Brooklyn Exhibit of the Week
04.16.08
1. Murakami madness in Brooklyn
2. Extremely pleasurable design at the Asia Society
3. Color, elasticity, jazz, Murakami, and more in Midtown
4. New York Comic Con turns three at the Javits
5. The Tribeca Film festival turns seven
Volume 7, Number 46
April 16-30, 2008
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Site Design/Subway Photo:
Fred Gates Design, New York.
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Takashi Murakami’s "Jellyfish Eyes" wallpaper looks back at viewers knowingly
Brooklyn Museum of Art
Morris A. and Meyer Schapiro Wing, fourth floor
Morris A. and Meyer Schapiro Wing, B. Gerald Cantor Gallery, fifth floor
200 Eastern Parkway
Through July 13 (Closed Monday & Tuesday)
Tickets: $10 (includes all exhibits in museum)
718-638-5000
Art, commerce, and Japanese culture and history collide in the brilliantly organized “© Murkami” at the Brooklyn Museum. Japanese artist Takashi Murakami has become an international brand, creating, with his large team, collectibles, T-shirts, a children’s book, an animated kids TV series, and even a line of Louis Vuitton bags — in fact, right in the middle of the exhibit is an actual LV outlet store. But Murakami’s genius is that he uses commercialism and globalization to comment on commercialism and globalization; his work attempts to tear down what America, specifically, has wrought on the world, particularly post-World War II. This is perhaps most evident in his repeating character known as DOB, who is primarily just a round face with two large ears, resembling an otaku-fied Mickey Mouse. But as cute as DOB can be in a series of lithographs a la Warhol, he can also bare his sharp fangs. Disney’s prince and princess are disturbingly subverted in the bigger-than-life anime sculptures “My Lonesome Cowboy” and “Hiropon,” the former a well-endowed boy playing with a stream of white liquid shooting out of himself, the latter a big-breasted girl lactating profusely, almost as if the secretions are weapons. In a room covered in wallpaper featuring what Murakami calls “jellyfish eyes” stand two more of his recurrent characters, the sweet Kaikai and his not quite as sweet alter ego, the three-eyed, two-fanged Kiki. Their “kawaii” (cuteness) is somewhat offset by the inclusion of one of Murakami’s “Time Bokan” paintings, which depicts a skeletal figure rising from the ground in the shape of a mushroom cloud. (“Time Bokan” was the only piece of his own that Murakami included the exhibition he curated at the Japan Society in 2005, “Little Boy: The Arts of Japan’s Exploding Subculture.”) But in another dazzling room, there is nothing but bright colors and an infectious charm, the wallpaper filled with Murakami’s delightful smiling flowers, with Kakai and Kiki popping right out of the wall in painted canvases.
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Takashi Murakami, "Kaikai," 2000
In 2003, Takashi Murakami’s mammoth “Revised Double Helix,” featuring his character Mr. Pointy (Tongari-kun), was displayed in Rockefeller Plaza, with his four little friends, Zoucho-kun, Koumokkun, Jikokkun, and Tamon-kun. A version of them is back at the Brooklyn Museum, right by the front entrance, but whereas Tongari-kun was predominantly white in the 2003 installation, he is now mostly black. One of Murakami’s strangest characters is Inochi, an alien-like boy (or perhaps a victim of the atomic bomb?) who is seen here in a pair of statues, one with a white face, the other brown, as well as in a series of very funny videos in which he has brief adventures in school. Two of Murakami’s most recent pieces are an abrupt change of style, referencing Japanese ukiyo-e prints: two large portraits of a somber man, one with a white face, the other brown, titled “I open wide my eyes but see no scenery. I fix my gaze upon my heart.” And “That I may time transcend, that a universe my heart may unfold.” Everything comes together in the dazzling, disarming large-scale painting “Tan Tan Bo Puking — a.k.a. Gero Tan,” a 2002 work that features many of his familiar characters trapped in a Dali-like surreal futuristic landscape that is melting with blood and vomit; be sure to read the accompanying wall text to get the full impact. Spread over two floors and even winding down the stairway, “© Murakami” is a psychedelic trip through the mind of a wildly inventive artist whose work, in many ways, sums up the state of the world today.
