What a Weird Pandemic Summer It's Been – We need Bruce Springsteen To Save The Day by Brad Balfour Around this time of the year, I usually look back so as to orient myself about going forward. But, what a wack summer it's been. Having suffered through the coronavirus – literally and conceptually – I find myself settled into a motivational miasma; it's easier to stink up the couch than drive myself to further heights, get up, clean up and get out to ramble around the city. Bei

Dominic Keating Star Trek Veteran Remains an Unbelievable Actor Even with the Pandemic by Brad Balfour In the Star Trek universe, British actor Dominic Keating established himself as a significant player once he joined the Star Trek: Enterprise cast as Lieutenant Malcolm Reed, one of its core members. As the Enterprise's armory officer, he was in the senior command and appeared in 96 episodes where his presence was felt in this benchmark franchise. And even though it's nearly

Jane Birkin Cultural Icon/Singer/Actor/Writer Presents a One-Time Concert – Birkin Gainsbourg The Symphonic by Brad Balfour In the late-'60s, a French song, "Je t'aime, moi non plus," came out and stirred both controversy and accolades as well as becoming an international pop hit – even getting considerable airplay in the very uptight USA. As sung by Jane Birkin, with her hushed, breathy, half-whispered vocals, it prompted explicit sexual fantasies – just as Serge Gainsbourg,

The Oscars 2020 Oscars On My Mind – To Worry About Them in This Age of Greater Anxiety The 92nd Academy Awards ceremony Dolby Theatre Los Angeles Feb. 9th, 2020 airs live on ABC starting at 8 pm Yes, I have been anguishing over the upcoming Oscars far more than I should in light of all the other news: bad apps, impeachment blues, state of the union traumas, but the Oscars have been occupying lots of space in my brain. I ask why… Why are movies any more relevant than they have

Joe Pesci, Al Pacino, Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel at New York screening of “The Irishman.” Robert De Niro, Al Pacino & Martin Scorsese Cinematic Icons Bring The Irishman to Life Adding to Their Catalog of Mob Mayhem by Brad Balfour While master actor Robert De Niro and director Martin Scorsese have separately established voluminous and highly praised careers, their work together has stirred hurrahs that have made them Olympians of cinema. Whether it was

Todd Phillips at the Deadline Awardsline screening of “Joker” in New York. Todd Philips and Joaquin Phoenix Director and Actor Formed a Unique Union in Making Joker an Award-Oriented Hit by Brad Balfour Attending a Joker screening a second time – thanks to Deadline‘s Awardsline screening series – not only provided further insight but also a chance to hear director Todd Phillips explain himself, just as he did at the film’s World Premiere Q&A. Phillips is no stranger to contro

Greta Gerwig at a New York screening of Little Women. Greta Gerwig Makes Little Women with Big Characters and Award Ambitions by Brad Balfour Of the controversies associated with this year’s Oscars, the absence of women among many of its categories – especially Best Director – have highlighted the inequity of this award’s process. Of the many women creators considered, Little Women director Greta Gerwig’s omission has often been cited in the media as most egregious one. Nonet

Chrissy Metz at the New York screening of “Breakthrough.” Chrissy Metz Breakthrough Faithfully Makes Actress a Film Star and Garners Her an Oscar Nom for Its Featured Song by Brad Balfour It used to be that faith-based films were low-budget productions, cheaply made with cheesy storytelling and wooden acting – more about propagandizing than worthy narrative. Nowadays, they’re labelled as contemporary Christian and as much as they may still push their proselytizing agenda, the

Tony Smith Tony Smith Veteran New Yorker Preserves the Disco Experience as Sirius Radio’s Master DJ by Brad Balfour To fully appreciate DJ and music master Tony Smith, it’s good to know that when Scott Greenstein, President and Chief Content Officer of Sirius XM Radio, had his own special birthday party, it was Tony to whom he turned as the turntablist of record. As anyone knows, Sirius has become the ultimate online radio network. Greenstein was confident that Tony could pro

Mike Greenly Mike Greenly From the Corporate World to the Billboard Charts, a Songwriter Moves on Up by Brad Balfour When a tune’s words and music merge into a signature song, it seems so natural that it’s like everyday conversation. That’s true for classic rock songs such as Queen’s “We Will Rock You” or “We Are the Champions.” And it’s just as true for a basic Beatles’ love song like “Something” or “Yesterday,” their song of regret. Seasoned songwriter/lyricist Mike Greenl

James Frecheville at the New York press day for “Black 47.” James Frecheville Plays Hardened Fighter Feeney Getting Revenge in Black 47 by Brad Balfour In the Irish film Black 47, times are not good. Thanks to Draconian laws imposed on the Irish people by their genocidal British occupiers, the potato famine that had hit Ireland in the mid-1840s depleted the starving populace of their main source of food. Forced evictions by the absentee English landlord further exacerbated th

