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Posts published in “Reviews”

(Archive December 2016) Picasso Restaurant & Bar

By editorialteam on September 4, 2024

By Kelly Cacciolfi | Observer Contributor

Picasso Restaurant & Bar has been dedicated to bringing you farm to table cuisine and amazing in-house infusions from the bar for 9 years. Located at 2 Common Street in Barre, Massachusetts Picasso’s is a casual fine dining restaurant that sits right on the Barre common. There is plenty of parking located in the back of the restaurant and on Common Street.

The Restaurant is open Wednesday through Saturday 4:00 – 9:00 pm and Sunday 4:00 – 8:00 pm. It is wheelchair accessible, accepts credit cards, take out, and has live music. They do not have Wi-Fi, TV, delivery service and no dancing. Even though kids are welcome, I would recommend saving your visit for a nice evening out with your significant other or a group of friends. read more

(Archive May 2016) “Workin’ eight days a week…”

By editorialteam on September 3, 2024

Song: Eight Days a Week/
Artist: The Beatles/
Writers: Lennon-McCartney/
Album: Beatles for Sale/
Release Date: 4 December, 1964

“Eight Days a Week” is one of my favorite Beatles songs during their “pre-Rubber Soul” era. It maintains a somewhat-unique composition and a possible double-meaning.

On the album of origin, Beatles for Sale, it is the first song on the B-Side, or back, of the vinyl long-play, alongside seven other original compositions, and pitted against six covers. This may have been done to illustrate just how exhausted the band was after being in the spotlight for all of 1964. read more

(Archive May 2016) Batman v Superman Review

By editorialteam on September 3, 2024

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justifiably Mixed Feelings

By Mark Ramos | Observer Contributor

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is a film movie goers and comic lovers alike have been waiting 3 years to get their eyes on. Now that we have, the film is sure to leave many with more questions than answers and also left to struggling with not liking a film they wanted to love.

Let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way first. Many fans were uneasy with the casting of Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman and it needs to be said, Affleck is the shining star of this film. Not only does he nail the role of both Bruce Wayne and Batman, something none of his predecessors have been able to do, but he is the only actor cast in the role who physically matches the sheer size of the character from the comics. Affleck also gives us the greatest fight sequence that has ever been filmed in live action for the iconic character.  read more

(Archive May 2016) Patton Oswalt’s Talking for Clapping

By editorialteam on September 3, 2024

By Jason Greenough | Arts & Entertainment Editor

Talking for Clapping

When I first sat down to review Patton Oswalt’s new Netflix stand-up special, Talking For Clapping, which premiered on Netflix on April 22nd, I honestly had no idea how to start to review it. Patton Oswalt, if you’re familiar with his brand of comedy, is the type of Comedian that you can’t review easily, unless you know his older “stuff”. In Talking For Clapping, which I did stay up until 3 a.m. to watch the premiere of (damn you, time zone differences!), continues the self-deprecating assault that you can see in Oswalt’s previous Netflix special, My Weakness Is Strong, with life stories about his time living in San Francisco, his early days of doing comedy, how customers are to blame for the poor reputation of Postal workers and DMV employees, being mistaken for a heroin addict and having the flu during a show that he couldn’t cancel. Not to mention, his signature dark humor that make some in the audience and at home cringe, and make most give out a resounding “Awwwww”, all the while keeping himself and his hand-picked inadequacies at the center of everything he says. He does it masterfully, I might add! read more

(Archive May 2016) The Revenant Review

By editorialteam on September 3, 2024

By Holly Tata | Observer Contributor

The Revenant
Courtesy 20thCenturyFox.com

After losing a fight with a grizzly bear, frontiersman and all-around-tough-guy Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street), crawls, hobbles, and fights his way over the frozen unforgiving wilderness back to the fort and the men who left him for dead. 

