The Filtered Excellence: August 27, 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:
WATCH THIS:
The Black Panthers: Vanguard Of A Revolution. Born in the Bay Area, The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense combined Martin Luther King’s campaign of civil disobedience with the Nation Of Islam’s message of self-reliance (and self defense) into a movement that shook the political establishment to its core. Led by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, the Panthers developed chapters in every major U.S. city, established a political presence locally and nationally, and established an array of programs that are still in effect today. They also drew the ire of the FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover who declared the Panthers ‘the greatest internal threat to the security of the United States’ and launched the most aggressive campaign in the Bureau’s history that included mass arrests, extended jail terms and death. Director Stanley Nelson spoke with surviving members and combs through a trove of archival footage to put together the most comprehensive portrait of the Panthers to date. Whether you looking to learn more about the Panthers or looking to discover something new, this doc has it all. The Black Panthers: Vanguard Of A Revolution opens in select cities on September 2nd. You can also go to www.theblackpanthers.com for more information.
Queen Of Earth. Writer-Director Alex Ross Perry’s follow to Listen Up Phillip stars Elisabeth Moss as Catherine, a city resident who goes to the country to spend a week with her best friend Ginny (Katherine Waterson) to recover from her father’s death by suicide and a recent breakup. The calm and solitude of the countryside doesn’t help Catherine’s fragile psyche – if anything it weakens it even more, putting her relationship with Ginny to the test. When Ginny’s boyfriend (Patrick Fugit) arrives, it brings an already tense situation to a shattering head. Perry frames the film as a homage to those classic melodramas that rounded out double features in the 70s right down to the title sequence. But instead of going for camp, he crafts a film that owes more to Roman Polanski’s Repulsion than it does the made for TV movies. Moss turns in a raw, fearless performance as Catherine, sometimes using just her eyes to convey someone desperately trying to keep it all together. Between her work on Mad Men, the Sundance series Top Of The Lake, and Listen Up Phillip, it was easy to see what Perry wrote this project with her in mind: She’s one of the best actresses working today. Waterson also turns in a great, performance as Ginny, who walks the line between helpless observer and unwitting conspirator behind Catherine’s slow decent in madness. Complex, probing and, almost incredibly, loaded with dark humor, Queen Of Earth is a sharp detour away from the CGI driven movies that dominate theaters today. The film is playing now in New York and will roll out in select theaters starting September 4th. You can go to www.ifcfilms.com for more information.
Public Morals. Edward Burns wrote, directed and stars in this new TNT series. Set in the mid 1960s New York, Burns plays Terry Muldoon, an officer of the Public Morals Division, which investigates vice crimes. The badge is the only thing that separates the unit and the criminals they are sworn to get off the street with loyalties and codes being pushed to brink. Muldoon is also trying to provide a safe haven for his family and fight off an impending mob war between two factions of the Irish-American mob in Hell’s Kitchen. Burns captures the feel of a city slowly sinking into decline perfectly with the dialogue is sharp and crisp. He’s also assembled a great supporting cast including Michael Rapport as his partner Charlie, Elizabeth Mascussi and Terry’s wife Christine and Timothy Hutton as ‘Mr O’, the shadowy head of one faction of the Irish mob with close ties to members of the unit. Under Burns’ helm, TV’s next great series has arrived. Public Morals airs Tuesday nights at 10pm Eastern on TNT. You can also go to www.tntdrama.com to view full episodes and get extras.
LISTEN TO THIS:
Dark Black Makeup by Radkey. After wowing audiences for the last five years with their brand of punk-fueled, arena style rock, (including notably appearances at Riot Fest, Download, Coachella and Later…With Jools Holland) Radkey, comprised of brothers Dee, Isaiah and Solomon Radke, have released their first full length album. Produced by noted producer Ross Orton (Arctic Monkeys, The Fall, Jarvis Cocker), it features 13 songs full of big riffs, thunderous bass, and relentless drumming. With a huge assist from Orton, The Radke brothers have created an album that can crush in an arena just as easily as it can in a club. They have all of the ingredients to be the next great rock n roll band. Dark Black Makeup is available now through Amazon, Itunes and all major music retailers. You can also go to www.radkey.net for tour dates and more information.
