The Filtered Excellence: August 28, 2014

Bob Geldof once asked us, “Where is the filtered excellence!?” It’s right here. Here are 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:

The Last of Robin Hood starring Kevin Kline and Dakota Fanning.  Errol Flynn was Hollywood’s first major action hero starring in a series of swashbuckling roles in the ’30s and ’40s that were legendary. He was also cinema’s first true bad boy, known for his hard partying lifestyle and being a hit with the ladies. Flynn’s taste for young women played a huge part in his career decline: In 1942, Flynn was accused by two underage girls of statutory rape. Flynn was acquitted, but it severely damaged the studios carefully crafted image of a romantic leading man. By the 1950’s his career in Hollywood was all but over. When Flynn died in 1959 of a heart attack, it was reported that he died in the arms of his girlfriend at the time, actress-dancer Beverly Aadland, who was only 17. Their love story is recalled in The Last Of Robin Hood starring Kevin Kline as Flynn and Dakota Fanning as Aadland. Writing and directed by Richard Glazer and Wash Westmoreland, turns the Flynn-Aadland romance – which started when Aadland was only 15 – into a sympathetic look into the complexities of love. Kline, who is fine form as the aging action star desperately trying to rebuild his career while falling in love perhaps, as the script suggests, for the first time. Fanning is also terrific as the young girl, who is also finding true love for the first time, albeit under highly extraordinary circumstances. Susan Sarandon also gives a cagey performance as Aadland’s stage mother from Hell, Florence. The fall season isn’t quite here yet, but The Last Of Robin Hood is a solid peek as to how its going to go. It opens in New York and L.A. on Friday and nationwide on September 6th.

Through A Lens Darkly: Black Photographers And The Emergence Of People.  In this searing new documentary, director Thomas Allen Harris looks at African-American photography from slavery to the present in all forms. We see photos that document the pain, struggle and truimphs alongside images that were designed to portray and reinforce sterotypes. Harris also makes it a personal journey using his own family photo albums that drive home the narrative. Some of the images – including the photographs of the scores of lynchings that were commonplace through the U.S. through the 1950s – stay with you look after the film ends. Featuring a dynamic score by Vernon Reid, Through A Lens Darkly tells a side of the African-American experience that has been rarely, if ever, explored. It will run at New York’s Film Forum through September 9th will special post-screening Q&As throughout the engagement.

Amazon Pilot Weekend. During Labor Day weekend, you can take Amazon.com’s new pilots for a test run. Then you can leave feedback which the company says will determine which of these pilot episodes move on to a full series commitment. The new freshman class of shows include 3 comedies and 2 dramas.

The comedies include “The Cosmopolitans” starring Adam Brody and Chloe Sevigny as young Americans looking for love and themselves while living in Paris. “Really” is the new Amazon comedy about 4 Chicago suburbanite couples clinging to their youth. It stars Sarah Chalke from “Scrubs”. And “Red Oaks” from executive producer Steven Soderbergh. It’s described as a coming of age comedy about a country club assistant tennis pro and the rich people he encounters. Paul Reiser stars as one of the snobs.

The drama pilots from Amazon are “Hand of God” starring Ron Perlman as a judge who starts hallucinating and getting visions. He has a breakdown and goes looking for vengeance against an accused rapist who he claims destroyed his family. Dana Delany co-stars as his wife. And “Hysteria”, the story of an Austin, Texas competitive dance team whose members start to suffer from a mysterious unknown illness that is traveling through the city through technology.

American Masters – Dorothea Lange: Grab a Hunk of Lightning. In 1919, photographer Dorothea Lange had set up shop in San Francisco with a successful portrait studio. At that point, she had no idea that in the years to come, her photos would come to define the Great Depression. Her work with the Farm Security Administration captured the plight of rural poverty including exploited migrant workers and sharecroppers. Her most famous work in 1936 was “Migrant Mother”. It was a portrait of a desperate looking mother with her two children clinging to her. American Masters takes a look at the life and career of Dorothea Lange and the major influence her photography had on the conscience of America. Dorothea Lange: Grab a Hunk of Lighting premieres Friday, August 29 on PBS. Check your local Public Broadcasting channel for times.

Ghostbusters: 30th Anniversary. It’s 30 years later and who you gonna call? In 1984, director Ivan Reitman brought us the greatest supernatural comedy of all time, Ghostbusters. Written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, Ghostbusters had audiences cheering for 3 paranormal detectives from New York City. Aykroyd and Ramis co-starred with the hysterical Bill Murray along with Sigourney Weaver, Rick Moranis, Ernie Hudson and Annie Potts. For anyone over 30, here’s the chance to see this modern comedy classic on the big screen one more time, the way you first experienced it. And for anyone younger, it’s a chance to see it uninterrupted, the way it was meant to be seen and not with commercial breaks like when it runs on VH1 or other cable channels. Ghostbusters: 30th Anniversary opens across the nation on Friday, August 29th. Watch for the special Blu-ray release coming on September 16th.

TCM Salute to Lauren Bacall.  This Week “How To Marry a Millionaire”. The world lost a screen legend on August 12th, Lauren Bacall. She was a Hollywood “It” girl throughout the 1940s and 50s. Turner Classic Movies is going to honor Lauren Bacall with a month long salute beginning Saturday, August 30th and running through September as the network’s star of the month. On Saturday, fans can see her in “How To Marry a Millionaire”. It’s a romantic comedy with Lauren Bacall co-starring with Marilyn Monroe and Betty Grable as a trio of gold diggers. The movie also stars William Powell, David Wayne and Rory Calhoun, and Cameron Mitchell. Catch other Lauren Bacall classic films during September on TCM including “Harper”, “Sex and the Single Girl” and “The Mirror Has Two Faces”.

