The appeal of the recent biopic “Straight Outta Compton” comes from its momentum. “Straight Outta Compton” is unlike typical frenzied biographical movies that jump from one event to the next in order to showcase the subject’s entire life within a limited timeframe. Unfortunately, these films often sacrifice depth for breadth, leaving many moviegoers entertained but unsatisfied.
You’ve probably seen some of the advertisements around campus for a production called “Dora.” And no, it’s not a new portrayal of Dora the Explorer. “Dora” is a play by theater and dance chair Wendy Woodson. In Woodson’s words, it “blends together ecology, resistance fighters, a story of hidden love, and Freud’s Dora.”
By sheer chance, my sister, my mother and I stumbled into the Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton last Sunday night for a concert by the Becca Stevens Band. A quick Google search informed me that the “Becca Stevens band expands and blurs the boundaries of folk, jazz and pop while engaging the listener through keen poetic observation, rich musical language and beguiling singing.” Plus, admission was only 15 dollars at the door, so we reasoned that it was the “Pioneer Valley” thing to do and decided to give it a shot.
On Wednesday, Oct. 7, Amherst Cinema screened four of experimental filmmaker Pat O’Neill’s works: “Coreopsis” (1998), “Trouble in the Image” (1996), “Squirtgun/Stepprint” (1998) and “Horizontal Boundaries” (2008).
