COVIDIAN VIEWING REVIEWS

AFTER LIFE- a British drama/comedy starring Ricky Gervais is a very well written and scripted 2 season series about a writer for a small newspaper in London who recently lost his wife. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this because the language is so incredibly foul and profane. The main character is an atheist and tries to fix his emotional and personal crisis with good works and finding love at home and in the work place. EUREKA- is a series that originally aired on the Scifi channel about a single parent sheriff who presides over a small town in the Norwest inhabited by the most intelligent scientist in the world who work at a super-secret defense research facility. The acting is lack luster, but the story lines are entertaining and fanciful. WAREHOUSE 13 is about a secret government storage area that houses powerful and usually magical artifacts that are cared for by a semi-dysfunctional group of agents and somewhat grumpy obese Jewish supervisor. The fairly written series is a combination of scifi and comedy. MID SOMMER MURDERS- an incredibly well written long running British TV series centers around a married chief inspector and his usually comedic sidekick assistant that investigates murders in a rural English township and it’s surrounding areas. The plots are intelligent and unpredictable. Character development throughout the series is sophisticated and detailed. A must see. MURDOCH MYSTERIES is about a devoutly Catholic inspector who works murders in turn of the century Toronto. His boss is a comical salty Scotsman. His love interest is a female physician who serves as the city coroner. Different important historical characters weave in and out of episodes throughout the series. Unfortunately, liberal, humanist themes are woven in to a number of episodes. Despite this, it is worth watching. FATHER BROWN is a British production mystery series based on the GK Chesterton book series of the same name. It centers around a Roman Catholic priest in a rural English parish who, despite opposition by the local police force, is a reliable amateur sleuth. In the course of solving the mystery, he often promotes Christian and semi-Christian virtues and practices. THE DOCTOR BLAKE MYSTERIES is an Australian crime series that takes place in the country town of Ballarat Australia. Dr Blake returns home after serving in WWII to take over his deceased father’s practice. In addition to serving as a GP, he acts as the local police surgeon. He is an agnostic, but has a love interest who is a devout Catholic widow.

Review Brooks Museum: Abrecht Durer's Small Passion & Claire Van Vliet: Illustrating Babel

ALBRECHT DURER’S SMALL PASSION SERIES: This current display (runs through 10/27) feature a series of prints from this probably most famous German renaissance printmaker. The displayed images are woodcuts, a type of printing where the design is cut into a block of wood. He published a number of illustrated including The Apocalypse, The Large Passion and The Small Passion. The current exhibit includes one example of the Large Passion, and thirty five out of thirty six illustrations and the title page of the Small Passion. CLAIRE VAN VLIET; ILLUSTRATING BABEL: This artist utilizes lithography to illustrate BUILDERS OF BABEL, TEN PORTRATS. In lithography, the artist draws directly on a stone using a greasy crayon. These drawn marks are translating during the printing process, allowing the viewer to see the artist’s smallest gestures. She also utilized wood engraving for some of the displayed prints. This display includes Illustrations for The Great Wall and Tower of Bable and Paradoxes by Franz Kafka & Builders of Babel: Ten Portraits for selections from Book of Proverbs.

Movie Review: "The Peanut Butter Falcon"

This currently released movie centers around a high functioning 22 year old Down’s Syndrome character named Zak who is a ward of the state in a nursing home in North Carolina. With the help of his elderly room mate (played by Bruce Dern), he escapes in search of attending a studio wrestling school manned by his hero The Saltwater Redneck. Without resources or clear direction, he is aided by a vagabond commercial fisherman named Tyler. In time they are joined by Zak’s case worker and journey along the Outer Banks en route to The Saltwater Redneck’s wrestling school. This incredibly “Southern” movie is a well filmed blending of Tom Sawyer, Brother Where Art Thou and The Apostle.

