The only thing I watched last night was True Beauty.  It’s so bad, but I’m so addicted!

The wrong person went home, especially based on how he responded to the truth behind the competition.

Posted: February 11th, 2009 under Television.
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It was a movie-free evening last night, which is somewhat unusual in our household.  Instead, we settled down to watch a little HGTV, which is relaxing for me.  It’s a passive viewing experience, but with enough education material to not feel like it’s a complete waste.  For me, it’s perfect viewing for a low key hour or two.

Last night’s show of choice was House Hunters International, which follows a couple as they look at three houses to consider purchasing overseas.  I missed the start of the show, so I actually don’t know where this episode was centered.  I do know it was in Latin or South America, however.

The couple had a small child and wanted to move away from the beach.  What?!?  Who wants to move away from the beach?  They actually said, “We just want a break from the beach.”  WHAT?!?  Oh, this sunning on the beach and soaking in the surf is too much for me, darling.  Why don’t we take a vacation and work for a few weeks?  Maybe if I lived fulltime on the beach I’d understand.  But I don’t.  However, I’m willing to live there for a while in order to better understand if someone would like to provide a beach home for me to use!  No?

What I like about House Hunters is you get to see three homes, get to know the couple a little bit and then try to guess which one they’re going to pick.  I’m actually pretty good at it, if I may say so myself.  On this episode though, not so much.  That’s because this episode did not reveal a wild card before the couple revealed their choice.  I thought I had them pegged, but they chose the last place I thought they would pick.  They did so because the condo called and offered a new and bigger unit than they (and we) first saw.  I was not amused.

Actually, I was.  It was all fun and relaxing and prepared me well for bedtime.

Posted: February 10th, 2009 under Television.
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Last night, I had the pleasure of viewing one of Disney’s latest direct to video releases, Tinker Bell.  Now, I’m an unabashedly, unashamed fan of animation.  The colors, the detail and the artistry fascinate me.  That’s much of the reason I enjoy anime, as it’s usually beautiful to behold.  Such is the case with Tinker Bell.

The movie is the story of Tinker Bell, from birth to full fairiehood, which happens quite quickly, actually.  She has the gift of tinkering, but doesn’t want it and sets out to learn another fairie trade in order to go to the mainland to help ushed in Spring.  It’s a cute story, but it’s actually not the strongest part of the movie!

The strongest part would be the cleverness behind the animation.  I was distracted from the storyline, but because it’s dull, but because there’s so much to take in while watching the film.  So much thought went into the items the fairies use in their every day lives.  It’s fascinating.  And, on top of that, it’s animated.  Animation intrinsically adds a sense of magic, of wonder to any film.  Here, it’s married perfectly with the story and its characters, bringing this all too long silent Disney character into her full voice.

Posted: February 9th, 2009 under Film.
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I may forever be scarred by the movie Immortal Beloved.  It’s emotional impact was so deep, I’m choking up as I type this just remembering it.

The movie is the story of the women in Beethoven’s life, really.  Following his death, his secretary sets out to fulfill is last wishes by turning Beethoven’s fortunes over to his “other half”, his “immortal beloved”.  The problem is, no one knows to whom that refers.  What unfolds is a tale of several women Beethoven knew, but only one of which he loved.  Along the way, we’re also privvy to the loss of his hearing and subsequent public reception.

Gary Oldman stars as Beethoven, proving his acting talent.  He’s quite good.  His performance, alone, make the film worth seeing.

Fortunately, there’s more that’s worth a viewing, like the emotional impact at the end.  I figured out who his immortal beloved is prior to the end, but it didn’t make the impact any less emotional.  Excuse me.  I have to grab a tissue.

Posted: February 6th, 2009 under Film.
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Last night’s movie was Star Trek: Nemesis, which I now refer to as last night’s waste of an evening.  Okay, it’s not that bad, but it’s not that good, either.

Filled with the Next Generation cast, this film takes us to Romulus, where a military coup (which kills the Romulun senate) just took place.  The Remens, who live on the dark side of the planet, are now in charge, led by a human, who is actually a clone of Captain Picard.  And that sets up the conflict that carries the plot of the film.

Effects, great.  Cinematography, good.  Acting, at the same level as the TV show, so fans will be okay with it.  Plot, however, is not that good.  Nor was the Director’s take on this film.  It feels like a long episode of the TV show, but with more money and better effects.  That’s not good for a film.

Posted: February 4th, 2009 under Film.
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Okay, I realize I risk losing whatever respect you may have for me, but I love the show True Beauty on ABC.  While recognizing how terrible the show is, I can’t help but watch it.  It is my guilty pleasure.

With blushing cheeks, I will admit that I was first drawn to the show for the beautiful people.  I mean, an hour of eye candy isn’t all that bad, is it?  With the first episode, however, I was hooked.  These beauties are arrogant, delusional and not the most beautiful people in the world.  It’s so much fun!

