Thanks to everyone who has shown an interest in my blog experiment. This will be the final post. I just don't have the time or energy to keep things up to date. I will keep the pages online for a little while more in order to spread this message, but then I will take down what is here.
I hope you all make time to seek out worthwhile movies, books, plays, music, dance performances--whatever is out there. It's important in your life.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Friday, September 7, 2012
Gail Werner: Paintings at Stone Rose Gallery from September 15 to October 13
Long Beach artist Gail Werner will have a solo show of her paintings at the newly-opened Stone Rose Gallery in downtown Long Beach, with an opening reception on Saturday, September 15th from 7 to 9PM. The gallery is located at 342 East 4th Street in Long Beach.
Here's Werner's Artist's Statement:
"Desert Wash II," oil and pencil on wood panel, 36"x 24" 2011
My work reflects the
landscape and cultural imagery related to my Native American background. My tribal affiliation is with the Cupeño, Luiseño, and Diegeño tribes
located in southern California. Many of
the elements found in my work such as color, light, and plant and animal life
are influenced by the southern California desert and mountain landscape. Native
American rock art, pottery and basket designs specific to this area also make
their way into my work.
"Bird Dreams VI," encaustic on wood panel, 12"x 9" 2012
Here's Werner's Artist's Statement:
I am currently
working in oil paint on wood panel, sometimes incorporating pencil and
Prismacolor. At times I work from a
small quick sketch or painting, but at other times I lay down thin washes of
color, and the painting evolves from there. Seeking to find a balance between
the abstract and representational, I apply paint expressively while, at the
same time, rendering some of the images more realistically.
My work is also
influenced by southern California Native American stories and songs, especially
the creation stories and traditional “bird songs.” These stories and songs
often incorporate plant and animal life as the characters. They reflect a dreamlike, evolving world
telling how the world came to be and how the people came to be where they
are. My paintings reflect that
world: images appear to float, or their
scale is exaggerated.
Landscape, color,
light and imagery, abstract designs, stories and songs—all of these elements
merge together for me to evoke a sense of place.
Friday, August 24, 2012
Student's Choice: The Holy Mountain
I need your help.
The Guardian newspaper in London has had a number of series in which their writers or members of the public write an entry with titles like "My Favourite Film " or the more limiting "My Favourite Hitchcock Film ." On Studio 360, there's a feature called "AHA Moments ," in which writers or artists talk about one particular work of art (a book, a movie, an album, a photograph, whatever) that had a major impact on their lives. Then there's KCRW's Guest DJ Project, in which well-known people in the arts get to choose five pieces of music to share and discuss.
I'm looking for similar entries from YOU, my present and past students, about one particular cultural work that matters to you. Try to sell the rest of us on it. Email me something, and I'll begin posting the best entries in my sporadic fashion. There's just one catch: it has to be 200 words or less.
I'm waiting.
To kick things off, we start with a post from former student Zachary Rex about Alejandro Jodorowsky's 1973 avant garde Spanish-language film La Montana Sagrada (The Holy Mountain). This film is not for the easily offended, so sensitive viewers might want to avoid clicking on the video clip below. You have been warned. Now here's Zachary's entry:
The Holy Mountain (1973)
The Guardian newspaper in London has had a number of series in which their writers or members of the public write an entry with titles like "My Favourite Film " or the more limiting "My Favourite Hitchcock Film ." On Studio 360, there's a feature called "AHA Moments ," in which writers or artists talk about one particular work of art (a book, a movie, an album, a photograph, whatever) that had a major impact on their lives. Then there's KCRW's Guest DJ Project, in which well-known people in the arts get to choose five pieces of music to share and discuss.
I'm looking for similar entries from YOU, my present and past students, about one particular cultural work that matters to you. Try to sell the rest of us on it. Email me something, and I'll begin posting the best entries in my sporadic fashion. There's just one catch: it has to be 200 words or less.
I'm waiting.
To kick things off, we start with a post from former student Zachary Rex about Alejandro Jodorowsky's 1973 avant garde Spanish-language film La Montana Sagrada (The Holy Mountain). This film is not for the easily offended, so sensitive viewers might want to avoid clicking on the video clip below. You have been warned. Now here's Zachary's entry:
The Holy Mountain (1973)
Dir.
Alejandro Jodorowsky
By
Zachary Rex
I used to have no interest in “art films.” I held the same picture of them that
many have: pretentious, weird for the sake of weird, really nothing more than a
novelty.
Then
I found The Holy Mountain.
Championed
by John Lennon, adored by Marilyn Manson, The Holy Mountain has drawn quite
a diverse group of admirers (and detractors).
It
is an onslaught of disturbing, surreal imagery. Words cannot really do it
justice. Take a look at the trailer and see for yourself:
The
film follows a loose narrative of a Christ-like spiritual seeker, which is told
through use of a plethora of symbols drawn from mysticism and the occult.
Jodorowsky
plays with many different emotional tones here, from the dark and disturbing to
the spiritually uplifting. There is even a stroke of absurd humor.
It
is, if nothing else, two hours of eye-porn. It really shows what is possible
visually through the medium of film. Even if “surrealism” isn’t your cup of
tea, no visual artist can see The Holy Mountain without leaving inspired.
If
you want to see a movie that is at once trippy, funny, terrifying, and
enlightening, go and see this film.
Marjane Satrapi and a DJ/rupture Remix Challenge on Studio 360
For years, one of my favorite podcasts has been the one for Studio 360, the weekly, NYC-based public radio show about "pop culture and the arts" hosted by novelist Kurt Andersen. (Download it for free from iTunes.) Here are a few people who have been guests:
Her latest film, Chicken with Plums, is live-action rather than animation, and she discusses the challenges of collaboration for a normally solitary graphic artist. (You can listen to the interview HERE .)
