Friday, November 11, 2005
your weekend movie planner 11-11
Posted by Jim Ridley on Fri, Nov 11, 2005 at 3:39 PM
Here are some movies worth catching this weekend:
William Eggleston in the Real World / Stranded in Canton. William Eggleston's photographs are so unpretentious that they strike some critics as pretentious—the exaltation of things and people hidden in plain sight. He spends much of Michael Almereyda's documentary warding off interpretations of his methods and intent, leaving the director with two basic options: to watch him, or to try to explain him. Almereyda tries them both, and I came away with a better understanding of his work than I would have gotten from either one separately. The Belcourt is showing it tonight on a double bill with Eggleston's 1973-4 video project Stranded in Canton, the missing link between a Warhol Factory production and Grey Gardens. It's well worth seeing, unless you have some prudish aversion to watching a guy try to stick a beer bottle up his butt. (Note to Tennessean readers: Almereyda did not make the documentary Rivers and Tides, as printed in today's paper; that would be Thomas Riedelsheimer, whose remarkable new film Touch the Sound opens next week. Note to Tennessean: hire a damn movie reviewer already.) (Belcourt)
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Don't know how this goofy film-noir rip by the creator of the Lethal Weapon movies got that forbidding reek of arthouse disinfectant, but it seems to be turning people off one of the year's most enjoyable Hollywood movies. (I recommend it highly to Angelinophiles Christine and Michael Kreyling, who will pick up on the many Chinatown references a lot faster than I did.) Cҭon, wouldn't you want to see something that features cameos by Abraham Lincoln and the Native American Joe Pesci? (Opens wide)
Dear Wendy. Mainly I just want someone to tell me I didn't hallucinate this movie, in which a bunch of American teens form a gun club to combat violence in their suspiciously Scandinavian small town. Then they marry their guns, and get jealous when other people hold their guns, and have elaborate underground gavottes where they vogue with their guns and give them names (e.g., "Wendy"). You will be surprised to learn this film ends with a lot of shooting. The farther I get from it, the more convinced I am that it's a black comedy designed by screenwriter Lars von Trier and director Thomas Vinterberg to piss off gun-control advocates and NRA extremists alike. It even works as a pretty vicious Wes Anderson parody: the Michigan Militia goes to Rushmore. (Belcourt)
Zathura. I haven't seen it. I just have a good feeling. It has robots. (Opens wide)
SKIP: Shopgirl. A movie that breaks its fa袤e of shallow glibness to reveal the glib shallowness underneath. I don't have to love the characters in a movie, but I'd prefer more of a rooting interest than the one here. Gosh, what do I hope wins out—charmless self-absorption, or slightly less charmless self-absorption?
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Pulle Does Dallas
Posted by John Spragens on Thu, Nov 10, 2005 at 4:02 PM
Former Scene writer Matt Pulle has taken his "shady vice squad behavior" story franchise on the road. You'll recall that in January he, er, exposed Nashville cops' tendency to let confidential informants go all the way before making a bust on prostitution charges. This week, at the Scene's sister-paper-to-be, the Dallas Observer, Pulle reveals that Dallas cops went a little too far with the fingercuffing before commencing the handcuffing.
The moneyshot quote? "There is no reason to get a hand job."
Reached Thursday for comment, Pulle uses the episode as an illustration for the Journalism 101 class he'll never get paid to teach. "When the chief said that the cop got in trouble for having the prostitute 'hold his penis for longer than is necessary,' the truly dedicated and ambitious reporter would have asked if that meant that the cop came. I did not ask that question," Pulle says. "So there is a line, however faint."
The moneyshot quote? "There is no reason to get a hand job."
Reached Thursday for comment, Pulle uses the episode as an illustration for the Journalism 101 class he'll never get paid to teach. "When the chief said that the cop got in trouble for having the prostitute 'hold his penis for longer than is necessary,' the truly dedicated and ambitious reporter would have asked if that meant that the cop came. I did not ask that question," Pulle says. "So there is a line, however faint."
Wednesday, November 9, 2005
Shoring up
Posted by Chris Neal on Wed, Nov 9, 2005 at 11:24 PM
I screwed up and didn't sneak 'em into this week's Critics' Picks as I should have, but I want to offer a humble recommendation that you check out instrumental rock quintet Saxon Shore, who will be coming to town Friday. This is sweeping, swooping, surging, emotional music that lifts you up, flies you over a few mountains, knocks the wind out of you and finally sets you down safely. Go here and have a listen to a few tracks from their new album, The Exquisite Death of Saxon Shore (produced by Flaming Lips/Sleater-Kinney knob-twiddler Dave Fridmann), if you don't believe me. They're playing at The End at 8 PM Friday evening, along with Anathallo and Forget Cassettes (it's the latter's final Nashville show of the year, btw).
'boro unbound
Posted by Jim Ridley on Wed, Nov 9, 2005 at 3:44 PM
If the phrase "B&L Pizza" means anything to you, so will this post, as Murfreesboro boys from back in the day return to wreak havoc. (Sorry, not Mammy Namms.) First, your attention is directed to the weekly Scene podcasts Collin Wade Monk's been doing. My favorite part is the climactic "Fabricator" mash-up that closes every edition. The Faith Hill/Cypress Hill "collaboration" from the second one remains the cham-peen to date—can somebody get this to Gerry House?—but this week's "Big" and "Rich" track is pretty cracked.
Second, welcome 'Boro rock god and Disgraceland Records mogul Eric Nowinski back to Middle Tennessee, as his Knoxville band Angel & the Love Mongers torches the Mercy Lounge for the insurance money Thursday night with Jeremy Lister and Autovaughn. There is no truth to the rumor that they will play Queensryche's Operation: Mindcrime in its entirety. OK, it's a 50/50 shot.
