Latest news with #Resurrection
Calgary Herald
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- Calgary Herald
Review: Rune Bergmann gives exemplary farewell to orchestra and city
Article content Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. Article content It was a night of finales and farewells. On the last weekend in May, the CPO performed its final pair of concerts of the current season, a season with many highlights (including this one) and with 40 sold-out performances, a company first. Recovering from near bankruptcy some years ago, the CPO is now enjoying some of the strongest support it has had in many years. Article content Article content At least some of the reason for this lies in the astute programming, but perhaps even more lies in the new manner of presentation, not the least by its outgoing conductor, Rune Bergmann, whose smiling face and manner have signalled to all that classical concerts can be both serious and simple fun. Article content Article content Bergmann has been with the orchestra for nine years, which includes the difficult years of COVID-19. It hasn't been easy to bring audiences back, but Bergmann persevered and has led the orchestra in delicate performances of works by Mozart as well as monumental symphonies by Mahler. Article content And it was with Mahler, specifically Mahler's popular Second Symphony (Resurrection), that Bergmann chose to conclude his time with the orchestra. A symphony about farewells, it is also about hope and new life. It is also a symphony by which to measure the growth in the performing stature of the orchestra and the Calgary Philharmonic Chorus, both of which are enjoying a period in which a great many of their recent concerts have been of a very high level. Article content Just this past season, the orchestra performed a splashy Carmina Burana to open its season (also with the CPO Chorus), with concerts featuring world-famous soloists like Jonathan Biss and Honens winner Nicolas Namoradze. It also gave superb performances of Mozart and Elgar with Bergmann at the helm, and a wonderful Symphonie Fantastique by Hector Berlioz. String soloists were not ignored either, with outstanding performances by violinists James Ehnes and Diana Cohen, and recently a sold-out appearance with cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Article content This list of accomplishments, together with an earlier Beethoven symphony and concerto cycle and several Mahler symphonies, including an impressive performance of the Third Symphony, gives an indication of the wide range of music performed, and with impressive surety and confidence. Article content These qualities marked Bergmann's final appearance with the orchestra. One could only marvel at the authority of the opening cello section solo, as well as the numerous solo turns given to the wind and brass players (especially the solo trumpet of Adam Zinatelli). The percussion section whipped up a storm, and the chorus sang with hushed emotion and, in the final moment, with dramatic grandeur.
Calgary Herald
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Calgary Herald
Review:
Article content Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. Article content It was a night of finales and farewells. On the last weekend in May, the CPO performed its final pair of concerts of the current season, a season with many highlights (including this one) and with 40 sold-out performances, a company first. Recovering from near bankruptcy some years ago, the CPO is now enjoying some of the strongest support it has had in many years. Article content Article content Article content At least some of the reason for this lies in the astute programming, but perhaps even more lies in the new manner of presentation, not the least by its outgoing conductor, Rune Bergmann, whose smiling face and manner have signalled to all that classical concerts can be both serious and simple fun. Article content Article content Bergmann has been with the orchestra for nine years, which includes the difficult years of COVID-19. It hasn't been easy to bring audiences back, but Bergmann persevered and has led the orchestra in delicate performances of works by Mozart as well as monumental symphonies by Mahler. Article content And it was with Mahler, specifically Mahler's popular Second Symphony (Resurrection), that Bergmann chose to conclude his time with the orchestra. A symphony about farewells, it is also about hope and new life. It is also a symphony by which to measure the growth in the performing stature of the orchestra and the Calgary Philharmonic Chorus, both of which are enjoying a period in which a great many of their recent concerts have been of a very high level. Article content Article content Just this past season, the orchestra performed a splashy Carmina Burana to open its season (also with the CPO Chorus), with concerts featuring world-famous soloists like Jonathan Biss and Honens winner Nicolas Namoradze. It also gave superb performances of Mozart and Elgar with Bergmann at the helm, and a wonderful Symphonie Fantastique by Hector Berlioz. String soloists were not ignored either, with outstanding performances by violinists James Ehnes and Diana Cohen, and recently a sold-out appearance with cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Article content This list of accomplishments, together with an earlier Beethoven symphony and concerto cycle and several Mahler symphonies, including an impressive performance of the Third Symphony, gives an indication of the wide range of music performed, and with impressive surety and confidence. Article content These qualities marked Bergmann's final appearance with the orchestra. One could only marvel at the authority of the opening cello section solo, as well as the numerous solo turns given to the wind and brass players (especially the solo trumpet of Adam Zinatelli). The percussion section whipped up a storm, and the chorus sang with hushed emotion and, in the final moment, with dramatic grandeur.
