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Teenagers'
super powers
take flight in 'Chronicle’
WAUKESHA -
Watching "Chronicle," I was reminded of films like
"The Book of Eli" or "Cloverfield" -
edgy genre experiments that elevated the monster film and
the apocalypse road trip, illuminating in the process an
otherwise drab winter at the movie theater.
'Extremely Loud' delves
into tragedy, endurance
WAUKESHA - Is it appropriate to
build a work of drama around the horrifying terrorist acts
of Sept. 11, 2001?
Liam
Neeson braves the
elements in 'The Grey'
WAUKESHA - Ever
since "Schindler's List," Liam Neeson's career has
been an uneven affair. On the one hand, he appears in
serious drama, like "Kinsey," and then on the
other he has routinely appeared as the gritty, vengeful
action star of such thrillers as "Taken" and
"Unknown." As a film critic, it's hard to tell
nowadays just what Neeson is going to show up.
Devious,
delicious 'Haywire'
perfects the world of mayhem
What’s immediately refreshing
- and hypnotic - about "Haywire" is its refusal to
waste time or insult the audience.
Mischievous
performances
heighten thrills of 'Tinker Tailor'
To see "Tinker Tailor
Soldier Spy" is to step into a time machine - to return
to an era when movies were more confident, elaborate,
engrossing and altogether enchanting.
Streep
commands screen
in 'Iron Lady'
All hail, Meryl
Streep. In "The Iron Lady," one of the world's
greatest actresses returns with one of her most challenging
and breathtaking performances. Here she plays Margaret
Thatcher, the former prime minister of the United Kingdom,
and one of the more polarizing political figures of all
time.
Crowe's
attempt to maximize
feel-good story misses the mark
It’s hard to be down on a
feel-good holiday movie. There were few titles over the
holiday season that were marketed more wholesomely than
"We Bought a Zoo." And yet of all the movies I saw
during the tail end of 2011, this was the one that left me
least satisfied.
Tensions
run deep, and so do
the emotions in 'Dragon Tattoo'
WAUKESHA - There are the movie
heroes you appreciate as you follow along from a distance
and then those you root for as you see through their eyes.
Mission
accomplished:
'Ghost Protocol' electrifying
WAUKESHA - As the man who molded
the likes of "The Incredibles" and
"Ratatouille," Brad Bird has become renowned as a
filmmaker who can mold eccentric stories around indelible
characters. Like all the Pixar productions, his projects
were awash in heart.
Camera
limitless in 'Tintin'
WAUKESHA - Just
when the lackluster 3-D conversions were starting to turn
audiences off to the whole concept, here come Martin
Scorsese and Steven Spielberg with two projects that point
to a brave new era of lively, liberated 3-D adventures.
'Descendants'
unforgettable
WAUKESHA - There’s something
telling about the real estate deal at the center of
"The Descendants." In this time of underwater
mortgages and bleak economic forecasts, Matt King (George
Clooney) seems to have it made.
'New
Year’s Eve' bland nostalgia
WAUKESHA -
Hollywood has used the holidays as an excuse to make stories
about movie stars. But in 2011, they’ve done a complete
180-degree shift. We now use movie stars as an excuse to
create a story about a holiday.
‘The
Sitter’ is for adults only
WAUKESHA - Back in 2003, a dark
little twisted comedy by the name of "Bad Santa"
snuck into movie theaters the day before Thanksgiving.
Throughout the month of December, it became something of a
modern cult classic - a tale of a foul-mouthed, alcoholic
mall Santa who tells off unsuspecting kids before robbing
department stores blind on Christmas Eve.
'Arthur
Christmas' sweet
and silly comedy
WAUKESHA
- There's a wholesomeness to "Arthur Christmas"
that won me over almost immediately. I was reminded of the
2003 holiday surprise "Elf" - the Will Ferrell
comedy that, unlike so many of his vulgar comedies, wore its
sweetness on its arm.
Green
is gold again with 'The Muppets'
WAUKESHA - There's
something wonderfully refreshing about "The
Muppets," a big-budget enterprise that is this sweet,
sentimental and sincere. The word that kept occurring to me
on my way out of the theater was showmanship.
Martin
Scorsese surprise: 'Hugo'
is best 3-D film ever made
WAUKESHA
- Back in 2009, I was not one of those critics who minced
words about "Avatar." James Cameron promised to
deliver the world a 3-D movie that would make us think
differently about the art form. And he delivered with a
fictional landscape and computer-generated characters that
he built from the ground up, with 3-D in mind.