Saturday, April 19 Envisioning Japan: Consuming Art in Japan/America: panel discussion with Laura Mueller, Roland Kelts, Scott Rothkopf, and Chad Phillips, moderated by Charles Desmarais, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Auditorium, third floor, free with museum admission, 2:00
Saturday, April 19 Art-Making: Manga Pop-Up Cards, adult workshop with Brooklyn-based artist Lai-Chung Poon, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Pavilion, first floor, free with museum admission but registration required at creative.art.making@brooklynmuseum.org, 2:00
Saturday, April 26 From Samurai to Superhero: ROYAL SPACE FORCE: WINGS OF HONNEAMISE (Hiroyuki Yamaga, 1987), followed by discussion, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Auditorium, third floor, 1:00
Saturday, April 26 From Samurai to Superhero: DREAMS (Akira Kurosawa, 1990), followed by discussion, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Auditorium, third floor, 3:30
Sunday, April 27 Music Off the Walls: Brooklyn Philharmonic presents "Traversing the Mushroom Kingdom," multimedia performance inspired by the Murakami exhibition, featuring Randall Woolf’s "Try to Believe" and a world premiere by Darcy James Argue, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Auditorium, third floor, $15, gallery talk at 1:00, performance at 2:00
Saturday, May 3 First Saturdays, featuring live music, hands-on art, gallery and curator talks, film screenings, and a DJ dance party till 11:00, free admission after 5:00, some events require free tickets available that night
The catalog that accompanies the “© Murakami” exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum — the show first opened at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles late last year and travels to the Museum fur Moderne Kunst in Frankfurt and the Guggenheim in Bilbao next — is a fabulous survey of the fascinating career of multidimensional artist, writer, curator, and businessman extraordinaire Takashi Murakami. Essays such as Paul Schimmel’s “Making Murakami,” Mika Yoshitake’s “The Meaning of the Nonsense of Excess,” and Scott Rothkopf’s “Takashi Murakami: Company Man” delve deep into Murakami’s means and methods, putting a spotlight on his “factory” and self-branding as they relate directly to the Japanese postwar era and the growing popularity — and commercialization — of anime and manga culture. In “Flat Boy vs. Skinny: Takashi Murakami and the Battle for ‘Japan,’” Dick Hebdige references Barthes and Warhol before declaring, “Any engagement with Murakami’s catalogues more profound than a rapid skim is liable to leave the average Western art consumer (at least one old enough to be unaffected by the current Western youth fad for all things otaku) floundering in a sea of unfamiliar signifiers, feeling hooked, intrigued yet vaguely ill-at-ease. . . . The in-your-face hyperbolical nature of Murakami’s fractally tripped-out paintings, psychedelic mushroom installations, hypersexual giant cartoon figures, and kawaii (cute) figurines is at once the bait, the snappy gesture that sets the hook, and the hand that reels us in — all of us, otaku initiates and novices alike.”
The first half of the deluxe hardcover includes photos of dozens of works not in the exhibition as well as pieces by Kano Sansetsu, Katsuhiro Otomo, Yoshitomo Nara, Hokusai Katsushika, Jeff Koons, and others, placing Murakami’s oeuvre in a compelling art-historical context. The second half features splendid reproductions of all the works in the show, several in gorgeous foldouts. Art critic Midori Matsui turns to Craig Owens and Walter Benjamin in “Murakami Matrix: Takashi Murakami’s Instrumentalization of Japanese Postmodern Culture,” explaining, “What Murakami perceives to be Japan’s political dependency on the United States, which caused a confusion of national identity, resembles a postcolonial situation. He thought that it could be transcended by dialectically transforming its negative conditions into a creative resource. The absence of an ontological core, a progressive view of history, and professional expertise — signs of Japan’s ‘childish’ postmodernity — become advantages for a postmodern art that supersedes the humanism and teleology that dominate modern cultural institutions.” The exhibit “© Murakami” can be a fun trip through a childlike (read: infantilized), colorful world, but as the catalog reveals, it is also so much more.
Chazen Museum of Art
Utagawa Toyokuni, "Actors Iwai Kumesaburo I and Ichikawa Yaozo III as Ohan and Choemon," color woodcut, circa 1800
Brooklyn Museum of Art
Robert E. Blum Gallery, first floor
Through June 15
Suggested donation: $8 (does not include Murakami exhibit)
Japanese ukiyo-e prints, or "pictures of the floating world," documented the pleasure quarters of Edo (modern-day Tokyo) from the seventeenth to twentieth centuries. These woodblock prints, made strictly for commercial purposes by eager publishers, depicted beautiful women in ornate kimonos, landscapes that often included Mt. Fuji in the background, intimate brothel scenes, kabuki actors in costume, and erotica. More than ninety works are on view at the Brooklyn Museum in "Utagawa: Masters of the Japanese Print, 1770-1900," which focuses on two competing schools. The exhibit includes prints by such artists as Kyosai Kawanabe, Yoshitoshi Tsukioka, Toyokuni Utagawa, and Kunichika Toyohara, whose fiery red "The Actor Ichikawa Sadanji as Akiyama Kii no kami" is one of the highlights. Kunisada Utagawa pays tribute to the great Hiroshige Utagawa in the color woodcut "Memorial Portrait of Hiroshige," which also features much text. There are several wonderfully detailed works by Toyoharu Utagawa, particularly "View of a Kabuki Theater," one of his Perspective Pictures that contain remarkable depth. Be sure to save some time for the back room, which discusses the process of creating ukiyo-e prints, perhaps best evident in three states of a process print of the same outdoor scene. Although not as revelatory or expansive as "Designed for Pleasure: The World of Edo Japan in Prints and Paintings, 1680 — 1860" at the Asia Society (see below), "Utagawa" is a fine primer for those unfamiliar with this unique Japanese art form.