But, it’s also bad.  The challenges to test the contestants’ inner beauty are not solid challenges.  Last night, the inner beauty challenge was to see if each contestant would help their partner make a video.  Really?  It could be a test of the inner beauty of teamwork, but that’s not how it played out.  Chelsea, my favorite, failed the challenge simply because she couldn’t figure out how to work the camera.  It wasn’t lack of motivation nor lack of desire to help her teammate.  It was a legitimate lack of understanding of how to work the camera.  And this led her to the hall of beauty where she was sent home.  Not really all that fair.

As I said, Chelsea is/was my favorite contestant.  She may come across as arrogant, but I think it’s a front.  I think she’s trying so hard to fit in with this group of people, who she thinks are more beautiful than she, that she’s not showing her true self.  I detect a good heart, a bit of a lack of confidence and some uncertainty in her.  She does have an inner beauty, but she masks it in order to fit in with the group and, as she’s said to a reporter in her home town, to try to win the game.  She didn’t, though, being sent home because she couldn’t figure out how to work a camera.  When they showed her the video that showed her inner ugliness, they even had to stretch to really put stuff together.  Her stuff wasn’t really that bad.  Joel, on the other hand, has plenty of footage to showcase his inner ugliness.

Posted: February 3rd, 2009 under Television.
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Ah, the musical review.  I’ve written in the past that it’s not one of my favorite theater genres.  Although murder comedies are my most loathed of stage productions, musical reviews are pretty close.  All too often, they’re an attempt to throw together a show using the music of one artist and use those songs to tell his or her life.  And, all too often, they don’t work that way.  They come together as too contrived, as trying too hard to be a show when a show they shouldn’t be.  When I think musical review, I think monotony, a night of all songs by one artist.

Not so with Ring of Fire: The Johnny Cash Musical, however!  This review takes the songs of the Man in Black, strings them together and adds tidbits about his life throughout.  It isn’t a staged telling of his life’s story.  It’s more like VH1’s Storytellers, but with more dramatic performances.  And I loved it!

While Ring of Fire was fall into a but of monotony, it’s not nearly as monotonous as other musical reviews made into life stories because there’s not one actor playing Johnny Cash.  There are several.  And they’re not actually playing Johnny Cash.  They’ll say, “I’m Johnny Cash,” but they’re not trying to channel him.  Each offers his or her own personality to the performances without a pretentions attempt to be the Man in Black.

And that has a lot to do with what makes Circa 21’s production of Ring of Fire so delightful.  Circa’s cast is filled with true and varied talents, none of which I found weak nor distracting.  There are those who come closer to the sound of Cash’s songs (Steve Lasiter and Lexie Wollan).  But, there are also those who just get out their and have a good time with his music (Tristan Layne Tapscott and Kimberly Furness).  And, a few cast members bring their own unique style, which doesn’t match Johnny Cash in the slightest, with no apologies (Tom Walljasper).  And, it works!

The show and Circa’s production are nice.  Simply nice.  As I sat watching, that’s the word that kept coming to mind.  If I were to sum up this production in one word, what would that word be?  My mind kept coming back to nice.  And I mean that in a positive light.  It’s a smile from ear to ear, let’s just enjoy the music of Johnny Cash, nice.

The set is simply, yet interesting and versatile.  And the lighting is remarkable, particularly the effects used on the sun/moon in the background, with colors, shapes and movement used to convey the varying moods of each song.

Ring of Fire: The Johnny Cash Musical runs through March 21 at Circa 21 Dinner Playhouse in Rock Island.  Tickets are available by calling the box office at (309) 786-7733 or through the theater’s website — circa21.com.

Posted: February 2nd, 2009 under Theater.
Comments: 1

I had the privilege of catching “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” for my first time over the weekend.  It’s a film I’ve long wanted to see, but never really got around to renting.

Steven Spielberg’s 1977 masterpiece is truly that, a masterpiece.  Aside from the hairstyles and clothing, the film stands up through time.  It’s well paced, which is typically the biggest problem in regard to the longevity of films.  They may be great, in their time and keeping that time in mind, but storytelling on film has evolved, particularly in pacing.  “Gone With the Wind” is a great film, but it’s slow and boring.  It’s not a perfect film, in that it’s great because it’s a classic, not because it’s universally great.  But, I digress.

Spielberg manages to create a true tension throughout “Close Encounters”.  As a viewer, I kept anticipating something terrible just around the next scene.  I was on edge, but anxious to know what’s coming next.

But, I can’t get over the pacing.  This film is more than three decades old, but doesn’t feel it.  It may look it, but I was so overwhelmed with the wonder of it all, the interweaving and separate storylines that strengthened the story and the tidbits that were a part of the film, but not blatantly hailed.  There are things left to discover that are not spoon-fed to us.  For instance, Amelia Earhart is among the missing people who exit the space ship when it lands.  Marvelous and exciting all at the same time!

As is “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”.  Truly a marvelous movie.

Posted: February 2nd, 2009 under Film.
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Harrison Hilltop Theatre’s latest production is Sam Shepard’s True West, a tale of two brothers who want each other’s life.  The younger brother, Austin, is a Hollywood screenwriter housesitting for his mother.  His older brother, Lee, shows up after drifting, thieving and living in the desert.  The two haven’t spoken to each other in years and are suddenly under the same roof again.  Tensions build when Lee’s Western movie idea is picked up by a movie producer, who drops Austin’s script for it.