One of the other interviews last week was with ethnomusicologist and DJ (and former Harvard English major) Jace Clayton, better known as DJ/rupture.
There's a nice interview with him, along with a video of his turntable skills, HERE . And, if you're up for a challenge, you can download tracks, create your own remix, and submit the results to be judged by DJ/rupture himself. HERE's all the info. But hurry! The deadline is midnight on Sept. 2.
At the beginning of each week's podcast, a woman's voice always reminds us that they "have a great website too." And they do. They're at http://www.studio360.org/
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
The Moth: "True Stories, told Live and Without Notes"
For some time, I've been listening to the free weekly podcast of "The Moth" (available on iTunes).
What is "The Moth"? Here's what Wikipedia says: "The Moth is a non-profit group based in New York City dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling. It was founded in 1997 by poet and novelist George Dawes Green, who wanted to recreate the feeling of sultry summer evenings in his native Georgia, when moths were attracted to the light on the porch where he and his friends would gather to spin spellbinding tales. George and his original group of storytellers called themselves "The Moths", and George took the name with him to New York. The organization now runs a number of different storytelling events in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, and other American cities, often featuring prominent literary and cultural personalities."
Back in March, I attended a sold-out evening of "Moth" storytelling at UCLA's Royce Hall that featured amazing true stories, hilarious and sad, told by a wide range of people--from writers to a professional poker player to a hand surgeon (and the surgeon told the best story of the evening). There are nearly 100 videos of "Moth" stories on You Tube HERE .
"The Moth" also holds StorySLAMs, open mic storytelling competitions where anyone can show up to tell a five-minute-long story that relates to the evening's chosen theme. The storytellers put their names in a hat, and ten are chosen. Judges score the stories, and the evening's winner moves on to compete at the semi-annual GrandSLAM. There are plenty of StorySLAMs coming up for you to attend (see "The Moth"'s WEBSITE for more information). Generally, tickets are $8 (and if you go to one of the shows at Busby's East, near LACMA on Wilshire, you can get half-priced food and drinks before the show--it's Happy Hour).
A couple weeks ago, I went to the GrandSLAM at a very packed Echoplex near Echo Park. That night's winner was Jessica Lee Williams. Here's a video of a story she told at a previous competition, when the night's theme was "Fight or Flight":
And here's a video of a previous GrandSLAM-winning story from Caltech neuroscientist (and regular L.A. slammer) Moran Cerf, about his bank robbing days back in Israel:
There are about three StorySLAMs each month in the L.A. area. There's one tonight, but the next one is at my favorite "Moth" venue, Busby's East, on August 14. HERE is that website again.
What is "The Moth"? Here's what Wikipedia says: "The Moth is a non-profit group based in New York City dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling. It was founded in 1997 by poet and novelist George Dawes Green, who wanted to recreate the feeling of sultry summer evenings in his native Georgia, when moths were attracted to the light on the porch where he and his friends would gather to spin spellbinding tales. George and his original group of storytellers called themselves "The Moths", and George took the name with him to New York. The organization now runs a number of different storytelling events in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, and other American cities, often featuring prominent literary and cultural personalities."
Back in March, I attended a sold-out evening of "Moth" storytelling at UCLA's Royce Hall that featured amazing true stories, hilarious and sad, told by a wide range of people--from writers to a professional poker player to a hand surgeon (and the surgeon told the best story of the evening). There are nearly 100 videos of "Moth" stories on You Tube HERE .
"The Moth" also holds StorySLAMs, open mic storytelling competitions where anyone can show up to tell a five-minute-long story that relates to the evening's chosen theme. The storytellers put their names in a hat, and ten are chosen. Judges score the stories, and the evening's winner moves on to compete at the semi-annual GrandSLAM. There are plenty of StorySLAMs coming up for you to attend (see "The Moth"'s WEBSITE for more information). Generally, tickets are $8 (and if you go to one of the shows at Busby's East, near LACMA on Wilshire, you can get half-priced food and drinks before the show--it's Happy Hour).
A couple weeks ago, I went to the GrandSLAM at a very packed Echoplex near Echo Park. That night's winner was Jessica Lee Williams. Here's a video of a story she told at a previous competition, when the night's theme was "Fight or Flight":
And here's a video of a previous GrandSLAM-winning story from Caltech neuroscientist (and regular L.A. slammer) Moran Cerf, about his bank robbing days back in Israel:
There are about three StorySLAMs each month in the L.A. area. There's one tonight, but the next one is at my favorite "Moth" venue, Busby's East, on August 14. HERE is that website again.
Friday, July 27, 2012
"Shallow Grave": a "full-throttle bit of Hitchcockian nastiness"
In 1994, before he directed Trainspotting or Slumdog Millionaire or 127 Hours (AKA the movie where James Franco cuts off his arm), Danny Boyle directed Shallow Grave--now out on a Criterion Collection DVD.
Here's Criterion's blurb:
"The diabolical thriller Shallow Grave was the first film from director Danny Boyle, producer Andrew Macdonald, and screenwriter John Hodge (the smashing team behind Trainspotting). In it, three self-involved Edinburgh roommates—played by Kerry Fox, Christopher Eccleston, and Ewan McGregor, in his first starring role—take in a brooding boarder, and when he dies of an overdose, leaving a suitcase full of money, the trio embark on a series of very bad decisions, with extraordinarily grim consequences for all. Macabre but with a streak of offbeat humor, this stylistically influential tale of guilt and derangement is a full-throttle bit of Hitchcockian nastiness."
Here's part of what Tom Charity said about it in his Time Out review:
"This impressively assured, highly accomplished British feature doesn't dwell on moral niceties, but goes straight for the gut. John Hodge's screenplay has the kind of unrelenting forward momentum and close-to-the bone sense of purpose which sees you safely through a good many logical minefields, even if nagging question marks occur in retrospect. Given that most of the action takes place in the flat, it's remarkable how agile and invigorating Boyle's direction is. As the friends fall out, the movie loses some of its black comic edge, perhaps, but only to gain in sheer, back-stabbing, bloody-minded mayhem."
