Category Archives: Reviews

BERLIN FILM REVIEW: Bela Tarr’s ‘The Turin Horse’

Posted on February 14, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett BERLIN – Hungarian director Bela Tarr’s somnolent drama “The Turin Horse” tells of an ageing father and his grown daughter who lead lives of relentless tedium in a shabby dwelling on a bleak and windswept plain. Towards … Continue reading →

Posted in Berlin International Film Festival, Film, Reviews | Tagged , , | Comments Off on BERLIN FILM REVIEW: Bela Tarr’s ‘The Turin Horse’

BERLIN FILM REVIEW: Angelo Cianci’s ‘Top Floor, Left Wing’

Posted on February 14, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett BERLIN – Angelo Cianci’s “Top Floor, Left Wing” is a genial urban comedy about an Algerian father and son who end up holding a bailiff hostage when the boy thinks police have come to their apartment building … Continue reading →

Posted in Berlin International Film Festival, Film, Reviews | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on BERLIN FILM REVIEW: Angelo Cianci’s ‘Top Floor, Left Wing’

BERLIN FILM REVIEW: Ralph Fiennes’s ‘Coriolanus’

Posted on February 14, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett BERLIN – At a time when revolution is once again in the air around the world, Ralph Fiennes delivers a ferocious reminder of the perils in store when a warrior becomes the head of state. He directs … Continue reading →

Posted in Berlin International Film Festival, Film, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on BERLIN FILM REVIEW: Ralph Fiennes’s ‘Coriolanus’

BERLIN FILM REVIEW: Dirk Lutter’s ‘The Education’

Posted on February 13, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett BERLIN – German director Dirk Lutter’s “The Education” is clearly intended to be a cautionary tale that takes a bite out of large companies for the way they often mistreat their staff but it’s a toothless affair … Continue reading →

Posted in Berlin International Film Festival, Film, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on BERLIN FILM REVIEW: Dirk Lutter’s ‘The Education’

THEATRE REVIEW: Keira Knightley in ‘The Children’s Hour’

Posted on February 12, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Lillian Hellman’s 1934 Broadway melodrama “The Children’s Hour” shows its age in this new West End production, but it does afford screen stars Keira Knightley and Elisabeth Moss a chance to show they are just … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, Theatre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on THEATRE REVIEW: Keira Knightley in ‘The Children’s Hour’

THEATRE REVIEW: Royal Court’s ‘Clybourne Park’

Posted on February 12, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Race relations in a Chicago suburb in 1959 and 50 years later take a savage but hilarious beating in the Royal Court’s “Clybourne Park” by Bruce Norris, now transferred to the West End. In 1959, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, Theatre | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on THEATRE REVIEW: Royal Court’s ‘Clybourne Park’

THEATRE REVIEW; ‘Vernon God Little’ at the Young Vic

Posted on February 12, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – The Young Vic’s new production of “Vernon God Little”, based on DBC Pierre’s 2003 Booker Prize-winning novel, tries to jam in as many of its characters, incidents and ideas as possible, but ends up in … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Reviews, Theatre | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on THEATRE REVIEW; ‘Vernon God Little’ at the Young Vic

THEATRE REVIEW: ‘Greenland’ at the National Theatre

Posted on February 2, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – A very convincing Polar Bear strolls onstage at one point in “Greenland,” the National Theatre’s ambitious but disappointing play about climate change but it’s about the only believable character in the production. Four British playwrights, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, Theatre | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on THEATRE REVIEW: ‘Greenland’ at the National Theatre

THEATRE REVIEW: Gina Gionfriddo’s ‘Becky Shaw’

Posted on January 21, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Anyone who thinks there’s a huge gulf in the sense of humor of American and British audiences should have been at London’s Almeida Theatre where the first night audience for Gina Gionfriddo’s off-Broadway play “Becky … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, Theatre | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on THEATRE REVIEW: Gina Gionfriddo’s ‘Becky Shaw’

THEATRE REVIEW: Peter Hall directs ‘Twelfth Night’

Posted on January 19, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – British stage legend Peter Hall celebrates his 80th birthday by directing his movie star daughter Rebecca Hall in a lyrical and musical production of Shakespeare’s gender-bending comedy Twelfth Night that shows his touch is as … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, Theatre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on THEATRE REVIEW: Peter Hall directs ‘Twelfth Night’