INTERFACE 2037

At the movies: A Dangerous Method.

2012-01-26T15:07:00.000-06:00

A new David Cronenberg film is a cause for rejoicing.

Forty years in the business and he's still the best director working today (as well as my favorite all-time Canadian and living North American), and finally, after an eternity of dicking around because of potential awards buzz (that, of course, never happened), A Dangerous Method has come to Nashville.

I've been wading through an inordinate amount of haterade for this film from people who should know better, and I just don't understand it. But I'm getting ahead of myself- see the film, and we'll talk...

Famous People Talked to Me: Steve McQueen & Michael Fassbender.

2012-01-26T05:41:00.001-06:00

So, one of the joys of the New York Film Festival are the Press Conferences, where you battle with likeminded critics and journalists from all over the world to get questions to creative folk who've just shown you their latest work. Here's some details from the press conference for Shame that you might find illuminating. Both Steve McQueen and Michael Fassbender were charming and forthright, and the whole event went swimmingly.

One thing I was never able to fit in anywhere in discussion of this film is how exquisitely Chic's "I Want Your Love" is used. Bernard Edwards' basslines always have a hint of menace to them, and this film makes them perform in that capacity in a most exceptional way.

At the movies: Carnage.

2012-01-12T16:30:00.002-06:00

New Polanski, in this case a tony theatrical adaptation. And believe you me, it's something very special. I guarantee you Green Hills crowds can relate to it.

A roundtable discussion of 2011 Film.

2012-01-05T16:04:00.003-06:00

I had the good fortune of being part of the Nashville Scene's 2011 Year in Film round up. Feel free to explore.

At the movies: Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol.

2011-12-29T18:03:00.000-06:00

A vertiginous tale of IMAX trauma and an auspicious live-action debut for one of The Simpsons and Pixar's secret weapons...

2011 At the Movies.

2011-12-27T00:21:00.000-06:00

So here it is. The Year in Film, 2011 Edition. One thing to make a note of- Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives and Meek's Cutoff were both on my 2010 list, because they thematically fit there. I don't want anyone to think I was slighting them in any way.

01) MARGARET (US-Kenneth LONERGAN)

02) A SEPARATION (Iran-Asghar FARHADI)

03) THE MUPPETS (US-James BOBIN)

04)

CERTIFIED COPY (Belgium/France/Italy-Abbas KIAROSTAMI)

A DANGEROUS METHOD (Canada/Germany/Switzerland/UK-David CRONENBERG)

05) MELANCHOLIA (Denmark/France/Germany/Sweden-Lars VON TRIER)

06) WEEKEND (UK-Andrew HAIGH)

07) BRIDESMAIDS (US-Paul FEIG)

08)

MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE (US-Sean DURKIN)

ROAD TO NOWHERE (US-Monte HELLMAN)

09)

THE GUARD (Ireland-John Michael McDONAGH)

CODE BLUE (Germany/The Netherlands-Urszula ANTONIAK)

10) SUPER (US-James GUNN)

Honorable Mention:

Carnage, Drive, The Future, Hanna, Kaboom, Rise of The Planet of The Apes, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Tree of Life, Tucker and Dale versus Evil, Tuesday After Christmas, We Need to Talk about Kevin, Young Adult

BEST ACTOR: Tom CULLEN, WEEKEND

Honorable Mention:

Michael Fassbender (A DANGEROUS METHOD), Brendan Gleeson (THE GUARD), Peyman Moaadi (A SEPARATION), Chris New (WEEKEND), Gary Oldman (TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY), Rainn Wilson (SUPER), Jacob Wysocki (TERRI)

BEST ACTRESS: Anna PAQUIN, MARGARET

Honorable Mention:

Viola Davis (THE HELP), Kirsten Dunst (MELANCHOLIA), Keira Knightley (A DANGEROUS METHOD), Rooney Mara (THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO), Bien de Moor (CODE BLUE), Elizabeth Olsen (MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE), Stephanie Sigman (MISS BALA), Shannyn Sossamon (ROAD TO NOWHERE), Tilda Swinton (WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN), Charlize Theron (YOUNG ADULT)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Patton OSWALT, YOUNG ADULT

Honorable Mention:

Albert Brooks (DRIVE), Jan Cornet (THE SKIN I LIVE IN), Benedict Cumberbatch (TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY), Tom Hardy (TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY), Jonah Hill (MONEYBALL), Christopher Plummer (BEGINNERS), John C. Reilley (TERRI), Andy Serkis (RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES), David Tennant (FRIGHT NIGHT)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: J. SMITH-CAMERON, MARGARET

Honorable Mention:

Jeannie Berlin (MARGARET), Kathy Burke (TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY), Jessica Chastain (everything), Elle Fanning (SUPER 8), Sarina Farhadi (A SEPARATION), Carey Mulligan (SHAME), Ellen Page (SUPER), Maya Rudolph (BRIDESMAIDS), Octavia Spencer (THE HELP), Kate Winslet (CARNAGE, CONTAGION)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:

(HD) Javier Aguirresarobe (FRIGHT NIGHT)

(Film) Seamus McGarvey (WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN)

Honorable Mention:

Mike Cahill (ANOTHER EARTH), Manuel Alberto Claro (MELANCHOLIA), Brendan Galvin (IMMORTALS), Alwin Kuchler (HANNA), Jody Lee Lipes (MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE), Emmanuel Lubezki (THE TREE OF LIFE), Jose David Montero (APOLLO 18), Urszula Pontikos (WEEKEND)

BEST DIRECTOR: Roman POLANSKI, CARNAGE

Honorable Mention:

David CRONENBERG (A DANGEROUS METHOD), Terrence MALICK (TREE OF LIFE), Lynne RAMSAY (WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN), Lars VON TRIER (MELANCHOLIA), Joe WRIGHT (HANNA)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: James GUNN, SUPER

Honorable Mention:

Asghar FARHADI (A SEPARATION), Andrew HAIGH (WEEKEND), Kenneth LONERGAN (MARGARET), Annie MUMOLO and Kristen WIIG (BRIDESMAIDS)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Jason SEGEL and Nicholas STOLLER, THE MUPPETS

BEST COSTUME DESIGN: ISHIOKA Eiko (IMMORTALS)

BEST DOCUMENTARY: PROJECT NIM

Honorable Mention:

BEING ELMO, EL BULLI: COOKING IN PROGRESS, THE INTERRUPTERS, NENETTE, WE WERE HERE

BEST 3D: HUGO

Honorable Mention:

FINAL DESTINATION 5, A VERY HAROLD & KUMAR 3D CHRISTMAS

SPECIAL AWARDS FOR NON-HUMAN PERFORMANCES:

Uggie (THE ARTIST), Wafflebot (A VERY HAROLD & KUMAR 3D CHRISTMAS)

BEST SCENE (in no particular order):

Opening Credits – The Adventures of Tintin, Making rounds - Code Blue, The Dinosaurs – Tree of Life, opening tracking shot - Hugo, Shadow Puppets/Opening Story – Kung Fu Panda 2, "Pictures in My Head" - The Muppets, crosstown jog - Shame, Press conference – Another Earth, Escape from Jerry's house – Fright Night, Picnic with Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn – The Catechism Cataclysm, Entering Karl's lair - The Sitter, Escaping the complex - Hanna, Monica & the Bus - Margaret, The Ecstasy of Tomatoes - We Need To Talk About Kevin, 'Look! Gypsies!' - The Turin Horse, Jim Henson's Funeral - Being Elmo, Chase through Bhaggar – The Adventures of Tintin, Dubai - Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol, Opening Sequence – Scream 4, At the Met - Margaret, Melies retrospectacle - Hugo, "Man or Muppet?" - The Muppets, The Robbery – Fast Five, Last Shot – Another Earth, Her Audition – Super 8, Battle in Heaven - Immortals, Last Shot - Martha Marcy May Marlene, Creation – Tree of Life

At the movies: Young Adult.

