Brainspotting: 28 Years Later
Review by Jeff DeRouen

Aren’t we tired of zombies by now? We’ve come a long way from George Romero’s slow-walking and moaning dead to the sprinting flesh eaters of today’s pics.

I know, I know, some folks absolutely LOVE this stuff and are seated for the four hundredth spinoff of The Walking Dead (now in its SEVENTY-THIRD SEASON), but it’s been quite a while since we’ve experienced anything new in the undead category. Leave it to the guys who reinvented the genre two decades ago to do it again by bringing us back to what made Romero’s films classics: they were about something bigger than eating brains.

Director Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire) and writer Alex Garland (recent writer/director of Civil War), return to the land of “infected” with their follow-up to 2002’s 28 Days Later, 28 Years Later, 23 years later.

Look, time has passed, and we meet a cast of new characters: a small family who are part of a community living behind the walls of a fort protecting them from the “infected” - crazed rage monsters (zombies) living on the mainland. Apparently, there is a part of the world that’s progressed with things like Amazon package delivery separate from the diseased area – why everyone doesn’t just live there is never answered, but it doesn’t matter.

We follow young Spike (expertly played by gifted newcomer, Alfie Williams) who begins the film with his father, Jamie, making his right-of-passage trip to the mainland to kill infected for sport the way Sarah Palin kills moose. Aaron Taylor-Johnson is a man’s man here and plays the hunter and drinker out loud, but also gives Jamie a quiet nurturing quality that makes us root for him and his family; despite the issues, we know they care about each other. That care is what makes Spike set off with his severely ill mother to the mainland to find a notorious doctor (who apparently loves barbecuing dead people) without his father.

28 Years Later is unique, exciting, and technically thrilling to a nerd like me. They shot the movie with iPhones (with some truly innovative moves for the kill scenes), giving the whole thing an urgent and very real tone. It doesn’t look or feel like standard Hollywood fare, making this a welcome, punk-rock addition to the summer blockbuster season. We’re in good hands with storytellers like Boyle and Garland and I can’t wait to see where the next chapters take us to, especially after that ending.

So, thumbs up, go see it, it’s one of the best of the year so far, but I want to end this review spotlighting Jodie Comer. She plays Isla, Spike’s mother, and I’ve been a fan of hers for years from Killing Eve to the criminally underseen The Last Duel. There’s enough evidence now to say she is one of the greats – it’s undeniable. Her power on screen has few rivals, and I can’t take my eyes off her when she’s acting. Trust me when I say her towering performance is worth the ticket price alone (along with the arrows through heads, the ripping out of spinal cords, and giant zombie dongs).

On select Wednesdays, NOMA presents a new series of gallery talks featuring conversations with musicians about their creative processes, followed by a short, intimate performance inspired by a work on view at the museum. The first in the series features Sam Dickey. 

​Details: Wed, June 25th, from 6:00 PM - 6:30 PM. Click here for more info

Toups Family Meal (TFM), Chef Isaac and Amanda Toups' non-profit organization dedicated to fighting food insecurity in New Orleans, will host its second annual Toups Fest, presented by Hardhide Strawberry Whiskey, bringing the flavor and fun to The Broadside! Guests will enjoy live music by GRAMMY-winning Cajun band The Lost Bayou Ramblers with Midriff opening, delicious eats and drinks, and a lively auction—all in support of Toups Family Meal.

Grab your tickets here: Toups Fest Tickets

Isaac and Amanda are seeking funds to continue their wonderful efforts and supply even more families with meals. To support this heartfelt initiative, donate by clicking here. To register as a volunteer driver for the upcoming Summer meal distributions, click here. Follow Toups Family Meal on social media @toupsfamilymeal

WHEN/WHERE: The Toups Fest will take place at The Broadside – 600 N Broad St  in New Orleans. The event will take place on Sunday, June 22nd from 5PM-9PM.

