by Richard Subber | Mar 7, 2026 | Theater and play reviews
they go it alone…
Movie review:
Thelma and Louise
Louise (Susan Sarandon) and Thelma (Geena Davis) can’t escape from almost every conceivable way of living on the edge. They keep ending up in situations they have never in their lives imagined. They keep grabbing for the ring.
Ultimately, Thelma and Louise (1991, rated R, 130 minutes) is about lonely ladies who want some kind of zest in their lives, and find it on their road to glory.
You keep rooting for Thelma and Louise because so many strange people do them wrong, and a man they trust isn’t much help, and another man who wants to help can’t make it happen.
You come to understand that Thelma and Louise only have each other to root for, and they end up going it alone in the only high style they can think of.
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Movie review. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2026 All rights reserved.
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In other words: Poems for your eyes and ears with 64 free verse and haiku poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
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by Richard Subber | Feb 15, 2026 | Book reviews, Books, Theater and play reviews
a paucity of drama
Book review:
The Birthday Party and The Room:
Two Plays by Harold Pinter
by Harold Pinter (1930-2008)
New York: Grove Press, Inc., 1959, 1960
118 pages
It is possible that a talented cast could breathe some life into Pinter’s words on stage.
It is possible that stage design could invest some reality into Pinter’s words.
Maybe you have to be in a narrow frame of mind to experience some drama and some human wisdom when you read a Pinter play.
If you can ignore the tiresome repetition, and the not-so-pregnant pauses, and the paucity of drama in the dialogues, then maybe you can enjoy reading a Pinter play.
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Book review. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2026 All rights reserved.
Book review: The Bartender’s Tale
Ivan Doig’s story, I mostly loved it…
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many waters: more poems with 53 free verse poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
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by Richard Subber | Feb 7, 2026 | Human Nature, Theater and play reviews
not so very far…
Movie review:
Mr. Holmes
It’s hard to get past the sterling ability of Ian McKellen to create spectacular life in any character, and the Sherlock Holmes character is fertile ground for McKellen’s superlative histrionics.
Mr. Holmes (2015, rated PG, 104 minutes) is worth your time on several levels, starting with the talented Mr. McKellen and Laura Linney (playing his housekeeper, Mrs. Munro).
There’s a mystery (of course!) and Holmes’ almost pathetic attempts to solve the cold case that ended his career are good drama.
The dramatic crux of the movie is a brief scene with his client of yore, Ann Kelmot, (played by Hattie Morahan), who made him an offer he shouldn’t have refused. Holmes comes to understand the full measure of his regret as he remembers more details of their final interview.
The pathos is overwhelming:
(Ann Kelmot) “The dead are not so very far away. They’re just on the other side of the wall.
It’s us on this side who are all of us so…”
(Sherlock Holmes) “…alone.”
You have time to watch this one.
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Movie review. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2026 All rights reserved.
Poets talk about poetry
…a red hot bucket of love…
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Above all: Poems of dawn and more with 74 free verse poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
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by Richard Subber | Jan 10, 2026 | Theater and play reviews
unique intensity…
Movie review:
The Guns of Navarone
The Guns of Navarone (1961, not rated, 158 minutes) was made more than 60 years ago and it got 7 Academy Award nominations. It’s obvious that Gregory Peck, David Niven, and Anthony Quinn had a good time.
The actors and actresses act, they tell a credible story, you feel your heart beating more than once, there’s not too much blood—that’s how they made good war movies in 1961.
The thing that becomes obvious after several viewings is that there is a unique intensity in each character, many axes to grind, many personal burdens to bear. Each character is fighting his or her own war. The story is rich.
And you know how it ends.
You won’t be surprised to learn that there’s one German officer who’s more or less a good guy. Thanks, Hollywood.
It’s a gritty war movie without too much gore (nearly everybody dies after getting shot once).
The Guns of Navarone satisfies, it piques, it gets personal, it has abundant highs and lows, and the good guys win.
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Movie review. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2026 All rights reserved.
Book review: Shakespeare’s Wife
Germaine Greer went overboard a bit…
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many waters: more poems with 53 free verse poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
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by Richard Subber | Dec 13, 2025 | Theater and play reviews
we’re talking heart and soul…
Movie review:
The Hustler
Okay, first things first: the pool table action in The Hustler (1961, not rated, 134 minutes) is rather tame. Most of the shots are obscurely impossible, but successful.
Paul Newman as “Fast Eddie” Felson, the “hustler” who finally wins the big game for big stakes, is, of course, iconic. His character is repetitive and becomes predictable: “I can beat him” isn’t a line of script, it’s a refrain.
Jackie Gleason’s role has name recognition (as “Minnesota Fats”) but it is two-dimensional and secondary. George C. Scott (as Bert Gordon) is a stereotype with a bankroll.
Everybody smokes too much. Ugh!
You should try The Hustler again to take another look at Piper Laurie (as Sarah Packard). She is the largely unheralded heavy hitter in this film. She is the foil for Newman’s thrashing self-doubt. She is the paragon of sensitivity and desperately loving kindness that the men in this tragedy barely hope to become. She speaks truth to gutless macho men. She was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Actress.
Newman and Gleason and Scott are the action in The Hustler.
Piper Laurie is the heart and soul.
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Movie review. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2025 All rights reserved.
Book review: Who Built America?
…including people
who got their hands dirty
by Christopher Clark and Nancy Hewitt
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In other words: Poems for your eyes and ears with 64 free verse and haiku poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
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by Richard Subber | Nov 15, 2025 | Theater and play reviews
it’s for grownups, too…
Movie review:
The Wizard of Oz
Maybe you haven’t watched The Wizard of Oz in a while. It’s not just for kids.
There are grown-up songs, introduced by “Over the Rainbow,” and probably you know most of the words to that song. Plus, you know what “follow the yellow brick road” means.
The Wizard of Oz (1939 version, rated G, 102 minutes) is basically a feel-good film, with a great big dose of technical wizardry and a widescreen feel that was created before anyone even dreamed about widescreen.
Judy Garland (1922-1969) was 16 years old when she starred as Dorothy trying to get back to Kansas with her adored Toto. She teams up with the iconic characters that you can name: Scarecrow, Tin Man, and the cowardly Lion. There’s a lot of prancing down the road.
Try watching Wizard one more time, with kids if they’re available. You won’t be surprised when you realize that a movie doesn’t need guns, high speed car chases, or any you-know-what scenes to be more or less completely entertaining.
Maybe, like me, you can remember that The Wizard of Oz was the first movie you watched the first time you had access to a color television set.
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Movie review. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2025 All rights reserved.
Book review: The Poems of Robert Frost
he hears bluebirds talking…
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Above all: Poems of dawn and more with 74 free verse poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
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