Review: “The Artistic World of Eugenia Errazuriz”

This recently opened exhibit at the Dixon Museum chronicles the life, friends, family and artist friends of Eugenia Errazuriz, the wife of a late 19th century Chilean ambassador. In addition to being an ambassador, her husband, Jose tomas Errazuriz was also an amateur painter. During the course of her life in France, England and Spain, she consorted with and sponsored numerous impressionist, cubist and realist painters- including Picasso and John Singer Sargent. This display has paintings and water colors of these artist and more. In addition to her sponsorships, Eugenia was also know for her minimalist decor and cubist needlepoint. Samples of both are also on display.

Dixon Museum: Power & Piety & Edward Giobbi

POWER & PIETY: SPANISH COLONIAL ART This exhibits runs through September 24. These liturgical objects are from a private collection and organized by the now defunct Museum of Biblical Art in NYNY (an arm of the Bible Society of America). Items include paintings, church furniture, statues and communion ware. Many of the pieces were from Venezuala and Cuba. Of interest is one sculpture made on the west coast of South America from ivory imported from the Philippines during colonial times. The exhibit is well displayed, varied and with detailed provenance. EDWARD GIOBBI: AN ARTIST COMES TO MEMPHIS This exhibit also runs through September 24. Edward Giobbi was born in Connecticut and married Memphian Ellie Turner. Ellie’s brother, Norfleet Turner was a close personal friend of the Hugo Dixons and served on the original board of the museum. Painting style is somewhere between impressionism and modern art. Subjects include the Maji, as well as his wife and friends. Of interest is a photo of the artist painting one of his subjects that is on display. His style is an unusual but recognizable fusion of forms.

Movie Review: "The Finest Hours"

This movie, starring Chris Pine and Casey Affleck, is a recounting of the greatest small boat rescue in US Coast Guard history. In 1952, a massive winter storm strikes the Northeast, ripping an oil tanker in two. Thirty men are trapped in the stern of the tanker off the coast of Massachusetts. Casey Affleck plays an assistant engineer who takes charge of keeping the remnant of the tanker afloat. Chris Pine is a young coast guard warrant officer who is tasked with the seemingly impossible task of braving the storm with three man to rescue the tanker’s surviving crew. The film is a well scripted and developed story of two ordinary men (Pine and Affleck) accomplishing extraordinary feats with determination, self-sacrifice and bravery. The special effects are superb. The movie is suspenseful without being drawn out.

Movie Review: "Mr Holmes"

This movie is a different rendition of the famous detective series. The story takes place in 1947 England in a remote rural seaside setting near the white cliffs of Dover. Holmes has been retired for over 30 years. He is haunted the personal failure of the last case of his career. Most of his days are spent tending bees in the company of a somewhat cantankerous housekeeper and her young son. Aware of the diminishing powers of his mind, he searches for answers to this case and personal conflicts. The pace of the movie is necessarily slow. Ian McKellen’s performance was as usual, masterful. The cinematography was sumptuous.

Movie Review: "Tommorwland"

This science fiction movie centers around a scientifically curious teenage girl and a boy genius who share a collective memory of a utopian future. A large part of the story is the girl’s search for the meaning and origin of a mysteriously delivered token that temporarily transports her to a wonder world somewhere in the future. During the course of her quest, she meets up with a former boy genius (George Clooney) who has lost hope in the future of mankind. The special effects and cinematography are excellent. The plot development is somewhat disjointed. The movie is about 30 minutes too long. As per Hollywood usual, the saviors of mankind will only be those who different, somewhat socially outcast, but creatively gifted.

Movie Review "Woman in Gold"

This movie fairly accurately recounts the real life story of Maria Altman, a WWII Austrian Jewish refugee’s quest to restore a portrait of her Aunt that was confiscated by the Nazi’s before the war. The almost priceless portrait- along with other family owned works of art by the same painter, reside in a national Austrian art museum. The story follows Maria Altman, and her inexperienced nephew’s, quest to return the “Woman in Gold” to its rightful owner. The quest for justice and the evolving relationship between Maria and her nephew are the central part of the plot. The Holocaust and war serve only as a backdrop. Both Helen Mirren and Ryan Reynold’s portrayal as Maria and her nephew are superb. In the midst of drama there are also moments of humor and self discovery. There is only a single profanity in the entire movie. The Plot is well developed. The cinematography above average. Movie length is appropriate for the subject.

