NYC Day #4: Sweet Sexy Journalism

My last full day in New York City was spent pondering the state of arts journalism and then watching a few very artfully done films.

First up in the morning was a visit to the offices of The New York Times for a fourth floor tour led by Classical Music Editor James Oestreich. It was interesting to see how things work at what is essentially the largest, most prestigious newspaper in the country. During the tour, we passed the desk of film critic A.O. Scott, and it took all my will and determination not to run over and sit at it. Really mature, I know. We had the opportunity to sit in a brief meeting between the culture editors in which they quickly went over what they would be reporting on for the next issue. It was... efficient. It seems like once one has managed to work their way up to the Times, they're trusted to be pretty independent. The meeting was really just five minutes of, "What are you working on? Okay, that sounds good." Then everyone dispersed to go do their thing.

Oestreich seemed open to talking about about the Times and the future of arts journalism and criticism. He struck me as extremely old-fashioned and perhaps a bit naive. He said that in his opinion, the Times will be a print newspaper for at least twenty or thirty more years. I think that's a rather generous assessment, but on the other hand, if any newspaper can survive the transition to digital for that long, it would be them.

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NYC Day #3: Dance, Dance, Otherwise We Are Lost

My third day in NYC was quite a memorable one. It was a day all about the beauty of performance and what performance can mean to both a community and to those doing the performing.

The first highlight was a trip to the historic Apollo Theater for a tour led by Billy Mitchell, who's been there pretty much his whole life. He got his start as a young boy running errands for the stars, and now he essentially runs everything. Some of us even got to perform! Below you'll find a video of one of my classmates, Kelundra Smith, reciting a poem she wrote. It's actually a pretty great piece of writing, in my humble opinion. Also, note the tree stump that's on stage. It's from a tree in Harlem that several performers used to hang out around before a show, thinking it gave them good luck. When it was cut down, the manager of the Apollo kept the stump and it's tradition to rub it before facing the Apollo's notoriously opinionated audience.

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NYC Day #2: Show Me The Money

The second day of my trip to New York City was one that seemed designed to make me focus on the one thing most writers don't have much of: the money.

For example, we went and saw the play "Seminar" on Broadway, starring Hans Gruber/Metatron/Severus Snape himself, Alan Rickman. It's a simple, well-written play about a group of New York young people taking a writing seminar led by a blunt, womanizing instructor. I enjoyed it, but I came away feeling like the dominant message was, "Don't be a writer! They aren't real people!" If you want to make it as a writer, it seemed to say, you'll have to sell out. If you want to write something truly great... well, be prepared for a live of poverty and the fact that in all likelihood nobody will read it. It's cynical, but thought-provoking.

Similar thoughts were on my mind as I exited the New Museum, which currently has a four-floor exhibition showcasing the work of artist Carsten Holler. It's not your typical art exhibit - the dominant theme is that of "experience," and the works are designed to be interactive. For example, one might come across a tank filled with mysterious gelcap pills and a water cooler should a visitor decide to ingest one. There are glow-in-the-dark fish, flashing lights, a "Mirror Carousel," and a "Human Psycho Tank" which allows visitors to disrobe and float naked in salt water calibrated to body temperature, giving the feeling of weightlessness. And then there is the exhibition's crown jewel: a 102-foot slide which provides transportation from the fourth to second floors of the exhibition. People lined up for hours just for a 5-second trip down; I doubt they'd do the same just to look at a painting in a typical art exhibition.

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NYC Day #1: How Not To Convince Someone To Give You Money

It's been an interesting first day here in New York City. I checked out the High Line, a public park that's been built along the city's old elevated rail lines. I went to a taping of The Daily Show, which was fun and proved that Jon Stewart is a machine (he did the entire show with no re-takes; it was pretty fantastic). And yes, I even got to take part in a meeting with the producer and former head writer of The Daily Show, Steve Bodow. It was an interesting Q&A, but it confirmed to me that I could never write for a show like that. It's simply too fast. Too intense. I think I'd be able to write for something like The Onion, which would involve longer pieces elaborating on a single comedic premise. But joke after joke after joke, day after day? I don't know if I'm that funny.

The High Line

However, by far the most memorable experience of the day came when walking from the High Line to the Daily Show studio. I was with my Film Geek Radio co-host, Frank Ready, and we were chatting about nothing in particular, when I suddenly heard a voice call out, "Hey you!"

Instinctively, I turned. There, walking towards me through a crowd of pedestrians, was a short black man. I only mention his race because it would later become a topic of discussion. There seemed to be nothing unusual about him other than the fact that his clothes were a little dirty.