The Criterion disc contains some great extras, including recent interviews with the cast and a behind the scenes documentary that shows how 20-something producer-wannabe Andrew Macdonald spent years trying to get financing to make John Hodge's screenplay into a movie. After financing was in place, they interviewed various directors, ultimately choosing the 37-year-old Boyle. While Shallow Grave is his first theatrical film, he already had years of experience directing in the theater, along with years of directing TV shows and TV movies in England.
Here's one of Criterion's fun "Three Reasons" videos for the film:
If you're someone who insists that you must like the characters to like a movie, book, or play (I guess that means no Macbeth or Othello for you), you might want to skip this one. Everyone here's a nasty piece of work.
Here's Criterion's blurb:
"The diabolical thriller Shallow Grave was the first film from director Danny Boyle, producer Andrew Macdonald, and screenwriter John Hodge (the smashing team behind Trainspotting). In it, three self-involved Edinburgh roommates—played by Kerry Fox, Christopher Eccleston, and Ewan McGregor, in his first starring role—take in a brooding boarder, and when he dies of an overdose, leaving a suitcase full of money, the trio embark on a series of very bad decisions, with extraordinarily grim consequences for all. Macabre but with a streak of offbeat humor, this stylistically influential tale of guilt and derangement is a full-throttle bit of Hitchcockian nastiness."
Here's part of what Tom Charity said about it in his Time Out review:
"This impressively assured, highly accomplished British feature doesn't dwell on moral niceties, but goes straight for the gut. John Hodge's screenplay has the kind of unrelenting forward momentum and close-to-the bone sense of purpose which sees you safely through a good many logical minefields, even if nagging question marks occur in retrospect. Given that most of the action takes place in the flat, it's remarkable how agile and invigorating Boyle's direction is. As the friends fall out, the movie loses some of its black comic edge, perhaps, but only to gain in sheer, back-stabbing, bloody-minded mayhem."
The Criterion disc contains some great extras, including recent interviews with the cast and a behind the scenes documentary that shows how 20-something producer-wannabe Andrew Macdonald spent years trying to get financing to make John Hodge's screenplay into a movie. After financing was in place, they interviewed various directors, ultimately choosing the 37-year-old Boyle. While Shallow Grave is his first theatrical film, he already had years of experience directing in the theater, along with years of directing TV shows and TV movies in England.
Here's one of Criterion's fun "Three Reasons" videos for the film:
If you're someone who insists that you must like the characters to like a movie, book, or play (I guess that means no Macbeth or Othello for you), you might want to skip this one. Everyone here's a nasty piece of work.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
"A Blessing" by James Wright (1927-1980)
Just off the highway to
Rochester, Minnesota,
Twilight bounds softly forth
on the grass.
And the eyes of those two
Indian ponies
Darken with kindness.
They have come gladly out of
the willows
To welcome my friend and me.
We step over the barbed wire
into the pasture
Where they have been grazing
all day, alone.
They ripple tensely, they can
hardly contain their happiness
That we have come.
They bow shyly as wet swans.
They love each other.
There is no loneliness like
theirs.
At home once more,
They begin munching the young
tufts of spring in the darkness.
I would like to hold the
slenderer one in my arms,
For she has walked over to
me
And nuzzled my left
hand.
She is black and white,
Her mane falls wild on her
forehead,
And the light breeze moves me
to caress her long ear
That is delicate as the skin
over a girl’s wrist.
Suddenly I realize
That if I stepped out of my
body I would break
Into blossom.
Monday, June 25, 2012
FREE LACMA Admission This Week to See "Levitated Mass"
Here's LACMA's blurb:
"As a show of thanks to the many communities which saw and hosted the historic transport of
the 340-ton boulder that is now part of Michael Heizer’s Levitated Mass at LACMA, the museum is offering free admission to residents of select zip codes during the week of June 24 to July 1."
Among those zip codes are these from Long Beach: 90802, 90803, 90804, 90805, 90806, 90807, 90808, 90810, 90813, 90814, and 90815. For more qualifying zip codes, go HERE .
What IS Levitated Mass ? Here's what LACMA says:
"Levitated Mass by artist Michael Heizer is composed of a 456-foot-long slot constructed on LACMA's campus, over which is placed a 340-ton granite megalith. As with other works by the artist, such as Double Negative (1969), the monumental negative form is key to the experience of the artwork. Heizer conceived of the artwork in 1968, but discovered an appropriate boulder only decades later, in Riverside County, California. Taken whole, Levitated Mass speaks to the expanse of art history, from ancient traditions of creating artworks from megalithic stone, to modern forms of abstract geometries and cutting-edge feats of engineering."
The work was unveiled this past weekend, as you can see below.
I'm sure a number of you were aware of the boulder as it made its way through the area. Here are a few of the photos I took as it was headed down Atlantic Ave. from Bixby Knolls, over the 405, and past Spring St.
Among those zip codes are these from Long Beach: 90802, 90803, 90804, 90805, 90806, 90807, 90808, 90810, 90813, 90814, and 90815. For more qualifying zip codes, go HERE .
What IS Levitated Mass ? Here's what LACMA says:
"Levitated Mass by artist Michael Heizer is composed of a 456-foot-long slot constructed on LACMA's campus, over which is placed a 340-ton granite megalith. As with other works by the artist, such as Double Negative (1969), the monumental negative form is key to the experience of the artwork. Heizer conceived of the artwork in 1968, but discovered an appropriate boulder only decades later, in Riverside County, California. Taken whole, Levitated Mass speaks to the expanse of art history, from ancient traditions of creating artworks from megalithic stone, to modern forms of abstract geometries and cutting-edge feats of engineering."