2011-12-15T13:26:00.002-06:00

So here's the film that is going to cause many awkward conversations with a couple of dear, dear friends over the next few years...

Film 2011: The Fifteen Best Uses of Pre-Existing Songs

2011-12-14T23:32:00.006-06:00

Here, in ascending order, are the best instances of a film taking a song we may or may not have known and granting it some new context...

15) AIRIEL featuring ULRICH SNAUSS - Sugar Crystals
(from KABOOM)

14) ENYA - Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)
(from THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO)

13) CHIC - I Want Your Love
(from SHAME)

12) TECHNOTRONIC - Pump Up The Jam
(from TUCKER & DALE VERSUS EVIL)

11) DIANA ROSS - When We Grow Up
(from YOUNG ADULT)

10) TRENTEMOLLER - Shades of Marble
(from THE SKIN I LIVE IN)

09) RIZ ORTOLANI featuring KATYNA RANIERI - Oh My Love
(from DRIVE)

08) JOHN R. BUTLER - Hand of the Almighty
(from THE CATECHISM CATACLYSM)

07) WHAM! - Last Christmas
(from WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN)

06) JULIO IGLESIAS - La Mer (a l'Olympia)
(from TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY)

05) THE STONE ROSES - I Wanna Be Adored
(from I MELT WITH YOU)

04) WILSON PHILLIPS - Hold On
(from BRIDESMAIDS)

03) LISA LOUGHEED - Run with Us
(from HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN)

02) JOHN DENVER - Leaving on a Jet Plane
(from THE GUARD)

(Please note- the film doesn't use this duet version, but I mean, if you're not intrigued by John Denver and Cass Elliot singing it, then I fear for your soul)

01) ERIC CARMEN - It Hurts Too Much
(from SUPER)

At the movies: Melancholia.

2011-12-01T15:17:00.004-06:00

New Von Trier. In Nashville. On 35mm. Bigger than life and more insistent than death. Don't miss it.

At the movies: The Muppets.

2011-11-23T14:46:00.003-06:00

It really did mess me up reading about Frank Oz's displeasure with the new Muppet film. It's bound to be difficult when someone is able to take things you helped create and take them off to unknown tangents and places- like Frank Oz did with Ira Levin's Stepford Wives.

I kid.

Much respect to Frank Oz for all his work (and Little Shop of Horrors, because that movie rules your face off), but the new Muppets film is a delight. Feel free to investigate.

My favorite context-free line: "All hail the Hobo King!"

At the movies: Breaking Dawn - Part I.

2011-11-18T12:21:00.003-06:00

So, this movie you might have heard of opened this weekend.

As you can see above, it's nonstop hot Brazilian honeymoon action. But there are certainly some enjoyably campy facets. Read all about it within...

At the movies: The Skin I Live In (La Piel que Habito).

2011-11-17T16:46:00.004-06:00

Kinky Pedro is back! Yay!

Spend some time experiencing some new flesh with my thoughts on The Skin I Live In...

Getting to know you: Peter Depp.

2011-11-17T16:38:00.002-06:00

An interview I did with badass comedian/TV star Peter Depp for the Nashville Scene.

At the movies: Martha Marcy May Marlene.

2011-11-10T14:02:00.004-06:00

My take on the exquisite new film opening this week. I'll be moderating a Skypechat with Writer/Director Sean Durkin after the 7:30 show tomorrow night (11/11/11) and I hope to see you there.

I'm very proud of this photo. If Elizabeth Olsen ever starts a rock band, this could so be an album cover.

Putting something freaky in your earhole.

2011-11-10T13:58:00.001-06:00

A bit of music writing this week, coming to bring some freakitude to Nashville.

At the movies: Take Shelter.

2011-11-01T21:07:00.002-05:00

Watching this film sort of triggered a minor nervous collapse in me this past weekend.

I'm not making any claims that the same could happen to you (this isn't un film de Bienvido), but I just want people to understand that parts of this movie leave deep scars. So keep that in mind. And certainly, check this film out.

At the movies: Metropolis: The Giorgio Moroder Reconstruction.

2011-10-21T15:54:00.003-05:00

You don't often get a chance to write, at length, about the Giorgio Moroder Reconstruction of Metropolis. So when given that chance, I said "Yes, more please..."

Playing two shows only at The Belcourt on Tuesday, the 25th.

Validate My Existence. New York Film Festival '11.

2011-10-20T17:07:00.002-05:00

So the Nashville Scene ran my wrap-up of the time I spent at the New York Film Festival in September and October. Here it is. Read it, please...

At the movies: El Bulli - Cooking in Progress.

2011-10-11T16:43:00.004-05:00

Initially, the whole idea of molecular gastronomy seemed a bit much for me. But thanks to some patient friends (much respect to Christopher and Beasley for showing me the way) and some amazing photography, I've since developed a sincere appreciation for the art and joyful madness of Ferran Adria and his staff of geniuses. Experience the love/madness for three days only as part of The Belcourt's Doctober.

The Trailer Park Boys are coming to Nashville...

2011-10-07T14:08:00.004-05:00

Julian, Ricky, and Bubbles. Coming to Nashville on October the 11th. I wrote a thing about it, wherein I got to interview Ricky. So that's something you should read.

At the movies: Tucker and Dale versus Evil.

2011-09-29T17:06:00.003-05:00

Have a beer and give this a read. Then see the film. I would be there if I could...

At the movies: Hadewijch (Take 2)

2011-09-29T16:51:00.003-05:00

So back in the long, long ago, when I still wrote for The Tennessean but was stuck in online Siberia, I decided to try and through some love to afilm that wasn't going to show in town. As Bruno Dumont's Hadewijch wasa entering its last week as part of IFC Films' On Demand/In Theatres program, I had to act fast. SO I did a full-on piece on the film in order to convince people to experience. I got some shit about it, but I still feel it was the right thing to have done. And now, months and months later, Hadewijch is going to be showing in Nashville thanks to Sarratt.

I am ecstatic. Ecstatic enough to have written a different review of the film. You can read it here...

At the movies: Stalker.

2011-09-22T17:31:00.002-05:00

I got to write about Tarkovsky's masterpiece Stalker for the Scene this week, which is an honor. And I didn't even get to the tracking shot of human folly, spanning the riverbed where money, weapons, and religious iconography lie, useless, forever.

At the movies: Drive.

2011-09-18T16:58:00.003-05:00

So, this film opened on Friday and it's got a few people talking about it. I think it's particularly awesome. You should check it out. Here's some more of my thoughts on the subject.

Miranda July Live in Video

2011-09-10T15:19:00.002-05:00

So tonight, at Nashville's venerable Belcourt Theatre, following the 6:30 screening of The Future (regualr admission prices, $8.75 for adults, $7.25 for students and military with active ID, $6.25 for seniors, and as always, $5.75 for Belcourt members), there's going to be a Skype discussion with writer/director/star Miranda July. This is not a chance that comes by too terribly often, and you'd be in for a special treat. In addition, after the discussion, you'd be right on time for our free outdoor screening of Psycho. So that's an evening right there. Don't miss it.

At the movies: Attack the Block.

2011-09-10T15:12:00.004-05:00

So I was recently approached by a local arts magazine to do a bit of film writing for them, so I did. Let me know your thoughts.

At the movies: Contagion.

2011-09-08T11:43:00.002-05:00

You've already been exposed. To the advertising campaign. Which is effective. like the movie.

At the movies: Project Nim & Apollo 18

2011-09-08T11:40:00.005-05:00

Here's a fun twofer of a rather disparate pair of films currently showing in Nastyville.

At the movies: Fright Night.

2011-08-18T16:01:00.003-05:00

I remember seeing the original film on a VHS that also had Tobe Hooper's Lifeforce and Armand Mastroianni's The Clairvoyant on it. What can I say, my family's video library had exquisite taste.

But now, it's Fright Night all over again. And I kind of dug it.

At the movies: Final Destination 5.

