Theater Review: Regional debut of 'Hunchback' rings triumphant

Pat Walsh as Quasimodo in Upper Darby Performing Arts Center's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" Rachel Lombardo

The Upper Darby Performing Arts Center production of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" this weekend has prompted a couple of firsts: one, it was the first performance I've ever seen at the PAC, and second, this was the first regional production of the stage version off-shoot of the 1996 Disney animated musical. After the first "Hunchback" performance on July 28, I asked myself in amazement why I hadn't been to shows at the PAC before, then I wondered why more theaters weren't putting on this gorgeous, grandiose show. I couldn't answer the former, but the enormity of the production answers the latter.

"Hunchback" is an elaborate and big musical based on the Victor Hugo novel about the grotesque Quasimodo that takes place on a single 30-foot tall cathedral set that houses a 30-member chorus, features a stain glass impression and is decorated with large bells, kind of like the real Notre Dame in Paris.  At the helm for the Philadelphia-area premiere is the PAC's own Jeff Dietzler who is graced with having such a large venue to host the massive production and having all of the talent needed on- and off-stage to tackle the epic production.

Movie Review: 'Detroit' burns down with its message

Detroit (2017, directed by Kathryn Bigelow. U.S.A., English, Color, 143 minutes) The most important thing about a society steeped in the arts and culture is the ability to observe our own behavior. Every form of media can be used to deliver a message about who we are, or who we have been, as a civilized group of people. In the history of American cinema we have seen film used to glorify the KKK ("The Birth of a Nation") and even excoriate a presidency ("Fahrenheit 9/11"). Needless to say, it's one of the most powerful and controversial mediums in the world for the stories it tells. "Detroit" is a movie presented as a contemporary art piece that exploits extremely raw emotions of modern events to create a telling of a previous heinous event in our history. The film is as empty, shallow and void of feeling as the society we live in.

Movie Review: 'Dunkirk' is an intense, beautiful film

Dunkirk (2017, directed by Christopher Nolan. U.S.A./U.K., English, Color, 106 minutes) In the realm of war movies, the most memorable one of recent years is 1998's "Saving Private Ryan" - even though "The Hurt Locker" is better. It's violent, it's bloody, there's a human interest aspect to it, and it has pretty boys acting out a young man's fantasy of shooting guns and fighting off the Nazis.

Almost 20 years later and Christopher Nolan releases "Dunkirk", a film with a keen eye for suspense and storytelling that it easily eclipses Spielberg's one-trick pony of a film.

Movie Review: Emotions sink like a stone in dried up 'Wind River'

The Weinstein Company

Wind River (2017, directed by Taylor Sheridan. U.S.A., English, Color, 111 minutes) In his directorial debut following his Oscar nomination for writing last year's "Hell or High Water", Taylor Sheridan continues his passion for crime with "Wind River", the incredibly mean-spirited and drab story about a young girl found frozen to death in the middle of a Wyoming Indian reservation. Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen team up as the Fish and Wildlife Service officer and FBI agent, respectively, tasked with combating personal conflicts and cultural differences to solve the crime in the barren, frozen lands.

Movie Review: 'Lady Macbeth' is a powerful masterclass

Lady Macbeth (2017, directed by William Oldroyd. England, English, Color, 89 minutes) Lady Macbeth is a memorable figure in Shakespeare's epic tragedy "Macbeth," but the film "Lady Macbeth", an ode to the manipulative wife of the titular character, is not the main character of this film. Instead, a young bride named Catherine is the driving force of this morbid story set in mid-19th century rural England, but her affects are reminiscent to those of the Lady herself.