Movies of 2011 in Short Review

Midnight in Paris -- This funny little film that is written and directed by Woody Allen starts off much like "Manhattan." This time we get Paris with its beautiful buildings and canals, and its streets sparkling with rain. Our protagonist is not Allen but Owen Wilson playing the part of Gil a screenwriter who longs to be a novelist. This dream is criticized by his fiancée who needs to be kept in a certain lifestyle that dreamers can't afford. One night a magical thing happens at midnight and Gil is taken to the 1920's. A time he has always fantasized about. Night after night he meets all the Lost Generations stars Cole Porter, Josephine Baker, and Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Even Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein and Pablo Picasso. As Gil spends his days with upper class Americans his nights are filled with the who's who of the Jazz Age. Will he decide to stay in the 1920's or go back to the present and make his life in the "here and now" all that he longs for.


Melancholia -- This strange story written and directed by Lars Von Trier, is typical of most of his films. It is dark and disturbing, it builds slowly in many directions and ends with a bang. This is how he brings the general public, who spend their lives in the real world, into his mind fulled with the twist and turns of this awkward genius. In this film Kirsten Dunst is a depressive bride that has everything and still seems to be a discontent. Bring into play that a planet from the far riches of space is coming to swing passed earth and you get a story line that is all Von Trier. Charlotte Gainsbourg plays another stellar part for the director as the sister that worries that this might be the end.




A Dangerous Method -- In most Cronenberg films there is an underlining characteristic of sexual Deviance. So its about time he made a film that comes right out and says "'aren't we all sexual deviants?" How does one make a film about sex and the human condection? Well, just go back into history. like the "Kinsey" film about the life of Alfred Kinsey, Cronenberg has chosen science to portray how we all think about sex. This film goes back to examine Dr.Sigmund Freud's "Talking Cure." Young Psychiatrist Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) uses Freud's (Viggo Mortensen) method on a young Jewish women who has history of sexual abuse, played by Keira Knightley. Knightley seems to shine in any period piece and this is no exception. Fassbender is not in her shadow in this film, but is right there next to her showing intelligence and poise. When this women is sent to the asylum she becomes the heart of the Jung/Freud relationship. This film makes one feel like dusting off some old books to study Freud and the human condection in depth.

Elf Girl By Rev Jen

This holiday season on a sunny day in the L.E.S. one might just see a real elf walking her dog. This would seem strange living in Chicago or Boston, but here in New York everything can and will happen. This place is a mecca for artiest, weirdos, and outsiders. Wrap all these into one and put elf ears on top and you get Rev Jen. Aka Elf Girl the “patron saint of the uncool.” She lives her life in a fun and unexpected way and puts it all into words that paint a wonderfully uncool picture of how to "make it" in lower downtown. Her book starts with a job at Bloomingdale's as a Christmas Elf and continues in such a flirtatious manner that it is hard to put down. She makes writing look easy the way she runs through her jobs as an elf, Slurpee Technician and Curator of the Troll Museum. This is not just a coming of age story for nonconformist. It is almost a how to in being yourself and getting that self out to the masses. She has so many Ideas and takes them as far as they will go. Like Doo-Doo the Hard drinking Teletubby or Rats, the shortest running show on Broadway. As life in the LES gets bigger and more and more upscale its nice to know that there are still the underground artists walking around with elf ears.

To get more on REv Jen check out:
Live Nude Elf: The Sexperiments of Reverend Jen
Reverend Jen's Really Cool Neighborhood/Les Misrahi
The Adventures of Electra Elf: The Complete Series on DVD
Or go to an Anti-slam:
http://www.revjen.com/antislam/index.html
and check out:
http://www.revjen.com/
or vist the Troll Museum!

