Ed Harris surpasses the material in LaBute play (Reuters)
Reuters - Playwright Neil LaBute loves to push audiences'buttons, never shying away from explosive themes, particularly in exploring male-female relationships. In the scribe's best works, such as the film "In the Company of Men"and the play "Fat Pig,"this approach has paid off with profound yet disturbing insights into gender politics.
Reincarnation the gimmick in lifeless crime drama (Reuters)
Reuters - Reincarnation, once largely the province of Hindus and Shirley MacLaine, collides with the world of crime procedurals in "Past Life,"which premieres on Tuesday at 9 p.m. EST/PST.
"Louis C.K.: Hilarious"may be an acquired taste (Reuters)
Reuters - Practically nothing is off-limits for stand-up comic Louis C.K., from toilet training his kids to Hitler and the Holocaust.
Compelling `Shadow Tag'a departure for Erdrich (AP)
AP - "Shadow Tag"(HarperCollins, 272 pages, $25.99), by Louise Erdrich: Irene and Gil have the sort of life that outsiders might covet. He's a semifamous artist dubbed the "native Edward Hopper,"his success great enough to put their family in a three-story house in a fashionable Minneapolis neighborhood and enroll their three children in an exclusive private school.
Gora book must-have for fans of '80s teen flicks (AP)
AP - "You Couldn't Ignore Me If You Tried: The Brat Pack, John Hughes, and Their Impact on a Generation"(Crown, 384 pages, $26), by Susannah Gora:
Power, not money, drove pioneering journalist (AP)
AP - "Pulitzer: A Life in Politics, Print, and Power"(Harper, 576 pages, $29.99), by James McGrath Morris: Web-based technology may leave readers fretful about the future of newspapers, but it's not the first time the industry has undergone revolutionary change.
New book on Mays brings `Say Hey Kid'to life (AP)
AP - "Willie Mays: The Life, the Legend"(Scribner, 628 pages, $30), by James S. Hirsch: For the aging fans following him in his prime, Willie Mays was a youthful phenomenon who in time became baseball's happy warrior.
Elias shows how baseball exported 'American Way'(AP)
AP - "The Empire Strikes Out: How Baseball Sold U.S. Foreign Policy and Promoted the American Way Abroad"(The New Press, 418 pages, $27.95), by Robert Elias: Contrary to popular opinion in the U.S., the young Fidel Castro wasn't one of Cuba's best pitchers and was never offered contracts by American scouts. In fact, U.S. Sen. Eugene McCarthy once suggested that his lack of a big-league arm was a key reason Castro came to hate the U.S.
Florez and his 9 high C's return to Met Opera (AP)
AP - There were plenty of high notes but not quite enough heart as Donizetti's comic romp "La Fille du Regiment"("The Daughter of the Regiment") returned to the Metropolitan Opera.
The heart-on-sleeve melodies in 'Fanny'soar (AP)
AP - There's nothing like a full-throttle, heart-on-sleeve melody to lift the stodgiest of Broadway musicals.
Rebels vs. corrupt cops in "District B13"sequel (Reuters)
Reuters - Hard-hitting action marks "District 13: Ultimatum,"a satisfying sequel to "District B13."Disillusioned rebel Leito (parkour expert David Belle) teams again with double-crossed cop Tomasso (Cyril Raffaelli) to save a walled-off Parisian slum from nuclear annihilation.
"Execution"an offbeat view of Stalin's last days (Reuters)
Reuters - How did Joseph Stalin die?
Claire Danes has Emmy-worthy role in HBO movie (Reuters)
Reuters - Had "Temple Grandin"been a more typical film about one person's perseverance in the face of difficulty, it still would have been inspiring and emotionally impactful. After all, this is, at its heart, an uplifting story about an autistic young woman who, with help and guidance, comes out of her shell to become a widely respected author, animal scientist and autism advocate.
Hindi drama "Rann"takes on media manipulation (Reuters)
Reuters - A thematically ambitious drama about television news and its manipulation by corporate and political interests, and by the ever-more-desperate race for ratings, "Rann"("Battle") has none of the Bollywood musical trappings that stateside audiences have come to expect as the default.
Stemme returns to Metropolitan Opera (AP)
AP - Nina Stemme returned to the Metropolitan Opera for the first time since her debut run nearly a decade ago, and sang a radiant performance in a charming revival of Strauss'"Ariadne auf Naxos."
Israeli Oscar nominee "Ajami"admirable, but dark (Reuters)
Reuters - The fact that first-time co-directors Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani used a mostly nonprofessional cast and shot "Ajami"on location, sometimes without a script, gives their film a raw, realistic power.
Music Review: Sade returns with beauty and mystery (AP)
AP - Like a long-ago lover not quite forgotten, Sade has returned to steal our hearts with more beautiful, uncategorizable music.
"One Too Many Mornings,"not enough imagination (Reuters)
Reuters - Billed as a "coming-of-age comedy,"co-writer-director Michael Mohan's first feature strains to make the central, loud-mouthed alcoholic, character relatable.
Capsule reviews of 'The Whale'and other books (AP)
AP - "The Whale: In Search of the Giants of the Sea"(HarperCollins, 453 pages, $27.99), by Philip Hoare:
"Dear John"-- return to sender (Reuters)
Reuters - "Dear John"does center on a Dear John letter, but it takes a few unexpected paths. That's the good news.
