march media log
MOVIES
How to Lose Friends and Alienate People - This movie doesn't know what it wants to be. I can very much handle ambiguity in films; this isn't that. It's just messy and scattered. I like the idea... a gossip rag dude who is basically paid by celebrities and rich/famous people to write stupid fluffy magazine pieces about themselves, when he really wants to be a sassy, incisive journalist. Also, he's an awful idiot who alienates everyone... but apparently he's supposed to funny and like, in the right a lot of the time? Sympathetic? I dunno. It's gross. Much of the cast is made up of really talented actors, and they're just wasted. And poor Kristen Dunst. I feel bad for her but she's also kind of a dead-eyed monster who is a terrible actress.
Oscar-nominated Animated Short Films - Super good and fun. This is becoming a yearly thing. I really enjoy catching them! I went with a whole pack of friends and we traded around delicious contraband snacks and all almost fell asleep like puppies in the warm, dark theater. Fuuuun!
Who Framed Roger Rabbit? - Trash Film Debauchery pick. There's a surprising amount of kind of mature stuff going on in this movie; the whole plot is about beloved landmarks being paved over by a highway, and the change from a Los Angeles filled with cheap public transportation to a place where everyone has to drive everywhere, and consumerism takes over. Seriously!
Crime Story pilot - Grittier than I would've expected from a TV show. Directed by Abel Ferrara!
To Have and Have Not - The movie where Bogart and Bacall supposedly fell in love. The plot was slightly boring (and suuuper similar to Casablanca) but the chemistry between the two kept it lively. So sassy!
The Fighter - Good performances. Total sports movie about my favorite sport, boxing. I love love loved those red-haired sisters!
Time Masters - Weird French animation (design by Moebius!) with some weird timing problems (editing/pacing choices), but entertaining nonetheless.
Due Date - Yeah, it was stupid, but it was funny. Parts are unbelievable even for a wacky buddy comedy flick. I liked that Robert Downey Jr was so mean in it.
The Kid - Charlie Chaplin movie (see live music section below)
BOOKS
"H.": Autobiography of a Child Prostitute and Heroin Addict by Christiane F. - SO GOOD. Good luck trying to find a copy, I guess. One of several awesome books lent to me by C. that I am working my way through. He's lent me some of my favorites books that I've read in the past few years. More carefully considered personal recommendations from good friends, please!
The Painted Bird by Serzy Kosinski - I guess probably some of you have heard of this since it's pretty famous. A brutal, "war is hell" story about a boy's fate during World War II. He is driven from place to place and abused, and witnesses monstrous acts. The prose gets subtly more sophisticated (and gruesome) as he ages from about five to twelve or so. I read it all in one night, but so filled me with horror that I hesitate to recommend it. Reminiscent of the film Come and See. Definitely not so flattering to the small villages of Eastern Europe (Poland?). Apparently the book is quite controversial for a number of reasons (and has been charged by critics as "Holocaust pornography" - whoa) like for example the author initially tried to pass off this fiction book as autobiography.
TV
Archer, season 1 - What can I say? I'm new to this show, and it's hilarious.
LIVE MUSIC
TVCB, Thunderbolt Pagoda, The Seawhores - Loring Theater
Marc Ribot, solo set and then live scoring to Charlie Chaplin's The Kid - Cedar Cultural Center. The set was rather noodly guitar-guy, but the film was very cute and nice.
Powerlies, Pharmacy Spirits and Battle Napkin - Kitty Kat Club
PLAYS
Heaven at the Guthrie - a musical and dance piece about war-torn Bosnia