Book Then Movie: The Rum Diary

This book was not one that was a big success for Hunter S. Thompson. He said in an interview on Public Television that it had "bounced about seven times." The letters of rejection keep on coming and he let it lie. He only came back to his story made up from the chatter of reporters at San Juan Star in 1960, because "it's got a romantic notion." Then it was finally published in 1998. This "story" of a American journalist who takes a freelance job in Puerto Rico in the 1950s is written with the reflections of a much older man. This tone was set by Thompson only being 22 when he went down to Puerto Rico with thoughts of writing for the newspaper only to get denied. He spent his time getting drunk and getting the "real" story from the other American drifters on the island at the time. This book is about the Hunter before...Before the 60's and 70's. Before Loathing, and the Campaign Trail. This is a younger Thompson. One just starting his way with words. The public had to read it after getting to know the Gonzo Journalist. The public will have to do the same for the Movie. The Johnny Deep character from "Fear and Loathing" is Hunter S. Thompson for some people. Those people will have to get to know the other Thompson, the one that came before.

Two Joans on the Beach at the Anthology Film Archives!

Last Thursday the Anthology Film Archives hosted a kick off party for "Joan's Digest: A Film Quarterly." Things where set up to celebrate everything Joan. The films on screen both have Joan's and both are on the beach. "Which Joan do you Prefer, Crawford or Bennett?" First was Crawford in "Female On The Beach." This 1955 drama about a beach house that has some strange secrets. The nice young man that keeps his boat at the dock, the friendly older couple just down the water. and the bright and smiling real Real Estate agent all seem to be apart of the perfect beach community. They are all a little to interested when Crawford moves in, but who would not want a beautiful neighbor. Joan gets to say some steamy lines and the audience gets to see a lot of Joan's thighs. As the film creeps to the end the whole thing unravels but still is tied up at the end. Next up on the sand is "Woman on the Beach." This Film Noir with Bennett and Robert Ryan is directed by Jean Renoir. The film is set in a small town with troubled people that have troubled relationships. Love and desire blend together with nightmares and lies to send this beach community into real electricity charged situations. Bennett plays another bad girl in the sand. It was a full night of hot and cold running Joan's. The shin-dig for the "Joan Digest" was a night full of fun and film. That night has passed and gone but the Archives is giving people two more chances to decide which Joan is best this Monday and Tuesday. But why chose they both are so great in there own way. Go down and just bask in the glow of two Joan's on the Beach.

Joan's Digest: A Film Quarterly:
http://www.joansdigest.com/

Anthology Film Archives:
http://anthologyfilmarchives.org/
Monday and Tuesday:
7:00 PM
JOAN'S ON THE BEACH: THE WOMAN ON THE BEACH
8:45 PM
JOAN'S ON THE BEACH: FEMALE ON THE BEACH