LISTEN TO THIS:

Benjamin Booker by Benjamin Booker.  After spending the better part of the summer opening for Jack White, Benjamin Booker’s eagerly awaited debut major label debut is out and its fantastic.  If you haven’t heard his Chuck Berry meets The Strokes by way of The Beach Boys driven song, ‘Violent Shiver’, you’re missing out on one of the most breath of fresh air singles to come out in ages.  With vocals that are a cross between Sly circa There’s a Riot Goin’ On-era and any number of the great Mississippi Delta bluesmen, plus guitar chops that prove he’s been conversing with the elders, Booker slices and dices his way through twelve tracks like his life depended it.   We’re looking at the next great rock n roll star.  Benjamin Booker’s self-titled album is available now through Amazon, Itunes, and all major record retail outlets.

Mississippi by Sheila Brody.  Singer Sheila Brody has worn many hats throughout her long career. She was a member of George Clinton’s all female funk outfit The Brides Of Funkenstein, a studio session and on stage veteran and most recently has had a successful run as a dance artist. With the release of her new EP, Mississippi, Brody bridges all of these worlds into one cohesive whole. The title track and ‘Rockin Chair’ (a slinky reworking of the proto-disco hit ‘Rock Me Baby’) is old school rhythm and blues, while ‘I Want To Tell You’ and ‘Turn It Up’ are forays into electronica and dance pop. Hip Hop legend Chuck D lends his elder statesmen growl to the soul-infused anti-materialism closer ‘Everything’. An exciting new chapter in the career of Sheila Brody.

Mean Love by Sinkane. For his latest album, singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Ahmed Gallab – better known as Sinkane – puts together his best work to date with Mad Love. This album is a collision of styles: Afropop, classic soul, funk, reggae, synth pop, Brazilian pop, dop wop, and country. Using vocal phrasings that recalls Curtis Mayfield, Neil Young, and Youssour N’Dour’s best work, Sinkane has crafted a tight 10 song cycle that ranks among the year’s best. We are watching an artist enter his peak phase.

Mean Love is out September 2nd through Amazon, Itunes and all major music retailers.
You can also got to www.sinkane.com for tour dates and more info.

DO THIS:

NEW YORK CITY: Stagecoach. The IFC Center in New York is celebrating the 75th anniversary of one of the greatest years in film, 1939. This weekend’s pick is “Stagecoach” from that year. Directed by John Ford, it’s considered the movie that made John Wayne a star in Hollywood. It co-starred Claire Trevor, Andy Devine and John Carradine. Wayne stars as the fugitive the Ringo Kid who finds himself on a journey across the West threatened by Geronimo. Stagecoach is also beautiful to look at. It was the first time that director John Ford shot in Monument Valley, using its amazing scenery to help tell his story. Stagecoach will be showing all through Labor Day weekend at the IFC Center in New York City.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: Grand Opening of the new iO Del Close Theater. The iO (formerly Improv Olympics) improv group founded by Chicago and comedy icon Del Close has a brand new theater for its players to perform in. It’s on North Kingsbury Street and the new performance space comes with a huge grand opening. Events will be held all weekend, but the highlight will be the Armando Diaz Experience. Started by Adam McKay, David Koechner and Del, this is Chicago’s longest running improv comedy show. Each week scenes are inspired by a guest monologist. And for the grand opening, several iO alumni are coming back to do the show. The cast will include Koechner, Eric Stonestreet, Joel Murray, Jack McBrayer, Scott Adsit, Jordan Klepper, Tim Meadows, PePaul Brittain and many others. The show is Friday, August 29th at 10 pm.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: John Williams: The Maestro of the Movies. The Hollywood Bowl, the legendary amphitheater built in the 1920s, is playing host to another legend, John Williams. The second most nominated person in Oscar history (right after Walt Disney) will be conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic through some of his most famous film scores including selections from movies like Jaws, his Star Wars themes, Superman, Raiders of the Ark, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park and others. And in an added twist, Family Guy’s Seth MacFarlane will be on hand as special guest vocalist. There will also be a salute to dance in the movies as part of the show. John Williams: The Maestro of the Movies is Friday, August 29th at 8 pm at the Hollywood Bowl.

AUSTIN, TEXAS: Emily Bell’s “Can’t Talk Back Wednesdays”. The winner of last year’s “Best New Austin Act”, Emily Bell is starting a residency at The Blackheart on Rainey Street in Austin. Emily will be there every Wednesday night with her show “Can’t Talk Back”. According to Emily – “Can’t talk back is another way of saying ‘I don’t give a damn what you think,’ and these nights are going to be about empowerment and expression”. Each Wednesday evening throughout September, Emily will have two women join her on stage and have them talk about their unique experience about what it means to be a woman. Emily added – “The mantra of the night is brash acceptance, no matter how extreme one’s self expression is. Let’s have a ball.”
Emily Bell’s September residency at the Blackheart begins this Wednesday, September 3rd. Her show “Can’t Talk Back” starts at 10 pm.

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