100 Years of Movie Musicals: The Merry Widow (1934)

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Next year marks the 100th anniversary of the movie musical, and to celebrate I’m embarking on a two-year project to watch 100 movie musicals from 1927 to the present!

Title: The Merry Widow
Release Date: November 2, 1934
Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Main Cast:

  • Maurice Chevalier as Captain Danilo
  • Jeanette MacDonald as Madame Sonia / Fifi
  • Edward Everett Horton as Ambassador Popoff
  • Una Merkel as Queen Dolores
  • George Barbier as King Achmed
  • Minna Gombell as Marcelle
  • Ruth Channing as Lulu
  • Sterling Holloway as Mischka
  • Donald Meek as Valet
  • Herman Bing as Zizipoff
  • Jason Robards Sr. as Arresting Officer
  • Akim Tamiroff as Maxim’s Manager

Synopsis (via Letterboxd):

A prince from a small kingdom courts a wealthy widow to keep her money in the country.

My Thoughts:

Get this, Maurice Chevalier plays a military officer who is very horny and ends up in a romance with an aristocratic woman, but their ultimate happiness is threatened by his deception! Chevalier is really stretching himself artistically here. The Merry Widow is a loose adaptation of the popular 1905 operetta by Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár, with new English lyrics by Lorenz Hart and Gus Kahn. The widow Madame Sonia is so wealthy that her departure from the fictional kingdom of Marshovia threatens the national economy.  Chevalier’s Captain Danilo is sent to woo her and bring her back to Marshovia.

It’s funny to me that Marx Brothers movies satirized elements of these simplistic operetta tropes that I wasn’t previously aware of.  Unfortunately, The Merry Widow lacks the charm and “the Lubitsch touch” of some of the other Chevalier musicals.  I do like the dance numbers with the alternating black & white patterns of the men’s dress suits and the women’s gowns.

Rating: **1/2

Songshare: “The Book of Love” x 2

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One of my favorite songs by The Magnetic Fields, “The Book of Love” from the 1999 album 69 Love Songs, was covered by Olivia Rodrigo for a charity album, Help(2).  Both versions are lovely so I’m sharing them here together.

The Magnetic Fields

Olivia Rodrigo

 

Movie Review: Mr Nobody Against Putin (2025)

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Last year after the Academy Awards ceremony, I watched and reviewed the Best Picture winner.  This year I decided I’d also watch and review Best Animated Feature Film, Best Documentary Feature Film, and Best International Feature Film.  Since I’ve already reviewed KPop Demon Hunters, I’m skipping ahead to Best Documentary.  

Title: Mr Nobody Against Putin
Release Date: June 10, 2025
Director: David Borenstein, Pavel Talankin
Production Company: Made in Copenhagen | Produced by PINK | ZDF/Arte
Main Cast:

  • Pavel Talankin
  • Vladimir Putin

Synopsis (via Letterboxd):

As Russia launches its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, primary schools across Russia’s hinterlands are transformed into recruitment stages for the war. Facing the ethical dilemma of working in a system defined by propaganda and violence, a brave teacher goes undercover to film what’s really happening in his own school.

My Thoughts:

In a small industrial city in Russia, Pavel “Pasha” Talankin works at the local school as an events coordinator and videographer.  His practice of filming around the school becomes and advantage after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 in capturing how the teachers and students are forced to engaged in patriotic displays and lessons.  In fact, Pasha is required to film the classes to send to the Putin government as evidence of compliance.  Pasha also films farewell parties of former students capturing the ambiguous feelings of fighting an unjust war and fear of death.  As an outspoken opponent of the war, Pasha soon finds himself under surveillance by the police.  After two years, he escaped to asylum in Europe with all of his video footage that was used to make this movie.

The style of this movie is reminiscent of early Michael Moore, although with less bombast and higher personal stakes.  It’s also a very personal movie with Pasha’s uneasy lifelong relationship with the people of his town as significant as the global-political matters.  I feel this movie is also a parallel to the road we’re already heading down in the U.S. in teaching children to be “patriotic” and “correct history.”