The Rich Films of Vincente Minnelli at BAM

Anyone who is sick of going to the movies just to watch a DVD projected on to a bigger screen should rush over to BAM in Brooklyn for the last two weeks of their retrospective on one of the master directors in film, Vincente Minnelli. Its hard to control the want to take every night off and go see the sweeping scenes, the crisp close ups, the wonderful almost undecided camera movements of this Director. This is what film is all about. The richness of these movies makes one feel pulled into the screen not pushed away from it like the flat BLU-RAY and CGI films of today. So much has been missed already this fall. BAM has been sprinkling his films over their calender for the last two months and in Oct. has shown New York a full taste of his genius. What is left? Plenty! Lets start with "A Matter of Time" with Ingrid Bergman, Liza Minnelli (Yes she is his daughter), and Charles Boyer. This rarely-shown film was Vincente's last and BAM has brought to us a Swiss Film Archive print with an extra sequence. Shot in Italy this is the story of a once vibrant countess that had many love affairs and was a muse to artists. Minnelli's films have a protagonist that want to bend and shape the world to their liking just to find out that the world is the one doing the shaping of peoples lives. This theme is repeated in most of his work. BAM does touch on his more serious work with "The 4 Horseman of the Apocalypse" and "The Seventh Sin." The "4 Horseman" is about a family that is on both sides of WW2. And "Sin" is about a adulterous doctor’s wife set in China during cholera epidemic. This is a remake of "The Painted Veil" that had Greta Garbo as the wife that wanted change and excitement. Minnelli was brought into this film mid-production and had only to finish a few scenes, but his touches made it the passionate piece of cinema it is. On a lighter note, Vincente was well known for his Comedy and Musicals. Showing soon is one of his best comedy's "The Reluctant Debutante." Made in 1958 this is a story of a father and mother that want to bring their daughter into society, but all she wants is the love of a young drummer. Lets just say he does not fit the bill her parents had written for her. With Rex Harrison, Kay Kendall, and Sandra Dee its not hard to poke fun at the upper crust. Fun is fun and what is more fun then a good musical. Those who do not like these type of film may have never seen Minnelli's efforts in the medium. With most of the retrospective over there are still some of his best musically based films left to see. "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever" is a Streisand picture made when she was young and still had a talent for elaborate parts. Like the one in this film about a woman from Brooklyn that goes a little wacky after being hypnotized. Also there is Judy Holliday's last film that is a laugh riot with Dean Martin in the mix, "Bells Are Ringing." One can not forget "Gigi" witch earned Nine Oscars including Best Director for Minnelli and Best Picture for 1958! Last but not least is "Brigadoon." This is one of the best Musicals ever made and has a lovely story played out by Gene Kelly in one of his best performances. Here he slips into the land of Brigadoon and falls in love. Fantasy and reality fight for dominance in this film. The viewer is picked up and set down in the mind of the director that spent his life going back and forth from the fantasy of Hollywood pictures and the reality that we all live in everyday.

Fritz Lang's Metropolis with Sci-Fi Giveaways!!

Witness a NYC Sci-Fi event this weekend at the Sunshine Cinemas. Come Downtown for "Metropolis" by Fritz Lang. This tale of the future is one of Lang's early German Expressionist films he did before being pushed to move to America during the War, where he mostly made Pulp films. (The Big Heat (1953), While the City Sleeps (1956)) This is the 1984 version of "Metropolis" with Giorgio Moroder's pop-rock soundtrack. Found footage that was cut for the original 1927 Science Fiction Classic is added to this to make it 80 minutes long. On Friday and Saturday night this silent Sci-Fi, the most expensive silent film ever made, is showing at Midnight. As with most Sci-Fi Films the Sunshine Cinemas has some giveaways for those who love all things Science Fiction. So Spend some time this weekend looking to the future to a mega-city and explore the concept of humans abusing technology. http://www.landmarktheatres.com/market/newyork/sunshinecinema.htm
Sunshine Cinema
143 East Houston Street, between 2nd and 1st Ave.
New York, NY 10002
(212) 260-7289
http://nycyouarehere.blogspot.com/2011/02/while-city-sleeps-with-fritz-lang-at.html

Lyonel Feininger at the Whitney One More Week!

The Whitney Museum of American Art is showcasing a New York born artist that moved to Germany and was a leading force in German Expressionism and the Bauhaus. Lyonel Feininger spent fifty years of his life in Germany before the Nazi's dislike of Modern Art made him come home to the Big Apple. Feininger started out as a Cartoonist before taking his characters to new places with Cubism and other forms of Expressionism. This retrospective is all encompassing. Its not just the paintings he is none for of architecture, street scenes and fractured seascapes. Here there are beautiful examples in watercolor and oil, and small wood block prints made of the tops of Cigar boxes when painting supplies became scarce during the war. Along with a small group of the early cartoons. Also a room full of hand-carved wooden figures and buildings, little sculptures of his world, his city, only known as City at the Edge of the World. Now for a small fee one can drift into this world uptown on 75Th Street.


Whitney Museum of American Art
945 Madison Avenue at 75Th Street
New York, NY 10021
General Information: (212) 570-3600
info@whitney.org


General admission: $18
Ages 19–25: $12
Ages 62 and over: $12
Full-time students: $12
Ages 18 and under: FREE
Admission is pay-what-you-wish on Fridays, 6–9 pm