Movie Review: "Hidden Universe"

This recently released movie is currently showing at the Pink Palace Imax Theater in 3D format. A portion of the film chronicles the lives of the people who man and service the featured telescopes. Most of the earth bound telescope action takes place in the high arid Atacama Desert in northern Chile. Part of the story details of the location, operation and mechanics of the interesting variety of telescopes based there. Stars, galaxies and quasars are sumptuously projected in this great format. The film also overviews theories regarding the birth, life and death of featured celestial bodies.

Movie Review "Into The Woods"

An evil witch (Meryl Streep) assigns a childless baker and his wife (Emily Blunt) with finding four magical items that are needed to break a spell placed on the couple. The fairy tale story characters of Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Jack in the Beanstalk and Rapunzel all have tasks that requires their entering “into the woods.” This film is a combination of Broadway style musical, fantasy and comedy. The story develops in an interesting way until about thirty minutes before the end of the movie. The movie would have been well served to have stopped short of it’s ending. The last thirty minutes were puzzling. It seems as if a different playwright added his own notions of how the stories should have ended. Characters suddenly mysteriously disappeared and did things that were not in keeping with the movie’s story line. Overall, this deconstruction of otherwise wonderful stories was a disappointment and missed opportunity.

Brooks Museum: "Soulful Creatures" & "Fredrico Castellon: In Print"

“Soulful Creatures: Animal Mummies in Ancient Egypt” Nearly 70 pieces from the Brooklyn Museum are currently on display at the Brooks Museum. Many of the animal mummies were unearthed near Saqqara near Memphis in Egypt. The wide range of animals that were mummified include Ibus’, cats, dogs, shrews, baboons and a variety of birds. Many of the displays also include CT scans and xrays of the contents of each mummy and its coffin. Also included are several sumptuous sculptures depicting the relationship of the mummies and the royal household of ancient Egypt. "Fredrico Castellon: In Print" Spanish native Fredrico Castellon immigrated to New York City when he was eight years old. After completing a traveling fellowship from the Spanish government and the Guggenheim Museum, he taught art at Columbia University and Pratt Institute. He initially worked as a painter, but later transitioned to printmaker and lithography. His prints are probably most appropriately termed surreal. His prints are realistically depicted figures who all appear to be in a trance. The best piece on display is “The Bride.” This print shows a somber faced woman whose veil almost appears to flow off the display.

Movie Review: "Interstellar"

Mathew McConaughey plays Cooper, an engineer by education who toils away as a farmer in the Midwest in a somewhat dystopian near future where the earth is blighted by a dusty changing environment. Mankind is barely able to survive on this planet due to climate changes that are affected a tenuous food supply. A worm hole if discovered near the planet Saturn that will allow explorers to quickly explore three potentially inhabitable planets. The best descriptor of this very long movie is “lost opportunity.” This very interesting setting, superb cinematography and special effects were squandered on a story line that could have had limitless possibilities. The flow of events lacked cohesion. The film ended without definite complete closure of the story.

Rodin: The Human Experience

An impressive showing of over fifty sculptures by Auguste Rodin are on display at the Dixon Gallery until 1/4/2015. All of the pieces are part of and funded by the Iris & B Gerald Cantor Foundation. Before entering the gallery, the massive “The Three Shades” of Dante’s Inferno are on display in front of the main door. The “Large Hand of a Pianist” is one of the most memorable displays. The two female forms of “The Illusionist” appear to almost fly off its mount. In a small gallery, two large Shades appear to melt around the heavy loads they are cursed to carry. This is definitely one of the finest, most ambitious display ever at the Dixon. It should not be missed.