Donnie Kehr Donnie Kehr Brings “The Greatest Piano Men” to the Stage This August by Brad Balfour Multi-talented musician Donnie Kehr has not only created and promoted “Rockers on Broadway” but has been a rocker on Broadway when he appeared in such musicals as “Billy Elliot,” The Who’s “Tommy,” Elton John and Tim Rice’s “Aida,” “The Human Comedy,” and most notably “Jersey Boys.” He also was in the first, La Jolla, California, production of the jukebox musical about Frankie Val

Ciaran O’Reilly and Charlotte Moore at the Irish Repertory Theatre, The Irish Repertory Theatre Thrives on a String of Hits as it Approaches Another Gala Year by Brad Balfour When Ciaran O’Reilly and Charlotte Moore founded the Irish Repertory Theatre, they opened in September 1988 with Sean O’Casey’s The Plough and the Stars. From that point on, it became a nexus for great play craft and generally superb acting, bringing to the States lots of discoveries from the Emerald Isl

Altan Altan Irish Ensemble Makes for Thoroughly Modern Traditionalists by Brad Balfour When the Irish group Altan visited New York during St. Patrick’s week, it transformed the City Winery in lower Manhattan into a pastoral scene. It was rich with lilting melodies, harmonious voices and the engaging sonics of various traditional instruments such as violin, accordion, and bouzouki. The band packed the club and stirred an enthusiastic crowd throughout the nearly two-hour perfor

Celtic Woman Celtic Woman Quartet Brings Their Sounds for A Seasonal Celebration by Brad Balfour If any group has become synonymous with popular music from Ireland, it’s Celtic Woman. Though named in the singular, this quartet has been commanding stages internationally for nearly last two decades. Once again, they are coming to the tri-state area on the heels of St. Patrick’s Day to perform, recreating their recently released Celtic Woman: Homecoming Live from Ireland, their

D.A.R.K. L to R: Andy Rourke, Dolores O’Riordan, Olé Koretsky. Photo credit: Jen Maler A Great and Emotional Loss in The Death of Singer Dolores O’Riordan by Brad Balfour The late singer Dolores Mary Eileen O’Riordan was the kind of rock ‘n’ roll babe that we all were inspired by: one who was sensitive and yet powerful, compelling and compassionate, sexy but not frail. In the song “Zombie,” her performance embodied so many of the virtues that made her group the Cranberries th

Golden Globe Awards Assessing Last Year’s Movies Through the Lens of This Year’s Golden Globe Nominees by Brad Balfour Just as the Waterford ball drops, so does the anticipation for the 75th annual Golden Globes — the first major awards show of 2018. Being broadcast live, the show can be seen on NBC, Sunday, January 6th, starting at 8 pm ET. Since the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s 90 or so critics divide their cinematic choices into two oddly skewed categories — “Best

Bright BRIGHT (2017) Starring Will Smith, Joel Edgerton, Noomi Rapace, Lucy Fry, Édgar Ramírez, Ike Barinholtz, Happy Anderson, Kenneth Choi, Margaret Cho, Andrea Navedo, Brad William Henke, Dawn Olivieri, Brandon Larracuente, Cle Shaheed Sloan, Alex Meraz, Matt Gerald, Enrique Murciano, Jay Hernandez, Veronica Ngo and Nadia Gray. Screenplay by Max Landis. Directed by David Ayer. Distributed by Netflix. 117 minutes. Rated TV-MA. Actors Will Smith and Joel Edgerton Shine a Lig

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI (2017) REVIEW #2 Starring Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, John Hawkes, Peter Dinklage, Abbie Cornish, Caleb Landry Jones, Kathryn Newton, Lucas Hedges, Clarke Peters, Kerry Condon, Zeljko Ivanek, Brendan Sexton III, Samara Weaving, Nick Searcy, Amanda Warren, Sandy Martin and Darrell Britt-Gibson. Screenplay by Martin McDonagh. Directed by Martin McDonagh. Distributed by Fox

Goodbye Christopher Robin GOODBYE CHRISTOPHER ROBIN (2017) REVIEW #2 Starring Domhnall Gleeson, Margot Robbie, Kelly Macdonald, Alex Lawther, Stephen Campbell Moore, Vicki Pepperdine, Richard McCabe, Geraldine Somerville, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Will Tilston. Screenplay by Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Simon Vaughan. Directed by Simon Curtis. Distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures. 107 minutes. Rated PG. Director Simon Curtis Says Hello to Goodbye Christopher Robin Everybody in