Never a Bad Word: This is It

The rehearsal documentary This is It takes what is essentially raw ‘home video’ footage meant for Michael Jackson’s private libraries and creates an illuminating film about the artistic process of one of the greatest performers of all time. Of course, the truth is that every film is a fiction film. There is no way of knowing what footage was left out; what moments of brilliance or ugliness that could be on the cutting room floor. The decision of what is used and how it is portrayed is left to the filmmaker (Kenny Ortega), who in this case chose to showcase both the foibles and virtues of an artist and a person.

During rehearsals, Michael works towards perfection. He pulls his wait and expects everyone else to do the same. He always has a soft sweet voice, even as he is searching for a meticulous change or trying to assert his artistic vision. When an earpiece is too loud, he doesn’t demand that something be done about it, he simply states that he needs some time to become accustomed to the discomfort. He is a hard worker.

Throughout the film, interviews with dancers and musicians comment on what it means to work with the King of Pop. An observation made repeatedly by the band members and back up singers is that he Michaels knows his music. He doesn’t just know the music he wrote and performed, but generally how music works and fits together. They have respect for him as an artist.

Not surprisingly, there are moments of awkwardness and weirdness in the film. As controversial as he can be, I don’t think anyone would argue the fact that there is an oddness to Michael Jackson. At times, Michael’s ways of describing spectacular moments in the show are wrapped in strange metaphors. However, his choice of words is no more unique than when the band’s keyboardist tells Michael to “let him know if he wants more booty in it.” Upon being met with laughter, the musician adds, “But you know what I mean.” And we do know what Michael means when he makes similar comments. We certainly know what he means when he says, “Let is sizzle.” We know the moment of awe and the chills that would have run through us in a full-fledged performance. We have experienced those moments in his music and in his videos. He is an accomplished and talented showman.

Though, the one thing the film is missing is the sizzle; the fully realized vision. It is not to say that the vision isn’t there. It is, and the film gives insight into the creativity and sweat that goes into creating a concert. This is It contains pieces of what would have been a jaw-dropping concert. In one segment we see the different aspects of a spectacular 3-d version of Thriller complete with pre-taped video and live segments, but we are denied the execution of the vision. The film attempts to sew the many pieces of the performance together and help create the experience for us, but it can never be fully realized.

This is It would have been an outstanding companion to a concert DVD, but it suffices as a memorial to an artist who can never be given a enough praise for his talent. Though, somehow it is infinitely sadder to know that the genius was still there at the end.

The Pot of Gold's South of Houston

Never a Bad Word: Whatever Works

The latest Woody Allen film, Whatever Works, is an off-hand comedy driven by its superb ensemble. It fails to be poignant, but succeeds at being a diversion from one’s own worries by compelling the audience into the displeased and scrutinizing world of Boris Yelnikov. It’s a gleeful interruption from reality that haphazardly pontificates about love and luck.

The taking of Pelham 1, 2, 3

I don?t have a lot to say about The Taking of Pelham 1, 2, 3. The opening sequence is very stylistic, and John Travolta and Denzel are cool as always. The ending is a little blah, nothing special for a film set in NYC, but the sounds of the subway are dead on realistic.

There is a shocking car crash in the middle of the film, as police rush to deliver ransom money. The best character in the film is the mayor played by James Gandolfini as not quite sleazy, but not quite likable either.

Totally Quotable: Art Deco

This is a quote from the Art Deco exhibit at the NYC Library in Bryant Park.

"The Style symbolizes America's romantic enthusiasm for technological progress"

http://www.nypl.org/

Chinese Tea Garden

Live Long and Prosper

There aren’t many summer Blockbuster’s that can make you misty eyed before the title card, but, when James T. Kirk screams his first baby cry, letting his father hear him just once before he dies crashing his ship into the bad guys to save the rest of the crew including his wife and newborn son, I couldn’t help but feel my eyes start to swell.