2011-08-18T15:59:00.002-05:00

They just keep dying...

At the movies: The Help.

2011-08-11T11:20:00.003-05:00

Writing about race is difficult.

There's some outtakes of a sort from this piece coming. My editor and I are trying to figure out the best way to present them, but it's good stuff. Call it a nice dessert after the main meal of this, my thoughts on The Help.

At the movies: Rise of The Planet of The Apes.

2011-08-11T11:10:00.004-05:00

It's rather vindicating when a good movie becomes a big hit. Especially during the summer. So here, then, are my abbreviated thoughts on the newest entry in the Planet of the Apes saga.

Also, as a special bonus, here's the abandoned beginning for the piece, which isn't even really about Rise..., but rather the thing about the Burton PotA that I don't think anyone has really addressed. But check it out, because without your unspoken validation, I am nothing.

The thing nobody remembers about Tim Burton's maligned 2001 remake of Planet of The Apes is that it was the last time he stayed true to his original mission statement as a filmmaker- embracing the strange and unusual. The beauty of its shocker ending wasn't its supposedly clever tweak of the original's shocking reveal, but rather that it punished the Artist formerly known as Marky Mark's character because of his unwillingess to expand his horizons. He could have lived a weird and extraordinary new life on the planet of the apes, and instead he went heroing it back across space to earth because it was safe and it was where all his stuff and ideology was. Well, joke's on you, you can't have that earth back...

Unfortunately, when society as a whole rejected the film (in spite of shelling out hundreds of millions of dollars in tickets), it must have flipped a switch in Burton's brain, because next came Big Fish and that was it. A career built on embracing the strange and unusual now decided it was time to forgive Daddy and coast on the goodwill people had for Johnny Depp. With the exception of Sweeney Todd, it's been a dire spiral.

All of that comes into play in the way that Rupert Wyatt's Rise of The Planet of The Apes defiantly embraces the strange and unusual at every step of the way. Our perspectives are linked with the apes from the beginning of the film, and when humans become part of the story, it is as adjuncts to where the real deal is happening.

At the movies: The Hitcher.

2011-08-04T00:43:00.005-05:00

Two shows only. This weekend. As part of The Belcourt's Road Movies of The 70s & 80s series. A new print, fresh from the UK. The original, and still champion- The Hitcher.

At the movies: Cowboys & Aliens.

2011-08-04T00:42:00.006-05:00

There's a deadpan goofiness to this film that resonated with me (and apparently very few others- people have been lining up to dump Hatorade on this film like it was the Elm Street remake). It's as High Concept a title as you can get, and you can practically feel the dozens of executives, focus groups, Mountain Dew-addled nine year-olds, and teams of Harrison Ford's writers working things over into movie Play-Doh.

But there's something here that's distinctly enjoyable, even when it's completely ridiculous. Jon Favreau is a director I will follow anywhere (seriously, Made is one of the outstanding directorial debuts of the ages), and you can tell he's ecstatic to be making a Western. That there's a giant spacecraft/complex and alien fighters thrown in the mix is just gravy.

The plot is there just to get in the way of the story, and awesome character actors will periodically show up to liven the proceedings- seriously, Walton Goggins is on his way to becoming the Harry Dean Stanton of the new millennium (once HDS dies, though, and he's still going strong for a bit).

Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford are exactly what you'd expect, and Sam Rockwell is just awesome, as always (except for The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy).

At the movies: Captain America.

2011-08-04T00:40:00.002-05:00

At last, America has its own Starship Troopers.

Now, don't misunderstand, I know that Starship Troopers is an American film, but it is a pure distillation of Paul Verhoeven's global genius. Captain America is just as multileveled and intriguing, but it comes from a very distinct domestic sensibility and as such has a different objective.

Verhoeven's film was about a fascist society and was made as an entertainment that such a fascist society would respond to, so we're not just watching the film, but we're asking ourselves what this film says about who it was made for. Now with Captain America, we've got a film that not only feels like a 40s' film made with contemporary technology, but one that says oodles about the America we wish we were.

My one serious complaint is that they made Chris Evans shave his chest. Other than that, it's a bonkers journey into superheroism that made me giddily happy.

At the movies: Crazy, Stupid, Love.

2011-07-28T13:56:00.003-05:00

So here's some thought on the latest omnibus romantic comedy working its way through the multiplexes. It's a great cast, pretty good direction, and a problematic script.

At the movies: Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2.

2011-07-15T02:41:00.005-05:00

At last, the end of an era.

When Philosopher's Stone first opened, Gene Wyatt was still film critic at The Tennessean, there was hope in being a critic, and I never imagined I'd be having such an adversarial/BDSM relationship with my health insurance company.

But fast forward ten years, and not only have I read all the books, I've seen all the movies. And I'm getting to write about it for someone (see how I involve you, dear reader, in this).

So yeah, it's the end of the Potter series in their film incarnations, and it resonates. I don't think it's as good as Deathly Hallows part 1, and it doesn't top Prisoner of Azkaban (which is the best of the films by far). But it ties it all up in a way that left my audience weepy and satisfied.

Neville rules.

At the movies: "Liz & Losey."

2011-07-14T16:00:00.003-05:00

To close out its two-month, eight-film tribute to the legacy of Elizabeth Taylor, The Belcourt Theatre in Nashville is ending things with a double feature of Taylor's 1968 Joseph Losey collaborations Secret Ceremony and Boom!

Neither of these films have been released on DVD or any of the various streaming/on demand services, so this is probably your best chance to experience them in a semiluxurious (and mercifully air-conditioned)setting, so perhaps you should consider such a thing. Also, while both films snuck out on VHS during the downward spiral of that format, Boom! was released in a viciously cropped version that completely obliterated its full Panavision dimensions.

I talk about both films in the current issue of The Nashville Scene. You're soaking in it...

At the movies: Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

2011-06-30T15:41:00.004-05:00

Me vs Michael Bay's robot opus, mkIII.

There was a time, if you can believe it, when I thought Transformers were the coolest things imaginable. With the possible exception of Jim Henson and Grace Jones.

Henson's memory remains sacred, and after Jones' Hurricane tour, I fear not for her, because she still has everything that made her awesome, with the exquisite addition of Eiko Ishioka outfits.

But The Transformers, not so much.

At the movies: The Tree of Life.

2011-06-24T05:08:00.003-05:00

So the latest Terrence Malick film had finally made its way to Nastyville. Here is my perfectly respectable review of it for The Tennessean.

Now for comparison's sake, here's my Metromix review, which is- at best, unhinged. This wasn't a case of me submitting this piece and the Tennessean version being edited out of it, but rather my submitting two different reviews for each of the publications. I wanted to try and encompass all the feelings the film posed, while at the same time remaining nimble and diffuse in making any specific grand statements. I can't decide if this take on the film is genuinely reflective or if it veers into gibberish. Let me know your thoughts on this one.

At the movies: Super 8.

2011-06-13T22:22:00.003-05:00

Sorry for the delay on this one, but due to Bonnaroo and some eCommunications issues, my Super 8 review didn't go up online until Saturday. Fortunately, you can experience it here. In keeping with my newfound freedom to

SUPER 8

***

The Lamb family is reeling from the tragic death of steelworker/mother Elizabeth, leaving son Joe and Sheriff's Deputy Jack (Kyle "Coach from Friday Night Lights" Chandler) to figure out a whole new way of life without her. Lillian, Ohio's smalltown charms keep the Deputy occupied, but never with anything too terribly serious. Yet the two Lambs are growing farther apart, with young Joe throwing himself into making a Super 8 zombie film with a bunch of his friends. It's a concept that resonates in the work of this film's executive producer Steven Spielberg, and one that finds commonality in the dreams of countless kids who've wanted to use the movies to tell big stories of their own.