USA Today
a day ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
'Dexter: Resurrection' serial killers: See Neil Patrick Harris as 'Tattoo Collector'
'Dexter: Resurrection' serial killers: See Neil Patrick Harris as 'Tattoo Collector' Krysten Ritter, Eric Stonestreet, and David Dastmalchian are killers in 'Dexter' revival series 'Resurrection' Reborn vigilante Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) faces off against a Murderer's Row of serial killers in "Dexter: Resurrection." The "Dexter" revival series (first two episodes streaming on Paramount+ July 11) features beloved Hollywood stars earning sinister tabloid monikers, including "Doogie Howser, M.D." star Neil Patrick Harris (as "The Tattoo Collector") and "Modern Family" star Eric Stonestreet (as "Rapunzel"). "Jessica Jones" star Krysten Ritter puts the chill into "Lady Vengeance," and David Dastmalchian ("The Suicide Squad") does double evil duty as "The Gemini Killer." The serial killers are summoned to New York for a MurderCon-style meetup with Charley (Uma Thurman), the head of security for mysterious billionaire Leon Prater (Peter Dinklage). "They don't all live in New York City, but let's say they've been invited there; it's a gathering," says "Dexter" creator and executive producer Clyde Phillips, who stocks "Resurrection" with new uber-villains. "This season is a unique launching pad for however many years this series will be going." Here's the new legion of "Dexter" doom: 'Dexter: Resurrection' miracle! Michael C. Hall returns from TV dead in Showtime series Neil Patrick Harris is Lowell, aka 'The Tattoo Collector': The successful anesthesiologist targets victims with tattoos to add to his grisly collection. Krysten Ritter is Mia, aka 'Lady Vengeance': A serial killer by night, sommelier by day, "Lady Vengeance" is vivacious and lives her life to the fullest, whether it's in her day job or her life on the hunt. Eric Stonestreet is Al, aka 'Rapunzel': Jolly and cordial, a Midwestern father of two, Al is the last person you'd ever expect to be a serial killer. But his bizarre need to strangle ponytailed women has left a trail of bodies that has terrified the country. David Dastmalchian is Gareth, aka 'The Gemini Killer': A brilliant mind with a devious need to kill people in pairs. He's been killing for years, leaving the FBI with zero clue of his true identity. But he's built such a name for himself that books, movies and podcasts detail his terrifying exploits. Wait, so 'Dexter' is alive again? Dexter survived what was clearly meant to be a permanent shotgun death, depicted in the January 2022 finale of "Dexter New Blood." In the 2024-25 "Dexter: Original Sin" prequel, which Hall's Dexter narrates, the barely alive serial killer is shown being rushed by ambulance to an upstate New York hospital. In "Resurrection," Dexter slips off to New York City as soon as his recovery allows, looking for his son, Harrison (Jack Alcott), who also happens to be the guy who shot his dad upstate. Now that Hall has been reborn as Dexter for "Resurrection," Phillips plans to keep the franchise star alive as long as series renewals allow. That means the villains who come across Dexter in "Resurrection" won't fall to his signature Saran Wrap death right away. "One of these characters will end up being what we call 'The Big Baddie,' and they will be taken care of this season," says Phillips. The rest will have to wait their turn for a lethal faceoff, which could take "however many years we're going to be on. And really, that's up to Michael." How to watch the new 'Dexter: Resurrection'? The first two episodes stream on demand for Paramount+ with Showtime subscribers on July 11, before airing on Paramount+ with Showtime on July 13 (8 EDT/PDT), then weekly on Sundays.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Bi Gan's Cannes Winner ‘Resurrection' Nabbed by Janus Films for North America (EXCLUSIVE)