Rating: ***1/2

Movie Review: Train Dreams (2025)

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Title: Train Dreams
Release Date: November 7, 2025
Director: Clint Bentley
Production Company:  Black Bear | Kamala Films
Main Cast:

  • Joel Edgerton as Robert Grainier
  • Felicity Jones as Gladys Olding Grainier
  • Kerry Condon as Claire Thompson
  • William H. Macy as Arn Peeples
  • Will Patton as the narrator 
  • Nathaniel Arcand as Ignatius Jack
  • John Diehl as Billy
  • Paul Schneider as Apostle Frank
  • Clifton Collins Jr. as Boomer
  • Alfred Hsing as Fu Sheng
  • Chuck Tucker as Silent Man
  • Rob Price as Curious Logger
  • Beau Charles as Young Logger
  • Johnny Arnoux as Kootenai Indian
  • John Patrick Lowrie as Mr. Sears
  • Branden Lindsay as Elijah Brown

Synopsis (via Letterboxd):

A logger leads a life of quiet grace as he experiences love and loss during an era of monumental change in early 20th-century America.

My Thoughts:

Train Dreams is a quiet and meditative reflection on the life of an ordinary person.  Robert Grainier of Idaho never travels much beyond the bordering states.  He marries, builds a cabin, and they have a baby.  Robert’s work as a logger takes him away from home for long periods and he meets many men who make an impression on him.  And he witnesses much suffering while surviving tragedies of his own.

Set in the early 20th century, the movie is not divorced from political realities.  Violent activists attack Chinese immigrants and the dangers of wildfire require a federal government willing to take sensible forestry measures. Joel Edgerton portrays Robert as strong, humble, and haunted.  Three actors are also memorable in limited screen time: Felicity Jones as Robert’s wife Gladys, William H. Macy as an wise old logger, and Kerry Condon as a Forest Service agent.

Rating: ****

Theater Review: The Antiquities by SpeakEasy Stage

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The Antiquities

By Jordan Harrison
Directed by Alex Lonati

March 15, 2026: Calderwood Pavilion, Boston, Massachusetts

Image

Cast

Alison Russo
Kelsey Fonise
Helen Hy-Yuen Swanson
Catia
Jesse Hinson
Tobias Wilson
John Kuntz
Anderson Stinson III
Harry Baker

In a thought-provoking and imaginative play, The Antiquities takes us to the far future when humanity is extinct but we are remembered (with some fondness) by the inorganic lifeforms who replaced us.  The audience members are asked to be explorers wandering The Museum of Late Human Antiquities connecting with specific artifacts and watching as AI actors recreate scenes from humanity’s past.  There are 12 vignettes from 1816 (when Mary Shelley created Frankenstein) to the last days of humanity in the 2240s, and then it goes in reverse chronological order with 12 more scenes that each continue on the first set.  Each scene deals with computing, robotics, and artificial intelligence as well as philosophical ideas of creativity, death, and the meaning of life which the organics refer to as the “messy space between ones and zeros.”

There are nine actors in the show collectively playing over 40 characters and they do an excellent job.  While the 24 segments cumulatively make for a long show, many of the vignettes are short but both the script and the actors do a great job of fleshing out the characters in their full humanity. This may be ironic since they’re supposed to be performed by playacting robots. Alison Russo stands out as the robotic curator who welcomes the audience, Mary Shelley, and in one of the most emotional vignettes, a mother discussing with her son the sickness and death of her brother.

Despite the dark existential themes of the show, it is also very funny.  There are some running gags throughout the show of the AI actors misusing artifacts.  For example, Russo’s mother reaches into a refrigerator and takes out a bottle of shampoo from which she drinks.  Yes, AI gets things wrong, but human curators have also wildly mistaken how objects from ancient times were actually used.  Between scenes, the cast also goes into robotic mode shifting the props around for the next scene.  Some reviews I’ve read said this was grating, but I was amused at how they were committed to the bit.

I think this is one of the best shows I’ve seen so far this year, and one I will be thinking about for some time.  Be warned that in addition the dark themes of the show it contains two simulated sexual acts and a whole lot of profanity, if those things are dealbreakers for you.  The Antiquities continues at the Calderwood Pavilion through March 28.

Movie Review: Sorry, Baby (2025)

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Title: Sorry, Baby
Release Date: June 27, 2025
Director: Eva Victor
Production Company: Tango Entertainment | High Frequency Entertainment | Big Beach | Pastel
Main Cast:

  • Eva Victor as Agnes Ward
  • Naomi Ackie as Lydie
  • Lucas Hedges as Gavin
  • Louis Cancelmi as Preston Decker
  • Kelly McCormack as Natasha,
  • John Carroll Lynch as Pete
  • Hettienne Park as Eleanor Winston
  • E. R. Fightmaster as Fran

Synopsis (via Letterboxd):

Agnes feels stuck. Unlike her best friend, Lydie, who’s moved to New York and is now expecting a baby, Agnes still lives in the New England house they once shared as graduate students, now working as a professor at her alma mater. A ‘bad thing’ happened to Agnes a few years ago and, since then, despite her best efforts, life hasn’t gotten back on track.

