“Despicable Me” is this year’s “Up,” a film that has far more heart than the advance promotions suggest. It never reaches the heart-tugging levels of “Up,” but the serious side of “Despicable Me” is what makes it an entertaining animation experience and not just a mindless cartoon. Gru (voiced by Steve Carell), who comes across […]
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DVD Releases
NEW ON DVD AND BLU-RAY “A SINGLE MAN,” starring Colin Firth and Julianne Moore. With performances as beautifully restrained as its production is lavish, “A Single Man” marks the promising directorial debut of fashion designer Tom Ford. Firth gives a pitch-perfect performance as George, a gay English professor struggling to mask his grief over the […]
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Bar Guide: Grill Room earns its status as an ‘urban steakhouse’
The Grill Room is one of three Portland restaurants created and run by Harding Lee Smith, who also pays the bills at the Corner Room and the Front Room. Dubbed an “urban steakhouse,” the Grill Room has been a hot spot on Exchange Street since it opened in 2008. I love walking into a place […]
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Making Noise: Hanging out in the nest with David Lamb of Brown Bird
Brown Bird, for all its solitary implication, is a rich hodgepodge of old-timey sounds collected in a new generation’s voice. David Lamb is the kind-hearted circus conductor, writing songs that blend dobro, slide guitar and ukelele into a timeless swing. He never overlooks lyrical syntax, and the results are verses and choruses that sound plucked […]
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Off Beat: Raising a little HELL
There’ll be a hot time in Bridgton tonight, with Tom Kelleher’s re-enactment of an old-time revival.
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Dining and Drink: Hot Ticket and Cheap Thrill
It’s not your average wine dinner, moi thinks WINE DINNERS at Stone Mountain Arts Center are unlike any other. A typical evening at this five-course affair: Watch a film clip of Steve Martin serving a “fine” muscatel to Miss Piggy and Kermit at a romantic bistro, followed by live music with lyrics that have been […]
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Keen’s spashy ‘Geometry’ series inspired by the sea
ELIZABETH MOSS GALLERIES in Falmouth features the work of painter Richard Keen with “Sea Geometry,” a show full of colorful paintings inspired by the ocean and its environs. The show opens today and will remain on view through Aug. 22. The gallery at 251 U.S. Route 1, in the Falmouth Shopping Center, will host a […]
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Face the Music: Kick off with Alive at Five, then set sail with Baltic Sea
Any doubt that summer isn’t here will surely be quelled by the launch of the Alive at Five series at Monument Square in Portland. Gather one and all at 5 p.m. Thursday for performances by two local acts — the Eric Bettencourt Band and the Lucid. And just up the street a bit, the sweet […]
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The Movies: The 13th Annual MIFF
Waterville’s yearly celebration of the cinematic arts kicks off this weekend with nearly 100 films from around the world and right here in Maine.