The Filtered Excellence: August 1, 2019
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 week’s 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
Jay Myself. In the 1960’s, photographer Jay Maisel purchased a six-story, 36,000 square foot building at the corner of Bowery and Spring with a down payment of 25,000 dollars. Nearly 50 years later, he would sell it for $55 million. This new documentary from former protege Stephen Wilkes shows how Maisel, a notorious hoarder, has to pack up his enormous photography archive, along with the endless odd items that he’s picked up and, in many cases, invented along the way, to be placed in storage. It amazingly shows how Maisel was able to transform a former bank, into a home for his family, an office, and archival space – with a holiday half court basketball court. There’s also an overview of the stunning depth of Maisel’s work, which runs the range from covering major international events, to shooting swimsuit models for Sports Ilustrated. Wilkes has puts together a moving portrait of an artist who had, and continues to have, complete freedom to pursue all of his creative endeavors. Jay Myself opens in New York this weekend and in select theaters starting August 16th. You can also go to www.jaymyself.oscilloscope.net for more information.
LISTEN TO THIS
The Book Of Traps And Lessons by Kate Tempest. For those who have seen Shangri-La, the new docu-series about producer Rick Rubin, you caught several scenes of poet, rapper, spoken word performer, playwright, and author Kate Tempest in the studio recording her 3rd album. It’s out now and marks a startling new direction for the British native. Working with Rubin and long time collaborator Dan Carey, Tempest strips away the beats and bass lines of her earlier work to deliver raw insights on love and life amidst the backdrop our increased dependency on technology, and, in her native England, the looming fallout from Brexit. Urgent, yet optimistic, it’s an album that will mark her breakthrough as an internationally acclaimed artist. The Book Of Traps And Lessons by Kate Tempest will be available now through Amazon, Apple Music and all major streaming services.
DO THIS
New York City: See It Big! 70mm. The Museum Of The Moving Image’s annual celebration of large-format films is back and, this year will cover a wide range covering several decades and genres. It will kick off with Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey; the return of series favorites It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World, Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet and Brainstorm, directed by Douglas Trumbull. Two recent films will also be featured: Steven Speilberg’s Ready Player One and the Academy Award-winning film Roma, directed by Alfonso Cuaron. While laptops and cell phones gives us movies at our fingertips, this series re-affirms that notion that movies are still best enjoyed on the big screen. See It Big! 70mm will be at The Museum Of The Moving Image through September 8th. You can also go to www.movingimage.us for a complete rundown of films, tickets and additional information.
New York City: Summer Streets 2019. If you ever want to have full run of New York City streets without worrying about getting hit by a car or truck, starting this weekend, and for the next two weekends this month, 7 miles will be available to make Gotham your personal playground. Park Avenue and Lafayette Street will be closed to all traffic, giving you a chance to walk, run, cycle, play soccer, and water slide for several hours. There will also be pop-up theater performances, interact art and plenty of food to complete your experience. It’s a chance to see New York City in an entirely different way, making it the ultimate day out. Summer Streets 2019 runs August 3rd, 10th and 17th. You can also go to www1.nyc.gov for more information.
New York City: Punks, Poets and Valley Girls: Women Filmmakers in 1980s America. As more women are having to shine in front of, and behind the camera, this new two-week BAM retrospective looks back at a number of women directors who made significant cracks in Hollywood’s glass ceiling during the Reagan era. It will feature films by Barbara Striesand (Yentl), Kathryn Bieglow (Near Dark), Amy Heckerling (Fast Times At Ridgemont High), Penny Marshall (Big), Elaine May (Ishtar), Susan Seidelman (Desperately Seeking Susan), Amy Spherees (The Decline Of Western Civilization I & II), among others. It will also feature a number of cult classics that redefined screen characterizations of city life, sexual dynamics and teen life. A number of the directors will be on hand to do intros and post screening Q&As making this a late summer must see event. Punks, Poets and Valley Girls: Women Filmmakers in 1980s America will be at the Brooklyn Academy Of Music August 7th through the 20th. You can also go to www.bam.org for tickets, a complete film rundown and more information.
Want more excellence? Read last week’s the filtered excellence.
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