The work was unveiled this past weekend, as you can see below.
I'm sure a number of you were aware of the boulder as it made its way through the area. Here are a few of the photos I took as it was headed down Atlantic Ave. from Bixby Knolls, over the 405, and past Spring St.
See LACMA's WEBSITE for information about the other current exhibits (including a tribute to the title sequences from James Bond movies!).
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
In the Kingdom of Wes Anderson
Wes Anderson, director and co-writer of such films as Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, and Fantastic Mr. Fox, has a new movie out: Moonrise Kingdom.
With an impressive 95% Fresh critical consensus on the Rotten Tomatoes site (and a 92% from the non-professional-critic Audience), the film still has its haters. I give you The New York Observer's Rex Reed:
"Preceded by bewildering blogs and Tweets (and even a few genuine reviews) from Cannes ('A Tender Triumph!' 'Glows in the Darkness!' 'Ode to Arrested Development!'), Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom is juvenile gibberish about two 12-year-olds who get married in a Boy Scout camp that is too sexually outrageous for the preteen age group it portrays and too tween for grown-ups. Like all Wes Anderson movies, it is naïve, mannered, pretentious and incomprehensible. He co-wrote it with Roman Coppola (yikes! another Coppola!). Together they were responsible for The Darjeeling Limited, one of the worst movies of all time. This one is neither as contrived as The Royal Tenenbaums nor as moronic as The Darjeeling Limited, but its boredom quotient is still stuck in the same unbroken wave of dubious tedium Mr. Anderson is famous for. (It also features another Coppola, the creepy Jason Schwartzman.) What is it with this guy and his awful movies masquerading as 'original ideas' that turns otherwise sensible critics into slobbering groupies?"
Reed would certainly fall into the group that Michael Specter calls Anderson's "detractors." In a new Wall Street Journal piece (a mini-tribute, really) called "The World of Wes Anderson," Specter writes that Anderson "has been tagged with the loathsome term 'quirky,' largely because he has a particular vision and is tenacious in bringing it to life."
And whether you love his work or hate it, Anderson's work IS immediately recognizable as his. Check out what he does with this recent car commercial:
Besides the "quirky" epithet, Anderson's work is also often dismissed for being "precious" and "twee." I'm guessing that many who throw those terms around couldn't actually provide accurate definitions of either word, so let me turn to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
precious: "excessively refined: AFFECTED"
twee: "chiefly British : affectedly or excessively dainty, delicate, cute, or quaint"
And since both definitions refer to AFFECTATION, here's that definition: "the act of taking on or displaying an attitude or mode of behaviour not natural to oneself or not genuinely felt."
So the knock on Anderson seems to be that his work is fake, not genuine, pretentious, cutesy, and--something that seems to lurk under the surface of a lot of Anderson criticism--not suitably masculine. I think there's a journal article there, but I want to move on. Here's the trailer to Moonrise Kingdom:
Here are a few words from Wes Anderson:
"I want to try not to repeat myself. But then I seem to do it continuously in my films. It's not something I make any effort to do. I just want to make films that are personal, but interesting to an audience. I feel I get criticized for style over substance, and for details that get in the way of the characters. But every decision I make is how to bring those characters forward."
Here are a few words from me (or is that too twee?): I love some of Anderson's movies and don't respond to some others. For me, the stylization works best when it reflects the imagination and originality of youthful protagonists. At other times, it can have the effect of distancing us emotionally. In Moonrise Kingdom, the Aesthetics (with a capital A) can keep us at arm's length, but slowly the movie pulls us in (if we let it), providing a surprisingly emotional pay-off.
But who cares what I think? Wes Anderson is a stylish guy. Just look at him.
Some might see affectation. I see someone who is true to himself.
With an impressive 95% Fresh critical consensus on the Rotten Tomatoes site (and a 92% from the non-professional-critic Audience), the film still has its haters. I give you The New York Observer's Rex Reed:
"Preceded by bewildering blogs and Tweets (and even a few genuine reviews) from Cannes ('A Tender Triumph!' 'Glows in the Darkness!' 'Ode to Arrested Development!'), Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom is juvenile gibberish about two 12-year-olds who get married in a Boy Scout camp that is too sexually outrageous for the preteen age group it portrays and too tween for grown-ups. Like all Wes Anderson movies, it is naïve, mannered, pretentious and incomprehensible. He co-wrote it with Roman Coppola (yikes! another Coppola!). Together they were responsible for The Darjeeling Limited, one of the worst movies of all time. This one is neither as contrived as The Royal Tenenbaums nor as moronic as The Darjeeling Limited, but its boredom quotient is still stuck in the same unbroken wave of dubious tedium Mr. Anderson is famous for. (It also features another Coppola, the creepy Jason Schwartzman.) What is it with this guy and his awful movies masquerading as 'original ideas' that turns otherwise sensible critics into slobbering groupies?"
Reed would certainly fall into the group that Michael Specter calls Anderson's "detractors." In a new Wall Street Journal piece (a mini-tribute, really) called "The World of Wes Anderson," Specter writes that Anderson "has been tagged with the loathsome term 'quirky,' largely because he has a particular vision and is tenacious in bringing it to life."
And whether you love his work or hate it, Anderson's work IS immediately recognizable as his. Check out what he does with this recent car commercial:
Besides the "quirky" epithet, Anderson's work is also often dismissed for being "precious" and "twee." I'm guessing that many who throw those terms around couldn't actually provide accurate definitions of either word, so let me turn to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
precious: "excessively refined: AFFECTED"
twee: "chiefly British : affectedly or excessively dainty, delicate, cute, or quaint"
And since both definitions refer to AFFECTATION, here's that definition: "the act of taking on or displaying an attitude or mode of behaviour not natural to oneself or not genuinely felt."