These are an interesting bunch of kids, and we get to know each of them, getting a feel for their different backgrounds and attitudes, but understanding how the urge to make something awesome has tied them together. Special praise is due Charles, the director and writer of the film the kids are making, played by newcomer Riley Griffiths; his is the best fat kid character in a movie since Brett Kelly in Bad Santa. And Elle Fanning, who stole the uneven Somewhere away from Stephen Dorff just last year, is remarkable here. She has a rehearsal scene that hits with a power you wouldn't expect (very Naomi Watts in Mulholland Drive); there's an electric quality to how she taps into emotions, finding the perfect mesh of precision and passion. Also, Glynn Turman makes a visceral impression as the school biology teacher, who here more than karmically atones for his character's actions in 1984's Gremlins, just one of the many subtle in-jokes for fans of classic critter cinema.

Super 8 is determinedly Spielbergian, but that's sort of the point. It's been marketing itself with a great trailer that incorporates all the tropes of Spielberg's 80s work, utilizing its kids' ensemble and mysterious SciFi whatsit in a way that practically promises you "E.T., but with a scarier alien." There is raw emotional pain at the center of this film, dealing with serious issues and deeply felt family conflicts, and it's in that aspect that the film is truest to its late 70s/early 80s Spielberg influences.

What's funny is that the Spielberg production that is more accurately comparable to this film is The Goonies. The way it ties family troubles into adventure and peril will resonate with any child of 70s or 80s film, and writer/director/producer J.J. Abrams, at his best, aims to create a work that gives kids today some significant emotional commonality with previous generations. And that's admirable.

If it never quite reaches the greatness of its aims, I'm still inclined to show it some love.The opening scene does an exceptional job of saying volumes without saying a word, like one of those Truman Capote sentences that are concise, yet hold forth much meaning. A sign is the signifier for the Lamb family, one that sets up much of the engine that drives the film.

Abrams juggles so many different elements and exceptional moments for so long that it feels like he could conceivably go the distance and knock one out of the park. That is, until a three-minute chunk of the film combines some unfortunately-timed anthropomorphism, a gloppy ton of sentimentality, and a literalization of the film's primary theme that threatens to derail things completely. Things have been going so well for so long it's hard to get too mad, but it really means the difference between a fun popcorn epic and a new classic of across-the-board storytelling.

One thing that Abrams does, making his own definitive statement about the social history of the U.S. since the late 70s/early 80s, is gleefully destroy suburbia on both figurative and literal levels. Spielberg's films found comfort in the small communities whose families had fled the city, and Abrams takes some insane joy in allowing late-70s suburban life to be destroyed by the military industrial complex and the boiling anger that its ideologies instilled. If its alien isn't up to Cloverfield standard (say what you will about that uneven effort, but it had an exquisite monster) or to H.R. Giger's monsterpiece, it tries for mystery and menace for a good 90% of its runtime, which is certainly the way to do it. Super 8 has ambition and style, and several great young adult performances. I wonder what works it will inspire from future generations?

A note for the prospective viewer. Something happens during the ending credits that makes everything pull together with a majesty that is incredibly heartening. Don't be in such a rush to leave, and let your theatre know not to bring up the lights too soon.

At the Movies: Cave of Forgotten Dreams 3D.

2011-06-03T15:19:00.004-05:00

Ideally, the movie I'd most like to see in 3D is something like Werckmeister Harmonies. Long takes, sustained tracking shots, not much cutting at all, immersive spaces. Well, Werner Herzog once again leaps ahead of the curve, using 3D technology to map out one of the most fascinating secrets in the world, the Chauvet Cave in France, where undisturbed wall drawings dating back tens of thousands of years represent the first human artistic endeavors still preserved.

Unlike the majority of 3D films currently in theatres, Cave of Forgotten Dreams finds actual physical space way more fascinating than computer-generated vistas or effects sequences (and that's not a slight on 3D tech- I enjoy the added dimension when it's done well). There are moments, drifting along in these deep, enclosed spaces, that one can't help but feel something more than real. It's rare that history can be this visceral without wars or some form of betrayal involved (doesn't that sadly sound like modern life as well), and Herzog, with his magnificent voice, takes us through a meditative look at the human artistic impulse.

Calling this the best use of 3D film technology so far is limiting- Herzog certainly understands the mechanics of how the eye works, using langurous fades rather than abrupt cuts, allowing depth to resolve itself on the viewer's terms. But it seems to me that 3D is best when it comes to realness; I love being immersed in something actual (part of this, I'm sure, springs from my 'puppets>computers' aesthetic). And with all the alien worlds and fntasy spaces that steroptic film presentation has tried to bring us to, I've never been as transported as I was by this film, to a secure little portal into the past.

Also, the fact that 3D film options can include something like this is very encouraging (especially for local audiences). Take a chance and timeslip back into your own genetic history, won't you?

At the movies: Meek's Cutoff.

2011-05-20T02:53:00.003-05:00

Adrift. Three families and the yammering jackanape Stephen Meek (Bruce Greenwood, channeling Tom Waits as nineteenth century snakeoil salesman) traversing the Oregon Trail. Lost, with water and decency in short supply and the creeping sensation that hope has forsaken their small expedition. Meek’s Cutoff is the most politically lacerating film of the year; an anguished but restrained call to ask questions and openly communicate with your fellow human beings.

Wide Oregon frontiers yielding to intimate character moments, held prisoner in precise portraiture. Director Kelly Reichardt (Wendy and Lucy, Old Joy) uses the 1.33:1 Academy aspect ratio as a physical (and philosophical) representation of the limits of vision. When we think of the frontier, we think of wide open spaces; but we are lucky if we can really take in everything in front of us. The women’s bonnets are a form of bondage, but one that represents all too well the inescapable uncertainties of ‘that life.’ When you look at the process involved in fording a river, or moving covered wagons down steep inclines, you have to acknowledge some truths. I couldn’t do it. Few of us today could. But for its measured runtime, we enter into the frontier experience, and it is absolutely terrifying.

At its heart, Meek’s Cutoff is one of those very special films, like Gerry or The Blair Witch Project or Eyes of Fire, that taps into the primal American experience, the vast expanses of land and mystery that build upon secrets and legends and fears. Unlike those films, it hews to the path of realism, though that is in no way reassuring; the infinite horrors of the land come through in an even more upsetting form. Saltwater. Mocking, neverending horizons. And the ceaseless prattle of some good ol’ boy who talks a good game but has led you astray.

I’ve called it a political film, and it is. But not in the almost reductive fashion by which the mysterious Indian prisoner has come to be an Obama signifier (though there is certainly enough ammunition for such an interpretation). The Indian is simply The Other that is always part of the American experience.

Perhaps it is that way for all cultures, but the quintessential American experience involves the individual, The Other, and then other American individuals. Bound to one another by geography and (to some extent) ideology, Americans are tied to the thoughts and emotions of other Americans (those who’ve traveled internationally in the past decade can address this specifically), and whether through debate, intimidation, or reasoned discourse, we constantly strive for consensus. We cling to tradition, and custom, and, when necessary, hope. Meek’s Cutoff is an ongoing story, and one that should reverberate in the heart of anyone who has ever stopped and thought about history.

Originally reviewed at the 2010 New York Film Festival
--Jason Shawhan

At the movies: Bridesmaids.

2011-05-14T16:34:00.004-05:00

Okay, here's a fun little activity (possibly). First up, here's my Bridesmaids review as it ran in The Tennessean. It's always fun when this happens, because I hear from family members whom I normally would not. Here, then, is my original full-length review, as published at No Concessions on the Metromix Nashville website.

I include both for two reasons- 1) I am desperate for even the slightest bit of attention as a writer, and 2) I think it's interesting to see how the streamlining and editing process works. So take a peek, if you'd like. And definitely see Bridesmaids, because it's pretty awesome.

At the movies: Thor.

2011-05-07T00:37:00.003-05:00

Every awful 'Thor' pun made it into my Tennessean review. I couldn't be happier. Well, maybe a bit happier if I'd found a way to use the word Thorganized.

At the movies: Fast Five.