Gagosian Gallery
Ghada Amer, "The New Albers," embroidery and gel medium on canvas, 2002
Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, fourth floor
Through October 19
Suggested donation: $8 (does not include Murakami exhibit)
Born in Cairo and now based in Harlem and Paris, Ghada Amer creates provocative works that cleverly examine traditional gender roles, sexuality, politics, and art itself. Although she considers herself a painter, Amer primarily uses thread and gel medium, occasionally incorporating acrylic, on canvases that resemble abstract paintings from a distance but, when seen up close, are something significantly different: striking hand-stitched erotic images made via embroidery, a medium that is considered women’s work. Pieces such as "And the Beast," "The New Albers," and "Barbie Loves Ken, Ken Loves Barbie" call into question the very nature of sex and fantasy in a male-dominated art world, taking back control of the depiction of the female form. A Muslim, Amer — who contributed "Encyclopedia of Pleasure" to the Brooklyn Museum’s "Global Feminisms" exhibit in 2007 and "Eight Women in Black and White" to MoMA’s 2006 "Without Boundary: Seventeen Ways of Looking" — brings to life the Arabic words for love, peace, fear, and security in her "Definition" series, embroidering the words on canvas to give them new meaning and to stress their universality. Language also comes into play in "The Reign of Terror," bloodred wallpaper that includes old and new American, French, English, and Arabic definitions of the words "terror" and "terrorism." The exhibition, which is just around the corner from Judy Chicago’s "The Dinner Party" in the Sackler Center, also features photographs of public projects Amer staged in Miami, Spain, Paris, and Panama in which she further investigates gender identity, perhaps most ominously in "Today 70% of the Poor in the World Are Women, Barcelona" a massive work whose message can only be fully viewed from high above the city.
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Hishikawa Moronobu, "Entertainers in a House of Assignation, from the series Aspects of the Yoshiwara (Yoshiwara no tei)," woodcut, 1682—83
Asia Society and Museum, Starr & Ross Galleries, second floor
725 Park Ave. at 70th St.
Through May 4
Admission: $10 (free Fridays after 6:00)
212-327-9385
http://www.asiasociety.org/arts/designed
In celebration of its thirty-fifth anniversary, the Japanese Art Society of America, founded in 1973 as the Ukiyo-e Society of America, has collaborated with the Asia Society on the gorgeous exhibit “Designed for Pleasure: The World of Edo Japan in Prints and Paintings, 1680 – 1860.” Comprising more than 150 woodblock prints, paintings, and illustrated books, the display follows the development of ukiyo-e, which means “pictures of the floating world,” as Edo (modern-day Tokyo) transformed into a bustling economic center especially the Yoshiwara pleasure district — and slowly opened to the rest of the world. The exhibition is arranged primarily by artist and also looks at the publishers of this commercially viable art form, most prominently Tsutaya Juzaburo. The pieces are simply spectacular. There are wonderful street scenes by Hishikawa Moronobu, the first ukiyo-e master. Utagawa Kuniyoshi’s “Hell Courtesan” features a woman in an ornately designed robe, each section of which relates its own story. Although best known for his wave pictures, Katsushika Hokusai’s “Five Beauties” is a stunning hanging scroll depicting five women arranged vertically.
Collection of Robert and Betsy Feinberg
Utagawa Toyoharu, "Spring Concert," two-panel folding screen, ink and color on silk, 1780s
In Utagawa Toyoharu’s “Spring Concert,” a two-panel folding screen depicts a group of courtesans enjoying the warm weather and sweet music. A quartet of color woodcuts by Eishosai Choki shows the changing of the seasons as one woman watches the sun rise, huddles under an umbrella in the snow, and fans herself as a child reaches out to catch fireflies. There are several wonderful color woodcuts by Suzuki Harunobu, including “Lovers Observed,” in which a woman secretly watches as a courtesan caters to a client. Okumura Masanobu’s “Large Perspective Picture of the Kabuki Theater District in Sakaicho and Fukiyacho” is alive with bustling people, Mt. Fuji off in the distance. Katsukawa Shunsho’s rich, colorful hanging scrolls were a favorite of the elite. And many of the pieces also contain poetry, such as “Reclining Courtesan” by Katsuhika Hokusai, Hokusai’s daughter. The splendid catalog features all of the works in the exhibition as well as eight informative essays; there’s also a free cell-phone audio tour you can take as you make your way through the exhibit. “Designed for Pleasure” is now in its second rotation, with dozens of works having been replaced by others, so even if you saw the first half, it’s worth going back for a second viewing.