So the knock on Anderson seems to be that his work is fake, not genuine, pretentious, cutesy, and--something that seems to lurk under the surface of a lot of Anderson criticism--not suitably masculine. I think there's a journal article there, but I want to move on. Here's the trailer to Moonrise Kingdom:
Here are a few words from Wes Anderson:
"I want to try not to repeat myself. But then I seem to do it continuously in my films. It's not something I make any effort to do. I just want to make films that are personal, but interesting to an audience. I feel I get criticized for style over substance, and for details that get in the way of the characters. But every decision I make is how to bring those characters forward."
Here are a few words from me (or is that too twee?): I love some of Anderson's movies and don't respond to some others. For me, the stylization works best when it reflects the imagination and originality of youthful protagonists. At other times, it can have the effect of distancing us emotionally. In Moonrise Kingdom, the Aesthetics (with a capital A) can keep us at arm's length, but slowly the movie pulls us in (if we let it), providing a surprisingly emotional pay-off.
But who cares what I think? Wes Anderson is a stylish guy. Just look at him.
Some might see affectation. I see someone who is true to himself.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
My Voyage to Italy
I got back from Italy a few days ago. Of course, I was there for the food.
And for the antiquities.
And for the sense of history all around you.
And for the scenery.
Not to mention the people watching.
But a couple of hours after landing in Rome, I snapped the throngs of tourists at the Trevi fountain,
and foremost in my mind was Federico Fellini,
who used the fountain in a famous scene from his 1960 film La Dolce Vita.
And for the rest of the trip, the images I saw around me often brought to mind the images from classic Italian films. "I saw these movies. They had a powerful effect on me. And you should see them." Not my words but Martin Scorsese's, spoken in his nearly-four-hour-long documentary about Italian cinema My Voyage to Italy (1999).
In his film, Scorsese discusses the work of Fellini, along with that of other major Italian directors Luchino Visconti, Vittorio De Sica, Roberto Rossellini, and Michelangelo Antonioni, presenting generous clips from many great films that will make you want to fill a Netflix queue. It's like sitting in on a university class taught by the best film professor imaginable. His enthusiasm is infectious.
And the movies Scorsese discusses are ones that every serious student of film should know.
Here are a couple clips. The first focuses on Fellini's La Dolce Vita.
The next focuses on Visconti's Senso (1954).
And for the antiquities.
And for the sense of history all around you.
And for the scenery.
Not to mention the people watching.
But a couple of hours after landing in Rome, I snapped the throngs of tourists at the Trevi fountain,
and foremost in my mind was Federico Fellini,
who used the fountain in a famous scene from his 1960 film La Dolce Vita.
And for the rest of the trip, the images I saw around me often brought to mind the images from classic Italian films. "I saw these movies. They had a powerful effect on me. And you should see them." Not my words but Martin Scorsese's, spoken in his nearly-four-hour-long documentary about Italian cinema My Voyage to Italy (1999).
In his film, Scorsese discusses the work of Fellini, along with that of other major Italian directors Luchino Visconti, Vittorio De Sica, Roberto Rossellini, and Michelangelo Antonioni, presenting generous clips from many great films that will make you want to fill a Netflix queue. It's like sitting in on a university class taught by the best film professor imaginable. His enthusiasm is infectious.
And the movies Scorsese discusses are ones that every serious student of film should know.
Here are a couple clips. The first focuses on Fellini's La Dolce Vita.
The next focuses on Visconti's Senso (1954).
Saturday, May 19, 2012
"Fish Tank": Coming of Age in an English Housing Project
A couple weeks ago, I finally got around to watching Andrea Arnold's 2009 film Fish Tank, winner of the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Images from it have come into my mind every day since.
Now available on a Criterion DVD, it can also be watched instantly on Netflix. Here's the Criterion blurb:
SYNOPSIS: British director Andrea Arnold won the Cannes Jury Prize for the intense and invigorating Fish Tank, about a fifteen-year-old girl, Mia (electrifying newcomer Katie Jarvis), who lives with her mother and sister in the housing projects of Essex. Mia’s adolescent conflicts and emerging sexuality reach a boiling point when her mother’s new boyfriend (a lethally attractive Michael Fassbender) enters the picture. In her young career, Arnold has already proven herself to be a master of social realism, evoking the work of Mike Leigh and Ken Loach; and she invests her sympathetic portraits of dead-end lives with a poetic, earthy sensibility all her own. Fish Tank heralds the official arrival of a major new filmmaker.
The Criterion WEBSITE for the film has the trailer and one of their great "Three Reasons" videos for it, along with several articles. Here's the trailer:
I like what Peter Rainer had to say in The Christian Science Monitor:
"Because Arnold hews the film so close to Mia's hurts, what might come across as a downer instead often has a startling immediacy. Only bad movies are depressing movies. "Fish Tank," for all its faults and vagaries, brings us up close to a fully realized human being, and that's revivifying.
Jarvis, who had no previous acting experience, was accidentally discovered by Arnold when she overhead the girl arguing with her boyfriend in a train station. Arnold was right to go with her instincts in casting an untrained unknown: Jarvis has an openness to the camera that a more accomplished performer might have lacked. Her acting has a moment-to-moment excitement because we can never tell what Mia will do."
I think it's worth your time.
Now available on a Criterion DVD, it can also be watched instantly on Netflix. Here's the Criterion blurb:
SYNOPSIS: British director Andrea Arnold won the Cannes Jury Prize for the intense and invigorating Fish Tank, about a fifteen-year-old girl, Mia (electrifying newcomer Katie Jarvis), who lives with her mother and sister in the housing projects of Essex. Mia’s adolescent conflicts and emerging sexuality reach a boiling point when her mother’s new boyfriend (a lethally attractive Michael Fassbender) enters the picture. In her young career, Arnold has already proven herself to be a master of social realism, evoking the work of Mike Leigh and Ken Loach; and she invests her sympathetic portraits of dead-end lives with a poetic, earthy sensibility all her own. Fish Tank heralds the official arrival of a major new filmmaker.