2011-04-29T10:52:00.006-05:00

More cars go boom, this time in Brazil. There's a lot to enjoy in this film, namely a mid-credits reversal of something that's been bothering me for two years, some heightened caperings, that muscle bear from the first one who pops up again, and using a corrupt businessman's propensity for grabbing ass to unlock his secrets. At least they didn't call it The Fa5t and The Furiou5. I bet somebody wanted to, though.

At the movies: Potiche.

2011-04-29T10:49:00.003-05:00

A mental margarita of a movie that nonetheless promises more fun than it delivers. Deneuve is still an icon, and having a blast. But a note to U.S. distributors- if you use Boney M in a trailer, there better be some Boney M in the actual film. Baccara is always a pleasant surprise, but Baccara is no Boney M.

At the movies: Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives.

2011-04-16T01:24:00.003-05:00

So, I was pretty bowled over by finding my review of Uncle Boonmee... in The Tennessean today (I also heard from some folks about it, which was kind of nice). As is their prerogative, they made some editing choices, which is fine, because I knew my pure uncut dope review would run at No Concessions, my webspace on the Metromix page. You can check them both out, if you'd like, though I prefer the Metromix version myself.

At the movies: Super.

2011-04-13T17:20:00.002-05:00

The latest film from James Gunn. You might remember him as the sick individual who wrote Tromeo and Juliet. He brings it.

At the movies: Hanna.

2011-04-08T08:28:00.004-05:00

So I'm totally digging on the new Joe Wright film. You could take this exact script and make it as a big dumb exploding action blockbuster, and instead, he takes it and makes it work the arthouse runway like a classic art thriller. Love it.

At the movies: Poetry.

2011-04-05T23:06:00.004-05:00

One of the stunners from this past year's New York Film Festival. This movie has just about everything. Crime, intrigue, knowledge, beauty, disease, pleasure, torment, and the cruelty of the body. Until David Cronenberg makes a movie about Alzheimer's, this is one of the best ever on the subject.

At the movies: Of Gods and Men.

2011-04-05T22:59:00.003-05:00

A great teaching tool for religious tolerance, as well as a sad companion to Roland Joffe's 1986 masterpiece The Mission. That film, if you didn't know, had me wanting to be a Jesuit for a while. This one didn't have as much of an impact, but I see it as a useful film, and one that I look forward to wrangling folk in to see.

At the movies: Certified Copy.

2011-03-31T02:17:00.002-05:00

The new Abbas Kiarostami film is kind of awesome. It's alive and strange and it does things to your mind...

It even restored my Boston associate's love of the cinema for a little while.

At the movies: White Material.

2011-03-24T16:37:00.005-05:00

It's staggering that it took almost two years for the latest Claire Denis film to make it to the U.S. But we can certainly be glad that it did. It's a haunting and majestic film that will nonetheless make you think about what Africa is and represents in your own life.

At the movies: Paul.

2011-03-18T05:27:00.004-05:00

So, apparently I liked this movie way more than the rest of the world (barring Steve K and Zack H). I acknowledge some of its flaws, but I stand by it as being a lot weirder and more complex than it's getting credit for.

Also, it does that epic tracking shot along the underside of a spacecraft, and I just adore that.

At the movies: Cedar Rapids.

2011-03-10T23:52:00.002-06:00

A genial enough comedy about institutional corruption and nascent Peter Panism.

At the movies: Kaboom.

2011-02-21T18:58:00.003-06:00

The more I think about Gregg Araki's latest film, the more I love it. I've seen it three times now, and its genial awesomeness grows exponentially. It's very Nowhere, but with a great deal more positive sex vibes (which is something that the world desperately needs). If I said this was like the sex-hippie version of Demonlover, would that make you want to go?

My Very own Oscar Preview/Complainarama.

2011-02-21T18:53:00.003-06:00

So I actually was asked to put my thoughts about this year's Oscars in writing, and I jumped at the chance. It's always a nifty opportunity to try and second guess such an amorphous and frustrating group as AMPAS, and I hope I've managed to get at some quality points about what's awesome and what's awful about this (and most) award shows.

If I had an awards show, you can rest assured it would be awesome.

At the movies: Hadewijch.

2011-02-17T16:42:00.003-06:00

Not playing in Nashville, except on IFC On Demand/In Theatres. But well worth your time. It's haunted me since I first saw it back in Fall '09.

At the movies: Somewhere.

2011-02-12T14:56:00.002-06:00

A rather polarizing effort from Sofia Coppola. Still, The Virgin Suicides is a masterpiece of such high order that I'm willing to follow her anywhere.

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At the movies: The Illusionist.

2011-02-12T14:54:00.002-06:00

The latest from Belleville Rendezvous director Sylvain Chomet, with a pedigree that contentiously includes Jacques Tati. Come and get it...

At the Movies: Biutiful.

2011-02-03T05:38:00.002-06:00

New AGI film finally making its way to Nastyville, with two Oscar nominations to boot. Check out some thoughts on it here.

At the Movies: And Everything is Going Fine.

2011-01-19T00:14:00.002-06:00

It seriously fucked me up when Spalding Gray killed himself. Steven Soderbergh's remembrance of him, the masterful And Everything Is Going Fine, is opening here in Nashville for a few days' run. Don't miss it; it is a portrait of a great artist doing what he does best.

At the Movies: Rabbit Hole.

2011-01-19T00:10:00.003-06:00

So here is the sprawling, 1,000+ word review I got into both Metromix and The Tennessean. It's a great film, and it was a hell of an assignment. As a special bonus, you get a little bit of a sketch of the screening attended by Nicole Kidman, which was, for a moment, the biggest art event in the city. Kidman is a doll, graceful, humorous, and supersweet.

2010: The Year in Film.

2010-12-30T17:57:00.003-06:00

You know I love hierarchical foolishness. So here, without any further ado, is my year-end wrap-up for where film went in 2010.

At the movies: I Love You Phillip Morris.

2010-12-30T17:52:00.003-06:00

Almost two years after I saw it initially, the big deal GLBT film of the year (because there can only be one or two a year) finally makes it out into the American world. It's a twisted and funny story and well worth your time.

At the movies: Black Swan.

2010-12-21T01:46:00.003-06:00

So, I've been going on about Black Swan for awhile now. It's kind of an obsession, which suits the film itself. This piece lets me, at length, get into what I love about the film and why it's been bouncing around inside my head for the past three weeks.

Lost Review! At the Movies: I'm Still Here

2010-11-28T23:10:00.005-06:00

I wrote it and got paid for it. But it never made it into the digital archive at Metromix Nashville. Curiouser and curiouser, said Alice... So I saw this before it premiered at Toronto, but it opened in Nashville after the involved parties had revealed the whole thing to be a hoax. So that's annoying. Here's my genuine response. You're soaking in it.

In 2009, just after completing the film Two Lovers, Joaquin Phoenix announced his retirement from acting in order to pursue a career as a rapper. Befuddlement ensued, from fans who’d followed Phoenix’s career as an acclaimed actor as well as a celebrity-obsessed media that couldn’t help but wonder at the sheer randomness of the whole thing. So from that, Phoenix began to document his transition into hip-hop with the help of his brother-in-law Casey Affleck. This film is the result of that, following Phoenix’s downward spiral into what very well could be a self-created career annihilation.

Everyone is wondering whether or not I’m Still Here is real or fake, or ‘real.’ When you’re talking about film or fame, there is no real, at least not in the way that suits an easy dualist perspective. My guess is that the germ of this film started out as invented and planned, and that during the course of this ‘documentary,’ the outside world decided to play along and everything got too real for everyone, and Phoenix ended up in showbusiness limbo.

Filth abounds, as well as a good deal of drug use, pimpcraft, exploitation, nudity, and empty Hollywood debauchery. In its defense, I’m Still Here does have a staggeringly effective and beautiful final shot, a miraculously tranquil and haunting moment. But the slog of it is just brutal.

I give Casey Affleck a good deal of credit as an actor.