Posted: January 29th, 2009 under Theater.
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I was first introduced to and fell in love with Jason Robert Brown when someone lent me the soundtrack to “The Last Five Years”.  Searching for more from Brown, I discovered “Songs for a New World”.  And that soundtrack is how I fell out of love with Jason Robert Brown.  His strength is sentiment, which drips from every song he writes.  Unfortunately, he’s a fan of repetition.  He’ll take a melodic phrase and repeat it three or four times in a row.  That’s clever, unless you use it in a majority of your songs.  And that’s part of why I don’t really care for “Songs for a New World”.  It’s one Brown song after another.  And, unfortunately, too many of them sound the same.  So, it’s repetitive within each song and then repetitive with so many similar songs filling the show.  Individually, the songs are good.  But, when strung together in a show that isn’t anything more than and collection of songs and, frankly, I get bored.

However, I don’t think that makes “Songs for a New World” a show to skip.  There’s a reason Jason Robert Brown has a following (which makes more sense with The Last Five Years).  It’s good to expose yourself to his early work to get a sense of his style.  Fortunately, we get that chance, thanks to The Green Room Theatre.

Despite what I don’t like about the show, The Green Room’s production is truly applaudable.  It’s worthy of praise, if only because of the circumstances Tyson Danner had to overcome to get it on stage.  (The theater lost it’s space days before the show was to open.  Thankfully, Harrison Hilltop Theatre came to the rescue, allowing The Green Room to use its space.)  That, alone, raises a curiosity to see how they pulled this one off.  But, that, alone, is not the only reason to see The Green Room’s production.

The show is cast with actors who love the music, who respect it.  That’ll add to the energy of any show.  And, their passion permeates the performance, moving into the audience.

Cara Chumbley is Woman 1.  Chumbley’s got a beautiful sound that fits well with Brown’s compositions.  Although she has a tendency to belt when it’s not necessarily called for, her voice is so pleasant, that it doesn’t so much matter.

Tyson Danner, I’m told, stepped into the role of Man 1 after the originally cast actor dropped out.  With the exception of his performance in Angels in America, every role I’ve seen Danner in is inhibited by a seeming lack of confidence.  He’s got a really good voice and the ability to act, but he seems to hold back.  I’m assuming it’s a bit of a lack of confidence in his abilities, a meekness.  If he could overcome that, it Danner would be astounding.  However, that meekness sometimes works in his favor.  It’s actually perfect for the song “King of the World”.  It’s sung from the perspective of a deity, assumedly, who is locked away.  The actor on the soundtrack sings it with full defiance and demand.  Danner, however, sings as if he’s broken and hoping to be freed.  It’s a much more beautiful take on the piece.  And, it’s all the more poignant, due to Danner’s circumstance with The Green Room.

Sarah Ulloa, however, is the most enjoyable cast member, as Woman 2.  It may help, though, that Woman 2 has the two numbers that are vastly different from the rest of the pieces.  “Just One Step” and “Surabaya Santa” are the two songs with the strongest motivation behind them.  They’re sung by clear characters and carry most of the show’s humor.  Ulloa is a singer who can act and takes these songs and portrays their humor, poignancy and power quite well.  Ulloa’s performance in these two numbers is worth the price of a ticket and the time spent alone.

Steve Quartell, who was also in Angels in America alongside Danner, is Man 2.  Quartell is confident, has a strong stage presence and a pleasant enough voice.  However, I find his performance overly calculated.  Instead of letting the songs move him and his performance, he seems to have pre-planned every expression and movement.  It’s still a good performance, but lacks sincerity.  It’s acting rather than being.

And then there’s Danny White on the piano.  I’m always impressed with his work on the piano because it carries such passion.  He doesn’t merely play the notes, but pours his own expression into them.  It’s fantastic to hear and a delight to watch.  Unfortunately, The Green Room cleverly chose to mask the piano with black material.  It works well and looks good and I wouldn’t change it.  I was just disappointed not to be able to watch White perform.

The staging and direction are simple, which is appropriate for the show.  The blocking, however, did little to alleviate my perception of the show as dull and repetitive.  Movement isn’t used in a way to enhance the performance until “The World was Dancing”, the first song in the second act.  The rest of the songs have the performers standing still or walking just a bit.  While it’s not inappropriate, I personally would have preferred more movement to help tell the tale of each song.

The staging fits The Green Room’s typical minimalist style.  With a belief in strong performance over staging, The Green Room rarely uses anything beyond the most basic sets and props (although Misery was quite extensive).  In my opinion, minimalism can be either artistic or cheap.  Is easy to tell when a production is minimal because of a lack of money.  That is not the case here, thanks mainly to the lighting.  Lighting Designer Jennifer Kingry creates truly artistic moments, from the impression of buildings on “Just One Step” to a starry sky in “Stars and the Moon.”

“Songs for a New World” runs this Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m.  Tickets are $15 (or pay what you can on Thursday) at the door or by calling (563) 650-2396.  Performances are at the Harrison Hilltop Theatre, 1601 Harrison Street in Davenport.

Posted: January 15th, 2009 under Theater.
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