Janus Films has acquired all North American rights to 'Resurrection,' the Special Award winner at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival from visionary Chinese filmmaker Bi Gan. The film, which premiered in competition at Cannes, marks the third feature from Bi Gan, whose previous credits include 'Kaili Blues' and 'Long Day's Journey Into Night.' More from Variety Jafar Panahi Returns to Cheers in Tehran as Palme d'Or Victory Prompts Diplomatic Spat Between France and Iran 'The Love That Remains' Review: Hlynur Pálmason's Exquisitely Tender, Increasingly Haywire Portrait of a Family in Limbo Inside TikTok's Cannes Film Festival Takeover, From One-on-One Time With Tom Cruise to Reece Feldman's Short Film Premiere Told in six parts spanning a century, 'Resurrection's' framing story takes place in a world where humanity has lost the ability to dream, with one creature remaining entranced by the fading illusions of the dreamworld. The film stars Chinese superstar singer and actor Jackson Yee and veteran actor Shu Qi, known for her collaborations with Hou Hsiao-Hsien. 'Resurrection' was praised by Variety critic Jessica Kiang as 'a marvelously maximalist movie of opulent ambition that is actually five or six movies, each at once playful and peculiar and part of an overarchingly melancholy elegy for the dream of 20th-century cinema and the lives we lived within it.' Speaking with Variety ahead of the film's Cannes premiere, Bi had said: 'Screens are getting smaller and smaller, and I want to evoke that old feeling of watching films in theaters. The first story begins in the early 20th century, and I employed the cinematic language of that era.' The deal was negotiated between Janus Films and Les Films du Losange. 'Resurrection' was produced by China's Huace Pictures and Dangmai Films with France's CG Cinema, and features a score by M83. 'Bi Gan's 'Resurrection' is a kaleidoscopic, time-skipping, genre-mashing odyssey through cinema and dreams that will thrill fans of daring, visionary filmmakers like David Lynch, Andrei Tarkovsky, Leos Carax and Wong Kar-wai,' Janus Films said in a statement. 'We're very proud and excited to bring this surreal, provocative, epic experience to screens across North America and to champion the work of Bi Gan, a director we have long admired.' Les Films du Losange added: ''Resurrection' is a powerful and singular film that has been sparking passionate reactions from festival audiences, international buyers, and the press. It's a film that truly calls for a tailored, original, and ambitious release strategy. With their impeccable taste and exceptional vision, Janus Films are the ideal partners for us.' The acquisition continues Janus Films' recent push into first-run distribution of new international cinema. The company has earned eight Academy Award nominations in partnership with Sideshow Pictures, releasing such titles as Ryusuke Hamaguchi's Oscar winner 'Drive My Car,' Jerzy Skolimowski's Oscar-nominated 'EO,' Payal Kapadia's Cannes Grand Prix winner 'All We Imagine as Light,' and Gints Zibalodis' 'Flow,' which won the Oscar for best animated feature and became Janus' highest-grossing theatrical release. This year's Janus slate has included Alain Guiraudie's 'Misericordia,' David Cronenberg's 'The Shrouds' and Jia Zhangke's 'Caught by the Tides.' Upcoming releases include Kiyoshi Kurosawa's 'Cloud' in July and Ira Sachs' 'Peter Hujar's Day' slated for fall. Founded in 1956, Janus Films was the first U.S. theatrical distribution company dedicated to bringing international arthouse films to American audiences, building a library that includes classics from Akira Kurosawa, Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini and contemporary masters like David Lynch and Wong Kar-wai. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Mama' Review: A Housemaid Abroad Gets an Unpleasant Homecoming in an Intriguing Character Study That Veers Into Melodrama
'Mama,' director Or Sinai's first narrative feature, proves the filmmaker as a keen character observer. Inspired by stories she heard from migrant Eastern European women working in Israel, the film follows Mila (Evgenia Dodina), a housekeeper for a rich family providing for those she left back in Poland. When an unexpected accident forces her home, she discovers that her family doesn't need her as much as she thought they did. But while 'Mama' is a revelatory character study of a fascinating woman, it resorts a few too many times to melodramatic flourishes that undercut where its power lies. Above all, Sinai's film is a social drama, concerned