The Filtered Excellence: March 26, 2015
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:
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The Salt Of The Earth. This Academy-Award nominated documentary feature from director Wim Wenders and Juliano Riberio Salgado will get an eagerly awaited run in theaters this weekend. The film profiles Juliano’s father, photojournalist Sebastiao Salgado, who has spent over 40 years documenting international conflicts and their aftermaths, both tragic and life-affirming. In addition to looking back at his extraordinary career, the film also takes us on Salgado’s latest project, a journey through the most awe-inspiring landscapes as part of a new book that will celebrate the Earth. Rich with archival footage and photographs and mind blowing images, this is not just a loving and moving salute to one of the great photojournalists of our time, it serves as a call to take care of the world we live in – and each other. The Salt Of The Earth opens this Friday in New York and L.A.
You can also go to www.sonyclassics.com for more information.
While We’re Young. The latest film from writer-director Noah Baumbach (The Squid And The Whale, Margot At The Wedding, Greenberg, Frances Ha) takes on middle age and hipsters. Ben Stiller, plays Josh, a New York documentary filmmaker happily married to his wife Cornelia (Naomi Watts). They tried several times to have children, but were unsuccessful, and were initially comfortable with it. But when Josh hits a creative and personal wall, he realizes there’s still a void in his life and in his marriage. When they meet the free-spirited couple Jamie (Adam Driver) and Darby (Amanda Seyfried), Josh and Cornelia decide to adopt their in the moment approach to life, hoping it will make them feel young again. But as the two couples begin to comically share experiences (bike riding, dance classes, clubbing), Josh and Cornelia begin to question whether this new found friendship will last and forces them to confront the choices they have made as a couple. The themes of life choices and commitment has been a constant in Baumbach’s films, but by placing it in the heart of a hipster driven (and to a lesser degree, gentrified) New York, he has found a creative second wind. He also seems to have found his alter ego in Stiller, (who starred in his film Greenberg) who is great in the role as Josh. Stiller and Watts have great on-screen chemistry as does Driver and Seyfried as the hipsters who turn their lives upside down. Also be on the look out for Adam Horowitz as Josh’s friend Fletcher. The former Beastie Boy nearly steals the movie as he makes dry, but pointed comments about his best friend haplessly adapting to a hipster lifestyle. This is another winner from one of independent cinema’s best writer-directors. While We’re Young opens on Friday nationwide.
You can go to www.while-were-young.com for more info.
Marfa Girl. Tired of battling with distributors and the MPAA over the raw nature of his films, Larry Clark initially decided to have his 2012 film Marfa Girl available exclusively on his website. Surprisingly, Spotlight Pictures cut a deal with Clark, securing all distribution rights and giving it a wider release in theaters, online, and on demand. The plot centers around Adam (Adam Mediano), a 16 year old living in the small town of Marfa, Texas. Even though he has a girlfriend, Adam finds himself fending off the advances of his neighbor Donna, his teacher and a newly arrived artist. Adam’s also in the crosshairs of a unhinged border patrol agent, who is paying just a bit too much attention on Adam’s mother and girlfriend. All of the classic Larry Clark themes are here: Young people exploring their sexuality, a mistrust of authority and the general hopelessness of living in a dead end town . As always, uses unknown actors and his fly on the wall approach to capture life in this dead end Texan town. There’s also a fair amount of sex, sexual tension, violence and drug use, but for the characters, they do it to pass the time as much as its used to express emotion. While much of the action happens indoors, Clark, along with his cinematographer David Newbert wonderfully capture Marfa’s landscape – fractured ranches, trailer parks and abandoned buildings – to underscore the isolation and hopelessness. It’s easy to see why Spotlight Pictures decided to take a chance on going all in on an unrated film and giving it much needed exposure: It’s one of Clark’s most mature and cohesive works to date. Marfa Girl opens in select theaters on Friday and rolls out nationally on April 7th.
You can also view Marfa Girl
You can go to www.marfagirlfilm.com for more info.