Rebirth Of A Nation by DJ Spooky with The Kronos Quartet. D.W. Griffith’s 1915 epic film, ‘The Birth Of A Nation’ was Hollywood’s first true blockbuster, holding the record for the top grossing film of all-time until it was surpassed by Gone With The Wind. It also incited riots and protests for its negative views of blacks and casting the KKK in a sympathetic light. In 2004, Paul Miller, aka DJ Spooky, was commissioned by Lincoln Center Festival, Spoleto Festival USA, Weiner Festwochen and the Festival d’Automne a Paris to write a new score for the film, which he performed at various festivals around the world to great reviews. Now, with the help of The Kronos Quaret, DJ Spooky has finally recorded an official account of his acclaimed work. Like the film, its a sweeping, ambitious piece weaving in classical, ambient, funk, trance and reggae, fusing in the Kronos strings with synths, live and programmed drums and much more. Why DJ Spooky has not been asked to do more film work is mind boggling. He is an outstanding composer and producer on par with anyone actively working in the field today. One of the year’s best. Rebirth Of A Nation will be available August 28th through Amazon, Itunes and all major music retailers. You can also go to www.djspooky.com for more information.
The RCA Victor And T-Neck Album Masters (1959-1983) by The Isley Brothers. You can make a case – a very strong case – that The Isley Brothers are one of, if not THE most influential groups in pop music history. Led by the incomparable Ronald Isley, they have been churning out hits since 1959 with a sound that have evolved from gospel-inspired pop (‘Shout’, ‘Twist & Shout’), Motown driven soul (‘This Old Heart Of Mine’), proto funk/hard rock (‘It’s Your Thing’), high fueled soical commentary (‘Fight The Power’), and Quiet Storm (‘Between The Sheets’). In 1964, the Isleys established their own label, T-Neck Records, giving them complete artistic and creative control – something unheard of at that time. T-Neck also featured the earliest recordings of Jimi Hendrix, who was the band’s lead guitarist at the time. The Isleys have been covered and sampled by everyone from The Beatles and Led Zeppelin to Notorious B.I.G, R. Kelly and Kendrick Lamar and the group are still actively recording and touring. This new box set features 23 of the band’s albums – several of which that are making their digital debut, rare mixes, unreleased tracks and more. One of the set’s highlights is ‘Wild In Woodstock’, a previously unreleased live album cut at Bearsville Studios in 1980. It absolutely crushes. Remixed and remastered for optimum sound, this box set is perfect for both long time fans and for those who have yet to discover the group. The RCA Victor And T-Neck Album Masters (1959-1983) is available now through Amazon, Itunes and all major music retailers.
READ THIS:
The Lufthansa Heist by Henry Hill & Daniel Simone. In December 1978, the largest cash robbery ever committed on U.S soil took place at Kennedy Airport. With the aid of inside information from an airport employee, robbers made off with 6 million dollars in cash and nearly $900,000 in jewelry during the early morning heist. The cash and jewelry was never recovered and those directly involved were never arrested, much less convicted. Thirteen people who were believed to be connected to the heist were murdered – homicides that, like the heist, were never solved. Henry Hill, the mobster who was forever immortalized in the Martin Scorsese classic Goodfellas, teamed up with Daniel Simone to write about his role in the crime, how it was pulled off and its aftermath shook up the ranks in organized crime. It was Hill’s final book that he worked on before passing away in 2012, and it pieces together one of the great unsolved crimes in U.S. history. Another daring and unprecedented look into mob life. The Lufthansa Heist is available now through Amazon, Barnes & Noble and all major book retailers.
DO THIS:
New York City: Wim Wenders: Portraits Along The Road. One of the most revered and respected filmmakers of the last 40 years will get a much deserved retrospective of his work at IFC Center. It will feature new restorations of such classic films as Paris, Texas, Wings Of Desire, Faraway, So Close and Buena Vista Social Club; a newly restored director’s cut of Until The End Of The World, the NYC Premiere of Palermo Shooting and a preview of his latest film Every Thing Will Be Fine, short films, documentaries and much more. Wenders will appear throughout the series to discuss music, photography, 3D Filmmaking and host a book signing. A once in a lifetime chance to see and hear from one of the greatest directors of contemporary cinema. Wim Wenders: Portraits Along The Road will be at the IFC Center August 28th through September 24th. You can go to www.ifccenter.com for tickets and a complete rundown of events.
Chicago: Noir City. The Music Box Theatre Of Chicago once again teams up with The Film Noir Foundation to present the 7th edition of this acclaimed salute to a lost genre. Screen legends such as Robert Mitchum, Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Ryan, Joan Fontaine, Peter Lorre, and Ida Lupino once again light up the screen in stylish crime dramas that are ripe with cynicism and sexual tension. All in glorious black and white. A terrific trip down memory lane, not to mention a great cinematic history lesson. Noir City: Chicago 7 will be at the Music Box Theatre August 28th through September 3rd. You can go to www.noircitychicago.com for a complete rundown of film and additional information.
Want more excellence? Read last week’s The Filtered Excellence and visit The Interrobang Recommmends
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