As a director/documentarian, he’s coming from some place very different. At its best, this film is like evidence for an intervention, or a cautionary tale for anyone trying to get too metatextual with their career. You feel a corrosive sense of pity for Phoenix at first, one that eventually gets used up by the ceaseless, whiny grind of watching a goof on the idea of celebrity that acquired its own malignant inertia and ended up fulfilling its fake crisis with a real one. Let’s hope this mess scares Phoenix into rediscovering a passion for acting.

At the Movies: Harry Potter 7.1.

2010-11-24T21:39:00.002-06:00

The latest journey into the Wizarding World.

Catching Up at The Movies: Carlos.

2010-11-24T21:37:00.003-06:00

5 1/2 hours worth of awesome. Poster designed by the truly awesome Sam Smith.

25 things You May Not Have Known about The Breakfast Club.

2010-11-24T21:34:00.002-06:00

One of the most awesome experiences I've ever been privy to.

Catching Up at The Movies: Inside Job.

2010-11-24T21:32:00.001-06:00

In case you've been wondering what happened to your money/house/life.

Catching Up at The Movies: Hereafter.

2010-11-24T17:55:00.003-06:00

So I feel like I was way hard on this film. Looking back on it, Damon's performance stays with me, and his scenes with Bryce Dallas Howard are emotionally hardcore. But I don't know if I can make myself watch this one again. Maybe...

Catching Up at the Movies: Enter The Void.

2010-11-24T17:52:00.002-06:00

A singular visual experience. Certainly worth seeing in theatres.

Famous People Talked to Me: Gaspar Noe.

2010-11-24T17:51:00.003-06:00

Noe way.

Catching Up at The Movies: The Social Network.

2010-11-24T17:49:00.004-06:00

Still one of the best films I've seen all year, and certainly one that's resonated with the most people.

Famous People Talked to Me: David Fincher, Aaron Sorkin, Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield.

2010-11-24T17:46:00.002-06:00

A fun day at the Walter Reade, getting to the heart of things.

Catching Up at The Movies: The Agony and The Ecstasy of Phil Spector.

2010-11-24T17:43:00.002-06:00

Ah, the sheer madness of it all.

Catching Up at the Movies: Going the Distance.

2010-11-23T18:02:00.004-06:00

I still can't believe that this film was such a staggering failure. It's so far ahead of every other romantic comedy I saw all year.

Catching up at the Movies: Life During Wartime.

2010-11-23T17:59:00.002-06:00

A surprising box office disappointment, considering how well Happiness did in nashville back in the day.

Famous people Talked to Me: Michael K. Williams, Ally Sheedy, and Todd Solondz.

2010-11-23T17:56:00.003-06:00

A chance to talk with Writer/Director Todd Solondz, Actor Michael K. Williams, and Actress Ally Sheedy at the 2009 New York Film Festival. This is where that photo of me and Omar comes from...

Catching Up at The Movies: Wild Grass (Les Herbes Folles).

2010-11-23T17:52:00.003-06:00

A bonkers opener for the 2009 New York Film Festival, and a truly unique offering from one of the greats. I apparently liked this more than most.

Catching Up at The Movies: Scott Pilgrim vs The World.

2010-11-23T17:47:00.004-06:00

This one ran in The Tennessean as well, where I was treated to some snarky-ass comments by idiots. It's been pulled from their archive, so who can say?

An intriguing new professional development.

2010-08-21T14:27:00.003-05:00

I actually have some web presence in the Gannett armada of publishing... It only took ten years, but I'm actually quite psyched for it. Stop by No Concessions, check it out, and let me know your thoughts.

All my reviews from here on out for Metromix will be archived there, as well as a few classics from the past that have been lost to the eddies of time and space. I'll also be doing current film updates as well there.

Does this mean I'm doing away with Interface 2037? Far from it. I need a space that will remain my own, and this is it. I'll link to NC stuff here, so you'll receive notification in some form or another when I've got new things to read, but let's just look at these two beasties as newfound stepsiblings who are figuring their space issues out.

The Fifty Best Prince Songs of all time, Pt. III: 1-10.

2010-07-25T02:56:00.003-05:00

So it took me two years to finally finish this endeavor. It gets harder and harder to write about these songs, the closer they get to my heart and hippocampus. It helps, though, seeing Purple Rain with an audience. It lets me get back into that purple part of my heart.

So, let's catch up. Part one, which covers #s 50-16, is here. Part two, which covers 11-15, is here.

10) COMPUTER BLUE (Unreleased Version) (1984)
So many different versions. I'm partial to the one that Prince turns into the funk version of "The End" (i.e. the 'hallway speech' version), but I've never heard a version of Computer Blue that isn't captivating.

09) ANNA STESIA (1988)

A remarkable dialogue of faith.

08) THE BALLAD OF DOROTHY PARKER (1987)

There will never be another song quite like this one. It is ground zero of a whole new kind of sound, and I am dazzled by it on a daily basis.

07) DIRTY MIND (1980)

Naughty, but not filthy. Funky, but in a way no one had experienced before. Synthy, but with much more on its mind than riding some sequencers in search of easy groceries.

06) REBIRTH OF THE FLESH – Camille (1986)

For some reason, this has always reminded me a little of "Earache My Eye." Party rock at its finest. I want a horn section with me at all times because of this track.

05) CHILI SAUCE – The Time (1984)

The funniest loverman seduction ever put on record. Why hasn't some enterprising individual made Morris Day their spokesperson? I mean, the possibilities are just limitless. And this song is such a singular vision of purple strings and straightman sass, it just makes me smile every time I hear it.

04) FOREVER IN MY LIFE (1987)

A studio error gives rise to one of the most enduring love songs ever written. If I ever get married (yes, I know, we've talked about it- I want a wedding, not a marriage), this song will play, mark my words.

03) WHEN DOVES CRY (1983)

If you want evidence as to why radio was millions of times better in the mid-80s than it is today, let's note that this was a massive hit (the biggest of Prince's career) that changed radio, clubs, MTV, and the movies. It is such a singular and masterful expression that I just trip out on its utter magnificence. Even today, nothing else sounds quite like it.

02) MOUNTAINS (1986)

With all the ongoing debate about what the Revolution did or didn't do, I always like to point to this masterpiece. Prince, Wendy, Lisa, Dr. Fink, Brown Mark, Bobby Z, Sheila E, Atlanta Bliss, Eric Leeds, and Miko Weaver. The Counterrevolution, but damn if I don't find something new in this track every time I hear it. Prince made magic when writing with Wendy & Lisa, and this song stands eternal as testament to it.

01) THE BEAUTIFUL ONES (1984)

Is it any wonder Susannah went with him? If someone had written this for you, wouldn't you follow them anywhere?

and then, the song we'll never hear, but that plays in the heart of every Prince fan...

One evening shortly after Susannah (Melvoin)'s departure, [recording engineer] Susan Rogers could tell something was very wrong when Prince came down to the basement studio. Looking disconsolate and barely speaking, he began constructing a song around a melancholy piano pattern. His spoken lyrics portrayed a fictional dialogue between himself and Wally Safford, a dancer in the band. Sounding sad and lost, Prince asks Wally to borrow $50 and some sunglasses so he can impress his lover, but then changes his mind and returns the items, telling Wally that since he is alone now, he has no one to spend the money on. Prince was accompanied only by piano throughout the verse, but guitar, bass, and drums enter as the song built into a chorus on which he sings the phrase, "o-ma-la-di-da."

Watching Prince construct the song, which he called "Wally," Rogers was stunned by the honest emotion and wistful resignation it conveyed. She saw the song both as a farewell to Susannah and a means of expelling the poison of a failed relationship.

"Do you know that malady means sickness, illness in French?" Prince asked Rogers, referring to the phrase he sings in the chorus. "It's almost like the word melody, isn't it?" Prince, who rarely exposed his inner feelings, even in his music, was groping for a metaphor that would convey his feelings of loss. Rogers felt it was a turning point in his songwriting.