My Thoughts:

Agnes is a successful and well-liked literature professor at a university in coastal Maine, but nevertheless is withdrawn and dealing with mental health challenges.  This is due to the trauma of Agnes being sexually assaulted several years earlier.  The film is framed by visits from Agnes’ best friend Lydie who has moved to New York where she lives with her partner.

The heart of the film goes back in time to when they were housemates and in the doctoral program at the same university where Agnes will eventually teach. We see the “bad thing” that happens to Agnes and her recovery over the years.  Now, I’m making this sound like a very serious drama – and it is – but it’s also very funny.  And there are times when I’m not sure I should actually be laughing (the “we are women” line is hilarious despite/because it’s so inappropriately wrong?).

The dialogue in this film is both sharp and bears a verisimilitude to real life conversation.  The structure of the film is also expertly done to reveal Agnes’ story and character.  And it shows he healing power of cats.  This is a truly impressive directorial debut for Eva Victor that feels like the work of a more experienced director.

Rating: ****1/2

100 Years of Movie Musicals: À Nous la Liberté (1931)

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Next year marks the 100th anniversary of the movie musical, and to celebrate I’m embarking on a two-year project to watch 100 movie musicals from 1927 to the present!

Title: À Nous la Liberté
Release Date: December 18, 1931
Director: René Clair
Production Company: Société des films sonores Tobis
Main Cast:

  • Henri Marchand as Émile
  • Raymond Cordy as Louis
  • Rolla France as Jeanne
  • Paul Ollivier as Jeanne’s Uncle
  • Jacques Shelly as Paul
  • André Michaud as The Foreman
  • Germaine Aussey as Maud (Louis’ girlfriend)
  • Léon Lorin as The Deaf Old Man
  • William Burke as The Former Inmate
  • Vincent Hyspa as The Old Speaker
  • Alexander D’Arcy as The Gigolo

Synopsis (via Letterboxd):

In this classic French satire, Louis, a convict, escapes from prison and takes on legitimate work, making his way up in the business world. Eventually becoming the head of a successful factory, Louis opts to modernize his company with mechanical innovations. But when his friend Émile finally leaves jail years later and reunites with Louis, the past catches up with them. The two, worried about being apprehended by police, long to flee the confines of industry.

My Thoughts:

Louis and Émile attempt to escape prison together but get separated from one another.  Years later, Louis is an executive at a phonograph company, and Émile wanders into his factory (in pursuit of an attractive woman rather than a job).  Reunited, the two friends realize their past is catching up with them, and hijinks ensue.  The movie offers a sharp satire of the exploitation of labor and the police being at the service of capital, while offering an alternative in fully automated luxury communism.

As for being a musical, there’s one song but they sing it a lot.  The score is also cleverly arranged to incorporate sound effects and some aural gags.  It’s impressive that René Clair made this movie and the excellent Le Million in the same year! This movie anticipates both Chaplin’s Modern Times and the works of Jacques Tati.

Rating: ****

Movie Review: Spinal Tap II: The End Continues (2025)

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Title: Spinal Tap II: The End Continues
Release Date: September 12, 2025
Director: Rob Reiner
Production Company: Castle Rock Entertainment
Main Cast:

  • Christopher Guest as Nigel Tufnel 
  • Michael McKean as David St. Hubbins 
  • Harry Shearer as Derek Smalls
  • Rob Reiner as Marty DiBergi 
  • Valerie Franco as Didi Crockett 
  • CJ Vanston as Caucasian Jeff 
  • Kerry Godliman as Hope Faith
  • June Chadwick as Jeanine Pettibone, David’s ex-wife
  • Fran Drescher as Bobbi Flekman
  • Griffin Matthews as Peter La Pierre
  • Paul Shaffer as Artie Fufkin
  • Chris Addison as Simon Howler
  • Kathreen Khavari as Yasmine Farangi
  • Nina Conti as Moira

Synopsis (via Letterboxd):

The now estranged bandmates of Spinal Tap are forced to reunite for one final concert, hoping it will solidify their place in the pantheon of rock ’n’ roll.