The Criterion WEBSITE for the film has the trailer and one of their great "Three Reasons" videos for it, along with several articles. Here's the trailer:
I like what Peter Rainer had to say in The Christian Science Monitor:
"Because Arnold hews the film so close to Mia's hurts, what might come across as a downer instead often has a startling immediacy. Only bad movies are depressing movies. "Fish Tank," for all its faults and vagaries, brings us up close to a fully realized human being, and that's revivifying.
Jarvis, who had no previous acting experience, was accidentally discovered by Arnold when she overhead the girl arguing with her boyfriend in a train station. Arnold was right to go with her instincts in casting an untrained unknown: Jarvis has an openness to the camera that a more accomplished performer might have lacked. Her acting has a moment-to-moment excitement because we can never tell what Mia will do."
I think it's worth your time.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Meet Ross, a Navajo Horse
This is Ross.
He's the star of Melissa Henry's award-winning short film Horse You See, in which he tells us about himself in the Navajo language and even sings a song. Here it is:
In an interview, Melissa Henry was asked what she wanted viewers to take away from the film.
Melissa: I would just like them to be happy that they watched it, that it brings some sort of joy or happiness to their day, even if it's just for a little while. But for the more "serious" answer I'd like people to see that a film in the Navajo language can reach out to all audiences regardless of who they are or where they grew up. If anything it would be great that they become so curious that they use the movie to learn some Navajo words and phrases.
Melissa and her producer (and husband), Alfredo Perez, were asked what advice they could give to aspiring filmmakers. Here's what they said:
Alfredo: Melissa grew up in the Navajo reservation with limited access to TV, so she and her brothers had to make their own fun and exercise their imaginations playing in nature and with animals around them. So my advice I guess is for people to try to tell their own stories and not so much copy other things they've seen. Postmodernism has its limits, eventually you run out of movies to quote and pay homage to, and your audience is exhausted and hungry for new and different things. So just go with your own idea and make your own movie. It can be hard to come up with new things if you grew up surrounded by media, but it's always possible to offer a fresh approach. Then other people can quote you instead.
Melissa: Do something that's fun, do something that's going to be worth the time you'll be putting into the movie. Also, when you get too much advice from other people it can really cloud what you are aiming for, so you need to find people who really know you and you really trust. Find a good producer, someone who believes in what you're doing and who will fight for your vision.
Melissa and Alfredo started Albuquerque's Red Ant Films in 2003 "to create original films in the Navajo language." HERE is a link to their website.
He's the star of Melissa Henry's award-winning short film Horse You See, in which he tells us about himself in the Navajo language and even sings a song. Here it is:
In an interview, Melissa Henry was asked what she wanted viewers to take away from the film.
Melissa: I would just like them to be happy that they watched it, that it brings some sort of joy or happiness to their day, even if it's just for a little while. But for the more "serious" answer I'd like people to see that a film in the Navajo language can reach out to all audiences regardless of who they are or where they grew up. If anything it would be great that they become so curious that they use the movie to learn some Navajo words and phrases.
Melissa and her producer (and husband), Alfredo Perez, were asked what advice they could give to aspiring filmmakers. Here's what they said:
Alfredo: Melissa grew up in the Navajo reservation with limited access to TV, so she and her brothers had to make their own fun and exercise their imaginations playing in nature and with animals around them. So my advice I guess is for people to try to tell their own stories and not so much copy other things they've seen. Postmodernism has its limits, eventually you run out of movies to quote and pay homage to, and your audience is exhausted and hungry for new and different things. So just go with your own idea and make your own movie. It can be hard to come up with new things if you grew up surrounded by media, but it's always possible to offer a fresh approach. Then other people can quote you instead.
Melissa: Do something that's fun, do something that's going to be worth the time you'll be putting into the movie. Also, when you get too much advice from other people it can really cloud what you are aiming for, so you need to find people who really know you and you really trust. Find a good producer, someone who believes in what you're doing and who will fight for your vision.
Melissa and Alfredo started Albuquerque's Red Ant Films in 2003 "to create original films in the Navajo language." HERE is a link to their website.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Students' Favorite Movies, Spring 2012
A couple of weeks ago, I asked 318I students to write down three of their favorite movies on the back of that week's quiz. Some wrote down three, some more, some less. I was surprised that there was so little overlap of choices. There were a total of 160 votes, and 132 different movies were chosen. Here they are:
5 Votes
The Dark Knight
3 Votes each
Harold and Maude, A
Clockwork Orange, Midnight in Paris, Trainspotting
2 Votes each
Return of the Jedi,
Slumdog Millionaire, Children of Men, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,
Pirates of the Caribbean, Titanic, Toy Story, The Lives of Others, The
Fountain, Fight Club, Princess Mononoke, Lord of the Rings, Oceans 11, Memento,
Old Boy, There Will Be Blood
1 Vote each
The Wizard of Oz,
Serenity, Soldier, The Never Ending Story, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Forrest
Gump, Unbreakable, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, Butch Cassidy and the
Sundance Kid, My Cousin Vinny, The Sandlot, Toy Story 3, Jurassic Park, Be Kind
Rewind, To Kill a Mockingbird, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, All About My Mother, The
Godfather, The Godfather Part III, Superman IV, Eraserhead, The King’s Speech,
Hamlet (Branagh), The Seven Samurai, The Evil Dead, Dr. Strangelove, American
Psycho, Lost in Translation, Steel Magnolias, Swingers, Good Will Hunting, Elf,
Step Brothers, Newsies, Pulp Fiction, Requiem for a Dream, Leon the
Professional, The Beat My Heart Skipped, Machete, Planet Terror, La Dolce Vita,