Now, I don't know about you, but I like to believe in human decency. I like to believe that, on the whole, everybody just wants to get through life without getting hurt and having to hurt anybody else. And as a result, I tend to give strangers the benefit of the doubt. Most of the time I'm approached by someone unfamiliar, I wait to see what they want rather than automatically dismiss them. You never know, it could be someone who just needs a little help, or knows you from somewhere, or would like to hand you a check for a million dollars as part of a new reality show. Plus, it was the middle of the afternoon in the middle of a crowded avenue. So, if you're reading this and thinking I should have just ignored him, screw you. I hope next time you have to ask someone for directions they ignore you entirely.

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The Lowdown

Yeah, yeah. I know. I've been pretty terrible about updating this thing. It's not that I haven't been seeing many films. Far from it - I've seen more movies this year than possibly any other year.

If you haven't heard, I'm currently pursuing my Masters degree in Arts Journalism at the prestigious Goldring program at Syracuse University. This has kept me so busy that I haven't had much time to focus on writing film reviews and features... which is a bit ironic, since this is a program aimed at helping me become a better writer. I've been writing a lot of stuff for class and for the local newspaper, some of which I might begin to post here.

But it's a new year! And that means new opportunities, new movies, and new goals. And one of my goals is to update this blog more frequently. So I'm going to do my very best to write... well, anything, really. Film reviews, thoughts on television, general arts features, whatever strikes my fancy.

First and foremost: I'm currently on a train headed to New York City as part of my program, and I'll be blogging daily about my experience. I'll be doing a lot of cool things, from visiting museums to attending a taping of The Daily Show to workshopping some of my writing with New York Magazine's Logan Hill. And, of course, I'll be seeing some movies. I'm going to try and see a few things that currently aren't playing anywhere else in the country, and you can expect at least one full-fledged review.

I've also spent the last few weeks catching up on nearly all of the supposedly-great films of 2011 I've yet to see. So there is definitely a post about the best films of the year on the way. It's going to be tough to narrow it down; this has been a pretty fantastic year for cinema.

Anyways, that's all for now. Expect more content shortly. 

TIFF Review: God Bless America (2012)

This movie is awful, and if you disagree I’ll kill you.

At least, that’s what the new film “God Bless America” seems to advocate. Directed by comedian Bobcat Goldthwait, the plot follows a middle-aged, divorced sadsack named Frank (Joel Murray) who loses his job and finds out he has a brain tumor on the same day. That night while channel surfing he comes across an MTV-esque reality show about a teenage girl named Chloe who is so spoiled and superficial he concludes she deserves to die. What follows is a “Bonnie and Clyde”-style dramedy that finds him teaming up with a young girl named Roxy (Tara Lynne Barr) on a mission to violently rid the world of… well, anyone they think is somehow damaging the culture.

Compared to Goldthwait’s last effort, the nuanced and provocative “World’s Greatest Dad,” “God Bless America” is like a sledgehammer to the face. Frank and Roxy have no characterization beyond their tastes in media and spend most of their time giving stilted monologues about societal decay while never allowing room for disagreement. I imagine that when Tea Party supporters talk about how “liberals” are ruining America, this is the type of condescending mindset they are referring to. I never thought I would be rushing to defend the likes of American Idol, Bill O’Reilly and Fred Phelps, but that’s exactly the position I find myself in after viewing the film, and I hate it for that.

The hypocrisy is thick enough to choke on – Frank and Roxy criticize society for preying on the weak yet they’re the ones literally hunting the culturally handicapped – and any intended satire is lost during the rampage. “America has become a cruel and vicious place in which the most vile behavior is celebrated,” Goldthwait writes, while encouraging the audience to cheer at his gleeful execution of society’s degenerates. One wonders how he’d feel if those Britney Spears-singin’, “Jersey Shore”-watchin’, high-fivin’ ignoramuses decided to turn their crosshairs on his elitist ass.

Review: Source Code (2011)

Note: This post contains a portion of a review originally written for CaryCitizen.  To read the full review, click here.

Two years ago, filmmaker Duncan Jones burst onto the scene with the sci-fi character study Moon, a minimalist one-man show starring Sam Rockwell as a lone mineral extractor on the moon who discovers he might not be entirely alone.  Though it was made for only around $5 million, Jones brought enough directing chops to the film to make it look much more expensive, and it soon spread by word-of-mouth among genre fans to become a sleeper hit.  People began to wonder: if he can do so much with so little, what will happen when a mainstream studio actually gives him a sizable budget?

