On the Town With Aubrey Reuben
Where All the Stars Shine Brightly!
September 21, 2013
09-16-13 (L-R) Cast members Nedra McClyde. Susannah Flood. Quincy
Tyler Bernstine. Colleen Werthmann. Jennifer R. Morris at the
opening night party for "Mr. Burns. A Post-Electric Play" at Tir Na
Nog Irish Pub & Grill. 315 West 39th St.
09-15-13
On Broadway, a modern
dress of Romeo
and Juliet, by William
Shakespeare, with
a miscast film star Orlando
Bloom as
Romeo and an insipid Condola
Rashad as
Juliet, who star in this dismal revival. It is
difficult to recommend this production.
Off-Broadway, Philip
Goes Forth, by George
Kelly, is about a young man who wishes to become
a playwright over his father's wishes that he
continue in the family business. He moves to New
York, and realizes that his chosen career is much
more difficult than he had imagined. It is a funny,
well acted play, and thoroughly entertaining.The
opening night party took place at West Bank Cafe
with guests Jose Llana and Dana Ivey..
Mr. Burns, A
Post-Electric Play, by Anne
Washburn, received excellent reviews, and
celebrated its opening night at Tir Na Nog Irish Pub
& Grill.
The press screenings of the 51st
New York Film Festival September 27 - October 13 have
begun. At
Berkeley, by Frederick
Wiseman, USA, 2013, is an overlong documentary
(four hours) about one of the leading universities
(The University of California) in America. There are
scenes of the beautiful campus, and others of
administration meetings where administrators ramble
on and on, classes with uninspiring professors and
opinionated students, and students with limited
talent performing songs outdoors and in an
auditorium. Judging from the film, one can
understand the decline of university education in
America.
Like Father, Like Son, by Hirokazu
Kore-eda, Japan, 2013, is a sweet, sentimental
film about a horrible mistake, when two boys are
switched at birth in a hospital, and six years later
the two families are informed. The resolution of
this outrageous situation is explored in this
wonderful film, and the young child actors are
adorable.
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Child
of God, by James
Franco, USA, 2013, is about a psychopath (a remarkable
performance by Scott
Haze) who live in an abandoned shack in the hills of
Tennessee. He murders young people, and keeps the bodies of the
female victims and makes love with them. It is a powerful story,
that will be repugnant to many viewers.
A Touch of Sin, by Jia
Zhangke, China, 2013, tells four stories about modern China,
which take place in different provinces.
All
are depressing, grim tales. In one, a miner find corruption
everywhere in his village, and takes murderous revenge. In the
second, a young man loves his gun, and kills random victims. The
third is about a young woman assaulted in a sauna where she works,
and she kills her attacker. The fourth is an unhappy youth, working
in frustrating jobs, resulting in his tragic suicide. All are based
on true stories.
Nobody's Daughter Haewon, by Hang
Sang-soo, South Korea, 2013, is a charming, slow paced film
about a university student, whose mother spends the day with
her before leaving to live in Canada. Feeling lonely and
abandoned, the young girl renews her frustrated, romantic
relationship with her married college professor. The story
alternates between reality and her dreams. It is an intelligent
film.
Afternoon of a Faun: Tanaquil le Clerq, by Nancy
Buirski, USA, 2013, is a superb documentary about a
magnificent ballerina with the New York City Ballet, a muse of
two of its greatest choreographers, George
Balanchine (whom
she married) and Jerome
Robbins. Her will and determination to continue her life as
a teacher and book writer, after being tragically struck
down by polio at the height of her career, is an inspiring
story, revealed with intelligent comments from dancers, like Jacques
d'Amboise and Arthur
Mitchell, among others, and with clips from productions on
television and in the theatre displayling her abundant talent
and technique. I recommend it highly.
Le
Week-end, by Roger
Michell, UK, 2013, is a film about a middle-aged married
couple, who spend a weekend in Paris trying to recapture the
spirit of their honeymoon from 30 years ago. Two splendid
actors, Lindsay Duncan and Jim Broadbent, are wasted in this
depressng look at a frustrated marriage, and some of their
behavior in the film is frankly appalling. They play two
miserable characters, with whom you would not want to spend any
time with, either in Paris or elsewhere. It is a disappointing
film.
Norte, The End of History, by Lav
Diaz, Philippines, 2013, is an overlong (over four hours),
pretentious film, supposedly inspired by Dosteyevsky's Crime
and Punishment. An amoral, dropout law student believes he
can lead an irresponsible life ignoring all rules of a civilized
society. He murders a moneylender, and an innocent man is
charged with the crime. There are horrendous episodes of the man
in jail, and relentless scenes of his suffering family trying to
survive.
Stranger by the Lake, by Alain
Guiradudie, France,
2013, is a sexually explicit film about gay cruising on a beach
by a lake in France, that turns into a melodramatic murder
thriller. The photography is beautiful, and some of the men are
attractive, Many of the scenes border on the pornographic, so
viewer beware.
The
Missing Picture, by Rithy
Panh, Cambodia, 2013, is a documentary about the terrible
life the filmmaker endured under the brutal Khmer Rouge regime
in Cambodia. Unfortunately, most film from that period was
destroyed, and we are forced to see clay figurines represent
scenes from the period. While, this is interesting at the
beginning, it tends to grow dull as the film progresses.
About
Time, by Richard
Curtis, UK, 2013, is about a young man (Domhnall
Gleeson), who has the ability to travel back in time, and alter
the outcome of his present reality. This mainly concerns his love
for a young woman (Rachel McAdams),
whom he eventually marries. Although, the gimmick is cute at first,
it eventually grows tiresome and tedious, as the director repeats
scene after scene again and again. A half hour of the film could
easily have been cut, especially the brainless philosophy about
living life to the fullest at the end. The photography of Cornwall
is the highlight of this silly film. A travelogue would have been
better than a fictional, unfunny time travel.
MoMA presented An
Auteurist History of Film Reprise Sep 1-17. I saw two films by Jean
Renoir, The Golden
Coach, France/Italy, 1953 and French
Cancan, France, 1955. Both featured sumptuous scenic design and
gorgeous costumes, and are a joy to behold. The first film starred Anna Magnani
attracting three lovers as an actress in a Commedia Dell'Arte acting
group traveling in Peru in the eighteenth century, and the second
film is fictional, and starred Jean
Gabin as a theatre
owner, who has success, finally, when he recreates the Cancan at
the newly constructed Moulin Rouge. A host of French artists are
featured in the film, including a cameo by Edith
Piaf. Both films are quite entertaining, and the final Cancan
number is a highlight.
09-17-13 (L-R) Cast members Bernardo
Cubria Producing Artistic Director Jonathan Banks. Natalie Kuhn at the
opening night party for "Philip Goes Forth" at the West Bank Cafe. 407 West
42nd St.
09-16-13
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