Without the Arno, Florence would be like Romolo - The Florentine

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8 Thursday 8 February 2007 Movie REVIEWS Thursday February 8 Movies in English showing in Florence by James Douglas ODEON THEATRE DREAMGIRLS Bill Condon’s adaptation of the 1981 Broadway show Dreamgirls is a bigproduction musical given the lavish, big-screen treatment that visually at least may make up for its alleged shortfalls in the musical department. Supposed to be, but not confi rmed to be, the story of the rise to mainstream success of The Supremes and manager Berry Gordy Jr.’s Motown Records in the 1960s, the movie chronicles the on- and off-stage lives of the trio. Jennifer Hudson’s showstopper ‘And I Am Telling You I Am Not Going’ has had the critics scurrying for superlatives. Monday February 12 ODEON THEATRE THE HOLIDAY Grisly romantic comedy from the queen of the chick fl ick, Nancy Meyers’ The Holiday is an overstuffed turkey of a movie that bizarrely gets its Italian release way off season. However, even the most generous Christmas cheer would barely rescue this hopelessly miscast (Jack Black as romantic hero!), woefully misconceived transatlantic tryst tripe. Despite superior British cast (Winslet, Law, Sewell) and given the limitations of the incompetent Diaz, Meyers’ dull script and the movie’s idiotic premise, the director’s talents are wasted on mindless frivolity so lame it can barely move. For sad singles only. Tuesday February 13 ODEON THEATRE AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH ‘You owe it to yourself to see this fi lm. If you do not, and you have grandchildren, you should explain to them why you decided not to’. So says eminent fi lm reviewer Roger Ebert in a dramatic departure from his measured, impartial style. And he underlines the impending catastrophe now more than ever in the news that global warming represents. Al Gore’s environmental campaign laid out the facts and let the audience draw the obvious conclusion. Davis Guggenheim’s fi lm of this campaign, An Inconvenient Truth, serves to reinforce the point. An alarming and essential documentary that reminds us of what it is to be human. A global warning. Wednesday February 14 BRITISH INSTITUTE Femmes Fatales BAD TIMING Nicolas Roeg’s 1980 neo-noir Bad Timing has memorable performances from his wife Theresa Russell as Milena Flaherty, troubled femme fatale, and Art Garfunkel as her hapless victim. Fragmented time lines, Viennese location, edgy soundtrack and an array of unpleasant characters, even a strangely subdued Harvey Keitel as the police inspector, make this a challenging and disturbing exercise in obsession and despair. The distributors tried to pull the plug on it at release, calling it ‘sick’, ‘depraved’, etc. Thursday February 15 ODEON THEATRE STEP UP Clichéd crowd-pleasing dance movie for hip hop tweenies who didn’t get West Side Story, Footloose or Fame. For them Step Up may be a step up. For others an unusually chaste and unchallenging urban fairy tale. Weeks 8 February - 22 February 2007 Monday February 19 ODEON THEATRE STRANGER THAN FICTION At last, a movie with a mind! Marc Forster’s intriguing Stranger than Fiction is the story of Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) who hears the narrative of his life from a mysterious voice in his head. This intelligent and funny examination of the intertwining of fi ction and reality has a particularly fi ne performance from Emma Thompson as the novelist whose fi ction becomes Crick’s reality. It may be the familiar territory of interfaces opened up by the likes of Woody Allen and more recently Charlie Kaufman (Adaptation) but Forster’s movie is consistently inventive, thought-provoking and entertaining. Tuesday February 20 ODEON THEATRE BOBBY Emilio Estevez’s Bobby is the story of the assassination of Senator Robert Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles in 1968. Ladling 60s idealism and liberal politics into his script and direction, Estevez takes the interlinked stories of 22 hotel staff and guests who witnessed the event and in the Altman-like ensemble mosaic pieces together the spirit of the age. With an extraordinarily high-powered cast and a passionate appeal for peace and justice, the movie impacts movingly in our time, and the presence of Kennedy himself in authentic newsreel footage rather than in the performance of an actor adds resonance to the tragedy of lost promise. www.thefl orentine.net Wednesday February 21 BRITISH INSTITUTE Femmes Fatales BODY HEAT Sizzling neo-noir thriller with Kathleen Turner as the femme fatale treading in the footsteps of many predecessors as she lures her lover into a plot to kill her husband. With more than a hint of the classic Double Indemnity, Lawrence Kasdan’s Body Heat (1981) holds its own as ‘great trash’—taut, convincing, sexy, suspenseful and darkly satisfying. Thursday February 22 ODEON THEATRE BREAKING AND ENTERING Anthony Minghella’s Breaking and Entering takes the urban transition zone of London’s King’s Cross redevelopment area for its locale. And it is in this everyman’s land of contemporary London that the parallel and intersecting lives of a representative cross-section of London life play out their stories: Jude Law as Will, the high-fl ying architect; Miro, the Bosnian refugee and athletic cat burglar; Amira (Juliette Binoche), his mother; Oana, the Russian prostitute; and more. The characters learn to live together and say ‘I’m sorry’ when circumstances demand apology as the only way forward.
