Film review: Wreck-It Ralph rises above the arcade fray

Maybe it’s the 1980s and 1990s nostalgia for vintage video games. Maybe it’s John C. Reilly’s and Sarah Silverman’s terrific performances as Wreck-It Ralph and Vanellope von Schweetz. Maybe it’s because so many animated movies lately have been just O.K. (Frankenweenie) or downright mediocre (Brave). But something about Wreck-It Ralph made my cold critic’s heart grow three sizes.

ARTS Pick: Skyfall

Every James Bond film deserves a grand-scale debut, so pairing Skyfall with the opening of the new Regal Stonefield Stadium 14 seems fitting.

ARTS Pick: Camel Flowers

“Camel Flowers” is a private collection of rare tribal Anatolian and Persian animal adornments curated by local business owner, Saul Barodofsky.  While highly decorative, these medallions, head dresses, knee pads and […]

ARTS Post: Marco Benevento

Want a recipe for experimental, space-age piano rock? Start with a graduate of the Berklee School of Music, stir in masterful key playing that sounds like anything but piano, add a dash of sonic loop-de-loops, and finish with vocals whispered from beyond the ether.

ARTS Pick: The Other Side of the Ice

To travel from Newport, Rhode Island to Seattle, Washington with your family–who are all together for the first time since an emotionally wracking divorce a decade-and-a-half ago–most people of sound […]

ARTS Pick: Free Bridge Quintet

Fifteen albums comprise an impressive repertoire for any musician. Make that artist a contemporary jazz pianist surrounded by critical enthusiasm and the reverence sky-rockets.