My Thoughts:

I initially was not interested in this movie since there didn’t seem to be any point in making a sequel to This is Spinal Tap, but reconsidered after it became Rob Reiner’s final film.  I’m glad I did because it’s a perfectly enjoyable movie, not on par with original but much better than, say, Mascots.  And it turns out that the sequel actually does make a lot of sense.  Back in the early 80s, the first generation of rock stars were approaching middle age and there was a lot of hand-wringing about rock being the music of youth and how embarrassing it would be to still be playing it in one’s 40s.  But somehow as a culture we got past that and now rock stars in their 70s and 80s are still recording, still touring, and more popular than ever. Consider that The Who had farewell tours in 1982 and in 2025.

So shouldn’t a fictional band also still be kicking around?

The mockumentary is set around a reunion concert in New Orleans as Spinal Tap rehearses in a cozy studio.  They contend with Nigel and David’s unspoken tension, auditioning a new drummer, and contending with a sleazy concert promoter who wants them to be dance like a KPop boy band.  There are also appearances by Paul McCartney and Elton John which are played as wry satires of the “celebrity just popping in to say hi” trope.  Also, I got to say that musically, Spinal Tap is really good, perhaps even better than in 1984.

Rating: ***

Movie Review: RSC Live: The Merchant of Venice (2015)

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Title: RSC Live: The Merchant of Venice
Release Date: June 18, 2015
Director: Bridget Caldwell
Production Company: Royal Shakespeare Company
Main Cast:

  • Makram J. Khoury – Shylock
  • Patsy Ferran – Portia
  • Nadia Albina – Nerissa
  • Scarlett Brookes – Jessica
  • Ken Nwosu – Gratiano/Morocco
  • James Corrigan – Lorenzo
  • Jamie Ballard – Antonio
  • Jay Saighal – Solonio
  • Jacob Fortune-Lloyd – Bassanio

Synopsis (via Letterboxd):

In the melting pot of Venice, trade is God. With its ships plying the globe, the city opens its arms to all – as long as they come prepared to do business and there is profit to be made. When the gold is flowing all is well – but when a contract between Bassanio and Shylock is broken, simmering racial tensions boil over. A wronged father, and despised outsider, Shylock looks to exact the ultimate price for a deal sealed in blood.

My Thoughts:

In an attempt to stage one of Shakespeare’s most problematic plays, the RSC chose to go for a bold and abstract modern approach.  The look is interesting, but the play nevertheless feels flat in its performance.  The minimal set is a thrust stage in front of a reflective gold backdrop with a large pendulum swinging throughout.  The clown Launcelot Gobbo makes his first entrance while seated in the audience which is a nice touch.  And the homosexual subtext of Antonio and Bassanio’s relationship is made explicit, although it feels a bit half-hearted.  Makram J. Khoury provides a sympathetic reading of Shylock and is an intriguing casting choice since Khoury is from Israel, but of Palestinian Christian background.  Overall, I felt the cast and dialogue got overwhelmed by the unusual staging.

Rating: ***

Book Reviews: The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare

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Author: William Shakespeare
Title: The Merchant of Venice
Publication Info: New York : Washington Square Press, 1992. [originally performed in 1595]
Summary/Review: Image

This is a hard play to review.  Even knowing The Merchant of Venice’s reputation for antisemitism, it’s still shocking how in your face it is about it.  It’s not just that the villain happens to be Jewish but the other characters (the ones we’re supposed to like) repeatedly refer to Shylock as a “Jewish devil” and the like.  Even “Hath not a Jew eyes?” monologue, a plea for shared humanity, is in context a justification for revenge. Granted, he has some good reasons to want revenge.

On a brighter note, this play features an excellent female protagonist in Portia.  Even when bound by her father’s will to accept a suitor who selects the correct casket, Portia bends the game to her advantage.  And of course, disguised as a man, Portia saves Antonio with her clever skill as a lawyer.  Ultimately this is a play that doesn’t make me feel good, but it does make me think.

I got to thinking that if I were to stage this play today, I would riff on reality TV show tropes.  Like the suitors selecting the caskets would be presented like Deal or No Deal, and the asides would be the “confessional” voice overs that reality stars record after the fact.  I don’t know, it could work.

Rating: ***

I’m reading every Shakespeare play, one per month, in chronological order.  Here’s my progress thus far:

  1. The Two Gentlemen of Verona
  2. The Taming of the Shrew
  3. Henry VI, Part 1
  4. Henry VI, Part 2
  5. Henry VI, Part 3
  6. Titus Andronicus
  7. Richard III
  8. The Comedy of Errors
  9. Love’s Labours’ Lost
  10. Richard II
  11. Romeo and Juliet
  12. A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream
  13. The Life and Death of King John