Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn

OTBKB Film by Pops Corn: The Missing Person

The  same night I saw Precious I saw The Missing Person, a movie whose lack of publicity is the polar opposite of the Oprah-Tyler Perry machine behind Precious.  I was one of six lone men in the audience—the total audience—until a pair of women entered just as the theater went dark.  Their appearance surprised me until their opening credit cheer for editor Mollie Goldstein explained it.

Seeing The Missing Person right after Precious rendered it somewhat forgettable, but it is a solid indie noir update with more on its mind than just recalling Bogie.  The film follows a P.I. who takes a job tracking a man.  While on the trail, he puts together the puzzle of why they are both there. The shadow of 9/11, like WWII’s shadow over classic period noir, hangs over the film and ultimately it recalls Gone Baby Gone as the lead discovers that the right thing is murky, so you can’t always do it.

Michael Shannon plays the lead.  I could watch him in anything.  And when I looked back after his outstanding Oscar-nominated work in Revolutionary Road, I realized that I have seen him in everything over the years.  He sinks his teeth into the investigator role here.  Drained of color, the photography also turned me on to the film.  Some of the darkest images I’ve ever seen, not in tone nor production design.  Just actual light.  In one sequence, a close-up of Shannon hardly even picks up on the whites of his eyes.  It was a calculated risk and one that surely hurt distribution, but as me, five other loaners, the editor and her friend know, one worth checking out.

OTBKB Film by Pops Corn: Loving Precious While Embracing the Backlash

Call me Switzerland.  Call me a flip-flopper.  While I love Precious, I’ve been fascinated by the backlash and even appreciated the coverage.  Armond White’s front cover (!) slam in the New York Press is already somewhat legendary, and with White being the Pres of the NY Film Critics’ Circle, this will cost it some pre-Oscar award-gobbling.  The Times’ A.O. Scott compared Precious to The Blind Side, and while not a hatchet job, it only invokes negative comments from  his peers. Even Moviefone got in on the hate.  The backlash against Precious has been as swift as it comes. Opening weekend even.

I love White’s perceptive piece and Scott’s is just as compelling. Both prove that Precious is a film you react to.  In some cases you’re dared to.  Is it a film about the black experience for white people?  Does it enforce stereotypes?  Is the constant dread too thick?  It is a film that gets you talking and seeing it with an audience makes for a great moviegoing experience.

First there’s the required racial breakdown of the audience.  Mine was about 80% white, 20% black.  Reactions varied throughout the film and at the end I overheard priceless stuff.  “I thought I would I cry more,” complained half of the couple who were the only other end credit stayers.  Meanwhile, wailing emanated from the women’s room, as one audience member couldn’t pull it together.  Myself, I came out of the movie thinking about my own parenting and what my life’s achievements have been.  The power of the film definitely resonated for me.  It’s a movie that challenges audiences to think about race and to face ugliness.  Not just the violent, dismal portrayal of poverty, but also the ugliness of our cultural beliefs.  The use of fried chicken and McDonald’s, game show footage, Precious’ white-obsessed fantasies, all add up to an experience that can be uncomfortable and is sparking impassioned debate.  And the pitch of the film—typical for director Lee Daniels—is very, very high.  It crossed a few lines for me with certain clichés and choices, but it’s designed to push those buttons; not being numb to them is a good sign.

--Pops Corn

Opening Today (Veterans Day): The Good Soldier, Doc by Park Slope Filmmakers

 

The Good Soldier, a powerful documentary directed by two Park Slope filmmakers, Lexy Lovell and Michael Uys (DGA, Los Angeles Film Critics, and Peabody Award winners for Riding the Rails), is being called "incendiary," and "affecting" 

The film follows the journeys of five combat veterans from different generations of American wars as they sign up, go into battle, and eventually change their minds about what it means to be a good soldier. The film opens on November 11 (Armistice Veterans Day) at 7PM at the Village East Cinema, 2nd Ave at 12th Street in Manhattan. 212-529-6799

Here's what Jason Albert of the Onion has to say:

"It's hard to imagine watching a more affecting movie than The Good Soldier ... because it may be as affecting a movie as I've ever seen. It took one seemingly simple question—What makes a good soldier?—and reduced the answer to its essence. That being, the ability to kill other human beings. Using the voices of veterans from WWII, Vietnam, the Gulf War, and Iraq, each gave this exact same answer, and they all spoke not only of their guilt and regret, but also of how at some point during their time in the military they needed to kill. Their reasons were different, but the training that gave them the skills and permission was not. I found it both hard to watch and hard to turn away from, and I know I'll never look at the words ‘collateral damage' in the same way again. Really powerful stuff."

