A few famous artists on regret: “I Regret Nothing,” proclaimed French chanteuse Edith Piaf in what came to be known as her signature song. “Miss Otis Regrets,” wrote composer Cole Porter about a woman who murdered her lover and politely canceled a social engagement owing to the dire consequences she…
When this column debuted at the beginning of 2000, readers and editors scoffed at its occasional subject matter, the comic book. Kids’ stuff, they growled, junk food for adults who still live in their parents’ basements. And maybe they were right back then. The industry was dying; the art form…
Big is sometimes better. For instance South Florida has become home to the largest Hispanic theater festival in the United States, which this year will host thirteen companies from seven other countries (Brazil, Chile, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Slovenia, and Spain). Almost all of the companies have been presenting theater…
Once again reels from Rio will screen on the sands of Miami Beach to kick off this year’s festival, which includes 24 films and visits by a number of actors and directors. The big treat: For the first time ever, the opening film (A Dog’s Will, reviewed below) will be…
For true South Florida-style diversity, look to Coconut Grove. Located on Biscayne Bay, a few miles south of downtown Miami, the lushly landscaped area is perhaps this city’s most eclectic neighborhood. Over the years it has boasted bratty college kids carousing and cruising around in their cars on weekend nights,…
It is often said, this town is going to the dogs. Nothing could be more apt this weekend when the South Dade Kennel Club holds its eleventh annual All Breed Conformation Show and Obedience Trials. Close to 700 canines will jump through hoops, run through tunnels, pose, and obey commands,…
What a difference a week makes. In the last issue of New Times, Florida Stage in Manalapan was lauded as the Best Theater in South Florida. Now along comes its final show of the season, Women Who Steal, which is, to be very blunt, the worst show of the stage’s…
The sudden cancellation of Cesar Beltrán’s “The Centennial” exhibit at Maxoly Art Cuba gallery, two weeks before its closing date, is a sad and depressing reminder of how a mix of blatant ignorance, scare tactics, and inflated claims of patriotism can crush artistic freedom in Miami. This is a loose…
Thirty-four years later, Carson has returned to the school to deliver a series of lectures on the power of fable and film as metaphor, and he asked Coppola, whose film was partially inspired by David Holzman, to join him. Carson–who appears in Coppola’s feature debut, CQ, and who helped Roman…
The bad news for Memento fans is that Christopher Nolan’s Insomnia is far less complex and challenging in form than the backward-edited art-house hit that sparked as much disdain as devotion among moviegoers last year. The good news for Memento-haters is that Insomnia is far less complex and challenging in…
It’s very tempting to not just dismiss Enough, the latest bill-paying gig by Michael Apted (Enigma) starring Jennifer Lopez, but shred it altogether. Ms. Lopez hasn’t exactly added to her acting credibility with a string of showy, glamorous roles in such mediocre fare as The Wedding Planner and Angel Eyes…
Like many of us, Susan Hargreaves is passionate about food. But her enthusiasm extends beyond just satisfying her taste buds. She lectures about food, regularly invited to do so at high schools, colleges, and libraries throughout South Florida. And she’s also created a slide show, a quiz, and even a…
When local escape artist/magician Dylan Ace approached Miami hotels and nightclubs for a place to perform his act, small-minded management types had serious insurance concerns. You see, his show will include a stunt where the 20-year-old baby-faced Kendall native hangs 100 feet in the air upside down, by a burning…
Murder mystery alert: Some devilish scheming and startling plot twists are lying in wait for unsuspecting audiences in Murderer, which opened recently at the Actors’ Playhouse in Coral Gables. Theatergoers may also be surprised by some rough language as well as explicit violence and nudity, decidedly a departure from the…
If you enjoy movies about a violently widowed man who’s unsure of his identity — and is covered in tattoos that remind him of his mission of vengeance — but you can’t be bothered with the frustration of watching a movie that’s edited backward, put that Memento DVD aside and…
Quick! Name a brilliant mathematician at one of the country’s leading academic institutions who, despite obvious emotional problems that keep him on the edge of a nervous breakdown, is enlisted by his government to decipher seemingly impenetrable military communications that the enemy sends to its operatives around the world. If…
Perhaps you swatted croquet balls in the back yard years ago and then cooled off with a splash in your inflatable wading pool. If that desire for whacking balls through wickets remains, a fresh opportunity to play the oh-so-sophisticated sport beckons. The Tropees, an organization that raises money for the…
They move blithely with abandon, young women clad in filmy tunics like Greek goddesses, barefoot, long hair cascading down their backs. A gathering of fairies in the forest? A hippie wedding in a meadow? More like a performance by the Isadora Duncan Dance Ensemble, a local group devoted to preserving…
At first glance you wouldn’t think there’s much in common between the ragtag Mad Cat in dirty downtown Miami and the stylish Dreamers Theatre in restaurant-infested Coral Gables. Mad Cat goes for in-your-face gonzo drama and aims for a pierced, punk crowd, while Dreamers opts for more elegant, refined material…
When the concept of food is brought up in film, the classic Twilight Zone episode “To Serve Man” cannot be ignored. In it seemingly benign space aliens befriend humans and convince them to visit their planet. The scheme is busted when a decoding buff discovers that the book left behind…
To the woman who broke Adrian Lyne’s heart all those years ago: Stop what you’re doing right this minute. Drop everything, pick up the phone, and call him. Apologize profusely for cheating on him. Tell him it’s all your fault and you’re a worse person for leaving him. Offer him…
It’s hard to go wrong with a story by Peruvian master Mario Vargas Llosa. The naughty premise of his novel Captain Pantoja and the Special Service, about an upright military man ordered to start a prostitution service for soldiers quartered in the Amazon, is enough to keep the film adaptation…
