REVIEW: JACUZZI
In preparation for The Debate Society’s new play Jacuzzi, I wrote a very long thing about the different narrative effects and meanings water has had in all of their plays. I was delighted to find that the fully functionally hot tub that is the centerpiece of this new production actually represents something very simple and obvious: wealth and status. Presented as the culmination of the company’s three-year residency with … Continue reading REVIEW: JACUZZI
PRE-GAME: THE DEBATE SOCIETY’S JACUZZI
This week I will be seeing Jacuzzi, a new play by The Debate Society that is being presented at Ars Nova. My proper review will post sometime after it opens on October 13. I have a lot to say about The Debate Society company and their remarkable body of work – probably enough to fill a book at this point. It is always difficult for … Continue reading PRE-GAME: THE DEBATE SOCIETY’S JACUZZI
I THINK WE’RE ALL BASICALLY DONE WITH BETRAYAL, RIGHT?
*Some Big Spoilers for Snowpiercer* There was a time when I loved nothing more in a movie, TV show, or comic than a good old fashioned eleventh hour betrayal. There’s obviously a proud literary tradition of betrayal in fiction that includes the Bible, Milton, and Shakespeare, but here are a couple of random but well-known contemporary examples: The Empire Strikes Back. The first season of … Continue reading I THINK WE’RE ALL BASICALLY DONE WITH BETRAYAL, RIGHT?
A HIP LITTLE DETAIL IN DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
*Mild Spoilers* The spinning globe of a 76 gas station in a redwood jungle. The first iPad “charge complete” chirp in a decade. The palm frond surgical masks worn by a group of ape doctors. Director Matt Reeves’ Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a terrific action movie that earns its keep by building in time to let us appreciate stylish little details … Continue reading A HIP LITTLE DETAIL IN DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
THE CW’S ARROW: ONE LAST THOUGHT AND THEN I WILL SHUT UP ABOUT IT
Back in February I posted a thing about The CW show Arrow, which is based on the DC Comics character Green Arrow. I fell off watching it for a while, because of things like Mad Men, House of Cards, and Game of Thrones, but now I am back, smack in the doldrums of the middle of the first season. The series started very strongly and … Continue reading THE CW’S ARROW: ONE LAST THOUGHT AND THEN I WILL SHUT UP ABOUT IT
REVIEW: KING KIRBY
See the black dots around the Silver Surfer in the image above? Those dots are called the “Kirby Krackle.” To the uninitiated twenty-first century observer, the dots may seem like a minor artistic embellishment used on a quaint periodical from half a century ago. In actuality these little dots were a kind of minor revolution; a technique employed by a master artist that showcases his … Continue reading REVIEW: KING KIRBY
THIS COMIC I MADE IN 5TH GRADE IS KIND OF A DADA MASTERPIECE
It is with great pride that I share this rare gem from my childhood, which I recently unearthed on a trip back to my parents’ house in Georgia: “The Gathering of the C-Men” Issue #1! This comic that I made circa 1991 has all kinds of CRAZY stuff going on in it and is, after a considered rereading, actually pretty brilliant in it’s total lack … Continue reading THIS COMIC I MADE IN 5TH GRADE IS KIND OF A DADA MASTERPIECE
WHY SO SAD, BATMAN?
I really don’t want to be a hater two years in advance of the Batman vs. Superman movie — which we learned yesterday will be a courtroom drama called Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice — but the “Sad Batman” meme that has emerged in wake of that first look at Ben Affleck as Batman has been pretty hilarious. It began when director Zack Snyder … Continue reading WHY SO SAD, BATMAN?
A FEW THOUGHTS ON BURAN THEATRE’S MAGIC BULLETS
At the top of Buran Theatre’s Magic Bullets, the cast enters singing in a serene choral processional. It’s a brightly composed number that somewhere down the line probably owes a debt to Stephen Schwartz’s Godspell; it’s all about being the “light of the world.” This pious tone continues for a while. But then the register shifts, the music transitions abruptly, and all of a damn … Continue reading A FEW THOUGHTS ON BURAN THEATRE’S MAGIC BULLETS
MAGIC BULLETS PRE-GAME
I’m going to level with you guys. There’s a good chance that I will NOT be reviewing the actual production of Buran Theater Company’s new production Magic Bullets – one of the final performances at the venerable Incubator Arts Project at St. Marks Church, before they close up shop this July. My wife gave birth to our second baby a few days ago so I … Continue reading MAGIC BULLETS PRE-GAME
Surreal Time Press 