Is Anybody There?, John Crowley

A very touching, well-made film set in a 1980s English seaside retirement home. Fine performance by Michael Caine.

Highly recommend.

State of Play, Kevin Macdonald

Suspense movie set in Washington DC newspaper. With Russell Crowe.

Recommend.

Exit the King, Ionesco

Engaging production of a very tricky play. With Geoffrey Rush, Susan Sarandan, and Lauren Ambrusco.

Recommend.

August: Osage County Tracy Letts

I really liked the way this production of Lett's gripping play captures the tenor of rural Oklahoma. Its penetrating exploration of how rural life traps and suffocates the "thinking classes" does not let the protagonists off easily. The play hands indicts these characters for falling too easily into thinking their so-called intellectual superiority granted them moral license.

The cast was superb.

Recommend. Enthusiastically.

Leonard Cohen Concert

Wonderful! Great! So glad we went!

Overheard on the way out of the theatre: "That's the most fun I've had on a weeknight in ten years!" My response: she's got some really crazy weekends!

Highly recommend.

Paris 36, Christophe Barratier

An odd, accordian-filled French movie with little point beyond capturing a moment in pre-WWII Paris.

Caveats.

Grant Us Peace, New Haven Chorale

An evening of music and readings.
Colin Britt, A Jubilant Song for Brass and Percussion
Gustav Holst, Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity, from The Planets
_________, Mars, the Bringer of War
Karol Szymanowski, Stawa Matka
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Dona nobis pacem

Recommend.

Summer Hours, Olivier Assayas

A solid film starring Juliette Binoche.