By performing Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” in the era of the #MeToo movement, the Houston Grand Opera is shedding a different light on the classical masterpiece. The show’s namesake is a manipulative, lying, abusive, rich and aristocratic playboy. The last time the Houston Grand Opera performed “Don Giovanni” was in...
Theatre Under the Stars’ performance of “Ragtime” may be an even more relevant and cherished musical today than ever. Although the play debuted in 1998, it could have been written in the era of the Black Lives Matter movement. The story explores themes of race, gender, class and immigration through the lens of...
Director Pierre Morel is famous for propelling former character actors to a fresh start in the action genre, most notably Liam Neeson who really kick-started his career after being a one-man army in the “Taken” franchise . Now, in times of #MeToo, he tells an old story in new garments with Jennifer “Elektra” Garner as...
In 2015 “Sicario” stunned critics by becoming one of the best movies of the year, so it was no surprise that a sequel was immediately greenlit. Part two, “Day of the Soldado,” is now in theaters and it’s an even darker, intense film than the first. After a devastating suicide-bombing attack in a supermarket, the U.S....
The classic story of innocent young love doomed by hostile rivalries comes to life at the Houston Grand Opera’s production of West Side Story. West Side Story is a relatable modern take on William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet that is a pop culture staple. The retelling began as the brainchild of...
A play about the making of a terrible movie makes for great entertainment. You don’t have to be a fan of the 1963 film “Antony and Cleopatra” to enjoy the Alley Theatre’s production of “Cleo.” Even Cleo’s playwright Lawrence Wright calls it a terrible movie. “Cleo” is surprisingly funny for a show about an infamous love...
This year at the South By Southwest film festival they screened over 130 movies of all genres from all over the world. No one is able to watch all of them, but I saw a good portion. This year’s selection was very strong, and overall I liked more movies than last year. I previously reviewed my personal festival...
“Daisy” at Main Street Theatre explores the power of manipulation and the creation of the infamous TV spot that forever changed elections in America. The commercial aired only once, but it shook the American psyche as the first major negative political TV ad. It didn’t even mention Lyndon B. Johnson’s Republican...
One of this year’s most relevant movies had its premiere at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin. Written and directed by Sarah Daggar-Nickson, it stars Olivia Wilde as the titular vigilante, a woman that escaped her abusive marriage and then goes on to help others do the same. Sadie (Olivia Wilde) is good...
When I was a kid, I would always watch “Motorweek;” a weekly program that reviewed new cars. Closer to the end of the show, they had this shoddily named segment called the “Long-Term Road Test Update,” that would review some of the more practical cars after a period of time. Over winter break, I put Khalid’s “American...
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