Arts and Culture (All)

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener - 12/20/12

This Is 40

Getting old isn’t for sissies.

From the outside, Debbie (Leslie Mann: ParaNorman) and Pete (Paul Rudd: The Perks of Being a Wallflower) have it made. A big house, two adorable kids and lots of luxury playthings. But look a little closer and you see the cracks. Debbie is having trouble dealing with her fading youth. Turning 40 years old has made her a neurotic mess. She fights with Pete, worries about their daughters and constantly seeks validation. Pete is head of a record label that...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener - 12/20/12

Hyde Park on Hudson

A fantastic concept gone horribly awry, Hyde Park on Hudson tells the story of the first time an English king visited America. It wasn’t a social call. In 1939, England was in grave danger from Nazi Germany and needed help. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Bill Murray: Moonrise Kingdom) invited the king and queen to his New York estate, Hyde Park. This tale of political turmoil and cultural understanding is only the B-plot of Hyde Park on Hudson...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener - 12/13/12

Hitchcock

The Master of Suspense would have made a better movie …

Alfred Hitchcock (Anthony Hopkins: 360) was a great filmmaker with a lot of issues. He ate too much. He was pathetically dependent on his wife, Alma (Helen Mirren: The Door). Though their marriage was devoid of passion, he obsessed over the nubile blondes he directed. And, if Hitchcock is to be believed, he identified fully and had imaginary conversations with serial killer Ed Gein (Michael Wincott: A Lonely Place for Dying). So Norman Bates has company. ...

Article - Theatre Reviews; by Davina Grace Hill - 12/13/12

Scrooge Makes Colonial Players’ Christmas Carol...

By November 25, almost two weeks before opening night, Colonial Players’ musical A Christmas Carol was sold out. That amazing feat speaks to the power of Charles Dickens’ classic and to Colonial Players’ place in the traditions of its community. Colonial’s homegrown Carol — with play and lyrics by Richard Wade and composed by Richard Gessner — debuted in 1981. This is its 29th incarnation. At a scant 75 minutes, with 11...

Article - Theatre Reviews; by Michelle Steel - 12/13/12

Children Bring Dickens’ Words to Life for Twin Beach...

With lines straight from Charles Dickens’ own hand, Twin Beach Players’ third adaptation of A Christmas Carol is its most realistic performance yet, according to director and producer, Regan Cashman. It’s also the most endearing, as Ebenezer Scrooge’s tale of redemption is told through the eyes — and mouths — of children. As the all-kid cast learn their lines, they consult with adults in the company to understand Dickens’ meaning and...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener - 12/6/12

Silver Linings Playbook

Thank your lucky stars that your friends and family don’t resemble the people in

Pat Solitano (Bradley Cooper: Hit and Run) is going through a rough patch. An undiagnosed manic-depressive most of his life, Pat got his diagnosis when he nearly beat the life out of his cheating wife’s lover. To get beyond this violent outburst, he is remanded to a mental institution. Pat is more interested in getting his wife back — and getting her to lift her restraining order — than getting better. Instead of pills and therapy, Pat decides he needs to...

Article - Books; by Jane C. Elkin - 11/29/12

M.D. Johnson’s Midnight in Moscow

International intrigue with a local angle and author

Midnight in Moscow opens with a scene with immediate familiarity for local readers: a news story featuring a car set ablaze at a BWI parking lot. Then a young Russian American woman is found murdered along the C&O Canal. From there it’s a short hop to Annapolis and the main character, Emily Cowan, a sassy sleuth of a certain age who globetrots from western Maryland to Germany, Russia and the Near East. Midnight is Book Two of author M.D. Johnson’s ISIS...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener - 11/29/12

The Life of Pi

Like the story of Pi, this movie isn’t about lines of dialog. It’s about the journey.

Do you have faith? For some the question is easy; for others, an epic journey. One writer (Rafe Spall: Prometheus) is in search of true faith and a story to make him believe in God. His search leads him to Pi (Irrfan Khan: The Amazing Spiderman), a middle-aged man who shares a tale of survival and faith that rivals Job. Pi (in flashback Suraj Sharma) grew up at his parents’ zoo in India. He follows religions like other little boys collect Hot Wheels, simultaneously...

Article - Books; by Sandra Olivetti Martin - 11/22/12

Read Your Way onto the Water

SeaKayaker discovers the Patuxent Water Trail

Autumn is forecast spectacular for the Thanksgiving weekend, opening one of the year’s last doors to get out into Chesapeake Country. One way to accept the invitation is to follow the December issue of SeaKayaker onto the treasure in our own backyard, the Patuxent Water Trail. Ralph Heimlich, a member of the Chesapeake Paddlers Association, guides you into nature and history on the very accessible river. The seven-page story, with maps and photos,...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener - 11/22/12

Lincoln

A saintly man makes an uninteresting subject

In 1865, President Abraham Lincoln (Daniel Day-Lewis: Nine) had just been elected to his second term. He enjoyed a wide popularity in spite of the Civil War, which slaughtered American citizens and deeply divided the country. As Lincoln begins, it’s clear the Union will eventually win the war. But there is another problem on the horizon. As states are welcomed back to the fold, lawyers will challenge the legality of the Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln knows the...