looked forward to of the summer.) She agreed and, one week after it's release we finally did. So was it worth the wait--read on and decide for yourself.
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Cowboys and Aliens reminds me a lot of a somewhat less-good True Grit mixed with a healthy dash of Independence Day (the alien invaders even have a decided resemblance to the ones). I can't help but feel like I've seen all the elements of this movie before: yes, they are well done here but I kept waiting and hoping to be surprised and I never was. This movie was populated by cardboard characters that move around on a well-oiled track that takes you right where you expect to go.
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Daniel Craig leaves behind his James Bond smoothness to play Jake Lonnergan as Shane Part Deux: he does stoic really well but without a touch of subtlety or nuance (and few changes in facial expression). Still, he's supposed to be the stranger in town: that's how he starts and that's how he leaves. Harrison Ford gets the largely-thankless part of Woodrow Dolarhyde, the richest man in these parts who ain't afraid to throw his weight and power around. At least he has a mildly-interesting character bit involving one of his hired hands (which I won't spoil here). Olivia Wilde looks pretty and is suitably mysterious as Ella, a young lady who knows more than she should about the strange goings-on in town. Sam Rockwell plays Doc, a milquetoast man-of peace (right out of Coward of the County) who must discover his inner badass to save his woman.
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The movie is shot in washed-out tones (a la True Grit) when it isn't done in blue and gray shades for the interior scenes. Costumes are of the grunge school that seems common to most Westerns these days. The effects are adequate and the few shots of alien craft look cool. The script leaves a lot of questions unanswered (and the myriad of plot holes here are hardly worth mentioning). The score is suitably epic: I don't know who wrote the music but it reminds me of John Williams. The violence is strictly PG13 (a lot of fighting but no graphic bloodbaths) and there are two separate scenes involve Jake and Ella being unclad. Profanity is often but nobody drops the "F-Bomb" so I'm guessing the movie is suitable for all but very young children and those of delicate sensibilities.
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In spite of the tone of this review Cowboys and Aliens isn't a BAD movie--it's just not all that good. It's a fun "check your brain at the door" romp but don't expect any grand revelations. I think I was disappointed because I was hoping for more from the movie and just didn't get it. Go see it only if you don't have anything better to do--otherwise wait until it come out on DVD.
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FINAL GRADE: B
Captain America would never be caught in paisley--unless maybe it was Patriotic Paisley (today's fractal cookie). And obviously, I'll be reviewing Captain America The First Avenger--so on with the review!
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I've never been a big fan of Captain America in the comics: didn't hate him--but didn't love him either. Honestly, that's pretty much what I expected from the movie as well: imagine my surprise when I found that Captain America the First Avenger had both grit and heart. Of course, it doesn't hurt that the movie has a can't-miss plot where the hero finds the strength to do great deeds that ends in the ultimate sacrifice. (Want to know more? Go see the movie!)
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Chris Evans (in the title role) was made for this role: he has the look (and the CGI that transforms him into a 98 pound weakling is nothing short of spectacular). He walks the fine line between cheesy overacting and stoically underplaying the character and always makes the right decision for the scene. Haley Atwell (Peggy Carter) doesn't fare quite as well. Still, that's more the fault of the script that requires her to go from icy badass to lovestruck damsel. Hugo Weaving is everything you could ask for in a scene-chewing Nazi but his Red Skull makeup could have been a bit more gruesome and frightening. (Still, they kept the look consistent with the comic character so I suppose I shouldn't complain. The rest of the supporting cast does a fine job and I can't find fault with the sets, costumes or special effects.
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If you like superhero movies you are sure to love Captain America, the First Avenger. There's plenty of action to keep the adrenaline junkie happy and even war movie fans can find a lot to enjoy here. The movie has a retro-quality that appeals to older folks but isn't so dated that it'll turn off the younger generation. Yeah, there are a few points that make some serious-minded folk wine, but hey, it's a summer blockbuster. That's expected. Captain America will transfer to the small screen but it deserves to be seen in a theater. As with most movies there's no need to pay the extra money to see it in 3D.
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Still, I couldn't end this review in good conscience without mentioning the "credit cookie" at the end of the movie. Cap gets transformed into a moody, angst-filled character that, for me at least, didn't quite mesh with the rest of the movie. I worry that next year's Avengers movie will be so bloated by the many characters feeding in from other movies that he won't a chance to redeem the character. Still, I guess I'll have to wait until May 2012 to find out how it all turns out. Meanwhile, there's nothing left but to give this movie a final grade.
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FINAL GRADE: A
