Author Archives: Justin Jannise

Rather than perform a classic play and write an essay like most graduating thespians, Theater Studies majors Evan Joiner ’07 and Kobi Libii ’07 wanted to create an original show for their senior project. Their innovation paid off. Last spring, while still working on a script for “Boiling Pot” — a 90-minute piece of documentary »

If there’s one man who can single-handedly change the seasoned, complicated relationship between the words “New Haven” and “shooting,” it’s Steven Spielberg . At any other time, a young Koffee Too? patron excitedly declaring, “They’re shooting on the Green!” would have been met with wide-eyed terror and impulsive flights in the opposite direction. But at »

Imagine you’re dreaming. In this dream, you’re in a maze that has no center — no Minotaur to battle, no prize to discover. The walls of this maze aren’t even fixed like most mazes; they whimsically shift and sink and travel. Each time you pass a certain spot and take the same route, you find »

Oh my god, you guys. Is it possible? Are you for real? Who would have thought that “Legally Blonde: The Musical” — now playing at The Palace Theater on Broadway without the sprightly genius of Oscar-winner Reese Witherspoon — could be just as funny, enjoyable and surprisingly poignant as the movie upon which it is »

The opening act of the Yaledancers Spring Show, performed to Jackson Browne’s “Doctor My Eyes” and choreographed by Samuel Gottstein ’10, is something like an extended Gap commercial — colorful, tasteful, entertaining, maybe slightly ironic. It sets a playful tone that is tentatively maintained throughout the show, meaning that a few pieces do appear to »

Not to sound harsh, but if it were any funnier, “Blades of Glory” would be the look on Nancy Kerrigan’s face the moment her dreams — and kneecap — were crushed by a Tanya Harding hireling. Like another cherished MTV Films production (“Election”), it wears the mark of irreverent, half-grown-up humor like a new tattoo »

The first rule about “Zodiac” is simple: You do not talk about “Fight Club.” Or, for that matter, any other movie directed by David Fincher (“Panic Room,” “Se7en.”) Why? Well, this film’s sort of different. Famous for being a typical Virgo — meaning he’s a perfectionist who pays fanatical attention to detail — Fincher sometimes »

What, were “The Prostitute Doctor” and “The Princess Plumber” already taken? Too soon for “The Cowboy Interior-Decorator” or “The Oscar-winning Idol-loser”? Any of these titles would have worked. As “The Astronaut Farmer” progresses through its veiled and interesting plot of self-actualization, an initially puzzled viewer learns that it’s not just about a NASA-trained plowman. It’s »

Two things make this year’s Oscars ceremony worth watching: hostess Ellen DeGeneres and performer Jennifer Hudson. The rest is vanity and excess. Most of the surefire winners have already won tons of awards, from SAGs to Golden Globes to Name-Your-Hometown Critics’ Awards, while the fashion trends set by recent ceremonies have been safe and boring: »

Any play that takes as its title and central image the dirtiest, most annoying species of bird in existence ought to be approached with caution. Sure, it may be delightful, while picnicking on the beach or standing on the deck of a ferry boat, to toss out a spare bread crumb to a near-flying seagull »

About a half hour into “Hannibal Rising,” a corpulent French butcher harasses the only Asian character (played by Gong Li) by inquiring as to which direction her vagina runs. In that very moment, the film crosses the line from “redeemably mediocre” to “unforgivably bad,” and not even some beautifully captured shots can prevent it from »

When rough winds start shaking darling buds, and that once-eternal summer finds itself wanting a bit of heat, Yale undergrads sometimes look to each other for a snuggle-buddy to cozy up with. If this search happens to turn up any result, it’s usually a disappointing one, and in the end we’re left with yet another »