The Revenant is harrowing and enjoyable to watch, but it seriously missed the mark when it comes to character development. The movie does not give the audience much detail about DiCaprio’s character other than painting him as a tough as nails survivor and loving father, making Hugh Glass seem like an unfinished character.  read more

(Archive May 2016) Great Road Kitchen Review

By editorialteam on September 3, 2024

By Rebekah Chiasson | Observer Contributor

If you are looking for a place to take your date, a place to hang out with the guys and watch a game, or even a place for a girl’s night out, head to Great Road Kitchen, a brand new restaurant in Littleton. Owner Marcus Palmer opened the Kitchen doors in early 2016, with Executive Chef Chris Frothingham (who you can find on the Food Network show “Beat Bobby Flay”), and Chef de Cuisine, Sean Smith. The restaurant caters to all types of foodies including seafood lovers, steak eaters, and the health conscious.  read more

(Archive April 2016) Shorthand 03: The Beatles & Beach Boys Edition

By editorialteam on August 28, 2024

“Eight Days a Week”
Lennon-McCartney – Beatles for Sale – 1964.12.04

It’s definitely a good song, even if the band isn’t too fond of it. It’s the ‘dark-horse’ of The Beatles’ fourth UK album, with its brighter composition in comparison to the rest of the original compositions’ darker overtones, as well as the possible double-meanings that are present. All of that makes this one a favorite of mine. [8/10]

“A Day in the Life (Anthology Edit)”
Lennon-McCartney – Anthology 2 – 1996.03.18 read more

(Archive April 2016) Shorthand 02: Coming Attractions Edition

By editorialteam on August 28, 2024

“Do You Like Worms”
B. Wilson-Parks – The Smile Sessions – 2011.10.31 [iTunes]/2011.11.01 [Worldwide]

Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks’ original mostly-instrumental, when presented in this collection, seems to still be in its unfinished condition. While the individual pieces by themselves sound good, they do not really benefit each other as a comprehensive composition, especially owing to the fact that few of the couplets that Parks wrote for this song were known to have been recorded. It would later be completed as “Roll Plymouth Rock” for Wilson’s SMiLE 2004 album, but even that version has its own share of problems. [4/10] read more

(Archive April 2016) “Probably the most beautiful thing I’ve ever listened to.”

By editorialteam on August 28, 2024

By Patrick J. Miller | Observer Contributor

Title: Our Sweet Love/
Artist: The Beach Boys/
Writers: Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson & Al Jardine/
Album: Sunflower/
Release: 31 August, 1970

The Beach Boys are a group of five, maybe six young and cute Californians composed of brothers Brian, Carl & Dennis Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, childhood friend Al Jardine, and later on, Bruce Johnson. Together, these six lads would compose many high-hitting compositions that would end up as hit singles [California Girls, Good Vibrations]. They would be best known for their brilliant harmonies and their work leading up to their monumental “Pet Sounds” album. read more

(Archive April 2016) “An interesting mess.”

By editorialteam on August 28, 2024

By Patrick J. Miller | Observer Contributor

Song: A Day in the Life [Anthology Version]/
Artist: The Beatles/
Writer: Lennon-McCartney/
Album: Anthology 2/
Release: 18 March, 1996/
Recorded: 19-20 January & 10 February, 1967/
Label: Apple

Anthology 2 is the second of three compilation albums dedicated to Beatles outtakes. They mainly hosted a large set of studio outtakes, home demos, and even live performances that were either bootlegged in large numbers before, or making their debut here.

`Overall, I felt that the compilations helped tell the story of the band’s rise to the top, and their descent towards their last few days. However, my main problem with this set is its gratuitous need to combine certain outtakes in order to form a “complete” product, especially when this uses otherwise unavailable outtakes.

“A Day in the Life”, an already great song that would really benefit from a progressive look at outtake-wise (one outtake at a time), it is instead represented by a smörgåsbord of Takes, numbered 1, 2, 6 & an orchestra outtake, all compiled to form a “complete” version. However, I can’t really complain too much, because both Take 2 and the orchestra piece is available, consumer-wise, for the first time. read more