with its characters' economic plight and attuned to what rights are denied to them. Mila is first shown in the big, lavish house owned by the family she serves. Her position there becomes apparent to the audience by the dismissive, though often laced with kindness, way that her employers treat her. They might claim she's kin, but she's obviously a servant. She takes solace in a tender affair she has with another domestic, the gardener (Martin Ogbu). These opening scenes effectively portray Mila's state of mind and show her vulnerabilities. More from Variety Chris Evans Skipped His Movie's Cannes Premiere Because It Was His Mom's 70th Birthday and 'Some Things You Just Can't Miss' Bi Gan's Cannes Winner 'Resurrection' Nabbed by Janus Films for North America (EXCLUSIVE) Jafar Panahi Returns to Cheers in Tehran as Palme d'Or Victory Prompts Diplomatic Spat Between France and Iran The tables are turned once the action moves to the small Polish village where she came from. There, Mila is the dominating alpha over her husband (Arkadiusz Jakubik) and daughter (Katarzyna Łubik). Her money is what keeps all three afloat, paying for the daughter's education and the building of a new house they plan to move into. Having spent years away wearing herself out so that the can afford a decent living, Mila reveals herself as a tyrant who always thinks she knows best. When she discovers that another woman (Dominika Bednarczyk) has replaced her as lover to her husband and surrogate mother to her daughter, she desperately tries to salvage her position at the top of the family Unfortunately the film presents Mila's plight in a series of melodramatic situations, incongruent with the well-observed character study that 'Mama' has been thus far. Melodrama can serve as a way to heighten a story, but only when done right. Instead of deepening Mila's character or showing consequences for her actions, these plot swerves manifest as a series of inexplicable decisions made by the protagonist. Prior to that, there was a heartfelt and confrontational drama happening between her and the other three characters she has to deal with in Poland. There might have been a better way to foreground the conflicts brewing between them than forcing such convoluted circumstances. This change is especially detrimental to the daughter's character, forcing Łubik to spend most of her performance hysterically responding to her mother's actions. The screenplay also underserves Bednarczyk, who gives an almost silent performance yet manages to render her character fully human. As 'Mama' becomes more of a mother-daughter showdown, that character disappears. Ogbu is a calming and loving presence as 'the lover' (the actual character name in the press notes, showing how much the filmmakers care about this figure) but 'Mama' wastes the chance to portray its only Black character as fully dimensional. He's only there to serve the lead character, adding carnality and color blindness to her attributes. At the center of the film lies Dodina's commanding performance. With a fierce gaze that ruptures the screen and looks straight through those watching, she's soulful, dynamic and powerful. Mila is complicated and headstrong, sometimes even bitter, and Dodina does not try to soften her at all. Instead she presents her in full, warts and all. Dodina never seeks the audience's sympathy yet manages to command utmost compassion. Matan Radin's crisp, unfussy cinematography captures the openness of the rich family's house in Israel with yellowish desert hues. In contrast, the smaller, cramped apartments that the characters inhabit in Poland are rendered with grayish, claustrophobic lighting. Sinai's framing of Dodina becomes more restrictive as Mila signals her dissatisfaction, showing how the world is closing in on her and forcing her to make irrational decisions. In these instances, the strong filmmaking trumps the script's inconsistencies. With 'Mama' many would understand why Sinai, a first time feature filmmaker, was given a berth a Cannes: this is a competent and intriguing debut. What it lacks in script sophistication, Sinai more than makes up for with her assured filmmaking and successful guidance of her lead performance. Best of Variety The Best Albums of the Decade
