Peter Murmann

The Demolition Artist: 3 Critics Debate Ivo van Hove

No Comments 10 January 2019

Peter Murmann: Inspring dicussion of the work of theatre director Ivo van Hove in the NY Times (Jan. 9, 2019)

By Ben Brantley, Elisabeth Vincentelli and Jason Zinoman

Who is Ivo van Hove and why are theatergoers saying such (thrilling) (furious) (mystified) things about him? How did the unassuming Belgian director, who since 2001 has made the theater company Toneelgroep Amsterdam his base of operations, turn into the most important auteur on the international stage circuit — and now a three-time Broadway director?

Movies, Comedy

My Fat Greek Wedding 2

No Comments 6 January 2019

I laughed tears on during the original My Fat Greek Wedding. The sequel is not nearly as funny. From the beginning, you wonder whose wedding it will be this time. First it seems, grandpa might get his way and the 17-year-old granddaughter is getting married a tiny bit early. But then the film wonders in different directions. It becomes more a meditation on family life, getting older and the difficulty of keeping romance in marriage. Perhaps Mia Vardalos (director and lead) on purpose made this film not as funny as the first one.

Movies, Drama, Phantasy

The Shape of Water

No Comments 29 December 2018

This is a fairy tale like no other I have seen before. It feels like a Beauty and the Beast inspired Sci-Fi film set during the Cold War USA of the early 1960s. There is real beauty in the love story between a mute woman and a male creature that comes across as a mixture between a mermaid and robot. He also cannot talk but clearly has intelligence and feelings. The film at times becomes rather annoying when the portrayal of the US government and its personnel becomes a caricature rather than a realistic portrayal what the USA military was like during the conflict with the Soviet Union.