212-517-ASIA
http://www.asiasociety.org/events
In addition to "Designed for Pleasure," the Asia Society is also presenting "First Under Heaven: Korean Ceramics from the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection" through May 4 and "The Shape of Things: Chinese and Japanese Art from the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection" through July 20, and will be hosting the special events listed below.
Wednesday, April 16 Beyond Shark’s Fin and Fortune Cookies: Exciting Journeys in Chinese Gastronomy, discussion and dim sum tasting with Fuchsia Dunlop and Jennifer 8 Lee, $30, 6:30
Thursday, April 17 When Asia Was the World, discussion with Gordon Stewart, Reginald Chua, and Jamie Metzl, $15, 6:30
Thursday, April 17 Gamblers, Gangsters, and Other Anti-Heroes: The Japanese Yakuza Movie -- JINGI NAKI TATAKAI (BATTLES WITHOUT HONOR AND HUMANITY) (Kinji Fukusaku, 1973), $12, 7:00
Monday, April 21 Meet the Author: Christopher Robbins, APPLES ARE FROM KAZAKHSTAN: THE LAND THAT DISAPPEARED, $20, 6:00
Wednesday, April 23 Gandhi for Today’s World: A Discussion with Philip Glass and Vishakha Desai, $15, 6:30
Saturday, May 3 Family Day: Paint the Town Green! featuring arts and crafts and live performances, free with gallery admission, children under sixteen free, 12 noon — 3:00
Saturday, May 3 PEN World Voices Festival: Xiaolu Guo, Ma Jian, and Flora Drew, $12, 2:30
Saturday, May 3 Qawwali of Pakistan: Mehr and Sher Ali, NYU Skirball Center, 566 LaGuardia Pl. at Washington Sq. South, $35, 8:00
Sunday, May 4 Meet the Author: Hao Jiang Tian, "My Wild Ride from Mao to the Met," book discussion and live performance, $12, 6:30
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Yukon gold potato gnocchi at Café Boulud
20 East 76th St. at Fifth Ave.
Two-course prix fixe lunch: $32
Three-course prix fixe lunch: $40
Reservations taken up to one month in advance
212-772-2600
http://danielnyc.com/cafeboulud
With its tenth anniversary approaching later this year, master chef Daniel Boulud has just introduced his new team tending the kitchen at Café Boulud, the bistro modeled after his family’s neighborhood gathering place in Saint-Pierre de Chandieu, outside Lyon. The new pastry chef is Rafael Haasz, the former pastry sous chef at Daniel who also hails from Lyon, while Minnesota native Gavin Kaysen, a 2008 nominee for the James Beard Foundation’s Rising Star Chef of the Year Award, has been named executive chef. (Kaysen also represented the United States at the 2007 Bocuse d’Or cooking competition in Lyon.) Just as at all his restaurants, the menu at the casual-chic Café Boulud is inspired by Daniel’s four muses: la tradition (traditional), la saison (seasonal), le potager (vegetarian), and le voyage (world cuisine), each accompanied by a carefully chosen wine. At a recent lunch at the French-American spot, we started with le voyage, flavorful Kona kampachi sashimi with gingered carrot purée, lime gelée avocado, and coriander blossoms. Next was le potager, fabulous Yukon gold potato gnocchi with explosive butter-poached shrimp and baby green asparagus. The main course (la tradition) was a Jamison Farms roasted saddle of spring lamb, served with sugar snap peas, flagolets, tomato confit, and morel jus. And to finish, la saison was a delicate, delicious chocolate-hazelnut bar with Meyer lemon marmalade, rice crispy, and Perrier lemon sorbet. Daniel himself continues to be amazingly busy, preparing to open a Café Boulud in Beijing, hosting the third season of AFTER HOURS WITH DANIEL on MOJO HD, and still watching over Daniel, DB Bistro Moderne, Bar Boulud, and Café Boulud in New York City, a Café Boulud in Palm Beach, and Daniel Boulud Brasserie in Las Vegas.