But as the session continued, Prince started to distance himself from the creation. He added extraneous instruments that diminished the song's clarity. A percussion part cluttered the verse, detracting from the lyrics.

"Don't you think it was better before, Prince?" Rogers said. "Maybe we should stop." He ignored her, adding a synthesizer riff. Soon it became clear to her: He was intentionally destroying the song. After larding the piece with additional instruments, he finally spoke.

"Now put all 24 channels on record and erase it," he told Rogers.

"No, you can't do this!" Rogers said, dismayed by the prospect of losing the statement at the core of the song.

"If you don't, I will," Prince responded.

Rogers stood her ground, and Prince was forced to operate the soundboard himself as he destroyed his own music. "Wally," like his relationship with Susannah, Wendy, and Lisa, involved more emotional intensity than Prince was willing to accept. "I thought it was the greatest thing he had done," says Rogers. "I had waited years to hear a Prince song like this. I ached to hear him be this honest."

Yet, Prince's refusal to explore his feelings was not altogether surprising. Rogers had discussed the topic of depression with him before and found Prince contemptuous of the very notion. "He thought it was practically a sin to be depressed," she remembered. Many other associates have observed that Prince -- not only in his relationships, but even in his music -- is cryptic and unrevealing of his deepest feelings. "His music is very passionate, but he doesn't let himself open up emotionally," observed Marylou Badeaux. "And look at the way he's dealt with women in his life -- he's not able to get emotional, he just keeps it on the level of sex play."

Though Susannah had never formally been part of the Revolution, her personal and creative influence on Prince from 1983 to 1986 rivaled that of Wendy and Lisa. With her exit from the scene, the Revolution period ended irrevocably. The epitaph of this time would be "Wally," a song no one would hear.

from Possessed: The Rise and Fall of Prince by Alex Hahn.

So, to recap:

The Top 50 Prince songs of all time.

1 The Beautiful Ones
2 Mountains
3 When Doves Cry
4 Forever in my Life
5 Chili Sauce
6 Rebirth of The Flesh
7 Dirty Mind
8 The Ballad of Dorothy Parker
9 Anna Stesia
10 Computer Blue
11 The Grand Progression
12 Letitgo (Sherm Stick Edit)
13 The Dance Electric
14 The Question of U
15 If I was your Girlfriend
16 Love... Thy Will Be Done
17 Condition of the Heart
18 Bob George
19 Stand Back/Little Red Corvette
20 Dance with the Devil
21 Strange Relationship
22 Our Destiny/Roadhouse Garden
23 Joy in Repetition
24 When You Were Mine
25 Others Here With Us
26 Train
27 17 Days
28 Uptown
29 Lovesexy
30 Lisa
31 Manic Monday/1999
32 Circle of Amour
33 All My Dreams
34 200 Balloons
35 Oliver's House
36 Starfish and Coffee
37 Let's Pretend We're Married
38 Sugar Walls
39 When 2 R in Love
40 For You
41 Slow Love
42 Take Me With U
43 There is Lonely
44 Eye Wanna Melt With U
45 Nothing Compares 2 U
46 Moonbeam Levels
47 Black Sweat
48 I Wanna Be Your Lover
49 If a Girl Answers (Don't Hang Up)
50 Peach

At the movies: I am Love (Io sono l'Amore).

2010-07-08T11:55:00.004-05:00

My take on the new Tilda Swinton epic, which I recommend heartily.

At the movies: Eclipse.

2010-07-01T09:43:00.000-05:00

My review of the latest Twilight film, courtesy of the Nashville Scene.

The Love Show.

2010-06-24T18:22:00.003-05:00

Hole are coming to play Nashville in a few days, and I got to write about it in the Nashville Scene. You can read it here.

The one thing that I find kind of interesting is, well- what if she reads it? Ms. Love is not one to hold back, and I really wouldn't want to be on the shitlist of an artist I may very well be seeing in concert.

Who knows?

At the movies: Please Give.

2010-06-24T18:11:00.003-05:00

Nicole Holofcener is one of the finest directors working today, hewing out a fascinating milieu of intelligent characters dealing with real social issues in a way that is never pedantic or dull. She has a gift for incisive writing and getting great performances out of her actors, as well as perennial star/artistic muse/Academy Award nominee Catherine Keener, who makes this film's Kate into one of the most complex and powerfully human characters in all of cinema this year.

Following a triumphant premiere at Sundance earlier this year, Please Give has emerged as a testament to the joy to be found in smart, funny, and empathetic movies about real life, serving as another feather in Holofcener's cap.

Kate works with her husband, running a store which sells furniture salvaged from estates of the recently-deceased. Business is good, thriving even, but so is an innate sense of guilt that threatens her ability to relate to humanity in general.

Adding to this is her next-door neighbor, a foul-tempered old woman whose imminent death will allow Kate and her family to buy her apartment and expand their home. Kate is a moderately prosperous woman who desperately wants to find a way to give back, yet finds herself stymied by her own schizophrenic relationship with money.

Going back almost fifteen years, all the way to the still-sharp Walking and Talking, Holofcener hasn't made a false move yet. Please Give is another triumph for her, giving years' worth of detail and emotional resonance in just ninety minutes.

The supporting cast is superb, and Amanda Peet, an actress I've been previously ambivalent toward, is nothing less than amazing in this film. And something else I'd not expected- I've never had the experience of a film placing you so precisely in a specific sociopolitical universe as this film manages in its staggering opening credits sequence. Without words, without obvious signposts, it grabs you and the only sensible option is to be swept away.

At the movies: Mother and Child.

2010-06-20T14:39:00.003-05:00

So the Nashville Scene ran my review for Mother and Child, and I am linking to it dutifully. I hope you enjoy it.

At the movies: The Secret in their Eyes.

2010-06-20T14:35:00.005-05:00

This Argentine import came out of nowhere and shocked a large amount of the viewing public when it won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film this year, beating out higher-profile nominees like A Prophet and The White Ribbon.

With its bifurcate time period and a willingness to keep scenes languid, the film isn’t exactly a breezy romp. But its combination of enduring mystery and off-kilter love story meshes together well, and audiences who’ve been digging The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (that would be, everyone- that film has legs like a Rockette or a Clydesdale) will find much here to enjoy and contemplate.

Recently retired judge Benjamin Esposito is trying to put his free time to use, writing a novel that springs from a tragic rape/murder case from several decades back in his career. It means going back through legal documentation, revisiting some of his own tragic moments, and reintroducing himself into the life of Irene, the love of his life, now a senior legal official herself.

Can he find the necessary inspiration to delve into the writing of his book? Can he finally crack the case that sat in the back of his mind for decades? And can he finally figure out what his feelings for Irene really are?

The shockingly reactionary politics that drive the film are problematic, especially because the look and feel of the film is spectacular, with a central mystery that tangles in a few unexpected ways. Stopping just short of endorsing violence for reckless eyeballing, this is a film that just wants to deal with how wounded souls deal with the passage of time, and its scenes are often masterfully constructed and pulled off well.

The central performances are great, and the structure, at times, feels like an early 80s giallo- full of meticulous composition and baroque stories. Worth your time, certainly, though you'll find that it's the peripheral glimpses into Argentine jurisprudence that resonate with the deepest mysteries.

At the movies: Exit through the Gift Shop.

2010-06-20T14:30:00.005-05:00

The worlds of film and art have both been sideswiped by this movie, racking up a sizable amount of controversy as to just how real the whole thing is- whether or not it is an actual document of one man’s conquering of the art world by being at the right place at the right time or simply a remarkably-researched and executed farce, manufactured by artists to deliver an acid-soaked love letter to their constituency.

Regardless, the film is a delight, stuffed to the gills with drama, pervasive humor, and a remarkable look at the processes by which artists, both real and imagined, create their work.

