Kerri's Select Justice Articles

Arts and Entertainment

Movie Reviews

• Jeffrey (September 19, 1995) My first published effort . So, try not to judge this one too harshly. This was however, a very funny movie. Not having seen the stage show, I was in no position to compare it to the play.
• Les Miserables (November 7, 1995) The French epic, not the London/Broadway musical. This was one of the first foreign films I ever saw, and what an experience. The epic nature of this story was wonderfully brought to the screen by Claude Lelouche.
• Richard III (January 23, 1996) Sir Ian McKellen's vision of the play . Comparing Richard III's rise to power with the rise of fascism in the 30s, McKellen was able to bring this difficult play to a level at which it could be understood by lay people.
• Hunchback of Notre Dame (June 22, 1996) The Disney version . If I had my druthers I'd rather see the Charles Laughton version, or if you can find it, the Lon Chaney version, but for sheer entertainment, Disney did not do too bad. It was certainly better than "Pocahantas," and as long as you don't try to compare it to Hugo's classic novel, you'll do fine.
• A Family Thing (July 7, 1996) With James Earl Jones and Robert Duvall, how could this fail? I'm not sure, but it did. The plot was no where near as palpable as the acting. A pity and a waste of talent.
• A Time to Kill (July 27, 1996) Samuel L. Jackson is so cool. And Matthew M. is adorable. Joel Schumacher did Grisham's novel a good turn. Luckily, this came out before "The Chamber," otherwise, it could have been a dismal failure. You know, oversaturation and all that.
• First Kid (September 1, 1996) With Sinbad. A predictable piece of fluff. But, a fun piece of fluff. Worth the price of a video (especially on those two for one days).
• 101 Dalmatians (Nov. 25, 1996) The live action film. The dogs and Glenn Close make this movie, but then, I would have been surprised if either had failed.
• Hamlet (Jan. 28, 1997) Do not let the length scare you. Yes, it's four hours, but, oh, what a wonderful way to spend those four hours. Think of it this way, you pay between $6.50 and $8.00 for a ticket and you are entertained for the evening. Compare that to an evening at the theater for $35 or more. It's an easy choice. But, please, if at all possible, see it in a 70mm venue.
• I didn't know what to expect going into The Substance of Fire. Well, that's not entirely true, I would've liked to be a Broadway Baby, so I, for better or worse, have the prejudice that if it was adapted from the stage, it's got to be good. But, then, I've been wrong before. With Ron Rifkin, Timothy Hutton, Sarah Jessica Parker and Brandeis alum, Tony Goldwyn.

Theatrical Reviews

• Lost in Yonkers (December 12, 1995) Brandeis University's version of the Neil Simon hit play. A solid effort all around.
• Robin Lane's Ladies First (March 11, 1996) A one woman show which delves into the lives of various of our most famous First Ladies
• Forbidden Broadway (October 21, 1996) Gerald Alessandrini's fourth (or so) incarnation comes to Boston. Hilight of the evening? Definitely their spoof of "Rent," or as they prefer to call it, "Rant." With a song called, "Seasons of Hype," how could it fail?

Extra Special Arts Articles

• Kenneth Branagh Interview. (January 21, 1997) Check it out. He talks about his new four hour version of "Hamlet." Click to see a review of the film, as well.
• Karl Eigsti is the head of the graduate design program at Brandeis University. That old axiom, those that can't do, teach, does not apply to this one time Tony Award nominee.
• Slowly but surely, Brandeis University is building a respectable film program. And with alumni like Gary David Goldberg, Marta Kauffman and David Krane, why not? Now, even undergraduates are getting into the act, as The Third Eye Club (October 31, 1996) has gotten students involved in making their own films.
• We also had a few literary types graduate from Brandeis, as well. Mark Altman '88 (November 12, 1995) is an example of this Brandeis literariness. Currently the editor-in-chief of Sci-Fi Universe, he looks back on his Brandeis years.

• By virtue of their really cool gym, the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center (where the Boston Celtics and New England Revolution practice), this is also where the actors on Celtic Pride practiced. Some students were able to be interns on that flick.
• Okay, so technically this isn't an arts article, but until I get a features section set up, this'll have to do.

One of my favorite professors at Brandeis was an English professor, Lewis Nkosi. (November 1, 1995) A writer, scholar and South African expatriate, what more can a curious student ask for?
• This too is not an arts article, but what the heck. During my senior of school, I became interested in the relationship between blacks and Jews at Brandeis. My interest stemmed from a 20-minute documentary I made, entitled, Opposite Sides of the Same Coin. For the special Black History Month Focus for the Justice, I wrote a brief history of the changes Brandeis encountered, regarding race relations.

Very Select Sports Articles

• Baseball (June 25, 1996) This was written when the players strike was a distant memory, but the sports pages managed to be filled with stories that had nothing to do with on field heroics. Just a reminder on how far the sport has fallen since its hey day. Or so I've been told.

Newton Graphic Articles

• One of my first articles had to do with the narrowing of the Generation Gap (February 20, 1997). It's a cute human interest story. It has everything, elementary school kids and grandparents. All the story needed was a pet, and it'd be the perfect American story.
• I also did a story on an author of The Synagogue Survival, Jordan Lee Wagner. This is a very interesting book that basically tells you everything you wanted to know about the synagogue, but did not know who to ask. The author is pretty interesting, as well.

Okay, so I didn't know where to put these next articles, but until I get my act in gear and write some more articles, I'm going to place miscellaneous articles here.
 

• As most people know, February is Black History Month.  (Feb. 27, 1997)  Brandeis had different events to commemorate the occassion, and the Justice ran several articles in conjunction with the month.  This article came about while I was doing research on a video detailing Black-Jewish relations at Brandeis.  A kind of how did we get to be here type article.
• Brandeis University hosted many speakers, who spoke on a variety of subjects.  Sometimes the local press covered such speakers, some did not.  In an article written for the Waltham News Tribune, Felice Gaer discusses her role as a human rights worker. (February 28, 1997)
• As some people who've wandered upon my television pages know, I'm a huge fan of AMC's Remember WENN. Recently, I had an opportunity to see one of the stars of "Remember WENN," Amanda Naughton, onstage at the Globe Theatre in a brand new musical, "Paramour." (October 6, 1998) While I would not call this musical a great work of art, it did present a very enjoyable afternoon.