Catching up with Jason Shawhan.

Greetings, and my unlimited love to y'all.

So there's several things going on, and let's just bullet point this and get a move on (I have to go get some CD-Rs, Orange Mango Pineapple juice, and an iridescent sharpie from my local 24-hour emporium of stuff).

1) I had an amazing conversation with Jonny Gowow for the Scene. He's got a show coming up this week, and an album called Wide Stance that is worth your time and dollar$.

2) The VVitch opened this weekend, and I reviewed it over at the Scene. I've been getting a lot of attention for this review, which is always a good feeling, and if you're thinking about going to see it, or if you already have and are looking for some discussion, give it a read.

3) The Belcourt Theatre is currently closed for renovations, but has an amazing array of offsite events for the whole city of Nashville. The theatre has been closed since December 25th of last year, and its absence is like a thousand papercuts every day. I never feel its absence more than around midnight on the weekends, because I miss hosting the midnight screenings more than anyone can possibly know.

4) The Agents of Fortune, the comedy extravaganza I've been writing for over the past fourteen months, had its last live episode performance tonight, and I'm completely bowled over by it. It was never easy, but I'm proud of it, and look forward to its next incarnation and events. Yes, I am part of its tasteful underwear calendar, because I believe in art, and it's very rare that you get a chance to pay tribute to Tono Stano in print.

5) I'm going to Los Angeles at the beginning of March to visit some friends, take photos of revered locations, have some adventures, and maybe a few meetings on the industry side of things. I love being creative and funny, and am a big fan of making a few dollar$ as such. If you're a reader in the L.A. area, say Hi and show me your favorite parts of the city.

6) This is rumor control; here are the facts. There is no 100% reliable test for EoA (early-onset Alzheimer's), and the options available are pretty expensive and not easy to come by before a certain age. So I'm taking that aspect of things slowly. Until I hear back from the government regarding my appeal on my tax credit situation, I'm not interested in pushing the insurance envelope. So I'm just trying to be observant over the next few months. Though if you, or anyone you know, are a neurologist, I'm very interested in participating in research involving EoA linked to damage caused by/as a symptom of Klippel-Feil Syndrome. So feel free to help do a signal boost on that end.

7) As always, you can listen to a bunch of my clubmixes on my Mixcloud page. There's thirty-five different mixes currently, ranging from twelve minutes to 2 1/2 hours. As well as the first eighteen episodes of my weekly mixshow, Erase; Rewind (that Facebook page also has the tracklistings for every episode, so if there's one you like that hasn't been set up for streaming on Mixcloud, you can submit a request and I will do so), minus those awful commercials. Please do give a listen.

That's all for now. Be well, and be excellent to one another.

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

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: Zack and Miri Make a Porno.

In a way, Zack and Miri Make a Porno is the perfect synthesis of what defines the cinema of writer/director Kevin Smith. Coarse and liberatingly filthy, it also wears its deeply-felt emotions emblazoned on its proverbial sleeve, and the two modes of thought actually combine rather nicely. It’s been a source of amusement to see the minor controversies that have risen up (from the film’s initial poster and now, its title) around the film, because it’s an American film with a truly liberated and responsible sensibility about sex, recognizing that the act of love is complex and can be recreational, nasty, liberating, profitable, or life-changing in its impact, and sometimes mixing those elements around beyond easy definition.

So why exactly do Zack and Miri make a porno? Mostly a combination of financial crisis and long-term comfortability. Bills have to get paid, and options are few and far between. So they take inspiration from what the world has given them (and an encounter with adult film star Brandon St. Randy, played here by comic treasure Justin Long) and decide to put themselves out there for the world to see. One can see many of the emotions that motivated Smith in the making of his first film, 1994’s Clerks, on display here in the ragtag “let’s put on a show” enthusiasm he gets from the cast (with special accolades due Craig Robinson, from Knocked Up and Pineapple Express, who steals every scene in the movie), and you also are allowed to see cult icon Traci Lords make peace with her past in the adult film industry. The balance between sleazy and sweet is maintained here much better than in any of Smith’s films since his 1997 masterpiece Chasing Amy, and it boggles the mind to think that a film this sweet and heartwarming can also feature one of the nastiest things I’ve ever seen in a mainstream comedy. I’m talking Salo filthy. I’m talking Jackass filthy. I’m talking Sweet Movie filthy.

The first ten minutes are a bit rough, and there are some emotional shifts that seem a bit abrupt in the latter third, but for the most part, Zack and Miri is a delight. There are countless scenes which on their own could have made the movie worth seeing (the Brandon Routh/Justin Long sequences, a surprise use of Bronski Beat, a discussion of Lost, unscrupulous realtor Tom Savini, the Jermaine Stewart-scored closing credits, boating equipment from the Netherlands, and a few others), but in conjunction with one another, you have the most satisfying film Smith has made this decade. *** ½