The Filtered Excellence: March 10, 2016

doris

Bob Geldof once asked us, “Where is the filtered excellence!?” It’s right here. Once a week we take a break from comedy to bring you this weeks picks of the best things to watch, the most interesting things to do, great things to try, the best picks to read, our favorite things to listen to and more.


WATCH THIS:

Eye In The Sky. Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul, Alan Rickman and Barkhad Abdi. Directed by Gavin Hood. The complexities and conflicts within modern warfare are at the core of this new thriller by Gavin Hood. Helen Mirren stars as Colonel Katherine Powell, a British officer in command of a top secret drone operation to capture terrorists in Kenya. The plan quickly switches from capture to kill when its discovered that their targets are planning a suicide bombing. When an 9 year old girl enters the kill zone, British and U.S. officials weigh the political fallout of her death against the potential deaths of others – while still trying to keep the terrorists don’t carry out their plans. Working off a script by Guy Hibbert, Hood has put together a taunt, edgy film that fights right in line with the times. Mirren anchors a strong cast that includes Aaron Paul, the late Alan Rickman and Oscar nominee Barkhad Abdi, as they weigh the moral and political costs of fighting a war on an entirely different front line. A new millennial spin on the war thriller that works on multiple levels. Eye In The Sky opens on Friday. You can also go to www.eyeintheskythemovie.com for more information.

Hello, My Name Is Doris. Sally Field, Tyne Daly, Max Greenfield. Directed by Michael Showalter. The latest from writer-director Michael Showalter (Wet Hot American Summer) takes a comedic look at reinvention, relationship dynamics and the May-December romance. Sally Field stats as Doris Miller, a 60-something single woman who lives alone in a cluttered house in Staten Island. Still dealing with the death of her mother, Doris’ life get a much needed lift with the arrival of the company’s new art director, John Freemont (Max Greenfield). Despite the 40 year age difference, Doris is determined to make this love happen somehow on her own terms. With the help of her best friend Roz (Tyne Daly) and Roz’s granddaughter, she sets up a fake Facebook account to get a sense of John’s interests. In an effort to get close to and with him, Doris finds herself in the heart of the Williamsburg hipster scene, which surprisingly adopts into their world. As her relationship with John begins to gain traction, two things threaten to put a stop to it: The realities of their individual lives and John’s girlfriend Brooklyn (Beth Behrs). Field, in her first starring role in nearly a decade, pulls out all of the stops as Doris and she’s fantastic. It’s yet another reminder of why she’s one of our most beloved actresses. Showalter’s script is also scores as it takes dead aim at ageism, hipsters, and romance for people of a certain age. With the big budget action movie season about to take over the theaters again, make it a point to check out this quirky, engaging comedy. Hello, My Name Is Doris opens this Friday. You can also go to www.mynameisdorismovie.com for more information.

City Of Gold. Food critics often put their praise and putdowns on the high end (and much hyped) restaurants. L.A. food critic Jonathan Gold takes a different approach. Driving around in a green pickup truck, Gold reviewed restaurants located in strip malls, local family run restaurants and food trucks that served meals from all over the world. Director Laura Gabbert looks at the Pulitzer Prize winner’s unique yet inspiring way he mines Los Angeles for the next great local cuisine while celebrating the city’s rich and diverse culture. Gold is as engaging in person as his writing, and the stories from the restaurant owners – several of which stayed open because of Gold’s reviews – are quite moving. Gabbert has put together a great doc that shows the American Dream at work and how one person truly can make a difference. City Of Gold opens this Friday. You can also go to www.ifcfilms.com for more information.

LISTEN TO THIS

Untitled Unmastered by Kendrick Lamar. Just a few weeks after his show stopping performance – and multiple wins – at the Grammys, Kendrick Lamar surprised everyone by dropping a new album. While some of the tracks debuted on The Colbert Report and The Tonight Show, Untitled Unmastered consists of demos and outtakes from his award winning To Pimp A Butterfly. What makes this collection great is that it feels more like a continuation and an extension rather than a group of songs slapped together. You can hear Lamar’s fusion of funk, R&B, jazz and the avant garde starting to shape and arrive to full bloom. With appearances by Cee Lo Green, Robert Glasper, Thundercat and Bilal, this is a much deserved victory lap for one of the best in the game. Untitled Unmastered is available now on Amazon, Itunes and all major digital streaming services, with a CD release due on March 11th.

Arkansas Summer by Chris Maxwell. After years of doing production work for Iggy Pop, They Might Be Giants, several indie bands and for TV shows such as Bob’s Burgers and Inside Amy Schumer, Chris Maxwell finally steps out on his own with this stellar debut solo album. Combining Beatlesque sensibilities with Americana, the album has everything from introspective ballads to foot stomping roots rockers. Vocally, Maxwell channels John Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band period and the production quickly moves from sparse to lush, sometimes within the same song. An outstanding debut album. Arkansas Summer is available now through Amazon, Itunes and all major music retailers.

DO THIS

Los Angeles: PaleyFest 2016.  Now in its 33rd year, PaleyFest brings together the cast and creative teams behind some of TV’s top shows to discuss their craft and take questions from the audience. This year’s lineup will include Empire, Scandal, Black-ish, Better Call Saul, Supergirl and Scream Queens, among others. Also, there will Law & Order franchise creator Dick Wolf will be hand with the casts of latest franchise series Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D. and Chicago Med. The festival will close with the cast of American Horror Story: Hotel. A fantastic chance to hear back stories behind some of the best the medium has to offer. PaleyFest 2016 runs March 11th through the 20th. You can go to paleycenter.org  for tickets and more information.


Want more excellence? Read last week’s The Filtered Excellence and visit The Interrobang Recommmends

Read more comedy news, stories, interviews with comedians, videos and comedy clips on our home page. Get more comedy news. Watch more viral videos. Read more interviews with the best comics in the business.

The following two tabs change content below.
Earl Douglas is a writer/photographer based in New York City. A frequent contributor to The Interrobang, Earl is also Executive Director for the New York chapter of The Black Rock Coalition. Earl worked in radio for nearly two decades at WNEW-FM and XM Satellite Radio, which included being the on-air producer for Carol Miller, Scott Muni and Ron & Fez, and a contributor to Opie & Anthony. Earl has also independently published a number of books including Black Rock Volume 1, Urban Abyss, Mobile Uploads, and For Shimmy. His latest project is the photojournalism magazine PRAXIS, which is available exclusively through Blurb.com.
Earl Douglas
Earl Douglas
Earl Douglas is a writer/photographer based in New York City. A frequent contributor to The Interrobang, Earl is also Executive Director for the New York chapter of The Black Rock Coalition. Earl worked in radio for nearly two decades at WNEW-FM and XM Satellite Radio, which included being the on-air producer for Carol Miller, Scott Muni and Ron & Fez, and a contributor to Opie & Anthony. Earl has also independently published a number of books including Black Rock Volume 1, Urban Abyss, Mobile Uploads, and For Shimmy. His latest project is the photojournalism magazine PRAXIS, which is available exclusively through Blurb.com.