Reviewing the Drama: Broadway, Off-Broadway, Ballet, Movies, and TV Reviews

(Scroll down for a fall movie preview, starring Leonardo DiCaprio! ) The Newsroom : Season Two "Red Team III" was such a magnificent episode. It was almost like a play: there were no location shoots, it was all the series regulars (and a couple of special seasonal guest stars) and it let the great stage actors in the talented ensemble square off against one another (especially when John Gallagher, Jr., (Jim) and Hamish Linklater (Jerry) went after each other) and that's what's so thrilling about a show like this. Top notch actors interpreting our day's Bard's words...it's such a treat. And didn't you love the ending, with Jane Fonda's Leona Lansing barking, "Get it back!"? Items from the week are below, followed by Aaron Sorkin taking us inside the episode and a preview of next week's episode. Items from the week: John Gallagher, Jr. , is doing more press in support of Short Term 12  and  The Newsroom . This week he: 

Foo Fighters Head to the Studio! Over the weekend, Chris Shiflett , who has been the Foo Fighters' lead guitarist for years, told Rolling Stone  that the band is heading back to the studio to start work on the band's next album, a follow up to the incredible Wasting Light . You may recall that in October, Foo frontman Dave Grohl announced the band would be on hiatus for an indeterminate amount of time. Apparently, they couldn't stay away from each other for too long. At a concert for his other band, Chris Shiflett and the Dead Peasants ( good tunes; check them out! ), Shiflett said, "We actually just started making a new Foo Fighters record within the last few weeks...We've started rehearsing." No further details are available at the time, but read the full write up on Rolling Stone  to learn more about Shiftlett's other creative outlet. The Newsroom : Season Two So much happened this week in "One Step Too Many"! The Don-Mackenzie ch

Rolling Stone 's resident pop culture guru,  Rob Sheffield , calls  The Newsroom  "the best bad show on TV." ( Read his  argument in the latest issue of  Rolling Stone .) I disagree. I don't think it's a bad show. It is not consummately terrific, but none of Aaron Sorkin's series were right out of the gate. Let's remember:   The West Wing  wasn't out of this world incredible in every single moment of every single episode in season one. (We'll use  The West Wing  as a comparison because many argue it is Sorkin's best series.) It took a while for  The West Wing  to find its footing. (Remember Mandy?) I periodically re-watch my favorite series, and right now I'm re-watching  The West Wing . I'm about eight episodes in, and while I love the series, as I watch each episode this time around, I'm watching it while thinking about some of the criticism hurled at Sorkin for  The Newsroom .  I think much of the criticism is unfair, hold

(Scroll down for some The Princess Bride fun!) The Newsroom Season Two I loved this week's episode, "News Night with Will McAvoy." I mean, the closing line, "Well, I guess it's just us now." is flippin' brilliant! Also, having the episode play out in real time and having the broadcast be the background to what's really happening is classic Aaron Sorkin. We got great character development (Sloan is tough and Maggie is struggling to cope), got to see theatre veteran Frank Wood go toe-to-toe with Sam Waterston's Charlie Skinner and it sets us up nicely for the last four episodes of the season, when we will, undoubtedly, hear from Jim's campaign "friends" and learn more about Operation Genoa. Some items from the week: On HBO.com ,  Olivia Munn  talks about this week's episode, including her specific direction to her scene partner, Thomas Sadoski , and her thought provoking prescription for protecting each another. B

The Newsroom  Season Two In this week's episode, "Unintended Consequences," we got to see what happened to Maggie (Alison Pill) while she was in Africa. I have to admit, I thought they were going somewhere else the with "incident" but regardless, I thought this provided great character development for her, and I'm looking forward to seeing how she handles herself in the newsroom in the coming weeks. Some items from the week: Aaron Sorkin answers fans' questions on HBO Connect Constance Zimmer (who plays the Romney staffer, Taylor, and who can also be seen in House of Cards ) answers fans' questions, also on HBO Connect John Gallagher, Jr. , talks to The Hollywood Reporter  about The Newsroom  and his upcoming film, Short Term 12 ; the article, "Nice Guys Finish First," also points readers to my new favorite thing, the "Harper or Halpert" Tumblr , which compares The Newsroom 's Jim Harper to The Office 's Jim Halp