Movie Review: "Magic in the Moonlight

This mystery stars academy award winning Colin Firth who plays the world’s foremost illusionist Stanley Crawford in 1920’s Europe. He is called on by a fellow illusionist to unmask an American spiritualist played by Emma Stone. Most of the story takes place in beautiful villas and their surroundings on the French Riviera. Crawford is initially convinced that his subject is a fake and charlatan. Over time, he begins not only to doubt his opinion of her but also his concept of man’s place in this world. Stone and Firth’s acting is top flight. The plot is sophisticated and well developed. The ending is somewhat surprising and uplifting.

Movie Review: "The Grand Seduction"

This Canadian movie is about the tiny dying Canadian fishing village Tickle Cove. This isolated village is desperately trying to attract a recycling factory. The factory will not locate there unless there is a full time physician. By hook or by crook, the town leader, Murray French, is determined to land both the factory and physician. A young recently minted urbane plastic surgeon is caught with cocaine in an airport and is able to avoid legal action if he agrees to spend one month in Tickle Cove. This film in fact is a situational comedy. The setting is sumptuous. The plot is well thought out. Enough time is allowed during the movie for adequate story and character development

Movie Review "Ida"

This Polish black and white movie is about Anna, a young Polish girl who is on the verge of taking her final vows to be a Roman Catholic nun in 1962 Poland. Her Mother Superior informs her that she has one surviving relative- an aunt who is a ranking member of the Polish communist party. Her aunt is a hard living, hard drinking middle aged childless Jewess. Anna discovers that almost everyone, save the aunt, were murdered during the war. The remainder of the movie involves the search for what really happened to her family and the direction of her life. The cinematography is unusual. Besides being black and white, the format is actually “tall screen” rather than the usual wide screen. All lines are subtitled, but sparse. The plot and filmography stands almost alone without dialog. One of the better films of the season.

Brooks Museum: "The Eclectic Sixites" & "Wood Engravings by Thomas Bewick

THE ECLECTIC SIXTIES: This small collection of works includes bizarre pop and minimalist works. Controversial topics are addressed such as feminism, abuse of native Americans, civil rights and governmental abuse. Most of the items on display were not very interesting- the exception being David Parrish’s “The Eagle Has Landed.” It’s worth a few minutes of your time just to see this one painting. WOOD ENGRAVING BY THOMAS BEWICK: Thomas Bewick was a master engraver in 16th & 17 century England. Animals, farm scenes and birds predominate the engravings on display. The resulting prints are incredibly fine and detailed. This exhibition is small, but well worth the time.

Movie Review: "Secret LIfe of Walter Mitty"

This is a remake of James Thurber’s story of day-dreamer Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller) who escapes his mundane life as a negative processor for Time magazine by creating an imaginary fantasy world. Mitty has been sent a set of photographic negatives by a world famous action photographer, one of which is to be used on the cover of the final edition of Time magazine. The negative is lost. Mitty embarks on a worldwide search for the famous photographer and the missing negative. Much like the Wizard of Oz, Mitty discovers that the qualities and adventures he craves has always been an arms length away. The story line is fairly well developed. Ben Stiller and co-stars Kristen Wiig and Sean Penn give better than average performances in their respective roles. There was very little if any profanity. It could have earned a “G” rating in my opinion.

Movie Review: "Nebraska

This black and white drama/comedy centers around a nuclear, but dysfunctional Midwest family. Bruce Dern, who plays Woody, the family’s alcoholic elderly father, is convinced he has won 1 million dollars in a contest by a Lincoln Nebraska magazine clearing house. Despite not having a valid driver’s license, he is determined to get to Nebraska to claim his prize. His younger son, played by Will Forte, volunteers to take him to Lincoln from their home in Billings Montana. On the way, they stop in his tiny hometown of Hawthorne, Nebraska. There he reunites with his extended family and old friends. June Squibb expertly plays Woody’s shrew of a wife. Through a series of domestic conflicts, the family discovers the presence of true affection and mutual self sacrifice. The wonderful black and white cinematography is reminiscent “Everything is Illuminated.” Dern and relative newcomer Squibb’s performances are superb. Story development is slow, but sophisticated. There was a lot of unnecessary profanity and innuendo- otherwise it would not have earned an “R” rating.