Bob Geldof once asked us, “Where is the filtered excellence!?” It’s right here. Here are this weeks picks of what to WATCH, what to DO what to TRY what to READ what to LISTEN TO and more:
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WATCH THIS:
Stand Up Guys. Starring Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin. Val (Pacino) is a retired gangster who just did 28 years in prison for refusing to rat out his friends. Doc (Walken), his best friend and confidant is there to meet him and they have spent a night out doing all of the things Val missed out on while he was away – namely women, drugs and fast cars. They also bust out another long time associate Richard (Arkin) out of a nursing home to come along for the ride. Casting a shadow on this night on the town is Claphands (Mark Margolis), the mob boss who contracted Doc to kill the man responsible for the accidental death of his son: Val. You’ll love watching these three Oscar winners share screen time with a story that deals how loyalty and friendship clash with code and aging. Director Fisher Stevens keeps the story moving at a smart, steady pace and the supporting cast, which includes Julianna Margolis, is stellar. Stand Up Guys opens in New York and Los Angeles on Friday, and nationwide on February 1st. Fisher Stevens will be doing Q&As on Friday following the 7:20 screening and on Sunday following the 3:30 screening in New York.
Quartet. A British movie about opera singers living in a retirement home is the feel good movie of the year. With Dustin Hoffman directing his first feature, he’s translates the play by Ronald Harwood (The Pianist, Diving Bell and the Butterfly) into a beautiful, bittersweet romantic comedy. In many ways, Quartet is almost a high school comedy set in a retirement home, with the teenagers replaced with the senior citizens, still dealing with cliques, feuds, and crushes. But the movie is also a love letter to the arts, and more specifically, to artists. It’s no surprise that Maggie Smith and Tom Courtenay are brilliant, but Pauline Collins and comedian Billy Connelly are the real scene stealers. Finally a smart romcom, a date movie that isn’t mindless.
Any Day Now. Alan Cumming (The Birdcage, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Kids are All Right) stars in this tragic drama set in the 70s when the Stonewall riots and Harvey Milk were part of the national dialogue. Cumming plays a drag queen with hard edge who takes on the responsibilities of caring for his junky neighbor’s teenage son. When Cumming and his boyfriend try to adopt the child, they are met with the harsh reality that they can’t take on the responsibilities either, even though nobody else wanted to. Cumming is his usual magnetic self, especially when showing his inability to keep emotion in check. Garrett Dillahunt (Deadwood, Raising Hope) is equally good as the conflicted boyfriend and closeted lawyer who gives an impassioned speech about the moral contradictions of the foster care system.
Season Finales of Homeland and Dexter on HBO. Two great shows, both had suspense-filled, action-filled seasons. Both come down to end-of-season conclusions and cliffhangers this Sunday night. Starting at 9pm with Dexter and then Homeland follows at 10pm.
Winter in Portlandia. Get ready for the January 4th season premiere of “Portlandia” on IFC with their winter special this Friday night. Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein bring an icy and holiday feel to their sketch comedy show which features SNL’s Bobby Moynihan. IFC – Friday – December 14th – 10:30pm Eastern
Moonrise Kingdom. The very first project to make it onto the Filtered Excellence THREE TIMES! It’s being re-released in theaters, and we can’t recommend it enough. It’s a beautiful film, and the score/soundtrack are both excellent which means– see it big, while you still can.
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READ THIS:
The Holy or the Broken, by Alan Light. This entire book is devoted to the story of what seems to have become Leonard Cohen’s signature song ,”Hallelujah.” A great xmas gift for any Cohen fan.
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LISTEN TO THIS:
Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumours by Big Boi. Following the Speakerboxxx half of Outkast’s”Speakerboxxx/The Love Below” double album, and a couple of standout out solo tracks from the ultimately underwhelming Idlewild soundtrack, many were anxiously awaiting Big Boi’s first proper solo release “Sir Lucious Left Foot…” The Son of Chico Dusty” back in 2010. Although it topped some critic’s best of the year list, it also left many fans cold. Thankfully, Big Boi’s latest, “Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumours” is a return to form. Chock full of guest appearances including Kid Cudi, Ludacris, and, oddly enough, Wavves. The songs vary wildly stylistically with Big Boi’s lyrical skills as the common factor. Sadly, Andre 3000 does not make an appearance, which doesn’t seem to bode well for another Outkast release. Big Boi’s stellar outing almost makes up for that though.
