Yuval Ron Ensemble

We seldom leave a performance midway, but in this case we didn't even wait for an intermission. The ensemble is best described as an ineffectively combining superficial mysticism, faux learning and annoying self-conscious affect.

I won't put too much blame on Arts and Ideas for bringing this group of smug emoting because it was brought to New Haven by an ecumenical conference. Nevertheless, it didn't belong at A&I.

Avoid.

A Doctor in Spite of Himself (Moliere, adapated by Christopher Bayes and Steven Epp)

Silly, silly waste of time.

The Princess of Montpensier

Silly.

Avoid.

Diane Bish.

The Queen of the Organ: pure unironic schlock.

Shame on any academic institution for providing a platform for this self promoting embarrassment.

Avoid.

Hop

Even our 7- and 8-year friends recognized this animated flick's limited appeal.

Animated segments far superior to lousy acting and dialogue of live action segments.

Not recommended. For anyone.

Black Swan (D Aronofsky)

Silly.

Do not recommend.

Throne of Blood (Ping Chong)

Commissioned by BAM and Oregon Shakespeare Festival, this mixed media work provided no new insight on either Shakespeare's Macbeth or Kurosawa's film. Complete waste of time and effort.

Avoid.

Catfish (Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost)

Uninteresting exploration of gullibility and deception.

Avoid.

Dinner for Schmucks (Jay Roach)

On the surface, nothing about this movie appealed to me, from the title to the stars. However, we had a couple of under-25s around, an un-air-conditioned home in early August, and assurances from A. O. Scott (NYTimes) that it was a passable comedy in which "nearly every scene...draws laughter from an impressively eclectic array of sources, both obvious and new." Sounded good enough for our purposes.

We were led astray! Let me be clear: do not waste your money or your time. If you need an air-conditioned spot for a couple of hours, pile into your car, get stuck on I-95, and listen to commercial radio. It won't be any more excruciatingly boring--and it will be a lot cheaper.

Avoid.

Really Real

Really bad.

Avoid.