Super Troopers, The Hangover, Paris, Texas, Mad Max, Goodfellas, A Patch of
Blue, Blade Runner, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Tree of Life, Sweet Land, Ferris
Bueller’s Day Off, The Constant Gardener, Into the Wild, King of the Hill,
Eastern Promises, Life is Beautiful, Noises Off, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Dragonfly,
Wall E, The Time Traveler’s Wife, Transformers, New Year’s Eve, The Usual
Suspects, Casablanca, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Taxi Driver, Once Upon a
Time in America, White Ribbon, Disney’s Hercules, Anchorman, Grease, Rushmore,
Fargo, Blue Velvet, Beauty and the Beast (animated and French live action),
Phantom of the Opera, Edward Scissorhands, Top Gun, Apocalypse Now, Donnie
Darko, Silence of the Lambs, Finding Nemo, The Hunger Games, Iron Man 1 &
2, Sherlock Holmes, Beetlejuice, The Darjeeling Limited, Tell No One, The Lion
King, The Departed, American Beauty, Two for the Road, Amadeus, The Matrix 1
& 2, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, Gattaca, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Tommy
Wiseau’s The Room, Back to the Future, The Shawshank Redemption, Mary and Max,
The Holy Mountain, Final Flesh, Fritz the Cat, Fantastic Planet
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Gourmet Food Trucks and FREE Artwalk Thursday Night in San Pedro
Gail Werner, Bird Dreams V, 2012, encaustic
at Gallery Neuartig
The monthly 1st Thursday ArtWalk will take place Thursday night, May 3, from 6:00 to 9:00. You can see lots of art, for FREE, at a variety of galleries and in artists' studios. A number of local bars, cafes, and restaurants will have live music. And there will be at least SIXTEEN food trucks, including The Grilled Cheese Truck, OG Tempura, Asian Cravings, Let's Roll It (sushi), Shrimp Pimp, Palazzolo's Truck (gelato), Waffles de Liege, and Auntie's Fry Bread.
For more info, check out the 1st Thursday website HERE . And if you miss it, there's always next month. FREE parking.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Richard Diebenkorn: The Ocean Park Series thru May 27 at OCMA
In his Boston Globe review of the current Diebenkorn show at Newport Beach's Orange County Museum of Art, art critic Sebastian Smee wrote the following:
"A great and stately unfolding occurs in the 'Ocean Park' paintings of Richard Diebenkorn, among which can be counted some of the most beautiful works of art created in America, or anywhere else, since the Second World War.
To stand before these austere but drenchingly beautiful canvases is as close as art gets to the feeling of taking refuge on a cold day under a warm shower. The larger paintings, in particular, impose a physical, almost drug-dragged restraint against removing oneself from their ambit."
You will never get another chance to see so many works from this series together. It ends May 27!
HERE is a link to the museum's website. It's in Newport Beach, near Fashion Island. And the second Sunday of every month is FREE!
"A great and stately unfolding occurs in the 'Ocean Park' paintings of Richard Diebenkorn, among which can be counted some of the most beautiful works of art created in America, or anywhere else, since the Second World War.
To stand before these austere but drenchingly beautiful canvases is as close as art gets to the feeling of taking refuge on a cold day under a warm shower. The larger paintings, in particular, impose a physical, almost drug-dragged restraint against removing oneself from their ambit."
You will never get another chance to see so many works from this series together. It ends May 27!
Richard Diebenkorn Ocean Park #140
Here's the OCMA blurb:
Richard Diebenkorn: The Ocean Park Series is the first major museum
exhibition to explore the artist’s most celebrated series created from 1967 to
1988. Recognized as a leading West Coast Abstract Expressionist in the 1950s,
Diebenkorn turned his attention to figurative painting in 1955 and achieved
equal success in this alternate style. In 1967 he returned to abstraction, and
during the next twenty years would forge one of the most compelling and
masterful bodies of work of the 20th century: the Ocean Park series. Featuring
approximately 80 works—including paintings, prints, drawings, and collages—this
exhibition captures Diebenkorn’s practice of working simultaneously in diverse
media and provides audiences with the first opportunity to explore the
complexity of Diebenkorn’s artistic and aesthetic concerns in this seminal body
of work.
Richard Diebenkorn Ocean Park # 96 at OCMA
HERE is a link to the museum's website. It's in Newport Beach, near Fashion Island. And the second Sunday of every month is FREE!
Friday, April 27, 2012
In Wonderland: Only Two Weekends Left
This excellent LACMA exhibit of work by Surrealist women artists (see my post from March 27) ends on May 6.
Frida Kahlo, The Two Fridas, 1939
Don't miss it! The website is HERE .
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
"Two of My Favorite Authors" by Prof. Carol Zitzer-Comfort
Our second Guest Recommender is Professor Carol Zitzer Comfort.
The CSULB English Department website says that Dr. Zitzer-Comfort "received her BA from CSU Fullerton, her MA from Cal Poly Pomona and her PhD from Claremont Graduate University. Her areas of interest include: Reading and Composition, Cognitive Development, American Indian Literature, Disability Studies and English Education. She has published several articles and a book chapter on Williams syndrome, authored a textbook for basic writing courses, co-edited an anthology of American Indian Women’s writings and presented at several national and international conferences. Carol serves on the Advisory Board for the SALK Institute Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, on the Board of Directors of the Williams Syndrome Association and on several CSULB department, college and university committees. Before coming to CSULB in 2005, Dr. Zitzer-Comfort taught and directed a Student Support Services program at Cal Poly Pomona for ten years."
Here's what she has to say:
As an undergraduate English major, I was introduced to the fiction of Louise Erdrich. It was love at first read.
It all started with Love Medicine, which was assigned reading for an American Indian Literature course. If you have been in one of my classes, you know that I know way too much about Erdrich. I can never decide which of her novels I like best: Love Medicine or Tracks. I find her most recent novel Shadow Tag incredibly haunting and beautiful. I read it straight through and immediately began reading it again. Her novels aren’t easy reading, but they are worth the effort. In addition to being a prolific novelist, Erdrich is also an accomplished poet. For more information about her, one of her poems, a short story, and excerpts from interviews, click HERE .