www.thefl orentine.net The Florentine cannot be responsible for changes in program details. OUR TOP PICKS VINOLIO 2007 – Food and wine trade expo – February 9–11 Fortezza da Basso With Vinolio in its fi rst year, the expo hopes to become an important national and international reference point for the wine, olive oil and gastronomic sectors. More than 4,000 businesses and accredited buyers will gather within the 50,000 square meters of the Fortress. The Florence trade expo will showcase the world’s most recent technological inventions, and support the biodiversity typical of agricultural traditions in Italian production. Not just a trade fair for buying and selling, Vinolio is a worldwide cultural event which uses the city of Florence as its stage. AREZZO WAVE BAND 2007– February 16, Prato On February 16, the Arezzo Wave Foundation will present the winners of the live regional contest Arezzo Wave Band 2007. This event aims to discover innovative musical talents that will perform in the Italia Wave event scheduled for July 2007. Regional contests began in January and will continue until the middle of March. Each region will be able to present one winning band for the July ‘play-off’ fi nals. For more information call 0574-1836753 or visit www.arrezzowave.com. PRESIDENT’S DAY COMMEMORATION – February 19, 5:30pm Salone Brunelleschi, Palagio di Parte Guelfa The monument dedicated to George Washington, located in Parco delle Cascine’s Piazzale Kennedy, has received a much needed make-over. The restoration project, sponsored by the Tuscan American Association, will be presented on February 19 at Palagio di Parte Guelfa in commemoration of President’s Day and Washington’s 275th birthday celebration. Event speakers include International Relations Councilor Eugenio Giani, U.S. Consul General, Nora Dempsey and architect Claudio Cestelli. The Tuscan-American Association is an independent non-profi t organization founded in 1996. Its mission is ‘to deepen and broaden ties and promote cultural and economic exchange between the United States and Tuscany’. For more information visit: segreteria@toscana-usa.org. STING IN CONCERT –February 21, Teatro Verdi Sting, accompanied by renowned lute-player, Edin Karamazov, has announced a much-awaited European tour to promote his latest album, ‘Songs from the Labyrinth’. A personal tribute to Elizabethan composer John Dowland (1563–1626), the album has achieved enormous success world-wide both from the critics and the general public, debuting at the top of the world’s charts. SNEAK PREVIEW – Chianti Classico 2006 – February 21, Florence Join the 100-plus producers of Chianti classico at the Chianti Classico wine-tasting. Participants can enjoy a sneak preview of 2005–2006 wines as well as those on the 2004 reserve list. Oillovers can also enjoy samples of DOP oils from the 2006 harvest. For information and booking call: 055/8228523 PEP BOU: the soap bubble magician – February 8-10 Teatro Rifredi –Via Vittorio Emanuele II, 303 Pep Bou’s shows are based on the creation of soap bubbles. Each bubble takes on a life of its own, becoming an actor of sorts as it fl oats over the stage. Pep Bou’s style of theatre alludes to the transparent nature of the bubbles and the characters who blow and pop them. The inhabitants of his imaginary world illustrate the fragile nature of the human condition. His third time at Teatro di Rifredi, Pep Bou has always worked magic on enthralled audiences. WALKER EVANS EXHIBIT – Until March 11 Museo Nazionale Alinari della Fotografi a (MNAF Piazza S.M.Novella 14/a rosso - Leopoldine Photography lovers can line up at the Alinari National Museum of Photography, an offshoot of the