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Dan Flavin, "pink out of a corner (to Jasper Johns)," pink fluorescent light, 1963
Zwirner & Wirth
32 East 69th St. between Madison & Fifth Aves.
Through May 3
Closed Monday & Tuesday
Admission: free
http://www.zwirnerandwirth.com
Zwirner & Roth has re-created light-sculptor Dan Flavin’s groundbreaking 1964 exhibition at the Green Gallery, "dan flavin: fluorescent light," featuring seven works composed only of precisely arranged fluorescent lights, the first time Flavin had used nothing but the lighting elements, with no other materials. Upon entering the gallery, visitors will be greeted on their right by "the diagonal of May 25, 1963 (to Robert Rosenblum)," an eight-foot angled white light that was Flavin’s first such piece, and, in front of them, "a primary picture," comprising red, yellow, and blue lights forming a rectangle, resembling a frame around a nonexistent painting. In the back room, Flavin’s first floor piece, "gold, pink and red, red," is immediately on the left. The Donald Judd-like "red and green alternatives (to Sonja)" faces "the nominal three (to William of Ockham)" on the opposite wall; in between them is the leaning "alternate diagonals of March 2, 1964 (to Don Judd)." And in the near corner, off by itself, is "pink out of a corner (to Jasper Johns)." Flavin, who was born in Jamaica, Queens, in 1933 and died in Riverhead, Long Island, in 1996, was a seminal member of the minimalism movement of the 1960s, using commercially available materials to create his art. The Zwirner & Wirth exhibit, which is supplemented with Flavin’s original pencil studies, captures the artist’s unique use of light, color, and space, embracing the viewer in its warm glow. Flavin’s "Untitled (to Don Judd, colorist)" deservedly gets its own room as part of MoMA’s "Color Chart" exhibition (see below).
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Dan Flavin, "Untitled (to Don Judd, colorist)," detail, 1987
Museum of Modern Art
West 54th St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
The Joan and Preston Robert Tisch Exhibition Gallery, sixth floor
Through May 12 (closed Tuesdays)
Admission: $20 (includes same-day film screening)
Fridays free from 4:00 to 8:00
212-708-9400
"Color Chart" is more than just a soothing collection of colorful works that brighten even the dankest days of what has been a long, gray winter. In addition, it is an enticing melange of painting, drawing, collage, video, and sculpture built around the concept of artists using commercially available ready-made paint — and incorporating the physicality of the familiar color chart into the works themselves. Many of the artists in the exhibition, which focuses on the postwar period beginning in 1950, place actual color charts in their works, or make their own alternate color charts, including Ellsworth Kelly, John Chamberlain, Gerhard Richter, Donald Judd, and Robert Rauschenberg. Whereas most color swatches are rectangular or square, Damien Hirst’s spot painting comprises dozens of different-colored circles in uniform alignment. Cory Arcangel takes the use of color to a whole new level in the DVD installation "Colors," in which he plays the 1988 film COLORS, starring Sean Penn and Dennis Hopper, but only one line of pixels at a time, resulting in a blown-up series of color bars accompanied by the regular movie soundtrack. For "ZOBOP!" Jim Lambie laid down 3M vinyl tape, available in ten colors, in carefully constructed right angles on the floor surrounding Rodin’s Balzac statue. John Baldessari nearly paints himself into several corners in the thirty-minute film "Six Colorful Inside Jobs."
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Jim Lambie, "ZOBOP!" vinyl tape on floor, 1999
Byron Kim’s ongoing "Synecdoche" consists of hundreds of ten-by-eight-inch panels in muted tones, each one representing the actual skin color of a friend or relative who sat for him, organized alphabetically by sitter. Andy Warhol turns the artistic use of color upside down in a pair of "Do It Yourself" canvases, both unfinished but with numbers in the blank areas signifying how to complete it the traditional and simplistic color-by-numbers way. The most striking piece in the exhibit is Dan Flavin’s "Untitled (to Don Judd, colorist)," which gets its own room; Flavin made five sets of four connected vertical fluorescent lights — pink, red, yellow, blue, and green — each set topped by a pair of horizontal white lights, resulting in a fascinating experience in which the room virtually serves as a temple of color, even in the way it is reflected on the floor. (See above for information on "Dan Flavin: The 1964 Green Gallery Exhibition," on view at Zwirner & Wirth through May 3.) The accompanying catalog is a gorgeous delight, bursting with, well, color. It includes excellent essays by curator Ann Temkin and Briony Fer and a look at each of the artists in the exhibition, organized by participant. In addition to the aforementioned artists, there are also strong works from Bruce Nauman, Blinky Palermo, Jim Dine, Frank Stella, Walid Raad, Jasper Johns (whose "Grays" exhibit runs through May 4 at the Met), Carrie Mae Weems, and others.