Hoover's
facade hinders 'J. Edgar'
WAUKESHA - Expert
in its craftsmanship but curiously bland in its delivery,
"J. Edgar" is one the least memorable
"big" movies of the year.
Adorable:
Best way to
describe ‘Happy Feet Two’
There’s
really no other word to describe "Happy Feet Two"
than adorable.
Striking
visuals elevate ‘Immortals’
WAUKESHA - Tarsem
Singh is probably the best movie director you’ve never
heard of. And while his new gods-and-swords blockbuster
"Immortals" is not exactly one of the year’s
best films, here’s hoping that it gives Singh a bigger
platform from which to wow a whole lot more film lovers.
Old is new again with the Muppets
WAUKESHA - When I
was growing up - think mid-’80s here - there was nothing
more hilarious than the Muppets. I can still remember the
VHS tape that my parents made, stretched to maximum capacity
with the EP recording speed, upon which I was able to watch
1979’s "The Muppet Movie," 1981’s "The
Great Muppet Caper" and a TV holiday special. This was
all in one sitting - over and over.
Adam
Sandler skews juvenile
WAUKESHA - I came of age with Adam
Sandler films, so I understand the appeal. Once upon a time,
before I had seen the classic comedies or understood the humor
essentials of timing and nuance, I thought slapstick like
"Happy Gilmore" and buffoonery like "Billy
Madison" was how it was done.
Hollywood’s
worst drag comedies
WAUKESHA - For a
Hollywood comedian, it’s often the surest path to a laugh:
Don a wig, slip into a dress and slide into some high heels.
‘In
Time’ is exciting thriller
with bevy of smarts
WAUKESHA -
Director Andrew Niccol is fascinated by the rules that
govern society.
'Puss
In Boots' revives spirit of 'Shrek'
WAUKESHA
- Just when you thought that the “Shrek” franchise had
been drained of all novelty and creativity, here comes “Puss
In Boots” - a surprisingly limber and energized continuation
of the green ogre’s fractured fairy tales.
Chemistry
trumps story in 'Tower Heist'
There’s
no denying the infectious chemistry that director Brett Ratner
has brought to his latest comedy-thriller, “Tower Heist.”
'Musketeers'
does
disservice to classic tale
There's
so much silliness on display in "The Three
Musketeers," such mindless zaniness, that something feels
decidedly out of place about this latest adaptation.
'Anonymous'
is a literary thriller
As far as
cinematic wonders go, "Anonymous" may take the
prize for the most delightful film surprise of 2011.
‘Footloose’
revival is both
reverential, meticulous
A competent, jubilant and faithful
revival of the original pop hit, Craig Brewer’s
"Footloose" is every bit as sunny and euphoric as we
expect. It’s a modern crowd-pleaser worthy of the
crowd-pleaser of old.
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'Gershwin
and Friends'
steps back in time
'The Skylight
Opera Theatre had to adjust its schedule this season to
accommodate the illness of Leslie Fitzwater, the vocalist
who was scheduled to reprise her Edith Piaf show following
the Christmas season.
'Wrinkle'
will stimulate imagination
"A Wrinkle
in Time" by Madeleine L'Engle has been a controversial
book since it was published in 1962.
Sister
act makes 'Nunsense'
good-natured fun
When Dan Goggin started his line
of greeting cards, featuring a wisecracking nun, little did
he know that several years later his character would evolve
into "Nunsense," the second-longest-running
off-Broadway musical.
Singin'
the praises
WAUKESHA - With another dazzling
year in area theaters, it is hard to single out the best of
the best.
'Next
to Normal' gives
powerful glimpse of mental illness
MILWAUKEE - "Next to
Normal," a rock musical now showing at The Milwaukee
Repertory Theater, has won its share of awards in 2009 and
2010.
Milwaukee
Rep peaks again with holiday favorite 'A Christmas Carol'
MILWAUKEE - Charles Dickens'
most staunchly popular work is a novella he wrote in six
weeks - "A Christmas Carol," a piece that has been
adapted into every possible form.
Sunset's
premiere of 'Annie'
movin' and groovin' musical
ELM GROVE - As
soon as I realized that Ray Jivoff was directing
"Annie" at the Sunset Playhouse, I knew we were in
for a treat. I've seen many plays directed by him, and all
are successful. He's one of those directors who can motivate
pe
‘Candy
Canes’ will raise
your holiday spirit
WAUKESHA - The Waukesha Civic
Theatre has once again put its creative talents together to
present "Candy Canes and Holiday Carols."