historic Alinari Brothers’ company, to view the interesting retrospective by Walker Evans. Until March 11, the American photographer known for his visual documentation of rural America during the Great Depression will be on display for all eyes to enjoy. For more information call: 05523951 or visit: www.alinarifondazione.it t What’s on & Where to Go t t 9 Thursday 8 February 2007 Events in FLORENCE FEB 9 TO FEB 22 mbership card necessary FRIDAY 9 n DANCE da Tango a Sirtaki A tribute to Zorba, with Raffaele Paganini Teatro Verdi, via Ghibellina 99, tel. 055.212320, www.teatroverdifi renze.it, 20.45 n MARKETS & FESTIVALS Vinolio Wine and oil, agricultural and food fair Fortezza da Basso tel. 05549721 - 055496404 - www.fi renze-expo.it, 9-20 n MUSIC & CONCERTS Alter*nite rock, techno, goth, drum & bass Ippodromo Le mulina, 22.00 Jeffrey Tate Pelle Carlberg Sintetika, Via Luigi Alamanni 4, info 333- 3591575, www.sintetikalive.it, 22.00, membership only Six Dixiers Jazz Club, via Nuova de’ Caccini 3, tel. 055.2479700, 22.15, € 7 St. Thomas the Apostle Church Choir (United States) A. Vivaldi, W. A. Mozart, G. F. Händel music Chiesa di San Marco, via Maggio 18, www. amicimusicasacra.com,18.00 Tony Levin & California Guitar trio Auditorium Flog, via Mercati Michele 24b tel. 055.487145, www.fl og.it, 21.30 n THEATRE (in Italian unless otherwise noted) Laboratorio Zelig Teatro 13, Via Nicolodi 2, 21.15, €10/7 Paolo Rossi in “Chiamatemi Kowalski - Evolution” Saschall, Lungarno Aldo Moro 3, tel. 055.6504112, www.saschall.it, 21.00 Pep Bou: il mago delle bolle di sapone Teatro di Rifredi, via Vittorio Emanuele II 303, tel. 055.4220361, www.toscanateatro.it, 21.00 Serata gasp! cabaret, theatre and music Scantinato - la casa del teatro, Via San Domenico 51, info 055-573857, 21.15 Trappola per topi Teatro Le Laudi, via L. da Vinci 2r, tel. 055.572831, www.caspi.it/teatri/defaultLaudi.htm, 21.00, Sun 17.00 SATURDAY 10 n DANCE Au cafè Teatro Verdi, via Ghibellina 99, tel. 055.212320, www.teatroverdifi renze.it, 20.45, on Sun 16.45 n GUIDED TOURS Antica Farmacia di S.Maria Novella Piazza Santa Maria Novella, 15.00, info and booking 335-5312904 n MARKETS & FESTIVALS Vinolio See Feb 9 n MUSIC & CONCERTS Bonsoir Joli Monsieur Pinocchio Jazz Club c/o Associazione Le Vie Nuove, v.le Giannotti 13, tel. 055.683388, www.pinocchiojazz.it, 22.00 Carmen Consoli Nelson Mandela Forum (ex Palasport), viale Pasquale Paoli, tel. 055.678841, www. mandelaforum.it, 21.00, € 21-35 Circuito 4 piste Reggae-roots, rock-cartoons, goa-trance, house Ippodromo Le mulina, 22.00 Marc Andrè Hamelin, piano Teatro della Pergola, via della Pergola, 18, tel. 055.22641, www.pergola.fi renze.it, 16.00 Nobody’s Perfect: Pikaya Live + Alex Neri Tenax, via Pratese 46, tel. 055.308160, 22.30 Norge - Led Zeppelin Tribute Night Auditorium Flog, via Mercati Michele 24b tel. 055.487145, www.fl og.it, 21.30 Sound power funk Jazz Club, via Nuova de’ Caccini 3, tel. 055.2479700, 22.15, € 7 Tricobalto rock, psychedelic and funk music Sintetika, Via Luigi Alamanni 4, info 333- 3591575, www.sintetikalive.it, 22.00, membership only n THEATRE (in Italian unless otherwise noted) I barroccini di via dell’Ariento see ongoing I’ fi gliolo di prete in vernacular, see ongoing La macellara see ongoing Pep Bou: il mago delle bolle di sapone see Feb 8 Serata gasp! see Feb 9 THEATRE Trappola per topi see Feb 9 SUNDAY 11 n GUIDED TOURS I crinali del Chianti: da Gaville alla Badiaccia a Montemuro trekking, starting point Bagno A ripoli, 6.00
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Without the Arno, Florence would be like Romolo - The Florentine

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