Boston Metblogs » bos_scott

“Boston Legal” - David E. Kelley Still Loves This City

bos_scott — Tue, 05 Oct 2004 03:42:52 +0000

There were lots of great exterior shots of downtown Boston in the premiere of “Boston Legal” last night, though I was slightly bothered by the fact that the law firm appears to be located in the Houghton Mifflin building on Boylston.

I’m not sure how much time the crew had to pick up outdoor shots before retiring to the sound stages, but with “The Practice” and “Boston Public” now gone, this is now the only show on prime time set in the Hub that I’m aware of.

My full review of last night’s premiere can be found here.

Thoughts On Last Night’s Game

bos_scott — Thu, 23 Sep 2004 15:13:03 +0000

The difference between the “old” Red Sox and the “new” Red Sox can best be summed up like this:
The “old” Sox continually found increasingly improbable ways to lose.
The “new” Sox continually find increasingly improbable ways to win.
While last night was messy (we should have had it in the 9th), anything in the W column counts in September.

Tuesday Night Trivia

bos_scott — Wed, 22 Sep 2004 08:36:06 +0000

One of the best times you can have Downtown on a Tuesday night is at the Elephant & Castle, which hosts a weekly trivia competition. Teams of up to five players compete for prizes from 6:30-8:30, and it is a fierce battle nearly every time.
The questions are pretty tough, much harder than, say, “Jeopardy!” hard, but it’s always a blast. Next Tuesday (Sept. 28), the Tournament of Champions begins, with the final prize to be awarded around year-end.
And if you do come by, feel free to seek out the “Three People Who’ve Never Been In My Kitchen” team and say hello.
Elephant & Castle
161 Devonshire Street
Ph: (617) 350-9977

Fenway Keeps Growing

bos_scott — Fri, 17 Sep 2004 06:53:53 +0000

The good news: an additional 2000 seats could be added to Fenway Park.
The bad news: it won’t happen until after the 2005 season.
An expansion of that size dwarves the approximately 800 seats already added over the past two seasons. So far, no one from the Red Sox management has even hinted so far as to where the additional seats could be added, but, based on past experience, it’s a good bet that the new seating will be as well-planned and innovative as the Monster seats and the roof tables.
And, ultimately, it’s great to be hearing this sort of discussion rather than all the talk of moving the park that seemed so pervasive not so long ago.

Lord Of The Rings at the Museum of Science

bos_scott — Fri, 03 Sep 2004 17:35:09 +0000

After a successful run at the Science Museum of London, The Lord Of The Rings exhibition gallery has moved across the pond to the Boston Museum of Science. Riding the coattails of Peter Jackson’s popular trilogy, the exhibit showcases props, costumes, and technology from all three movies.
The entrance to the gallery is designed to look like the Mines of Moria from The Fellowship Of The Ring, the gigantic door towering over visitors. Indeed, the first thing guests come upon is a life-size version of the cave troll from Fellowship Of The Ring, charging forward mid-snarl and flanked by a goblin warrior.
The bulk of the exhibit is presented museum style, with cases devoted to each of the main characters. By far the most crowded area when we were there was the Aragorn display, which houses both the broken shards and Narsil (the sword with which Isildur slew Sauron) and the re-forged version (Anduril) that Viggo Mortensen wields in Return Of The King. Upon seeing his ranger outfit, my only thought was that Mortensen must be much shorter than he looks on-screen.
Similar areas were devoted to Arwen, Galadriel, Gandalf, and Saruman. Complementing the costumes and the trinkets were video presentations specific to each character, though these seem to have been taken wholesale from the extended edition DVDs, so avid Rings fans won’t be seeing anything they haven’t already. The hobbit and dwarf outfits are presented to scale and, thus, are not actual props from the film. Various maquettes, production artwork, and a gallery of armor and weapons complete the exhibit.
As a huge fan of the films, I was supremely disappointed with the offerings. While I enjoyed seeing the props and costumes, there really just wasn’t that much there. Each area is built to guide you through via the videos that accompany each booth, but those who’ve already seen these behind-the-scenes featurettes will move past much more quickly.
Three interactive areas complement the showcase pieces. A motion capture station allows guests to experiment with a foam sword or bow and watch their computer-generated counterpart, decked out in full armor, do the same thing on-screen. Visitors can also visit a rendering station to have their face scanned in and replicated as a stone statue. Lastly, pairs can line up for a forced-perspective picture, with one person appearing small and one large via the two-camera technique used in the films. These stations are geared clearly toward the pre-teen and younger set. My wife and I were the only adults without kids even trying out any of them.
The biggest disappointment, however, came with the centerpiece of the exhibit, The One Ring. Given a room all its own, the ring was suspended behind glass with fishing wire and looked as if it were made of cheap plastic. In fact, much of the problem with the exhibit lies in the fact that seeing physical elements from the films up close chips away significantly at the movie magic these items seem to possess on-screen.
Those expecting to be blown away will be undoubtedly disappointed. Nonetheless, Rings fans of all ages should go for the experience, but adults will likely feel just a little bit ripped off. The under 13 set will have a good time, though, and the presentation makes for a good introduction to enjoying museums in general. We made it through the entire exhibit in just under 30 minutes, including the gift shop, which, unfortunately, didn’t contain anything that can’t be readily purchased on eBay.
For most, the exhibit will be the only opportunity to see this collections of props and costumes. The creators definitely had the right idea in giving fans of the trilogy this chance to see so many elements from the movies up close; the end result just doesn’t seem to live up to the expectation. So, while I cannot give it an unqualified recommendation, I can say that there are many worse ways to spend your time, at least until the Return Of The King extended edition DVDs come out in November.
The exhibition is scheduled to run through October 24 at the Museum of Science.
Official Site