Well, now we know.  This weekend Jones’ sophomore effort Source Code is released into more theaters than Moon saw in its entire theatrical run.  Part time-travel film and part political thriller, the film stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Colter Stevens, a marine who suddenly finds himself strapped to a mysterious machine in a metal capsule.  He is informed by his commanding officer (played by Vera Farmiga) that he is part of the Source Code, a secret government program that can transport his mind into the body of another person eight minutes before they are killed.  His mission is to discover the identity of a terrorist before a train is bombed, killing dozens of people.  Every eight minutes the train explodes and Stevens is forced to start over from the beginning.  When he presses his commanding officers for more details regarding the program, their answers are vague if not outright hidden, and he begins to suspect the Source Code program might have more sinister consequences than it first appears.

Did you get all that?

Read the rest of the review at CaryCitizen.

SXSW Review: Bad Fever (2011)

Note: This post contains a portion of a review originally written for GordonAndTheWhale.  To read the full review, click here.

If there’s anything a festival like SXSW can prove, it’s that sometimes the best movies are the ones nobody is talking about. In between the premieres and the parties, amidst the latest mumblecore sensations and post-Sundance critical darlings, sometimes it’s possible to find something that catches you completely by surprise and leaves you wondering, “Why haven’t I heard about this?”

Bad Fever is such a film.

The reason you haven’t heard about this film is that it is an independent venture in every sense of the word. Unlike most of the other films that played at this year’s festival, there was no marketing blitz sent to press, no official release screaming, “See my movie!  Review it!” There was no information given beyond a two-sentence synopsis in the program that inspired more questions than it provided answers. As of the time of this writing, it doesn’t even have a publicist – the director, Dustin Guy Defa, is handling pretty much everything related to the film himself. It’s the kind of project that SXSW was originally made for: a self-funded, self-publicized film born out of the blood, sweat, and tears of a small group of dedicated cast and crew. It’s also, in its own weird little way, kind of a masterpiece.

Bad Fever is a challenging, haunting piece of filmmaking that feels like it comes from a very personal place while exploring universal themes of loneliness and desolation. It’s the kind of movie that Hollywood used to make in the 1970s before the invention of the summer blockbuster and the even more recent catering to fanboy fantasies. Its protagonist is deeply unhappy. The relationships explored are doomed at best, and dangerous as worst. And most of all, there is an intense feeling of desperation infused in every frame, as if the director, much like his protagonist, is struggling to figure out just what exactly we are and hoping a creative outlet might provide an answer. It is a film shot in sorrow, a raw and uncompromising look at the crippling effect social isolation can have on those who buy into the American Dream, and a work of socially conscious filmmaking that asks: if all that’s needed for success and fulfillment is our own individual effort, why are we so damn unhappy on our own?

Read the full review at GordonAndTheWhale.com.

MovieChatter Goes to SXSW!

Oh boy, oh boy.  It is my pleasure to announce that once again, I will be covering the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas for MovieChatter!

I'll be in Austin from March 10-19.  Unfortunately, regular co-host Morgan McCormick will not be joining me this year.  However, the wonderful Sean Hunter from Gordon And The Whale will be filling in and helping me provide our listeners with tons of new reviews and interviews for the show!

There are hundreds of films being showcased at this year's festival.  With luck, Sean and I will be able to see around 50 of them between the two of us.  I'm not sure if we'll be physically capable of reviewing that many films, but we'll certainly be talking about a lot of them and doing our best to bring you interviews with the filmmakers!  Given the incredibly complex and varied schedule we've arranged, it's unlikely that I'll be able to start posting content until after I return.  However, as always, you can follow me on Twitter if you'd like real-time updates from the festival.

I'm excited!  This year promises to be just as intense (in a good way) as last year, if not moreso.  So don't forget to be tuning in to MovieChatter over the next few months for the latest reviews and updates from SXSW!

10 Great Movies of 2010 You Probably Didn't See

Note: This post contains a portion of an article originally written for CaryCitizen.  To read the full article, click here.

Let’s get one thing straight: I like the Oscars.  And like many of you, I watched Sunday night’s proceedings and cheered for my favorites of the nominees.  For anyone who loves the movies, it’s hard not to get wrapped up in awards season, even if at the end of the day it’s all a bunch of sound and fury signifying nothing.

But, come on, let’s be honest: even though they claim to award the “best” in cinema, the Academy always misses some good ones!  There are plenty of films that were released over the past year the deserved more attention than they got, either from critics, mainstream audiences, the Academy, or all three.

Listed below, in no particular order, are ten great films you probably didn’t see.  Of the approximately 150 films I saw in theaters this year, these are the ones that should have gotten more attention than they did.  Maybe they weren’t released in the Triangle.  Maybe the marketing didn’t make them look very good.  Maybe you haven’t even heard of them.  It doesn’t matter.  They’re all out on DVD now or in the near future, so there’s nothing left to stop you from checking out these under-seen gems.

Read the rest of this article at CaryCitizen.