In The Area Of Critical Commentary.....

Some brief comments on four recent offerings.

So, this is a case of where I did judge a book by its cover.  I saw this at a newsstand in JFK Airport when I was there earleir this month.   The cover copy offers up classical setting: a book fair with six mystery writers isolated on a train in th Australian Outback.  Somebody dies under mysterious circumstances.  Who better to solve it than these "expert" authors?  It had all the trappings of a classic Golden Age detective story right out of Agatha Christie's playbook.   Alas, it didn't deliver, and I ended up slogging through it only to see how the author ended it.  I remember a literature teacher I had in high school say something along the lines of "reading a novel just to see how it ends is just about the worst possible reason the read a book."  This was perfect example.

One and One-half Stars from The Grandstander.

 

A movie about the Mob, starring Robert De Niro, and directed by A-List, Oscar winning director Barry Levinson.  What's not to like, right?

"The Alto Knights" tells the story of 1950's and -60's era New York City gang bosses Frank Costello and Vito Genovese, and the big gimmick in this one is that De Niro plays both Costello and Genovese in a duel role.

The movie was entertaining, but if you are reasonably knowledgeable about the Mob of that era, it didn't tell you anything new. As for De Niro, he's played Mob wise guys so many times that he can do the roles in his sleep, and that is pretty much what he did with this one, but, hey, he's always good even when he phones one in.

Two and One-half Stars from The Grandstander.

I hope that you all were able to catch CNN's live telecast of the Broadway performance of George Clooney's "Good Night and Good Luck" this past Saturday night.   Clooney adapted this play from his 2005 movie of the same title and took it to Broadway for limited run this year.  It tells the story of CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow and his reporting on Senator Joseph McCarthy and the "red scare" era of the 1950's.  It is an era in American history that was frightening and has always been fascinating to me. This play is also, sadly and frighteningly relevant today in 2025, as another demagogue who traffics in fear and hate presides over our government in Washington.

I do not know if CNN will stream this telecast so it can be seen again.  If they do, please check it out.  If the telecast does not become available, then please check out thew 2005 movie of the same name.

Four Stars from The Grandstander.

Finally, we took in a production of "Beautiful, The Carole King Musical", this past Sunday in Zelionople.  This was a professional production, albeit, one the was scaled back a bit from touring productions that have played in Pittsburgh over the years, and from the Broadway production that I was fortunate to see in 2017.  It's a great show with great music, and it's one that you should always see if you ever get the chance to do so.

Three Stars from The Grandstander.