J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek has you emotionally invested from the very first battle. It, then, powers through the childhoods of both Kirk and Spock with speed and poignancy giving each the back story they need without wasting any time; a rarity among action tentpoles. The rest of the cast is appropriately introduced as Kirk makes his way to and through Starfleet Academy, where he garners unwanted attention from Spock for ‘cheating’ on a Starfleet test. The two finally meet face to face just in time for the Enterprise to be called into action, but before the two could come to terms with there opposing values.

The rest of the movie negotiates ideas of identity, friendship, and faith all while fighting an expertly rendered alien bad guy whose athleticism is intimidating and motivation is near humanizing. With just the right doses of reality and extraterrestrial shine, every moment between the first shot and the final breath, which reminds us space is the final frontier, proves Star Trek will continue to live long and prosper.

Athens

Most of What Follows is True

It was a gorgeous day last Friday and, as the sun slowly crept away, the Tribeca Film Festival geared up for its second Drive-in of the year; Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The screening was part of a tribute to the amazing William Goldman, who is responsible for Marathon Man, All the President’s Men, and beyond all else both the book and the movie versions of The Princess Bride.

Ever since I first witnessed the sepia toned opening to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, I have been in love with it. I once tried to write down every line that made me chuckle, but found that I couldn’t go 2 minutes without having to pause the movie. It’s funny and witty, but also truthful and sweet. In addition to the writing, the films leads; the impeccable Paul Newman and Robert Redford, created two of the most riveting characters I had ever seen. They engage the audience with every nuance of their movement, smiles, and tone of voice.

However, on Friday, I was really taken aback by the cinematography. The camera acts like an artist framing, highlighting, and blending everything on screen. Between director George Roy Hill and cinematographer Conrad Hall, the choice of what is in focus and how much and from how far things are seen augment the other areas of story telling and really push Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid into being a great film. The writing is brilliant and the acting’s superb, but the camerawork really takes advantage of what make the medium unique.

Adventureland

Usually, the “and” credit goes to the most esteemed non-leading actor in a film; often it goes to an older venerated thespian. In Adventureland, the honor goes to the young Ryan Reynolds. At first, I was irked by this. In my opinion, his previous body of work did not warrant this position, however I was pleasantly surprised by his role in the film. He plays O’Connell, the often needed mechanic of the titular second-rate theme park. Both the way Reynolds crafts the character, and the way the story reveals him exposes a man who is at times enviable and also absolutely pathetic.

O’Connell is a man who, at first, seems to be the hippest of the hip; the kind of guy to swoon for. He doles out advice to the main character with worldly poise. However, as the fresh out of college lead goes through his coming of age, the film’s perspective on O’Connell changes; he becomes pitiable. Ryan Reynolds’s performance is so precise that it is purely the audience’s informed vantage point that changes their opinion.

Let’s see if Ryan Reynolds’s can convincingly play a mutant this weekend in X-Men Origins

Identity by Design

The National Museum of the American Indian currently has an exhibit called Identity by Design, which investigates the culture of crafting Native American dresses. It highlights the evolution of design as Native American women were introduced to European and Eastern materials, and as integration forced American ideals and traditions onto the tribal culture.

The exhibit is expertly crafted with enough objects and text to be meaningful while being limited enough to avoid being cluttered. Objects are finely selected, which leaves the visitor with plenty of time and space for contemplation. The walls are lightly peppered with quotes from Native American women about what dress-making means to them.