Another favorite author of mine is Toni Morrison, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993.
I’ve been reading and teaching Beloved since the 1990s. Each time I read it, I find a new way to read parts of it, which is what makes it so powerful. It is a novel that demands much from its readers. Other Morrison novels that I particularly enjoy are Song of Solomon, Sula, and The Bluest Eye.
The CSULB English Department website says that Dr. Zitzer-Comfort "received her BA from CSU Fullerton, her MA from Cal Poly Pomona and her PhD from Claremont Graduate University. Her areas of interest include: Reading and Composition, Cognitive Development, American Indian Literature, Disability Studies and English Education. She has published several articles and a book chapter on Williams syndrome, authored a textbook for basic writing courses, co-edited an anthology of American Indian Women’s writings and presented at several national and international conferences. Carol serves on the Advisory Board for the SALK Institute Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, on the Board of Directors of the Williams Syndrome Association and on several CSULB department, college and university committees. Before coming to CSULB in 2005, Dr. Zitzer-Comfort taught and directed a Student Support Services program at Cal Poly Pomona for ten years."
Here's what she has to say:
As an undergraduate English major, I was introduced to the fiction of Louise Erdrich. It was love at first read.
It all started with Love Medicine, which was assigned reading for an American Indian Literature course. If you have been in one of my classes, you know that I know way too much about Erdrich. I can never decide which of her novels I like best: Love Medicine or Tracks. I find her most recent novel Shadow Tag incredibly haunting and beautiful. I read it straight through and immediately began reading it again. Her novels aren’t easy reading, but they are worth the effort. In addition to being a prolific novelist, Erdrich is also an accomplished poet. For more information about her, one of her poems, a short story, and excerpts from interviews, click HERE .
Another favorite author of mine is Toni Morrison, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993.
I’ve been reading and teaching Beloved since the 1990s. Each time I read it, I find a new way to read parts of it, which is what makes it so powerful. It is a novel that demands much from its readers. Other Morrison novels that I particularly enjoy are Song of Solomon, Sula, and The Bluest Eye.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
50 Places to Eat for $5 or Less in Southern California
On April 9, the Los Angeles Times carried a feature with the above title. HERE is a link. The restaurants/trucks/dives are spread out over the basin, from the San Fernando Valley to the San Gabriel Valley to Downey to Westminster. They only list one place in Long Beach. Here it is:
It's Phnom Penh Noodle Restaurant at 1644 Cherry Ave. Here's what Jason La at the Times had to say:
"On the outside, Phnom Penh looks like a house. On the inside, it looks like your Asian mom's kitchen. In short, this isn't a typical restaurant. The Spartan menu consists of noodle soups (beef and meatball, seafood, Phnom Penh and beef stew), rice porridge soups (chicken, pork and fish) and stir-fried noodles. If you want to sample soups, buy a child-size serving ($3.50). Their regular serving ($5) is enough for a meal." And HERE is a link to their YELP page (4 stars!).
Open 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Closed Monday.
Please let the rest of us know if you have been to any of the places in the article, especially if you liked them. Also, please feel free to recommend other low low cost places to eat nearby. Here's a place I like:
I found out about El Taco Loco numero tres a few years ago when various food celebrities were asked to name their favorite taco places in the L.A. area. Of course, most of the recommendations were in East L.A. But one of the foodies was L.A. Times food editor Russ Parsons, who happens to live near me on Long Beach's westside. He sang the praises of El Taco Loco's many tacos, such as my favorite Al Pastor, as well as more exotic fare (at least exotic to me) like Tripa, Lengua, Cabeza--even Sesos. They also make fresh juices, and there's always a lady behind the counter making fresh tortillas. I don't recommend going after dark (when it can be a little scary) or on Sunday, when the after-church crowds fill the place. Just be sure to know your numeros en Espanol, so you'll know when your order is being called for pick-up.
It's at 1465 Magnolia Ave in Long Beach (between PCH and Anaheim). HERE is a link to their YELP page (4 stars!).
It's Phnom Penh Noodle Restaurant at 1644 Cherry Ave. Here's what Jason La at the Times had to say:
"On the outside, Phnom Penh looks like a house. On the inside, it looks like your Asian mom's kitchen. In short, this isn't a typical restaurant. The Spartan menu consists of noodle soups (beef and meatball, seafood, Phnom Penh and beef stew), rice porridge soups (chicken, pork and fish) and stir-fried noodles. If you want to sample soups, buy a child-size serving ($3.50). Their regular serving ($5) is enough for a meal." And HERE is a link to their YELP page (4 stars!).
Open 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Closed Monday.
Please let the rest of us know if you have been to any of the places in the article, especially if you liked them. Also, please feel free to recommend other low low cost places to eat nearby. Here's a place I like:
I found out about El Taco Loco numero tres a few years ago when various food celebrities were asked to name their favorite taco places in the L.A. area. Of course, most of the recommendations were in East L.A. But one of the foodies was L.A. Times food editor Russ Parsons, who happens to live near me on Long Beach's westside. He sang the praises of El Taco Loco's many tacos, such as my favorite Al Pastor, as well as more exotic fare (at least exotic to me) like Tripa, Lengua, Cabeza--even Sesos. They also make fresh juices, and there's always a lady behind the counter making fresh tortillas. I don't recommend going after dark (when it can be a little scary) or on Sunday, when the after-church crowds fill the place. Just be sure to know your numeros en Espanol, so you'll know when your order is being called for pick-up.
It's at 1465 Magnolia Ave in Long Beach (between PCH and Anaheim). HERE is a link to their YELP page (4 stars!).
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