Arts and Culture (All)

Article - Live Music; by C.T. Schwink - 7/21/11

Keeping the Music — And the Party — Alive

Power Movement Project rebooted after all these years

Five years after they last played together, Power Movement Project sounds sharp. In practice at bassist Marc DeRusso’s Annapolis home, their hip-hop rock fused with reggae undertones shakes the house and booms down the street. DeRusso slaps and taps out punchy bass lines to hold down the bottom end of their sound. Keyboardist Jeremiah Read wields dual keyboards, one hanging over the other. Switching from space tones to an organ to the classic grand piano, Read keeps it...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener - 7/14/11

Horrible Bosses

Three friends prove the best revenge makes for great comedy

Everyone has had a moment of wanting to kill the boss. Maybe it’s a fleeting thought after a bad meeting or a constant daydream in a hostile work environment. Either way, typically, calmer heads prevail and no lives are lost. In Horrible Bosses, calmer heads don’t prevail, and it’s pretty damn funny. The film follows three buddies who each have nightmare bosses. Nick (Jason Bateman: Paul) has been working for eight years for Dave Harken...

Article - Theatre Reviews; by Davina Grace Hill - 7/14/11

Summer Garden Theatre’s The Marvelous Wonderettes

Songs from the ’50s and ’60s are the stars of this refreshing show

Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre’s The Marvelous Wonderettes is frothy, refreshing and a complete contrast to its most recent production, Chicago. The all-black set has given way to pastels, and the jailhouse trollops are replaced by 1950s’ suburban teenagers. The Marvelous Wonderettes are a singing quartet performing at their 1958 senior prom. In the second act, they appear 10 years later at their class reunion. That premise is the hook for a night of vintage and...

Article - Theatre Reviews; by Jane C. Elkin - 7/14/11

The Talent Machine’s Li’l Abner

If’n you like watchin’ young’uns have a good time, you’re gonna like Li’l Abner.

In 24 years of showcasing Annapolis’ youth, The Talent Machine has groomed countless stars of community and professional theater, who continue to prove allegiance by fostering the company’s newest talents. Enter 45 performers, aged eight to 14, in a troupe revival of Li’l Abner, the hillbilly musical based on Al Capp’s classic comic strip. These kids are right good at ferretin’ out all the campy humor in the colorful soap opera of life in...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener - 7/7/11

Cars 2

A southern-fried catastrophe ruins Pixar’s stellar run at the top of animation.

After 16 years of producing the most lauded animation in the film industry, Pixar has earned the blind trust of critics and audiences alike. This is why the horrible, thoughtless cash grab of Cars 2 seems like such a betrayal. It’s like finding out your favorite uncle secretly enjoys kicking puppies. The plot, such as it is, revolves around the antics of Cars’ country-fried sidekick, Mater (voiced by Larry the Cable Guy: Witless Protection), who was at best...

Article - Theatre Reviews; by Jane C. Elkin - 7/7/11

Bay Theatre Company’s Rumple Who?

Kids are totally invested in the story, and the script is so packed with hyperbole that it transcends caricatures to entertain the adults as well

Will Bartlett’s one-hour musical adaptation of Rumplestiltskin has run continuously off-Broadway since 1985 with good reason. It does a nice job of distilling a long and complex children’s classic with a warped message into an entertaining and concise plot with a healthy moral. And this summer, lucky little Naptowners need travel only as far as West Street to see it. The traditional Rumplestiltskin tale is creepy. Because of her father’s drunken boasting, a...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener - 6/30/11

Super 8

JJ Abrams writes a love note to Stephen Spielberg with aliens, explosions and boyish wonder

Did you ever wonder what would have happened if ET had been found by the government instead of that adorable moppet Elliott? When extraterrestrials don’t get to phone home, they get mightily pissed, according to JJ Abrams’ (Star Trek) new film Super 8. Less an original monster movie than a homage to Stephen Spielberg’s ET and works of the 1970s and ‘80s, Abrams gets away with the tribute by keeping his writing solid and his cast of characters...

Article - Theatre Reviews; by Dick Wilson - 6/30/11

Twin Beach Players’ Return to the Forbidden Planet

This update on Shakespeare is fun all the way to the interplanetary nether regions

Twin Beach Players’ Return to the Forbidden Planet is a howler, and I mean that in a good way. It’s original and it feels spontaneous, but a ton of work had to go into this production. The large cast, comprising 14 teenagers and one adult, take over the spacious stage for a romp that takes us out to the spatial interplanetary nether regions, and it’s fun all the way. To the accompaniment of some well-integrated 1960s’ rock music, Captain Tempest (Noah...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Richard E. Wilson - 6/23/11

Green Lantern

While some of this sci-fi flick’s multi-faceted plot is beyond preposterous, it’s still good fun.

Here’s a rarity: The Green Lantern is a sci-fi movie that strays from the well-trampled aliens vs. Earth-guy story. What’s especially rare in sci-fi films is a plot that is multi-threaded and multi-faceted with enough twists to maintain interest. In The Green Lantern we are given not only a genuine, self-effacing super-hero but also a mad scientist who’s just as smart as our hero and who comes within a hair of taking over the world. Just for kicks, we have some friendly aliens...

Article - Theatre Reviews; by Davina Grace Hill - 6/23/11

Infinity Theatre Company’s My Way

For those of Sinatra’s generation, this is a memory walk. For those younger, My Way could make some new Sinatra fans.

Tribute bands of performers impersonating famous artists are in vogue. My Way, now playing at Infinity Theatre, is subtitled “A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra.” But this show is intended as a genuine tribute, not merely an impersonation of Ol’ Blue Eyes. For that, be grateful because it is much more, and it reaches loftier goals. Four professional singer/actors (all members of Actors’ Equity) take Sinatra songs sung thematically and bring them to...