|
'The Disaster Artist': No Soap, RadioBy Michael S. Goldberger, iBerkshires film critic
04:25PM / Friday, December 15, 2017 | |
 Director James Franco's "The Disaster Artist" reminded me of a non-joke that popularly circulated when I was a kid. It goes like this: Two elephants are in a bathtub and, when one says to the other, "Pass the soap," the other elephant informs, "No soap, radio." You tell it and then you laugh, intentionally flummoxing your little friend who, afraid he'll look stupid if he doesn't laugh, chortles despite wondering why it's funny. Several decades since, I question, just a little, if the joke was actually on the jester ... that somewhere there was humor in the put-on. Such, more or less, is the territory into which "The Disaster 0 Comments
>> Read More |
Beacon Cinema Cuts Ribbon On Cushy New SeatsBy Andy McKeever, iBerkshires Staff
03:40PM / Friday, December 15, 2017 | |
Former Beacon Manager John Valente and Councilor John Krol discuss the partnership between the city and the theater. PITTSFIELD, Mass. — On Nov. 20, 2009, Eugene Mamut of Lee leaned back in the deep plush red seats the day the Beacon Cinema opened, and said, "I don't want to get up." The $23 million project to bring an independently-owned movie theater had taken years to finally come to fruition. Former Mayor James Ruberto had the crowd celebrating the opening chant his favorite saying, "it is a great day for Pittsfield." But it was the new stadium seating that was the talk of the town. Since then, things have changed in the movie theater 0 Comments
>> Read More |
'The Man Who Invented Christmas': The Dickens, You SayBy Michael S. Goldberger, iBerkshires film critic
10:06PM / Thursday, December 07, 2017 | |
 Once upon a time, a woman at a party who learned I was a film critic crossed the crowded room and asked, "From whence do you get your inspiration?" So OK, she didn't really say "whence." But anyway, I was a bit flummoxed and, making it as clear as I could, answered, "Well, I see the movie that I intend to review." That said, I belatedly thank her for the entrée to my review of "The Man Who Invented Christmas," director Bharat Nalluri's long-winded treatise on the alleged torment Charles Dickens suffered trying to conjure inspiration for "A Christmas Carol." While Nalluri's mini biopic/fantasy may or may 0 Comments
>> Read More |
'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri': Signs of the TimesBy Michael S. Goldberger, iBerkshires film critic
03:12PM / Thursday, November 30, 2017 | |
 Director Martin McDonagh's compelling "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" features, among other things, misogyny, police brutality, racism, rape, child molestation, white supremacy, unrestricted gun possession, and anti-gay sentiments. But no, it's not about Roy Moore's quest to represent Alabama in the U.S. Senate. Rather, equally provocative and similarly chilling, the superbly acted film details a mother's rage over her daughter's unsolved murder to the backdrop of a small town rendered dysfunctional by the above-listed disgraces. Frances McDormand, playing Mildred Hayes, the infuriated mom, is the beleaguered face of survival in 1 Comment
>> Read More |
'Justice League': Oh Superman, Where Art Thou?By Michael S. Goldberger, iBerkshires film critic
04:59PM / Thursday, November 23, 2017 | |
 Prior to becoming one special effects-crammed battle scene after the next, director Zack Snyder's "Justice League" spends an inordinate amount of time detailing the difficulties of putting together the folks necessary to saving the world. Mind you, I'm not talking about the 20 or 30 influential U.S. senators and congresspeople it would take to flip their brethren in the noble pursuit of preserving America's currently endangered democracy, though that'd be a real good idea. Only the autocrats have fun in an autocracy. But no, this is just about superheroes. All the same, this movie rendition about that gang of DC Comics crusaders who attempt to solve their 1 Comment
>> Read More |
Volunteers Prep For Third Annual Children's ExtravaganzaBy Andy McKeever, iBerkshires Staff
02:35AM / Monday, November 20, 2017 | |
The bank purchased the bicycles from Plaines and donated them to the event. PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Children's Holiday Extravaganza returns for the third year on Nov. 26 with a record high number of tickets reserved. The extravaganza was the brainchild of Kathy Amuso, who three years ago reached out to Berkshire Theatre Group CEO Kate Maguire about throwing a free holiday party for the community. Since then, the Colonial Theatre has hosted the family-friendly event each year and more and more people are attending. "It is mirrored after the GE parties that GE and the union would put on. It would be free and there'd be Santa Claus and 1 Comment
>> Read More |
'Murder on the Orient Express': Has You Humming the SceneryBy Michael S. Goldberger, iBerkshires film critic
03:38PM / Saturday, November 18, 2017 | |
 The beautiful romanticization of an era that in truth was only elegant for the well-to-do makes director Kenneth Branagh's version of Agatha Christie's "Murder on the Orient Express" a veritable feast for the eyes and imagination if not for the movie house detective in you. Oh, there are wonderfully opulent appurtenances aboard the luxury train where famed Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot plies his craft with genius, whimsy and a gallantry too often eclipsed by humankind's less noble instincts. Starring an all-star cast to match the assemblage of beautiful people in Sidney Lumet's 1974 adaptation of Christie's 1935 mystery, this group is also 1 Comment
>> Read More |
Mount Everett Fall Festival Features Bard's 'Romeo & Juliet'| 08:14PM / Thursday, November 09, 2017 | |
 SHEFFIELD, Mass. — Mount Everett Regional School's Fall Festival production of "Romeo and Juliet" begins this weekend. Performances are Thursday, Nov. 9, and Friday, Nov. 10, both at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 11, at 2 p.m. in the Consolati Performing Arts Center (TAC PAC). Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for students and seniors. This year's show will also perform at the Tina Packer Playhouse at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox on Friday, Nov. 17, at 6:15 p.m. More information can be found at shakespeare.org. 0 Comments
>> Read More |
'LBJ': Offers Hope From the PastBy Michael S. Goldberger, iBerkshires film critic
06:41PM / Thursday, November 09, 2017 | |
 Viewers uninterested in politics and American history probably won't enjoy the insight and philosophical ruminations ventured by director Rob Reiner in his savvy biopic, "LBJ." Detailing the momentous ebb and flow of the times just before and after the ascension of Lyndon Baines Johnson to the presidency of the United States in 1963, Reiner, working from a script by Joey Hartstone, studiously puts forth a thesis worthy of an honorary master's degree. If it had new information about the man behind the Civil Rights Act of 1964, I'd of considered a Ph.D. Now, I won't attempt to pull away those who would much prefer the couch, the football game, a 0 Comments
>> Read More |
Court Gives Museum OK to Proceed With Art SaleStaff Reports,
06:14PM / Tuesday, November 07, 2017 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Museum's planned art sale will go forward. Superior Court Judge John Agostini denied a request for a preliminary injunction, pausing the Sotheby's auction of some 40 pieces of artwork, starting next week and extending into March. Members of the Rockwell family, other donors, and Attorney General Maura Healey filed for the injunction to at least delay the sale. The two hoped for a restraining order of the auctions that are scheduled for next week. Agostini on Tuesday denied that request, saying the case did not have the "legal merits" to issue the injunction. "The Attorney General's request to 1 Comment
>> Read More |
|
|
MEMBER SIGN IN