This is the story of Thierry Guetta, a Los Angeleno who went from selling overpriced vintage clothing to an object-struck public to becoming self-manufactured art superstar “Mr. Brainwash” in a decade, just by constantly filming everything around him and learning exactly the right lessons on how to commodify and sell art. Along the way, he extensively documented the beginnings of street art, befriending and assisting with every artist he could find on an international level.

But when he finally met elusive genius Banksy, everything in his world changed completely, and the end result is as corrosive and fascinating an autocritique of art culture as you’ll see anywhere this year.

The idea of a comprehensive street art documentary is intriguing, but this isn’t it. To start with Shepherd Fairey and not even address Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, René, or Cost + Revs seems limited to begin with. But we’re dealing with a very specific place in contemporary art, so let’s put that aside.

Whether you see it as an inside look into the world of street art that mutates into a documentary about evolving with a voracious marketplace, a prankish tweak of the mercurial nature of the art establishment, or a Frankenstein-like cautionary tale about what can happen when one is a bit too supportive, Exit Through The Gift Shop is a breezy, brilliant film with lots of laughs and a remarkable discussion piece for anyone even remotely interested in art, both as a concept and as a business.

I'm still not sure whether the whole thing is real, and I find that my certainties become less so as time passes by.

At the movies: Shrek Forever After.

2010-06-20T14:25:00.007-05:00

When animated films reach a certain level of success and they aren’t made by Pixar, they more often than not become self-perpetuating enterprises, with sequels and other ancillaries cranked out to maintain awareness with a fanbase that has proven themselves interested in the brand. It’s a good sign that the makers of the Shrek films have gone in a new direction with this latest film (after the unspeakably awful third film),one that moves in a more contemplative sphere and that addresses issues of family burnout and female empowerment- again, the philosophy seems to be 'design for the kids but write for the adults.' The audience, at this time, is a foregone conclusion.

Frustrated by his increasingly domestic life, the once-feared Shrek longs for a simpler time, when villagers fled from him instead of basking in his fame; before Fiona, and Donkey, and the rest of his friends. Well, he makes the mistake of entering into a pact with the scheming Rumplestilskin and finds himself in a mad universe where he never existed. So it’s an ogre to his own rescue, reencountering all of the elements of the previous films (though the third film is, for the most part, skipped over) in new and weirder ways.

It’s no How To Train Your Dragon, but Shrek Forever After is a definite step in the right direction after the boring third film. The actors know these characters inside and out, and Eddie Murphy’s role as supporting jukebox ends up paying off periodically to great effect. The influx of witches (who live on the outskirts of town in a carriage park) add a new texture to the story, and the villainous Rumpelstilskin has a certain Jack Black/snakemanlike charm.

I am once again annoyed by the determination with which movies seem to value boring family life (their depiction, not my evaluation) above everything else, but Shrek Forever After is a pleasant family entertainment, with at least one line so unexpectedly great that I jostled my glasses off my face from laughing.

Unlike crappy post-processed 3D (Clash of the Titans, this means you), Shrek Forever After was designed and animated for stereoscopic viewing, so you can feel safe spending your 3D moviegoing dollars and not worry about paying a premium for an afterthought.

A sort of update.

2010-06-20T14:22:00.003-05:00

I've been away for a bit. I haven't gone anywhere per se, but after the flood and the ongoing oil spill, I've been kind of a mess. I've still been writing, I've still been working, but I haven't made a point of keeping the blog updated, mainly because I've been kind of a downer for the past six or seven weeks.

So I am back, updating this blog and trying to lead a productive electronic life. I hope you enjoy it.

For those of you who didn't know-

2010-05-09T01:54:00.004-05:00

and there are apparently many throughout the world, my hometown of Nashville, Tennessee got flooded during a torrential bipartite downpour last weekend. There are a horrifying number of people who have lost everything- their homes, their possessions, their vehicles, their pets, some would say their very selves.

I was lucky. Luckier than most.

My house flooded, I lost a bunch of stuff, and I've spent the past week hopping from one friend's couch to another, trying to keep on keeping on, as the axiom goes. I'm back in my home, with a place of my own to sleep in, and I am grateful.

But I can't even begin to express the surreality of the situation, and part of me (perhaps praeteritively) questions whether I should even try. The water shortages are a hurdle, to be sure, and there's nowhere in the city you can go that isn't offering up personalized devastation, sitting in the front of thousands of yards. And the number of homeless pets is heartwrenching; I've seen so many animals in and around the city, with collars and a frantic look on their faces, trying to find home.

But there's something that feels completely off in the air, and it isn't just the near-omnipresent stank of stagnating water (or the mosquitoes that ensue in such situations). I love this city, in the way that you can only love something that occasionally threatens to push you over the edge into madness. I love this city like an old married couple who occasionally exchange gunfire at one another while remaining completely devoted to one another.

The way to avoid feeling helpless, they say, is to help others. And that's exactly right.

In the words of Haven Hamilton, "They can't do this to us here in Nashville! Let's show them what we're made of."

A Trip down Elm Street (after).

2010-05-09T01:50:00.001-05:00

So, in addition to all the other horrifying foolishness that happened last weekend, I saw the Elm Street remake. You can read my thoughts on it in the Nashville Scene. It's a staggering disappointment.

At the movies: Notorious.

2010-04-29T16:33:00.002-05:00

Thank to the folks at the Nashville Scene, here's my pick for this week's Belcourt screening of 1946's Notorious. Which for some reason is illustrated with a photo from the Notorious B.I.G. biopic. Which is kind of funny.

A Trip down Elm Street (before).

2010-04-29T00:33:00.003-05:00

Louisville gets the Original, uncontaminated by the remake.
Elm Street 1.0

Why You should come to Midnight Movies at the Belcourt.

2010-04-23T06:37:00.004-05:00

So I mentioned the proposal that happened at a midnight screening of The Room a little while back, and there's video. I pop up around 2 minutes in, the proposal happens at 2:55.

Never a dull moment, and that's how it should be.

In memoriam: Dixie Carter.

2010-04-11T01:05:00.004-05:00

I just found out that Dixie Carter had died, and it hit me very hard. For my entire adult life and most of my childhood, she has been the personification of wit and great lines, because of Designing Women, yes, to a certain extent, but mostly because of Filthy Rich, a sitcom that ran on CBS from 1982-1983.

Carter's character, Carlotta Beck, was scheming and conniving and willing to do anything to get at the fortune left by her deceased father-in-law Big Guy Beck. But along the way, she had some of the great lines of television history, and next to no one knows about this show. So as a tribute to the memory of the late, great Dixie Carter, here are my seventeen favorite lines she ever delivered on this underseen gem.

You may recognize some of these, if only because I've been quoting them for the past twenty-five years.

"I became confused and forced it out of a small child's hand."

"You want to know what happened to me, I'll tell you what happened to me. I fell into the Mississippi River."

"We do not serve- gristle."

"If you refuse to pay servants, you leave us no choice but to adopt small, pliant children from underprivileged countries."

"This should be put on wheels and taken around to people everywhere to show that it could happen in your home too."

"How I hate it when she pummels us with clever repartee..."

"Yes, I want you hurt."

"If I looked in the mirror I would see someone demented, and frothing, and looking for just the right size axe."

"Kathleen, dear, I suggest you stay out of this or I will verbally annihilate you. I will cut you off at the knees. I will take that two-cent accent and perfectly coiffed hairdo and stuff it down your demurely concealed, but nevertheless dimestore cleavage!"

"We prefer not to seriously consider the opinion of a woman whose dog wears hot pants."

"Bootsie Weschester's taste in men ranges from King Kong to Lil' Abner and unfortunately, you do not fall into that category."

"It must be all that fresh morning air you get on those long taxi rides home."

"Marshall- thunder!"

"Our only regret is that we did not have time to purchase an appropriate gift. Perhaps a silver platter with rabbits on it."

"You've been meditating again... your pupils are dilated."

"Don't tell us! Random House has decided to publish your autobiography, I Was an Elementary School Virgin."

"Nouveau white trash."