God, Guns, and Gossip: OTSL Delivers a Sparkling SUSANNAH
There was a rapturous moment offstage during the opening night of Opera Theatre of St. Louis’ Susannah. Conductor Gemma New, herself in the midst of a glorious performance, took advantage of a musical pause to set aside her baton, fold her hands and take in the moment before joining the audience in their thunderous applause for soprano […]
Theatre Review: Stages St. Louis’ Beautiful and Engaging AIDA
Loosely based on Giuseppe Verdi’s opera of the same name, Aida follows the story of a Nubian Princess captured and enslaved during war by an Egypt general. As they learn more about each other, the two fall in love – to perilous consequences. Tim Rice (lyrics) and Elton John (music) joined with book writers Linda […]
Movie Review: TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS Starring Anthony Ramos, Dominique Fishback, Peter Cullen
I am convinced Michael Bay is DJ Khaled; every time you think Transformers is done, he says, “Another one.” I’m just saying, has anyone ever seen Michael Bay and DJ Khaled in the same room together? Do your own research, people. Okay, that’s not entirely serious. It was announced a while back that Bumblebee was […]
Television Review: Wrapping up Ted Lasso – “Barbecue Sauce” (S3E12)
Note: since the final episode came out a few days ago, this review may contain some spoilers. It’s not solely a review of episode 12, but more a collation of thoughts of the entire series with a few thoughts on how it all wrapped up. 2020 was not a great year. Three years later, the […]
Theatre Review: Passionate and Political, Opera Theatre St. Louis’ TOSCA Refreshes a Classic
There is not much color in Opera Theatre St. Louis’ production of Tosca. But that does not mean it is drab. Relying on minimalist lighting, projections and powerful singing, stage director James Robinson has accentuated the powerful drama of Puccini’s opera and taken a cue from Orson Welles, giving audiences a stark and sleek presentation that fully […]
Movie Review: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE Starring Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Jason Schwartzman, Oscar Isaac
Sometimes the best things in life are surprises. I’ve mentioned in previous reviews that I’ve never been huge in the comic books/superhero scene. I watched some stuff like the X-Men Animated series, Batman Animated Series, etc., but I never collected comic books or a ton of action figures as a kid. So when Spider-man: Into […]
Opera Theatre’s “Treemonisha” Gloriously Revives Scott Joplin’s Final Opera
Every king needs a queen. If you’re Scott Joplin, the king of Ragtime, that queen is Treemonisha. Opening Opera Theatre of St. Louis’ 2023 season, Treemonisha is an emotive production featuring powerful performances and a rousing score from the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. This rendering of Treemonisha, now presented as an opera within an opera, was envisioned and created […]
Television Review: Ted Lasso S3E11 “Mom City”
Well, here we are: the penultimate episode of the season and, dare I say, series. It’s certainly a little bittersweet to think about, but I’ll save those thoughts for next week when the series wraps up. The show has mostly set football aside the last few episodes, showing just a couple of brief clips while […]
Movie Review: FAST X Starring Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jason Momoa, Jason Statham
“It’s a perfect movie!” – Quentin Tarantino “One of my favorite pictures.” – Steven Spielberg “One of the biggest epic films I have ever seen.” – Christopher Nolan Hard to believe three legendary filmmakers said this about Fast X, right? It should be; they didn’t. They’re definitely real quotes by them, but in reference to […]
Television Review: Ted Lasso S3E10 “International Break”
Catharsis. I feel like I’ve used that word a bit when talking about Ted Lasso, but ultimately, it’s the best term I can use to describe most of the episodes. Each episode is designed to elicit some sort of emotion (in most cases, multiple emotions), and while small issues may be resolved by the end […]