Articles by Diana Beechener

Total Recall

Erase this unnecessary remake from your mind

In the near future, the world has become almost uninhabitable. The only areas with breathable air are The United Federation of Britain and The Colony (Australia). The rich one percent live in the UFB and force The Colony to occupy slums and work grueling hours in factories. Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell: Fright Night) is one of these factory drones. He spends his days screwing bolts in an assembly line, his nights drinking with buddies and moping around his grim apartment....

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener; 8/9/12

Where Do We Go Now?

Worth the trip to see a brand new way to bring peace in the Middle East

War is destroying a small town in Lebanon. The bridge connecting it to the outside world is a bombed-out disaster, navigable only by scooter. Minefields blow up local livestock and occasionally injure roaming children. Women make frequent pilgrimages to the cemetery to mourn those lost to war. A single television brings the modern world to them in static-filled snippets. For years, a tenuous peace has held the town’s Muslim and Christian communities together. Both are...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener; 8/2/12

The Dark Knight Rises

The bane of this movie is the lead villain

Eight years after the Joker held Gotham City in his grip of terror, the rich have gotten richer, the poor are in Dickensian straits and the city is at a stalemate. With the Harvey Dent Act, the city has reduced crime by stuffing the jails. Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale: The Flowers of War) is now a retired recluse who pines for lost love and hopes to heal a mind and body battered by his Batman stint. Gotham and Wayne are pulled out of indolence by meaty mercenary Bane (Tom...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener; 7/26/12

Not All Puppets Live on Sesame Street

The googly-eyed creations of Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre’s Avenue Q offer a lesson on what happens when you don’t fulfill your dreams

“If you brought your kids to this, you’re [expletive] parents!” So begins Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre’s latest production, which features puppets, songs and decidedly adult situations. It’s a show so crude, rude and politically incorrect the only thing you can do is laugh. The show follows Princeton (Colin Hood), a recent college graduate who realizes the real world isn’t as great as he imagined it. Jobless, holding...

Article - Theatre Reviews; by Diana Beechener; 7/19/12

Beasts of the Southern Wild

A charming fairytale about a little girl who lives in the bathtub

On the other side of the Delta levees is a shantytown called The Bathtub. It’s so cut off from the outside world that six-year-old Hushpuppy (Quvenzhané Wallis) envisions her community as a wonderland. Life is simple, clothes are dirty and magic is everywhere. Hushpuppy lives next to her father Wink (Dwight Henry) and spends her day collecting pets, feeding the hodgepodge of animals, listening to the heartbeats of every creature she encounters and making sense of the...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener; 7/19/12

Savages

Two drug dealers find out the Mexican cartel means business in this tale of sex, blood and marijuana

Ben (Aaron Johnson: Albert Nobbs) and Chon (Taylor Kitsch: Battleship) are two California boys who made it big in a volatile market. No, they’re not investment bankers. This pair of best buds grows the greatest ganja in the world. Ben is a brilliant botanist and businessman who believes in Buddhist philosophies and letting problems go. Chon is a former Navy SEAL who believes in beating any problem into a bloody pulp. With Chon in charge of the less savory parts...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener; 7/12/12

Ted

Teddy bears can be pigs

Young John Bennet (Bretton Manley) didn’t have many friends, so for Christmas his parents bought him a stuffed bear named Ted (Seth MacFarlane: Family Guy). Thanks to the magic of the season and the power of a child’s wish, Ted became real. At first, Ted is a godsend, giving John confidence and companionship. Twenty-seven years later, however, Ted keeps 35-year-old John (Mark Wahlberg: ) stuck in permanent adolescence. Ted and John...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener; 7/5/12

Brave

Never accept a tart from an angry teenager

Being a lady in ancient societies was a real drag. You had to truss yourself up in uncomfortable dresses, follow the rules of court and be prim even as the men around you acted like imbeciles. If you were really good at following the rules, your grand reward was to be married off to some drooling noble who made up in breeding what he lacked in intelligence and sensitivity. So it’s not that surprising that young princess Merida (Kelly McDonald: Boardwalk Empire) balks...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener; 6/28/12

An Olive Branch Snapped

Bay Weekly commemorates the War of 1812 bicentennial with a look at this week in history.

Bay Weekly commemorates the War of 1812 bicentennial with a look at this week in history By June 23 of 1812, the United States of America was at war with Great Britain. Though neither nation was aching for a fight, trade disputes, Britain’s support of Native American rebellion and the forceful conscription of Americans into the British Navy pushed the old and new nations to an impasse. But this week 200 years ago, America flirted with the idea of suspending its six-...

Article - History & Lore; by Diana Beechener; 6/21/12

Moonrise Kingdom

Kids do the darndest things, like stab people with lefty scissors

Two troubled 12-year-olds find that their broken pieces fit perfectly in this latest Wes Anderson (The Fantastic Mr. Fox) fantasy. Sam (newcomer Jared Gilman) is an orphan with emotional issues and excellent scouting skills. Suzy Bishop (newcomer Kara Hayward) is a quiet girl prone to violent outbursts, observing the world through the detaching lens of binoculars and wearing too much eye makeup. Meeting on a small New England island, they discover they...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener; 6/21/12