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"New City," Peter Frankfurt, Imaginary Forces, Greg Lynn, Grey Lynn Form, Alex McDowell, Matter Art and Science, three-dimensional soundscape composition
The International Council of the Museum of Modern Art Exhibition Gallery, sixth floor
Through May 12
MOMA’s role as an interpreter of fine design for the masses finds expression in much more than its popular design store. This mind-bending exhibit is one of the museum’s meatiest offerings in years, both in concept and in sheer physical and visual delight. It’s about design — about life-changing ideas and the everyday forms they take, but the ideas under examination stem from science and technology at their furthest extremes; in fact, some visitors may well wonder whether they’ve wandered into MIT by mistake. Starting from the thesis that contemporary technology has profoundly altered how humans perceive time and space (cell phones, PCs, wireless technologies of all sorts, the Internet), the exhibit "highlights current examples of successful design translations of disruptive scientific and technological innovations," as curator Paola Antonelli notes in the excellent catalog, where she posits the development of an expanded capacity of the human mind — not just adaptability but "elasticity. . . . the by-product of adaptability + acceleration." A healthy booster shot on biology, quantum mechanics, physics, and computer science is highly advised beforehand. From examples of biomimetic tech such as "The Eyes of the Skin," in which architects create a skin that "breathes" for a building, and the marvelously beautifully "Lily Impeller," which prevents stagnation of water by using geometries found in natural fluid flow, to explorations of self-replicating technology at the nanotech, subatomic level that may someday allow the growth of extra human organs and new kinds of solar cells, to truly amazing examples of the science of visualization that are light-years beyond any map, to interactive pieces that get everyone on the floor, "Design and the Elastic Mind" may stretch yours beyond its limits.
MoMA Film
Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters
11 West 53rd St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
April 17—September 15
Tickets: $10, in person only, may be applied to museum admission within thirty days, same-day screenings free with museum admission, available at Film and Media Desk
212-708-9400
MoMA focuses in on movie soundtracks in its latest film series, collecting a disparate group of films that have one primary thing in common — they all include wonderful jazz scores. Jazz was yet another element that added mood and emotion to the cinematic experience; among the jazz giants contributing to soundtracks were Stan Getz (Arthur Penn’s MICKEY ONE), Miles Davis (Louis Malle’s ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS), Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn (Martin Ritt’s PARIS BLUES), Thelonius Monk and Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers (Roger Vadim’s DANGEROUS LIAISONS), and John Lewis (Robert Wise’s ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW. Ellington’s score was virtually a character unto itself in Otto Preminger’s ANATOMY OF A MURDER. Other musicians represented in this series include Ornette Coleman, Gerry Mulligan, David Amram, Max Roach, Mal Waldron, and Herbie Hancock as well as seminal cinema composers Elmer Bernstein, Henry Mancini, Jerry Fielding, and Lalo Schifrin. But whether you’re into jazz or not, there are some great films being screened, some of which you’ve seen and probably didn’t even realize had such jazzy scores.
In addition to the screenings inside the Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters, the surrounding area is filled with original movie posters for some of the films in the series, including THE COOL WORLD and BLOW-UP; a display of soundtrack records; and monitors showing clips and trailers for many of the films — the upstairs screen plays the remarkable one-shot opening sequence from TOUCH OF EVIL. Meanwhile, John and Faith Hubley’s 1957 gem, ADVENTURES OF AN *, plays in a continuous loop with John Canemaker’s 1998 short, BRIDGEHAMPTON. For BRIDGEHAMPTON, Canemaker made sketches, pianist Fred Hersch improvised music over them, and then Canemaker finished his paintings, based on his garden, by improvising over Hersch’s score, a true jazz collaboration; some of the original pastels are on the wall nearby. Also on the wall is a sampling of the Hubleys’ wonderful storyboards for ADVENTURES OF AN *, paintings that come to life onscreen with trumpter Benny Carter’s score, accompanied by Lionel Hampton on vibraphone.
Thursday, April 17
through
Wednesday, April 23 MICKEY ONE (Arthur Penn, 1965) (April 17 7:00 screening introduced by Penn)
Friday, April 18 ASCENSEUR POUR L'ÉCHAFAUD (ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS) (Louis Malle, 1958) and JANINE (Maurice Pialat, 1961), 6:15
courtesy Rialto Pictures
Maurice Ronet sees no way out in Malle noir classic
Louis Malle’s first feature-length fiction film, following THE SILENT WORLD (made with Jacques Cousteau), is a classic French noir that comes with all the trimmings — and can now be seen in an excellent new 35mm print with new subtitles. Jeanne Moreau stars as Florence Carala, who is married to ruthless business tycoon Simon (Jean Wall) but is carrying on an affair with Simon’s right-hand man, Julien Tavernier (Maurice Ronet). Julien plans the perfect murder — or so he thinks, until he has to go back to retrieve a crucial piece of evidence and gets trapped on the elevator. While he struggles to find a way out and Florence waits for him anxiously at a neighborhood bistro, young couple Louis (Georges Poujouly) and Veronique (Yori Bertin) take off in Julien’s convertible and get into some serious trouble of their own. Mistaken identity, cold-blooded killings, jealousy, and one of the greatest film scores ever — by Miles Davis, recorded in one overnight session — make ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS a splendid debut from one of the world’s finest filmmakers.