Uno! Dos! Tre! by Green Day. You would think after producing back to back rock operas, overseeing a Broadway production of one of those operas, then touring the world several times over to promote them, Green Day would dial it down a bit. Wrong. Now a quartet (long time touring guitarist Jason White is now a full time member, Green Day produced enough material to cover three albums and released them one at a time with a three month span. The material is a return to the group’s punk roots, but also throws in 70’s era power pop, hints of 60’s soul and even throws hip hop and dance flourishes. The hardcores shouldn’t freak out though – this is Green Day openly embracing its past, present and future all in one big swoop. It clearly shows the band at their creative and commercial peak. Uno! Dos! Tre! is available now at Amazon, Itunes and all digital music outlets.
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STREAM THIS:
The Rolling Stones at the Prudential Center in Newark NJ. Didn’t get tickets to this show? You can still be there. Live stream the concert on PC, smartphones and tablets for $39.95 – (about the price of a pay per view)– and get interactive features that include rewind and Twitter feeds. And it can be watched over and over for 30 days afterwards on multiple devices.
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BROWSE THIS:
Awesome People Hanging Out Together. If you like our Blue Centerlight Pop, you’ll appreciate this tumblr account of great people, who you wouldn’t necessarily expect to be hanging out together, in photos.
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DO THIS:
North America: Geminids Meteor Shower. The Geminids of December are considered by some to be the best meteor shower of the year, and conditions are set to be great for watching them for much of North America. No moonlight to interfere, clear skies and if you’re in a good location (low light pollution, open view) you might see anywhere from 60 to 120 “gems”. Peak viewing is Thursday December 13th overnight into early Friday morning but some ‘gems’ may be seen a day following as well.
New York, NY: Leonard Cohen at the Barclays Center. One of most beloved and respected singer-songwriters brings his Old Ideas World Tour to Brooklyn. Expect to hear a good share of the new album and all of the classics. Don’t let his age (78) fool you into thiinking he’s going to phone it in – Cohen shows have consistently been clocked in at well over 2 years. You won’t mind though. In fact, you’ll be asking for more. A few – very few – tickets still remain online through Ticketmaster
New York, NY: Ronnie Spector’s BEST CHRISTMAS PARTY EVER. It’s not Christmas until you hear Ronnie Spector singing, and she’ll be at BB King’s in New York on Friday December 14th. In 1988, Spector introduced her signature show “Ronnie Spector’s Christmas Party,” and it has become a seasonal celebration ever since. Come here favorites “Frosty the Snowman,” “Sleigh Ride,” “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus,” and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” as sung by the Queen of Christmas.
New York, NY: Justin Vivian Bond X-Mas Special. V’s Back! Mx Justin Vivian Bond is touring with a special X-mas show “Snow Angel!”. Justin Vivian says this year’s show will be a lot more fun and have more variety including special guest Amber Martin. V adds that if Obama had lost the election, this holiday show would have gone “real real dark”. At 54 Below – December 16, 17, 23, 30.
Washington, DC: Ronnie Spector’s BEST CHRISTMAS PARTY EVER is not just playing in New York. If you’re in the DC area you can catch her at The Howard Theater on Saturday, December 15th at 8pm.
Austin, TX: Austin City Limits Presents Louis CK. Friday December 14th. We’re pretty sure we don’t need to convince you that seeing Louis CK live is a worthwhile pursuit. You’ve got the date, the place, and time. Just be there. Two shows, 7:30pm and 10:30pm.
Philadelphia, PA: Macy’s Christmas Light Show. The light show at Macy’s City Center (formerly Wannamaker’s Department Store) is one of our favorite holiday traditions. The grand hall of this beautiful store (worthy of a visit even when there aren’t great holiday lights) has filled with families all day long throughout the Christmas season since 1955 and it never disappoints. The lighting display is accompanied by festive music from the world-renowned Wanamaker Grand Organ. There’s no experience like this anywhere in the world. Shows begin every hour on the hour.