The Materialists
Review by Jeff DeRouen

Folks, you will probably never see a scathing review from me in this publication. That’s because I am an artist, a filmmaker myself, and I know how hard it is to make a movie. I can usually find something I like (or even love) in every movie I see whether the whole thing works for me or not. Also, I don’t take time to go see movies I don’t think I’ll enjoy (my apologies to How to Train Your Dragon), so a full-on castration of someone’s art is not something I will ever do.

That being said, I wish I loved Celine Song’s new movie, Materialists. Her previous film, Past Lives, was on every critic’s “best of” list and was nominated for a ton of awards. It’s well-written, funny, and deeply emotional. It’s a beautiful film, a masterpiece even, so I was really looking forward to this one, and Materialists starts out great. It’s fast, fun, funny, sexy, and manages to play on our expectations of a romantic comedy – and it does it EXCEPTIONALLY.

The actors absolutely swim in Song’s terrific dialogue while basking in the beautiful glow of cinematographer Shabier Kirchner’s lens. Everything is here – it’s the perfect setup: the story of a matchmaker who thinks of relationships in terms of graphs and spreadsheets and boxes is torn between two men and then hijinks ensue – should be a slam dunk for an adept filmmaker like Celine Song, even with a genre-subverting approach.

The movie rocks for over an hour and then something bad happens. Something that abruptly changes the tone and, instead of being a one and done development, becomes a full-blown extremely clunky and heavy-handed subplot that runs through the VERY LONG third act.

I won’t say what the something is, but whether it works or not is being hotly debated between the cinema experts in the blessed marketplace of ideas. Some folks like where the movie goes, but it derailed the whole train for me. I could be totally wrong about all this and I’m seeing it again this week to make sure. Different points of view can often make me look at something differently, and, who knows, maybe that’ll happen here. I’m open to that.

But my first impression is that the story is undercooked, the tone is all over the place, and at two hours, the film feels about thirty minutes too long. There is a world where the 90-minute version of Materialists is considered a romantic comedy gem, because the bones and first hour of this movie are impressive and captivating.

So, ultimately, I was disappointed, but I’m gonna keep buying tickets to Celine Song movies because I love that we live in a world where she gets to make her films her way. And I would take Materialists over a How to Lose a Man in Four Hours (or whatever it would be) any day. She’s taking big swings, and I love watching when artists get to play that ballgame.

The Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery, located at 535 Tchoupitoulas Street in New Orleans, is celebrating 10 years as one of the city’s premiere boutique hotel destinations. For the past ten years, Old No. 77 and onsite restaurant Compère Lapin by Nina Compton (a 2018 James Beard Award ‘Best Chef: South’ winner) have delighted visitors and locals alike.

To celebrate this milestone anniversary, the hotel and restaurant have announced a number of incentives for those choosing to stay at the property or dine at Compère Lapin, including a special Diamond Anniversary Offer, available to book at a three-night minimum stay from June 1 – August 31, 2025, with rates starting at just $157 per night.

Delivering the full NOLA experience, the hotel offer includes a bottle of bubby and a copy of Chef Nina Compton’s recently released cookbook, Kwéyòl / Creole. A $200 dining credit is also on offer as part of the package for guests who wish to sample Compton’s award-winning cuisine. In addition, Compère Lapin is honoring the anniversary with a special prix-fixe Greatest Hits Menu from June 3 – June 30, 2025. Highlighting fan-favorite dishes from the past decade, the four-course menu will be priced at $70 per person (plus tax and gratuity) and reflects the restaurant’s evolution and impact through a curated selection of iconic dishes. For more information and to book the Diamond Anniversary Offer, please click HERE.

For more information and reservations, visit www.old77hotel.com or call (504) 527-5271

The Kingsway, Chef Ashwin Vilkhu's first solo venture, is now accepting reservations. Inspired by family dinners at the Vilkhu family's first American home on Kingsway Drive in Gretna, The Kingsway is a contemporary Asian fine dining restaurant and an homage to Ashwin's third-culture upbringing. Its four-course prix-fixe menu embodies the approach that has for decades defined the Vilkhus' cooking at Saffron, inflected with distinctive Chinese and Vietnamese flavors and techniques that reflect Ashwin's longest held, most personal memories. Colin Williams leads the beverage program through his signature culinary lens while GM and sommelier Taylor Adams has curated an extensive wine selection that uplifts the food's umami-rich flavors. 