Saturday, April 19 PARIS BLUES (Martin Ritt, 1961), 5:00
Saturday, April 19 ANATOMY OF A MURDER (Otto Preminger, 1959), 7:15
Sunday, April 20 ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW (Robert Wise, 1959) and TAL FARLOW (Len Lye, 1950s/1980), 4:00
Sunday, April 20 I WANT TO LIVE! (Robert Wise, 1958), 6:00
Monday, April 21 ONNA GA KAIDAN WO AGARU TOKI (A WOMAN ASCENDS THE STAIRS) (Mikio Naruse, 1960), 6:15
Wednesday, April 23 PARIS BLUES (Martin Ritt, 1961), 6:15
Thursday, April 24 A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (Elia Kazan, 1951), 6:00
Thursday, April 24 THE SERVANT (Joseph Losey, 1963), 8:30
Friday, April 25 KURUTTA KAJITSU (CRAZED FRUIT) (Kô Nakahira, 1956), 6:30
Friday, April 25 ONNA GA KAIDAN WO AGARU TOKI (A WOMAN ASCENDS THE STAIRS) (Mikio Naruse, 1960), 8:30
Saturday, April 26 THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM (Otto Preminger, 1955) and THE THREE LITTLE BOPS (Friz Freleng, 1957), 2:30
Saturday, April 26 ANATOMY OF A MURDER (Otto Preminger, 1959), 5:00
Saturday, April 26 THE SERVANT (Joseph Losey, 1963), 8:15
Sunday, April 27 ASCENSEUR POUR L'ÉCHAFAUD (ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS) (Louis Malle, 1958) and JANINE (Maurice Pialat, 1961), 2:30
Sunday, April 27 THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM (Otto Preminger, 1955) and THE THREE LITTLE BOPS (Friz Freleng, 1957), 4:45
Monday, April 28 A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (Elia Kazan, 1951), 8:30
Wednesday, April 30 ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW (Robert Wise, 1959) and TAL FARLOW (Len Lye 1950s/1980), 8:30
Wednesday, April 30 I WANT TO LIVE! (Robert Wise, 1958), 6:00
Saturday, May 3 LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES (DANGEROUS LIAISONS) (Roger Vadim, 1959), 8:00
Sunday, May 4 LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES (DANGEROUS LIAISONS) (Roger Vadim, 1959), 5:30
Friday, May 9 OK END HERE (Robert Frank, 1963), PULL MY DAISY (Robert Frank & Alfred Leslie, 1959), and VERTICAL AIR (Robert Fenz, 1996), 6:00
Crazy, man, crazy. Spend half an hour hanging with Gregory Corso, Allen Ginsberg, Peter Orlovsky, Alice Neel, and Larry Rivers, with music by David Amram and narration by Jack Kerouac. This is a rare chance to see this Beat classic on the big screen.
Friday, May 9
through
Thursday, May 15 DILEMMA (Henning Carlsen, 1962) and ADVENTURES OF AN * (John and Faith Hubley, 1957)
Saturday, May 10 THE COOL WORLD (Shirley Clarke, 1964), 6:00
Saturday, May 10 THE CONNECTION (Shirley Clarke, 1961) and BRIDGES-GO-ROUND (Shirley Clarke, 1958), 8:15
Sunday, May 11 OK END HERE (Robert Frank, 1963), PULL MY DAISY (Robert Frank & Alfred Leslie, 1959), and VERTICAL AIR (Robert Fenz, 1996), 4:45
Monday, May 12 SWEET LOVE, BITTER (Herbert Danska, 1967), introduced by Danska, 6:15
Wednesday, May 14 HOW TO DRAW A BUNNY (John W. Walter, 2002), introduced by Walter, 6:15
Thursday, May 15 THE CONNECTION (Shirley Clarke, 1961) and BRIDGES-GO-ROUND (Shirley Clarke, 1958), 8:15
Friday, May 16 SWEET LOVE, BITTER (Herbert Danska, 1967), 6:15
Friday, May 16 THE COOL WORLD (Shirley Clarke, 1964), 8:15
Saturday, May 17 HOW TO DRAW A BUNNY (John W. Walter, 2002), 2:30
Saturday, May 17 NÓZ W WODZIE (KNIFE IN THE WATER) (Roman Polanski, 1962) and LE GROS ET LE MAIGRE (THE FAT AND THE LEAN) (Roman Polanski, 1961), 6:00
Saturday, May 17 LE DÉPART (Jerzy Skolimowski, 1967) and SZTANDAR (BANNER) (Miroslaw Kijowicz, 1965), 8:30
Thursday, May 22 LE DÉPART (Jerzy Skolimowski, 1967) and SZTANDAR (BANNER) (Miroslaw Kijowicz, 1965), 6:15
Thursday, May 22 NÓZ W WODZIE (KNIFE IN THE WATER) (Roman Polanski, 1962) and LE GROS ET LE MAIGRE (THE FAT AND THE LEAN) (Roman Polanski, 1961), 8:30