“When you wear your dress, you’re carrying the spirit of all the people who gave you the lessons of life, who made dresses before you – dresses that you can look at today and be inspired by.” Keri Jhane Myers (Comanche) 2005

“When I wear the dresses that I’ve made, I feel a strong sense of accomplishment because a lot of work has gone into them.”
Jamie Okuma (Luiseño/Shoshone-Bannock), 2005

“When I create an object that is of our tribe, like a dress, it’s almost like I’m so connected to the past. I almost feel like somebody is guiding me as to what I’m supposed to be doing. It’s a very spiritual experience for me.”
Jackie Parsons (Blackfeet), 2005


While I do not presume my experience crafting sweaters and scarves to be nearly the same as what the exhibit discusses, the comments do reverberate with me. Even though technology has changed the way we dress, the combination of the sense of perpetuating tradition and the time it takes to create the handmade clothes puts a higher significance on the objects than their beauty and functionality. The object is both part of the past and the future; the long-established method of productions infuses the objects with history and the items quality and craftsmanship allow for it to be cherished and used for years and perhaps generations to come.

Exhibit Website: http://www.nmai.si.edu/exhibitions/identity_by_design/IdentityByDesign.html

Museum Website: http://www.nmai.si.edu/index.cfm

Get Your Balls in a Knot

Check out my new blog dedicated to my yarn craft obsession. Here is a brief summer

http://www.getyourballsinaknot.blogspot.com/

Turning balls of yarn into crochet or knit pieces can be daunting, but that’s part of the adventure. Simply knotting string transforms it. My adventure is about creating works that

match my style and growing skill level. I am chronicling my journey so others can find the courage to knit their own path too. When the books aren’t as insightful or the patterns aren’t as inspiring as you’d like, that’s when the adventure begins. When you can’t put your yarn down, that’s when you know you’re hooked.

Never a Bad Word - Bellevue's Finest

Over the past few years, I have consciously avoided all music groups that were not immediately recognizable by the mass populace. However, this past week I was roped into seeing the band Bellevue’s Finest; and was pleasantly surprised.

For me, the pleasure produced by popular art is derived from the music/movie/book’s ability to create a seamless space; to construct a world or sound that is complete unto itself. Bellevue’s Finest has a look, sound, and attitude that is inclusive and unique. It can be best described as Revenge of the Nerds, meets Rooney, meets a bunch of NYC Jewish boys. Their music is quirky, spirited and inventive and I wish them all the best.

A Superbad Exhibit at the Met

A giant phallus being carried through Roman streets in a celebratory parade is not what comes to mind when thinking about the sketches of great renaissance artists. However, the Metropolitan Museum’s exhibit ‘Art and Love in Renaissance Italy,’ and its art object "The Triumph of the Phallus,” focuses on art that would have been used, cherished, laughed at, and generally enjoyed. The objects call to mind contemporary images from film and television. They are not only examples of superior craftsmanship and artistry, but of the representations of sex and love in Renaissance Italy.

Many institutions and individuals distinguish between ‘high art’ and ‘low art.’ So-called low art encompasses items made from mediums of artistic potential, but with the primary intention to entertain or titillate the masses. While some creations of popular art are dumb-ed down to appeal to the lowest common denominator of the populace (aka its audience), they can also be so in tune with human nature that their popularity comes from their ability to speak to everyone. It is odd, then, that popular art, and its position within society, is often ignored in our museums until centuries after its manufacture. ‘Art and Love in Renaissance Italy’ highlights many objects that are valued as high art, even though their contemporary counterparts are not.

While exploring the galleries dedicated to physical love, it is hard not to think of similarities between the subject matter, and at times even the composition of the Renaissance images, and contemporary renderings of physical love. One can, of course, argue for the skill of the Renaissance artist tools in hand. However, it is also undeniable that these images are of the same intention as the penis drawings made by Superbad’s young Evan. The glorifying image he draws of a group of phallus’s raising the flag at Iwo Jima is not far off from the literal depiction of a Phallus’s Parade hung reverently on the Metropolitan Museum’s wall. The same humor and exuberance is in and escapes both.

Through exploring he past, there are ways to evaluate present trends as not new, but part of a recurring, or constant, humanity. A humanity expressed through all art; functional, entertaining, and always enlightening.




http://www.metmuseum.org/special/art_love/view_1.asp?item=23