Speaking of talents who escaped Murfreesboro, I want to hear more new stuff from this guy. Soon. Wake up, Brooklyn, to the treasure in your midst.
Second, welcome 'Boro rock god and Disgraceland Records mogul Eric Nowinski back to Middle Tennessee, as his Knoxville band Angel & the Love Mongers torches the Mercy Lounge for the insurance money Thursday night with Jeremy Lister and Autovaughn. There is no truth to the rumor that they will play Queensryche's Operation: Mindcrime in its entirety. OK, it's a 50/50 shot.
Speaking of talents who escaped Murfreesboro, I want to hear more new stuff from this guy. Soon. Wake up, Brooklyn, to the treasure in your midst.
Bums Out, Sanity In
Posted by Bruce Barry on Wed, Nov 9, 2005 at 3:24 PM
Yes, yes, it's all very nice (for some of us) that Democrats did well in the few elections held Tuesday, but the really big result came in Dover, PA, where voters came to the polls and threw the bums out. (Alas, Kansas is another story. There's still something the matter out there.)
UPDATE (Friday): Pat Robertson responds to the Dover vote:
Upshot: You heathens are on your own.
UPDATE (Friday): Pat Robertson responds to the Dover vote:
"I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover: if there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God, you just rejected Him from your city. And don't wonder why He hasn't helped you when problems begin, if they begin. I'm not saying they will, but if they do, just remember, you just voted God out of your city. And if that's the case, don't ask for His help because he might not be there."
Upshot: You heathens are on your own.
Diamond in the Rough
Posted by Steve Haruch on Wed, Nov 9, 2005 at 10:54 AM
I'm sure it would be fun to watch Michelle Wie play putt-putt golf. Undoubtedly she's good at it -- better than most putt-putt golfers, probably. But putt-putt is a tiny game that wouldn't showcase the abilities that make her a badass, and that would be disappointing. Kind of like listening to the new Neil Diamond album. Sure, Neil's a better singer-songwriter than a lot of other singer-songwriters, but this coffee shop strumming bit is the equivalent of putt-putt for him. I think it's a misstep for Rick Rubin (though he's still finding ways to work in that menacing low piano note).
School Daze
Posted by Bruce Barry on Wed, Nov 9, 2005 at 10:34 AM
My Scene article out today argues that the current enthusiasm over rising Metro public school test scores is overstated. When you take a closer look at the numbers and put them in some sort of perspective -- such as in the context of state and national educational assessment numbers -- the upbeat test score news of the past few months looks to be as much about spin as substance.
The analysis in my piece draws on the copious amounts of educational assessment data available online from the state and federal governments, offering the opportunity to look at the numbers from various possible angles. I use this Pith post to provide links to key online assessment data sources for readers who might want to have their own stab at the numbers.
The analysis in my piece draws on the copious amounts of educational assessment data available online from the state and federal governments, offering the opportunity to look at the numbers from various possible angles. I use this Pith post to provide links to key online assessment data sources for readers who might want to have their own stab at the numbers.
Tuesday, November 8, 2005
NFocus the Blog
Posted by Claire Suddath on Tue, Nov 8, 2005 at 5:18 PM
Last night, I went to the March of Dimes celebrity dinner & auction at Flemingi߽s Steakhouse. The evening was emceed by The Tennessean's Brad Schmitt (from the Brad About You column) and included appearances by the band Lonestar, Miss Tennessee and a lot of sparkly women in evening gowns.
The event had a silent auction, and one of the items available for bidding was a song sung to you, at your Fleming's table, by Lonestar. I wonder if this type of thing is fun for musicians. They're in a band, so theoretically they are friends. They go to a charity benefit and eat some free steaks, and then they sing to a middle-aged woman, leaning over her herb-encrusted salmon to share one microphone.
The event had a silent auction, and one of the items available for bidding was a song sung to you, at your Fleming's table, by Lonestar. I wonder if this type of thing is fun for musicians. They're in a band, so theoretically they are friends. They go to a charity benefit and eat some free steaks, and then they sing to a middle-aged woman, leaning over her herb-encrusted salmon to share one microphone.
Wrong
Posted by Steve Haruch on Tue, Nov 8, 2005 at 1:55 PM
I generally dislike the statement "that's just wrong" because it's so pat and dismissive. And it's rarely backed up by any reasoning beyond "it offends me," which is a different argument altogether.
But every so often a person finds she has no recourse but to seriously consider whether the wrongness threshold has, in fact, been breached. Case in point: Lil' Markie (aka Mark Fox), whose song "Diary of an Unborn Child" can be, um, experienced over at WFMU's Beware of the Blog.
This must be how Tipper felt the first time she heard "Darling Nikki."
But every so often a person finds she has no recourse but to seriously consider whether the wrongness threshold has, in fact, been breached. Case in point: Lil' Markie (aka Mark Fox), whose song "Diary of an Unborn Child" can be, um, experienced over at WFMU's Beware of the Blog.
This must be how Tipper felt the first time she heard "Darling Nikki."
Monday, November 7, 2005
VA & NJ
Posted by Roger Abramson on Mon, Nov 7, 2005 at 7:44 PM
For what it's worth, I'm guessing the Democrat wins in both of these governor's races tomorrow. Corzine (NJ) by six points; Kaine (VA) by a much slimmer margin. Probably won't mean much outside of those states, but the DNC will try to make it seem that way. Although I will say that general grumpiness may detract from GOP voter energy in Virginia, and that might ultimately be the key to victory for Kaine. Won't make any difference in national party control of statehouses either, because Democrats already sit in the governor's chair in both of these states.