Music by JJ Grey and Mofro, CSNY, Nine Inch Nails, Big Bill Broonzy, Edwin Starr, Carly Comando, Muslimgauze, and Jimmie Lunceford.

The Good Soldier by Park Slope Doc Filmakers Opens on Veterans Day

The Good Soldier, a powerful documentary directed by two Park Slope filmmakers, Lexy Lovell and Michael Uys (DGA, Los Angeles Film Critics, and Peabody Award winners for Riding the Rails), is being called "incendiary," and "affecting" 

The film follows the journeys of five combat veterans from different generations of American wars as they sign up, go into battle, and eventually change their minds about what it means to be a good soldier. The film opens on November 11 (Armistice Veterans Day) at 7PM at the Village East Cinema, 2nd Ave at 12th Street in Manhattan. 212-529-6799

Here's what Jason Albert of the Onion has to say:

"It's hard to imagine watching a more affecting movie than The Good Soldier ... because it may be as affecting a movie as I've ever seen. It took one seemingly simple question—What makes a good soldier?—and reduced the answer to its essence. That being, the ability to kill other human beings. Using the voices of veterans from WWII, Vietnam, the Gulf War, and Iraq, each gave this exact same answer, and they all spoke not only of their guilt and regret, but also of how at some point during their time in the military they needed to kill. Their reasons were different, but the training that gave them the skills and permission was not. I found it both hard to watch and hard to turn away from, and I know I'll never look at the words ‘collateral damage' in the same way again. Really powerful stuff."

Music by JJ Grey and Mofro, CSNY, Nine Inch Nails, Big Bill Broonzy, Edwin Starr, Carly Comando, Muslimgauze, and Jimmie Lunceford.

OTBKB Movies: Freaky Cats at BAM

 OTBKB is thrilled to present  a semi-infrequent series of pieces to be contributed about film and written by Pops Corn. He writes: "Thanks for allowing me on your screen.  I promise not to always cover weird horror.  It's seasonal."

BAM gets real loose consistently every year at Halloween.  A few years back, they shocked me by busting out the truly (and unjustly) unloved Halloween III: Season of the Witch. 

Screening a much maligned sequel in a typical arthouse setting wasn't enough - they dedicated a day to it. I'm a bit obsessed with this film in part because of the song that plays frequently in a commercial throughout the film.  So, God--scratch that,Satan, as per the holiday--bless them for that wonderful Halloween a few years back that was enjoyed by me and about 7 other people. 

BAM strikes again this Halloween with the miniature dual film series beautifully titled Freaky Cats. 

 

It's honorable enough to show Sleepwalkers for a day, a true B-movie Stephen King adaptation with character actress Alice Krige at her most unhinged (and incestuous).  

But the don't-miss item appears to be a 1977 Japanese film called House (Hausu).  I have yet to see this one, but I was introduced to the mind-blowing trailer  If the trailer is at all indicative of the movie, it is certain to be a masterpiece of the bizarre.  One day only - October 31st.

--Pops Corn

This Weekend: Red Hook Film Festival Dedicated to Robert Guskind

The Third Annual Red Hook International Film Festival will be dedicated to Robert Guskind, the legendary blogger who created the much missed blog Gowanus Lounge. Guskind died in February.

The festival's opening film will be Blue Barn Picture's special tribute to Guskind.  According to festival planners, "the entire festival is dedicated to Robert Guskind, to The Gowanus Lounge, and to local storytelling."

The Red Hook Film Festival takes place on October 3rd and 4th at the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition screening room at 499 Van Brunt Street.  The screenings begin at 1pm on Saturday Oct. 3rd, with "Robert Guskind: 1958-2009" by Blue Barn Pictures, followed by a special 10th anniversary screening of the seminal Brooklyn documentary "Lavendar Lake: Brooklyn's Gowanus Canal" directed by Alison Prete.

