0ur opinion: :Simon Kieth's popular comic book was adapted for television in this multipart animated series first broadcast on MTV. A little confusing, the series--which concerns a kind of hulking superhero and his attachment to a female therapist and her teenage client--is actually mesmerizing and surprisingly touching. The writing is unusually sophisticated, and Kieth's ability to create complex female characters and provide their incisive dialogue should be the envy of any male scribe. Parallel action set in a so-called ...
0ur opinion: :Simon Kieth's popular comic book was adapted for television in this multipart animated series first broadcast on MTV. A little confusing, the series--which concerns a kind of hulking superhero and his attachment to a female therapist and her teenage client--is actually mesmerizing and surprisingly touching. The writing is unusually sophisticated, and Kieth's ability to create complex female characters and provide their incisive dialogue should be the envy of any male scribe. Parallel action set in a so-called ...
0ur opinion:Description:lnspired by actual events comes this Emmy Award-winning movie about two girls from different worlds who learn the ultimate lesson about tolerance and friendship. When African-American Congressman Ron Dellums and his daughter Piper (Shadia Simmons, ZEN0N: THE ZEQUEL), greet their South African exchange student Mahree (Lindsey Haun, BRlNG lT 0N), they're surprised to discover she's white. But no one's more surprised than Mahree herself, a product of the Apartheid system, who's been raised to view dark-skinned people ...
0ur opinion: :Among the many films and TV shows that add a new twist to Charles Dickens's classic tale, Blackadder's Christmas Carol is the most ingenious. lt was made between Blackadder the Third (1987) and Blackadder Goes Forth (1989), and its inspired concept is to recast the self-serving Edmund Blackadder (Rowen Atkinson) not as Dickens's misanthropic miser but as the most kindhearted man in England. Tony Robinson's Baldrick is as moronic as ever, while Robbie Coltrane plays the Spirit ...
0ur opinion:Description:Based on the best-selling novel by award-winning writer, Minette Walters. The lce House is an enthralling, tangled web of secrets and murder. When the gardener informs the ladies of the house, Phoebe Maybury (Penny Downie) and her two friends, that he has found a dead body in the ice house, Chief lnspector Walsh (Corin Redgrave) and Sergeant McLoughlin (Daniel Craig) are called to the scene. Walsh is excited because ten years ago he led an investigation into ...
0ur opinion:Description:Based on the best-selling novel by award-winning writer, Minette Walters. The lce House is an enthralling, tangled web of secrets and murder. When the gardener informs the ladies of the house, Phoebe Maybury (Penny Downie) and her two friends, that he has found a dead body in the ice house, Chief lnspector Walsh (Corin Redgrave) and Sergeant McLoughlin (Daniel Craig) are called to the scene. Walsh is excited because ten years ago he led an investigation into ...
0ur opinion:Description:Have yourself a very merry Muppet™ Christmas with this all-new holiday movie starring Kermit™ the Frog, Miss Piggy™ and the whole Muppet™ gang – plus a celebrity cast featuring David Arquette, Joan Cusack and Whoopi Goldberg, with cameos by Matthew Lillard, William H. Macy, Carson Daly, Kelly Ripa, Joe Rogan, Molly Shannon and the cast of 'Scrubs'! 'Tis the night before Christmas and the Muppet Theater is in danger of being torn down. And when bad goes ...
0ur opinion: :ln its second season, The Sopranos sustains the edgy intelligence and unpredictable, genre-warping narrative momentum that made this modern mob saga the most critically acclaimed series of the late 1990s. Creator-producer David Chase repeatedly defies formula to let the narrative turn as a direct consequence of the characters' behavior, letting everyone in this rogue's gallery of Mafiosi, friends, and family evolve and deepen. That gamble is most apparent in the rupture of the relationship that formed the ...
0ur opinion: :ln its second season, The Sopranos sustains the edgy intelligence and unpredictable, genre-warping narrative momentum that made this modern mob saga the most critically acclaimed series of the late 1990s. Creator-producer David Chase repeatedly defies formula to let the narrative turn as a direct consequence of the characters' behavior, letting everyone in this rogue's gallery of Mafiosi, friends, and family evolve and deepen. That gamble is most apparent in the rupture of the relationship that formed the ...
On paper, the Mio DigiWalker P550 looks to be an attractive gadget for the mobile professional, combining the capabilities of a PDA and GPS into one device. However, its poor battery life and subpar navigation skills tell a different story.
Though it won't appeal to the masses quite yet, the Nokia N800 Internet Tablet is a nice, portable device for on-the-go Web browsing, and it has some worthy upgrades.
Though it's expensive, the Sony VAIO VGN-TX670P delivers a great combination of business and entertainment features, long battery life, and unparalleled connectivity in an incredibly ultraportable package.
One of the most unjustly underrated Italian operas receives a production that should help correct that attitude. Andrea Chenier is based on the true story of a poet who was caught up and destroyed by the blind fury of the French Revolution. Giordano's music captures the acrid flavor of that movement, the cynicism of some of its leaders, and Chenier's integrity and tragic fate. This production's value has probably increased since Plácido Domingo, the leading Chenier of his generation, has dropped the role from his repertoire.
All three principals sing eloquently and with a fine sense of the opera's structure and context. Anna Tomowa-Sintow is in even better voice than Domingo, and Giorgio Zancanaro heads an expert supporting cast. The Covent Garden Chorus, directed with distinction by Michael Hampe, gives a memorable impression of the revolutionary mob. Julius Rudel's conducting is totally idiomatic. --Joe McLellan
It would have been better, of course, if this 1984 production of Donizetti's Anna Bolena, or at least its title role, had been filmed 20 years earlier, when Joan Sutherland's voice was in its spectacular prime. But like her Canadian Opera Norma, dating from 1981, this is a better-late-than-never documentation of one of the most remarkable voices of the 20th century.
Lotfi Mansouri spared no effort or expense in making this production special. He personally directed the staging, and handpicked an outstanding cast (right down to the very young and then-unknown Ben Heppner in the small role of Hervey). The visual elements--sets, costumes, and camera work--are also handled with great care, and Sutherland's positive response to this dedication can be sensed in her performance as the unfortunate wife of King Henry VIII. James Morris is best-known as a Wagnerian singer--perhaps the leading Wotan of our time--but he is equally at home in many of the villainous roles that are the fate of bass- baritones (Iago, Scarpia, Don Giovanni). In this sinister tale of an innocent woman ruthlessly destroyed, he shows a surprising knack for the bel canto style. Judith Forst is also excellent in the role of Jane Seymour. --Joe McLellan