Is It Too Early To Get Our Hopes Up?

bos_scott — Mon, 30 Aug 2004 17:09:23 +0000

Yes, there’s still a month to go before the post season. But after a series sweep versus Detroit capped off with today’s 6-1 rout and another Yankees loss to boot, things are certainly looking up for the Nation.
I know we’re all alone in the top spot for the AL wild card now, but the number I’m really looking at is 4.5 games back from the Yanks. How sweet would an AL East championship be? We can swing that, right?

More Good News For Boston Moviegoers

bos_scott — Sat, 28 Aug 2004 14:41:48 +0000

Yet another cinematic event will be hitting the Boston area in the month of September in the form of resfest 2004, an international celebration of digital film. resfest is packed with films that are a little quirkier and “underground” than those being screened at the more mainstream Boston Film Festival, showcasing everything from shorts to music videos to graphic design projects.
Of particular interest this year is a program entitled “Bushwacked,” collecting twenty politically charged (and apparently all left-leaning) films, including one by Michael Moore entitled “Boom.” Another highlight is likely to be a retrospective on the work of music video director Jonathan Glazer, who has directed videos for such varied musicians as Radiohead, Jamiroquai, and UNKLE, as well as commercials for Levi’s and VW.
resfest 2004 takes over the Brattle Theater in Cambridge from September 17-19.
Also of interest to movie fans, today starts the two-week limited run of Donnie Darko: The Director’s Cut at the Brattle. Fans of the film know this is an opportunity not to be missed, and those who are unfamiliar with Richard Kelly’s amazing film are in for a treat.

2004 Boston Film Festival: Sept. 10-19

bos_scott — Thu, 26 Aug 2004 08:33:35 +0000

Though the summer blockbuster season is coming to a close and the Fall glut of Oscar contenders is still a few months off, moviegoers in the Hub still have something to be excited about: the 20th Annual Boston Film Festival is just two weeks away.
Last year’s incarnation featured the debut of Ridley Scott’s excellent Matchstick Men, starring Nicholas Cage, Sam Rockwell, and Allison Lohman and writer/director Tim McCanlies Secondhand Lions, with Michael Caine, Robert Duvall, and Haley Joel Osment.
Though the official schedule has yet to be announced, a press release on the festival’s official site details what are sure to be some of the highlights of the week-long celebration of film:

This year’s selection of films includes “The Woodsman” (USA) directed by Nicole Kassell and starring Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick and Benjamin Bratt, “Being Julia” directed by Academy Award winner Istvan Szabo(Mephisto) and starring Annette Bening and Jeremy Irons, “Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession”(USA) directed by Xan Cassavetes. “Overnight” directed by Mark Brian Smith, “Dear Frankie”(U.K.) directed by Shona Auerbach, “Guerrilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst”(USA) directed by Robert Stone, “Silver City”(USA) directed by John Sayles and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Chris Cooper and Daryl Hannah, “Bright Young Things”(U.K.) directed by Stephen Fry, “September Tapes” directed by Christian Johnston, the 2004 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize winner “Primer” directed by Shane Carruth as well as the 2004 Sundance Documentary Audience Award winner “Born Into Brothels” directed by Zana Briski and Ross Kaufman.

As with last year’s festival, the films will be screened at the Boston Common and Copley Place theaters. In past years, tickets have been available at the theaters and via Fandango about a week ahead of time.

Begging For Change On The Streets

bos_scott — Tue, 24 Aug 2004 06:38:54 +0000

Boston City Councilor Maureen Feeney is making a push to limit street soliciting, according to today’s Globe:

Feeney said she would like to institute regulations similar to those in Chicago. Charitable organizations there have to apply for permits to solicit funds, and they have to specify dates and intersections.
”I know for a lot of groups they really do need to solicit,” Feeney said. ”But there should be some mechanism in place to know whether solicitors are representing real organizations or whether it’s just a couple of kids with cans.”

This is an excellent idea, and one that is long overdue. In fact, I’d like to see it extended beyond the streets and on to the sidewalks. Panhandlers are a fact of life in any big city, including Boston, and true charities should almost never be limited in where and how they can solicit donations.
But few things get to me more than seeing groups of kids running around begging strangers for donations to their track or swim team. Haven’t they ever heard of booster clubs?
When I was in school, we had fundraisers to support our extracurricular activities. If we needed new uniforms or equipment or funds to travel to a regional tournament, we’d suck it up and go door-to-door, selling candy, or wrapping paper, or even fresh fruit. It was hard work, but it was honest and we never failed to raise enough money. I don’t think I could have imagined standing on a street corner begging passersby for change.
Feeney definitely has the right idea. Putting limitations on soliciting is the first step toward moving these poor kids into true fundraising, and away from begging.