Arts & Culture
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Porgy and Bess at The Seattle Symphony
Looking for something fun to do this fall? The Seattle Symphony just kicked off its 2013-2014 season. If you have not been to the Symphony before, it is a great way to get out of the rain while enjoying some fantastic music. I had the pleasure of attending opening night two weeks ago and was… Continue reading
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Movie Mondays: the hoopla about hoopla
hoopla is the Library’s newest streaming video and music service. The video collection contains an eclectic mix of more than 3,000 films and television shows, from classics to the occasional new release. You can check out 20 videos per month, for 72 hours each, and watch videos on your computer, tablet or smartphone. Best of all,… Continue reading
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Movie Mondays: At Sea
Jen’s recent post on nautical fiction got me thinking of films set at sea. Not swashbucklers like Master and Commander and Pirates of the Caribbean, or blockbusters like Titanic and Jaws, but more modest tales that take place on the water. Kon-Tiki (2012) tells the true story of Thor Heyerdahl’s successful crossing of the Pacific. In 1947, Heyerdahl (Pål Sverre… Continue reading
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Movie Mondays: Seattle loves BBC!
This week’s Movie Monday column is switching things up to discuss TV again, specifically BBC. It’s no secret that Seattleites love all things BBC, and Seattle posted the highest ratings in the country for the season 3 premiere of Downton Abbey. Two other programs – Call the Midwife and Bletchley Circle – have been popular enough that… Continue reading
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Free film screening of KCTS documentary: ‘Latinos: The Changing Face of Washington’
Join us for a film screening about the fastest growing population in Washington, followed by a panel discussion hosted by KCTS 9’s Enrique Cerna. The film screening will take place on Thursday, September 5, 2013 from 12:00 – 1:30 p.m. In Latinos: The Changing Face of Washington, KCTS 9’s Enrique Cerna examines the history of Latinos… Continue reading
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Movie Mondays: Workplace Comedies for Labor Day
The last thing most people want to think about on Labor Day is work. Fortunately, the workplace has been the setting for some of Hollywood’s funniest and most incisive comedies. Here are four funny films that take place at work. 9 to 5 (1980) follows three secretaries – Judy Bernly (Jane Fonda), Violet Newstead (Lily Tomlin) and Doralee… Continue reading
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Three for Free – ‘It’s so hard’ edition
Writing is hard. How hard you might say? Rock hard, I might respond. For example, I’ve spent the better part of an hour just writing these opening sentences. For those of you keeping score at home, the first question I would ask you is why are you scoring this at home? Then, I would tell… Continue reading
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Movie Mondays: Graduation Day
Graduation is a major rite of passage whether it be from high school or college. These films capture the momentous occasion and the sometimes confusing, anticlimatic aftermath of such life transitions. Dazed and Confused (1993): Richard Linklater’s cult classic film follows a group of high school students on the last day of school as they… Continue reading
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Movie Mondays: Scandals on Screen
Scandals fascinate us. The characters are fearless and their actions are audacious; best of all, you can’t wait for them to get their comeuppance. Here are three classic films that deftly deal with some of the most complex and notorious scandals of the twentieth century. Robert Redford’s Quiz Show (1994) looks at one of the biggest… Continue reading
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Movie Mondays: Love it or Hate it?
Have you ever read a movie review or had a conversation with a friend and wonder afterwards: “how could they like that movie?” Or, “I love that movie; how can they hate it?” Here are a half dozen examples of films that have polarized film critics and audiences through the years. Continue reading
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Movie Mondays: Movies for Summer Nights
As we head into the dog days of summer, two new films – The Kings of Summer and The Way Way Back – celebrate how the season often plays a significant role in the movies. Here are a half dozen films that take place in summer – the sweet, the silly and the steamy. Continue reading
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Movie Mondays: Chewing the scenery
“Chewing the scenery,” an American phrase coined in the late 19th century, refers to dramatic, theatrical overacting. Watching performers chew the scenery can be excruciating, except when it’s an excellent actor or actress working with top-notch material – then it’s fun. Here are four films – two with dysfunctional workplaces, two with disintegrating marriages – that feature actors at the… Continue reading
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Movie Mondays: Looking for a new TV series?
Today’s Movie Monday column is focusing on television. Why? Because many people regard the past ten years as a new Golden Age of television. From Six Feet Under and The Sopranos, through The Wire and to Breaking Bad and Mad Men, both critics and the public see the writing contemporary on cable TV programs as… Continue reading
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Three for Free – City living edition
Named for the former Seattle Supersonic star “Slick Watts,” the eighth track on Blue Scholars’ 2011 CineMetroPolis begins with a robotic sounding voice proclaiming, “You know, I be, I be in the, be in the town all day. I be, I be in the, be in the in the S-E-A.” Seeing as both my home… Continue reading