Blog From The Bench

Melissa and I were at Steppenwolf Theatre last weekend to see John Malkovich in Stephen Jeffrey's Lost Land.

The show was interesting but not exceptional. Malkovich was surprisingly flat, playing a turn of the century Hungarian aristocrat with his own Midwestern affect, while the supporting cast (save co-star Martha Lavey who set forth her own New England affect) all carried thick eastern European accents. Quite distracting and disappointingly ineffective.

However, there were three highlights to the evening...

1) The always impressive Yasen Peyankov. This man never fails to deliver any role he undertakes.

2) James Schuette's set design, an imposing yet simple castle veranda overlooking the valley and the family's expansive acreage of vineyards. Using only lighting and some minor set pieces, the audience was trasported from the lush hey day of the region, to the desolate after effects of war.

2) Odd Obession. We arrived at the theatre early and were wandering around the upstairs when, across the street, Melissa spotted a garden apartment Video store named Odd Obsession. The sign out front read "Rare, Hard to Find Releases: Independent, Foreign, Hong Kong, Tokyo Shock, French New Wave, Film Noir, Experimental, Gay/Lesbian, Cult, Criterion, and More!" In short, a collection of all the films we cover here at DVD Verdict. We have been in the neighborhood hundreds of times and never knew this place existed. With time to kill, we went across the street and wandered around this treasure trove of filmdom. It's unlike anything I have ever seen. You would be floored by the wealth of fantastic films available for rent and sale at this little hole in the wall. I had to get home and check out the website to make sure this wasn't some sort of BRIGADOON experience. It really, truly does exist and you owe yourself a favor to check it out!