The Kingsway is now open at 4201 Magazine Street. Click here for more information and menus

Review by Jeff DeRouen

When my Southern dad became a grandfather, he lost all connection with the often emotionally unavailable “men don’t cry” parent of my youth and turned into a giant softie who says “I love you” and cries during Folgers Christmas commercials. I mention this because, at its core, I feel like Wes Anderson’s new movie, The Phoenician Scheme, is about that kind of personal transition.

Benicio Del Toro (in yet ANOTHER brilliant performance) plays Zsa-zsa, an oligarch they (yes, THEY) call “Mr. 5%” because of his reputation in the global industrial trade game. He is wealthy, powerful, and under constant threat of assassination - a running gag that plays out in hilarious and often cartoonishly violent ways. He reconnects with his estranged daughter (Mia Threapleton in a star-making turn) for an important mission where Zsa-zsa hopes to repair their relationship and talk her into taking over his business/estate before she makes her vows to become a nun.

Watching this pair of moral opposites make their way along this journey is incredibly entertaining and laugh-out-loud funny, not to mention a supporting ensemble boasting the kind of all-star roster they used in 70’s disaster movies. These are great actors having fun and turning in top-notch performances without the threat of the ship sinking around them or the airplane they’re on going into the ground like an exploding earthworm.

Wes Anderson mainstays like Tom Hanks, Geoffrey Wright, and Bill Murray (as GOD) are just some of the players here and Michael Cera, in particular, is positively brilliant as Bjorn, the tutor who joins Zsa-zsa and his daughter on their quest.

Look, either you dig what Wes Anderson throws down or you don’t – and I REALLY dig what he does. The Phoenician Scheme fits perfectly into Wes’s wholly original filmography, both thematically and visually (it’s gorgeous – see it on the big screen), so if his style of storytelling is something you’re drawn to, you’re gonna have a really great time at the movies. It’s an endearing story about family and the crucial life requirement of changing who we are, becoming better people so that we can experience happiness. It’s a true delight, and a perfect movie to take your parents to.

​Jazz, crime and fame make a sinful combo: Chicago @ The Saenger Theatre
Review by Eileen Daley

The truth is in the telling when it comes to sensationalist crimes, as the residents of Chicago know. Any monster can become a bombshell underneath the right lighting. In 50 years (or so) of this jazz musical’s nonstop runs, our obsession with fame hasn’t changed so much as grown, so its spectacle-as-message is prescient as ever.

Chicago’s revues, jailhouses and courtrooms of the 1920s feel like familiar settings, given that it’s a sister city of our own New Orleans when it comes to corruptible authority figures and miscarriages of justice. But the minimalist set, which showcases the phenomenal chorus dancers and jazz orchestra, keeps the show from feeling drab or grimy. Instead it’s all about the glitz and glamour of putting on a performance to save your life.

Taylor Lane and Ellie Roddy star as Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart, two incarcerated ingenues who
are preparing for their separate trials. Their only hope of avoiding death row is to parlay their
growing infamy as smoking hot murderesses into a sympathetic jury. Both stars shine when it comes to vocals and Bob Fosse’s iconic choreography, making every complex song and dance look easy.

Another standout was Josh England as Amos, Roxie’s belittled husband—an understudy who
proved more than capable (I’ll hear no Mr. Cellophane slander in this house!). The cast took the musical performances in interesting directions; most songs started with precise, wholesome annunciation and ended in sultry belting, the singers’ arcs mimicking the corrupting influence of jazz itself.

It feels good to imagine a world where crime leads to fair consequences from one’s community and rehabilitation of the selfish myopic attitude that brought it about. But until then, we have Chicago to hold up a funhouse mirror to our twisted morals. And after a show like this, I’ve got to say: damn, it feels good to be a gangster.

​Chicago plays at The Saenger Theatre through June 15th. Click here for more information and ticketing

Sign up for your free weekly arts and culture magazine:
​