We were fortunate enough to get a chance to see the Cavalia show while it was here in St. Louis. Created by one of the founding members of Cirque du Soleil, this show is an incredible mix of dance, acrobatics and horsemanship. It is visually stunning, and the athleticism displayed […]
Category: reviews
Reviews of things I’ve watched
Stone Soup Cottage
Having made reservations a full five months in advance, I had a long time to anticipate my wife’s birthday dinner at Stone Soup Cottage in Cottleville, Missouri. Prior to attending the Chef’s Tasting Dinner last Friday, I had read that St. Louis Magazine had given them the Best New Restaurant […]
Sammy Scott’s
I don’t think I’ve ever written a restaurant review before, but since I’m waiting for Dobbs to change the oil in my car, and this was the first place I found within walking distance with a free wi-fi connection, here we go. This is the first and only location of […]
The Lost Room
I just watched Sci-Fi Channel’s miniseries The Lost Room for the second time, and I have to say that it is really very good. It originally aired in 2006, but I didn’t watch it the first time until 2007. At the time, I was in between seasons of LOST, and […]
Disappointed With LOST
I was disappointed with the Lost finale. There, I said it. It wasn’t very good. Actually, it was good — just like every other episode of the show, it was well acted and well made — it just wasn’t very satisfying. But there are a ton of people who are […]
Killers
Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl make a pretty good team in the new romantic comedy Killers (whose plot seems strikingly similar to the Cruise-Diaz vehicle Knight and Day that opens later this month — just sayin’), although I will say that the on-screen chemistry seemed to be lacking, when compared […]
Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me
My favorite show on NPR is Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me, and we attended the live taping of Saturday’s show. The panelists were Charlie Pierce, Roxanne Roberts, and Mo Rocca. I think Mo is tied with Paula Poundstone as my favorite panelist. The show was very good, and it was […]
Great Holiday Theater
I’ve been lucky enough to take in a couple of great Christmas-time shows this season and I wanted to pass along my reviews. First, a couple of weeks ago, I went to see A Christmas Story at the Repertory Theater of St. Louis. If you’re a fan of this iconic […]
An Inconvenient Purpose
A few years ago some folks started asking the question, What Would Jesus Drive? I’m not sure how seriously the question was supposed to be taken, as it was part of a campaign to demonize SUVs and the gas-guzzling ways of the people who drive them, but author Richard Gasaway […]
Kathy Griffin at the Fox
It’s been almost two years since we last saw her at Touhill, and she’s won a second Emmy since then for her show My Life on the D-List. This is my third time seeing her live, and I always walk out with my cheeks feeling sore from smiling for two […]
The Hangover
I don’t go to the movies much (there are three reasons for this), and even when I do, I rarely take the time to write reviews of them anymore (I have people who do that for me). But every now and then a movie comes along that I just have […]
Lost Without LOST
It’s only been a week since the season finale of my favorite show LOST, but I’m already having withdrawals. Season 4 was the best one so far, in my opinion, and I’m hooked all over again. It was touch and go there for a while. The show’s producers made some […]
Indiana Jones 4
A while back, I wrote about how movie franchises rarely make it to the fourth installment, and that there’s a reason for that. The latest offering in the Indiana Jones series is a painful reminder of why this is usually true. It would be easy to blame George Lucas, and, […]
Cloverfield
There certainly was a lot of hype surrounding this film, and J.J. Abrams has a lot riding on it since it is the first foray into the big-screen world for his Bad Robot production company. If this movie doesn’t do well, it could be bad news for his much-anticipated Star […]
Kathy Griffin is Still Hilarious
Welcome Kathy Griffin fans! I’m not exactly sure why, but ever since I wrote my review of her performance a year ago, she is the number one search term that brings people to my web site. Well, we just saw her again tonight at the Touhill Performing Arts Center at […]
Live Free or Die Hard
Few movie franchises make it to the fourth installment, and there’s a reason for that. By the fourth one they’ve typically run out of steam. Notable exceptions to this rule are Lethal Weapon 4 and this movie. The original Die Hard (1988) was a seminal movie, defining a genre of […]
Knocked Up
My expectations for this one might have been higher than usual since I thought The 40-Year-Old Virgin was so good. While writer/director Judd Apatow has disappointed in the past — that Ron Burgundy movie is simply unwatchable — he delivers in this movie. For any thirty-something that has gone through […]
Spiderman 3
It’s probably been terribly over-hyped, although it’s still a good movie. I would say that some of the CG fight scenes lose their focus because of the camera spinning around the action instead of trying to capture it. Bruce Campbell’s cameo as a maitre d’ is pretty entertaining. The movie […]
Ghost Rider
It didn’t suck. I had set my expectations pretty low (as I do with all comic book-based movies), and it exceeded them. Nicholas Cage’s performance is solid, and the special effects are top drawer. The mythology/back story that is explained is intriguing, if superficial. The plot is predictable, but at […]
Epic Movie
Never has so much been spent on so little to entertain so few. The budget for this film was certainly epic, so it’s a shame the comedy was so lackluster. No expense was seemingly spared on the CG effects, or the sets and wardrobe, but it was still a disappointing […]
The Good Shepherd
The acting is superb, and DeNiro’s direction is spot on, but don’t go see this movie if you are in need of a nap. Drink some caffiene and be prepared to pay attention. I think I was just lucky, and noticed the right details, otherwise the whole thing might seem […]
Casino Royale
So Daniel Craig’s not as bad as everyone said he was going to be. I’m by no means a fan of the 007 franchise, but I enjoy a good action movie, and this one certainly delivers. I have to wonder how many stuntmen were killed while filming the opening scene. […]