The rest of the weekend will feature short film gems from neighborhoods around Brooklyn, including pieces about a Bushwick tailor, rooftop farms in Greenpoint, the Atlantic Yards boondoggle, Coney Island's lost roller coaster, Williamsburg industry, and a whole program of films about Red Hook!

The screening schedule can be seen online at www.redhookfilmfest.com and at www.myspace.com/redhookfilmfestival

web: www.redhookfilmfest.com
myspace: www.myspace.com/redhookfilmfestival
facebook: www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=165019430983

Nursery University: The Movie

Nursery University is a feature documentary that is described by the filmakers "a film which reveals the oddly competitive, yet often humorous, world of nursery school admissions." The film will be at Cobble Hill Cinema on May 1, 2009. For more information go to the film's website.

Ah, yes. A subject close to home to many in Park Slope.

 The film tells the story of five families – each with different backgrounds and economic circumstances – attempting to place their toddlers in prestigious Manhattan preschools that have limited spaces and high price tags.

NURSERY UNIVERSITY follows the families’ journeys while also going behind the scenes with the experts that advise them and the school directors who must determine which “applicants” to allow through their doors. Enjoy the insanity in this sweeter look at the social issues, and the little darlings at the center of all the fuss.

Film Set in Coney Island at Anthology Film Archives (With Rip Torn)

Coming up tomorrow, Saturday March 14 at 7:15pm at Anthology Film Archives in the East Village, NYC

 Anthology Film Archives is thrilled to present a special sneak-preview of the new film by Angelica and Tony Torn, a Coney Island-set drama featuring a special appearance by the filmmakers’ father, Rip. A chance encounter with her childhood sweetheart leads Virginia (Angelica Torn) to discover hidden truths about her boyfriend and her neighborhood that she has chosen to ignore.

Over the last explosive weekend of the summer she must decide whether to abandon everything she’s ever known to the wolf-pack of developers buying up and tearing down the Coney Island boardwalk, or to sacrifice herself to the world that’s been created for her. Angelica Torn’s luminescent performance beautifully carries the film, which casts a beguiling spell in the manner of Alan Rudolph’s early work. (2008, 103 minutes, video.

 With Angelica Torn, Federico Castelluccio, Luke Zarzecki, Will Patton and Tony Torn.) Directions: Anthology is at 32 Second Ave. at 2nd St. Subway: F or V to 2nd Ave; 6 to Bleecker. Tickets: $9 general; $8 Essential Cinema (free for members); $7 for students, seniors, & children (12 & under); $6 AFA members.

Feb 10-12: Silent Films With Live Music at the World Financial Center

Three nights this week. Three silent films at the World Financial Center. Sponsored by WNYC's New Sounds Live with John Schaefer He was on 2008's Park Slope 100.

Sounds of the Surreal - Tuesday, February 10th at 7PM
The Golem -Wednesday, February 11th at 7PM
Man With A Movie Camera - Thursday, February 12th at 7PM

World Financial Center
220 Vesey Street
Battery Park City Directions
Admission FREE

» New Sounds Live 2008-2009 Concert Season

The long-awaited annual winter film series returns to the World Financial Center featuring classic silent films set to innovative and energetic scores by Gary Lucas, the BQE Ensemble, and The Cinematic Orchestra.

Each night, starting at 7PM, experience a different film and its inventive new music score.

On Tuesday night, Feb. 10, Gary Lucas performs ghostly improvisational solo guitar for three surrealist films: "Entr’acte", "Ballet Mecanique", and "The Cameraman’s Revenge."

Wednesday evening, Feb. 11, the BQE Project’s palette of exotic instruments from Middle Eastern drums to mandolin accompanies “The Golem.”

And on Thursday night, Feb. 12, the Cinematic Orchestra’s moody, electronica-tinged jazz-funk follows "Man with a Movie Camera." And it's all FREE!

All performances will be taped for later broadcast on New Sounds, airs 11pm-midnight every night on WNYC 93.9 FM (these will probably air March or April).