Film Review: Kevin James in ‘Guns Up’
It’s a long Segway ride from Paul Blart, Mall Cop to the deadly ex-cop Kevin James plays in the new film “Guns Up.” In it, he’s left his police career…
Film Review: Long Movie for Short Ride
The rules of Professional Bull Riding, I have recently learned, involve staying on a bull for eight seconds, while holding on with one hand. Creating a feature film about an…
Some Other Things I’ve Written Lately
Here are some other things I've written lately: A look at the creation of Japanese kumiko, featured in this year's Smithsonian Craft Show, for Smithsonian Magazine online. A review of…
And Some Recent Stage Reviews Around D.C.
Here are links to some of the theater reviews I've done so far this year for Broadway World: A first rate "Uncle Vanya" starring Hugh Bonneville and John Benjamin Hickey,…
Film Review: ‘The Zebra and The Bear’
“The Zebra and the Bear” sounds like a nature film, but in this case the zebra represents someone with a rare disease and the bear is the protective mama who…
Film Review: ‘The King of Kings,’ Cartoon Jesus
About the time he was creating the crowd-pleasing “David Copperfield,” Charles Dickens was writing a book meant for a much smaller audience — his children. “The Life of Our Lord,”…
The Vigilante Movie Returns: ‘Shooting Heroin’
The vigilante film was at its heights as a genre a half century ago with ugly crowd-pleasers like the Charles Bronson franchise “Death Wish.” But it can be traced back…
Movie Review: ‘Saint Nick of Bethlehem’
It’s been more than a month since Christmas, but they were sending around an indie film called “Saint Nick of Bethlehem” for reviews. Maybe because it would have been lost…
Movie Review: ‘King Saud,’ Worst of Year?
Writing at the end of the year, I can safely say I won’t see a worse film this year than “King Saud,” a clumsy, blood-soaked stumble through world problems through…
When Jimmy Carter Came to the Theater
I never met Jimmy Carter, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning former President who died Sunday at 100. But I was at Arena Stage in D.C. for the premiere of a play…