Ned Rifle Directed by Hal Hartley. Iconic indie writers/director/producer/
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Duets: Re-Working The Catalogue by Van Morrison. For Van Morrison, this could’ve been a quick, easy way to have a new generation discover his outstanding catalog. After all, the Duets formula is money in the bank. Van could’ve easily slapped together re-worked versions of such classic songs as ‘Brown Eyed Girl’, ‘Moondance’ or ‘Into The Mystic’ and had any number of biggest names in rock or pop record their vocals alongside Van’s. In fact, they could’ve pulled a Sinatra and had the ‘duets’ done in different studios. But, as always, Van doesn’t do any by the numbers and he’s definitely not concerned with crossover success. He took his time with this project, selecting duet partners that he admired and then waiting for schedules to mesh so they can cut the tracks live in studio. Morrison also mined his extraordinary songbook to find the songs that fit the singers rather than songs that would all but guarantee big sales. His choice of duet partners includes some of his contemporaries (Steve Winwood, Georgie Fame, Chris Farlowe, Taj Mahal, Mark Knopfler, Natalie Cole), influences (Mavis Staples, George Benson and, in some of his final recordings, the late Bobby Womack), and current artists who are cut from the same musical cloth (Joss Stone, Gregory Porter, Clare Teal, Michael Buble and Morrison’s daughter Shana). There’s even a hint of humor as P.J. Proby happily joins Morrison on the track, ‘Whatever Happened To P.J. Proby’. The album succeeds on two fronts: It re-affirms Morrison’s love for jazz, blues, rhythm & blues and it yet again, re-establishes him as one of the greatest singer-songwriters of his or any time. This is a labor of love that is destined to be become a late-career classic.
Duets: Re-Working The Catalogue
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NEW YORK: Debbie Harry at the Cafe Carlyle. Debbie Harry takes a detour from Blondie to do a series of intimate shows at Cafe Carlyle. Accompanied by only multi-instrumentalist Matt Katz-Bohen, Harry’s set focuses on songs from her underrated solo career, cool covers and Blondie material that’s not featured on the current tour. Harry was always an outstanding vocalists and here’s a chance to up close and personal. Debbie Harry will be at Cafe Carlyle through April 4th.
You can go to www.rosewoodhotels.com for tickets and additional information.
NEW YORK: DJ ?uestlove Presents Bowl Train. When he’s not anchoring The Roots, Ahmir ‘Questlove’ Thompson can be found during a Thursday night residency spinning classic funk, R&B and hip hop at Brooklyn Bowl. As an added bonus, classic episodes of Soul Train are on the big screens, urging you to channel your inner Soul Train dancer. The range of music that Thompson draws from is practically an encyclopedia of American music (owning 50,000 vinyl records helps) so expect to hear anything and everything. Always a fun time. Bowl Train happens at Brooklyn Bowl every Thursday night starting at 11.
You can go to www.brooklynbowl.com for more info.
LOS ANGELES: Jon Brion at Largo. The extraordinarily talented multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, composer and record composer returns to Largo to resume (at least we hope) his regular Friday night residency. The show works without a set list and features audience suggestions, cover songs, original material and guest appearances by musicians and comedians. Using loops, Brion will build a song starting with drums, then bass, guitar, then vocals under he truly becomes a one man band. Come out and see a true genius taking the audience on an incredible musical journey with some of his equally talented friends and admirers.
Go to www.largo-la.com for more information.
LOS ANGELES: The Music Of David Lynch. We all know that David Lynch is an amazing filmmaker. But Lynch is also an accomplished musician, composing (most frequently with Angelo Badalamenti) his films often hypnotic scores. To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of The David Lynch Foundation, an all-star concert will feature several of Lynch’s friends and fans will put their own spin on his compositions. Guests scheduled to appear include Badalamenti, Duran Duran, Jim James of My Morning Jacket, Karen O, Donovan, Moby, Wayne Coyne and Steven Drozd of The Flaming Lips, Julee Cruise, current Lynch protege Chrysta Bell and many more. All proceeds from the event will go to The David Lynch Foundation, which brings Transcendental Meditation to at-risk populations suffering with PTSD.
You can go to www.acehotel.com for tickets and more information.
LOS ANGELES: A Tribute To Mad Men. Celebrate the end of Mad Men with these special screenings at LACMA. The museum will screen two pairs of essential Mad Men episodes, as chosen by the cast. Following the screenings, series creator Matthew Weiner and Don Draper himself Jon Hamm will discuss the episode choices. Bing Theater at Los Angeles County Museum Of Art. Runs until Friday, March 27
For more info, go to lacma.org.
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