Word: seemly
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...foreign film opens today across the country, and to some it might seem oddly familiar. Winner of numerous international film awards, including Italy's prestigious Donotello for Best Foreign Language Film and the Sundance Film Festival Audience Award, Train of Life is yet another foray into the human condition during the events of World War II. Director and writer Radu Mihaileanu presents the humorous story of an Eastern European Jewish shtetl (village) and its fantastic escape from the Nazis on a fake deportation train they build themselves. Never mind that it was historically impossible for such an event to have...
...Train of Life is a fabulous deception, a wonderful fairy tale that tries to tame the cynic in everyone into submission. It might seem sappy, it's certainly not real and it is depressing even as it takes the audience along on its life-giving journey. To even hint at the ending would be unfair, but let's just say it puts a powerful spin on how the rest of the movie is remembered. Memory was never so bittersweet, but fairy tales were never so skillfully told...
Written by Jacobean playwright Thomas Middleton in the early 17th century, Women Beware Women might seem at risk of being somewhat out-of-date: the tricky iambic pentameter of the dialogue and rather archaic betrothal practices are more reminiscent of Shakespearean times than they are of modern day America. However, the production is at times so wicked, so sensationalist (think lots of incest and death), that the audience can't help but be captivated. Whether it be the orgy at the end of the first act or the well-choreographed (but comedic) swordplay that results in death and still more...
...creative use of space and the smaller dimensions of the Loeb Experimental Theater also make this production seem larger than life. Montel cleverly utilizes the different levels of the stage and the concept of distance to vary the intimacy of each scene. Mellow musical interludes provide for subtle scene transitions...
...Overall though, Women Beware Women is an accomplishment for all involved. While the non-stop melodrama and treachery seem a bit over the top at times, it is tastefully done. The cast does an excellent job in giving life to the complex language of the work, while the orchestration of the final scene cleverly draws attention to a number of events that seem to be unfolding onstage simultaneously...