LCP
reprises holiday staple:
‘A Christmas Story’
HARTLAND -
The birth of "A Christmas Story" by Bob Clark was
a somewhat serendipitous event.
Chamber's
'Heroes'
a moving tribute to veterans
"Hero" is a tough word
to define. It's a very subjective term. But we seem to need
them to inspire us and move us forward to emulate them.
Skylight
creates festive
sounds with 'Music Man'
MILWAUKEE - Sometimes even a con
can be conned. That is the lesson inherent in the Meredith
Wilson's wonderful "Music Man." Wilson, who composed this long-lasting musical, set the
scene in his own beloved Iowa at the turn of the last century.
It is hard to see anyone but Robert Preston as Harold Hill,
but Norman Moses makes his 50th appearance at Skylight Opera
Theatre very memorable in his dream role.
Next
Act Theatre's 'Sylvia'
is dog-gone good
A.R. Gurney is a
prolific playwright whose works are frequently accessible in
the area.
‘Fireside
Christmas’ ignites spirit
FORT ATKINSON - The Fireside
Theatre in Fort Atkinson outdid itself with its Christmas
show this year.
Masters
of song and dance come to life
MILWAUKEE - Put
two extraordinary musicians together - a phenomenal pianist
and a song and dance man - and one is in for a mesmerizing
treat.
Bouvelard recaptures Oscar Wilde’s witty comedy
Oscar Wilde’s
witty comedies are always fun to re-experience. The dialogue
is ever clever as he questions the superficial values and
masks of propriety and respectability that dominated
Victorian society.
Love
prevails in 'Marvin's Room'
WAUWATOSA - Playwright Scott
McPherson's "Marvin's Room" collected an array of
awards in 1992, a play which he later converted to film, but
he died before the film was released in 1996.
'The
Tavern' is unique theatrical experience
WAUKESHA
- When one hears the name George M. Cohan, most of us think
of Broadway musicals and memorable patriotic songs such as
“Yankee Doodle Dandy,” “You’re a Grand Ole Flag,”
or “Over There.”
Child
pursues dream in
First Stage production
It is
rare to meet the playwright and the woman who inspired her
to write the play now showing at First Stage Children’s
Theatre, but we were given that privilege following the
performance of "Don't Tell Me I Can't Fly."
Has-been celebrities clash in 'Gorgons'
A steady stream of vitriol
scorches our ears as two frustrated has-been stars excoriate
each other for 90 minutes. Melodrama?
Rep's
'Lombardi' gives
legendary coach his due
MILWAUKEE
-Vince Lombardi's coaching style and success with the Green
Bay Packers made him a legendary figure in the hearts of
Wisconsin sports fans.
Op'ry'
script misses the mark
HARTLAND - When
one has become accustomed to high-quality community theater,
the expectations can work against a given production.
Sunset’s
‘Prelude’ tale
of how love strikes quickly
WAUKESHA
- "Prelude to a Kiss" at the Sunset Playhouse is a
fantasy and a romance, and maybe those two words are more
related than we think at first glance.
First
Stage reaches back
with ‘Seussical’ reprisal
MILWAUKEE
- To celebrate its 25th anniversary, First Stage Children’s
Theatre has reprised "Seussical" in its musical
form.
Civic
Theatre's 'Smoke'
a rollicking good time
Picture
a small town, a tiny Baptist church (67 in attendance last
Sunday), an ardent minister who can quote from the Bible
with frequency and vigor and a traveling singing group (The
Sanctified Sanders Singers) about to arrive to impress the
locals.
'Dining
Room' creatively done
HARTLAND - A.J.
Gurney is an impressive playwright. His plays usually
incorporate a mix of humor and pathos, and his manner of
presenting his story is often a bit unconventional.
High-stepping 'Seven Brides' back
FORT
ATKINSON - "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" is a
typical 1950s musical - lots of dancing, a few showstoppers,
romance and a goodly measure of improbability hidden beneath
the glitz. But it's fun and, I suspect, will continue to
entertain the masses for many years to come.
Rep
portrays Lunt, Fontanne
as ideal stage couple
MILWAUKEE
- Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne’s personal lives (if they
even had one) seldom intruded upon their famed stage life.
'Of
Mice and Men' pits
characters against adversity
SPRING
GREEN - If you want a mix of magic, witches, spirits,
half-human creatures, along with a heavy dose of betrayal
and, of course, an idyllic romance, step up to Shakespeare’s
most fantastical play - "The Tempest."
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