Fantastic Beasts: J.K. Rowling Channels Dr. Who

Set some 70 years before the events in the Harry Potter series, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them centers on Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), author of what will become the official textbook for magical creatures at Hogwarts, as he fumbles about New York City with a suitcase full of magical creatures. Predictably, some of them escape, Newt must recapture them, and something less than hilarity ensues.

Fantastic Beasts is J.K. Rowling’s first attempt at writing a screenplay, and, apparently, what she really wanted to write was an episode of Dr. Who. If you put the fourth, fifth, and sixth doctors into a blender and hit puree, Newt Scamander is what you would get in terms of both look and mannerisms. Instead of a sonic screwdriver, he has several magical creatures small enough to carry on his person, and they serve the same function of facilitating lazy writing by simply doing whatever the plot requires at any given moment. Newt doesn’t have a TARDIS, but he’s got a suitcase that contains an extra-dimensional space large enough to accommodate an entire zoo of magical beasts. Continue reading →

The Opera Experience: Movie Theater vs Live Hall

Since 2006, the Metropolitan Opera, based in New York City, has been transmitting selected performances live in HD to movie theaters worldwide, and I recently attended several of these performances at a theater near my home. I have also attended live opera many times across the country and even overseas. The obvious question – How does seeing an opera in a movie theater compare to seeing it on stage in an opera hall? It’s not as straightforward as you might think.

There is a lot to recommend the movie theater option. Accessibility is a huge consideration. I live near Seattle, and to attend an opera there, I must fight through horrendous traffic and pay quite a lot just to park. Getting to the movie theater was an easy drive, and parking was free. While nowhere near as grand as an opera house, the theater had comfy leather chairs that reclined almost all the way back. And there were cup holders. Those chairs were certainly more comfortable than the seats at any opera house I have ever been to. Continue reading →

Tristan und Isolde: Catastrophic Misfire in the Met’s Season Opener

The Metropolitan Opera opened its 2016-2017 season with the Wagnerian favorite, Tristan und Isolde. Directed by Mariusz Trelinski, it featured a strong cast including Nina Stemme as Isolde, Stuart Skelton as Tristan, and Ekaterina Gubanova as Brangäne. With the orchestra conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, this had all the makings of a great production.

Unfortunately, a relentless onslaught of truly bizarre staging torpedoed it from beginning to end. It was set on a modern naval vessel, but it was difficult to figure out just what sort of crew this was supposed to be. Tristan was dressed in a formal naval uniform, complete with emblems of rank and a chest full of ribbons. The rest of the crew, on the other hand, were a motley assortment of thugs who looked like they’d be far more at home smuggling heroin than escorting the king’s intended bride. There was certainly nothing resembling military discipline on board. The sailors lost no opportunity to leer at the women and menace them. One went so far as to smell some of Isolde’s lingerie before stealing it. These goons were supposed to be an honor guard? Continue reading →

The Magnificent Seven May Not be Truly Magnificent, But at Least It’s Fun

On the heels of a summer of remakes nobody wanted or asked for (Ghostbusters, Ben-Hur, Pete’s Dragon), we have The Magnificent Seven, a light but entertaining shoot ‘em up that will never reach the iconic status of the 1960 movie of the same name or Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai, but will provide a fun diversion for a couple of hours.

(l to r) Byung-hun Lee, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Ethan Hawke, Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Vincent D'Onofrio and Martin Sensmeier in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and Columbia Pictures' THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN.

(l to r) Byung-hun Lee, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Ethan Hawke, Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Vincent D’Onofrio and Martin Sensmeier in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and Columbia Pictures’ THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN.

In director Antoine Fuqua’s latest iteration, the bandits stealing food from a village of farmers are replaced by an evil gold mining company trying to steal the land. Emma (Haley Bennett), wife of a murdered villager, sets off to hire some defenders, and with the help of Chisolm (Denzel Washington), manages to assemble a band of western archetypes, including a wise-cracking gambler/sleight of hand artist (Chris Pratt), a confederate sharpshooter (Ethan Hawke), a gun/knife master (Byung-hun Lee), a Mexican outlaw (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), an Indian (Martin Sensmeier), and a mountain man the size of a mountain (Vincent D’Onofrio). Continue reading →