Friday, May 23 BLOW-UP (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1966) and HERBIE (George Lucas & Paul Holding, 1966), 7:00
Saturday, May 24 BLOW-UP (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1966) and HERBIE (George Lucas & Paul Holding, 1966), 3:00
Saturday, May 24 SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS (Alexander Mackendrick, 1957), 6:00
Saturday, May 24 TOUCH OF EVIL (Orson Welles, 1958), 8:00
Welles casts himself as the spectacularly dastardly police captain Hank Quinlan, an enormous drunk who has no trouble breaking the rules to get his man, in this potboiler set south of the border. Charlton Heston took a lot of criticism playing Mike Vargas, a Mexican who just married Janet Leigh, who finds herself menaced by a dangerous gang. Meanwhile, a pre-McCloud Dennis Weaver looks the other way. The final scene with Marlene Dietrich is a lu-lu. A lot of hype surrounded this film when it was restored a few years ago; fortunately, the final product lives up to its billing.
Sunday, May 25 SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS (Alexander Mackendrick, 1957), 2:30
Sunday, May 25 TOUCH OF EVIL (Orson Welles, 1958), 5:00
Wednesday, May 28 THE GAUNTLET (Clint Eastwood, 1977), 6:00
Wednesday, May 28 BULLITT (Peter Yates, 1968), 8:15
Saturday, May 31 BULLITT (Peter Yates, 1968), 4:00
Saturday, May 31 THE GAUNTLET (Clint Eastwood, 1977), 6:45
MoMA Film
Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters
11 West 53rd St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
April 23 — May 8
Tickets: $10, in person only, may be applied to museum admission within thirty days, same-day screenings free with museum admission, available at Film and Media Desk
212-708-9400
One of the leading filmmakers to emerge from the boom in Korean auteurs gaining international attention, former street artist Kim Ki-duk has made fourteen feature films including his 1996 debut, AG-O (CROCODILE), and MoMA’s got them all. Kim, who also writes his own screenplays, has a fondness for unusual characters caught in unusual situations, with surprising, unexpected results. In 3-IRON, a young man stays in strangers' houses when the people are away on vacation, cleaning up after himself and pretending he is a member of the family. In SAMARITAN GIRL, a young woman goes to great lengths to honor her dead friend, a prostitute. SPRING, SUMMER, FALL, WINTER… AND SPRING is a beautiful, meditative study of seclusion involving a precocious child and an old monk.
Wednesday, April 23 SOOM (BREATH) (Kim Ki-duk, 2007), introduced by Kim Ki-Duk, 7:00
Thursday, April 24 BIN-JIP (3-IRON) (Kim Ki-duk, 2004), 6:15
Thursday, April 24 SAMARIA (SAMARITAN GIRL) (Kim Ki-duk, 2004), 8:15
Friday, April 25 BOM YEOREUM GAEUL GYEOUL GEURIGO BOM (SPRING, SUMMER, FALL, WINTER… AND SPRING) (Kim Ki-duk, 2003), 6:15
Friday, April 25 HWAL (THE BOW) (Kim Ki-duk, 2005), 8:30
Saturday, April 26 HWAL (THE BOW) (Kim Ki-duk, 2005), 2:00
http://www.tfmdistribution.com/larc/accueil.htm
On a fishing boat anchored in the middle of the ocean, an old man (Jeon Sung-hwan) lives with a teenage girl (Han Yeo-rum). A gruff, bearded, dour sort, he has been raising the beautiful but silent girl for ten years, planning to marry her when she turns seventeen. Whenever men — who come to the boat to fish in peace — get fresh with the girl, the old man starts shooting arrows at them to scare them off, with the same bow that he also turns into a musical instrument and plays while sitting on the mast. He also uses the bow to shoot arrows at a Buddhist painting on the side of the boat as the girl swings in front of it, in order to tell the future for his customers. But when the girl takes an immediate liking to a college student (Seo Ji-seok) who wants to show her more of the world, the old man starts worrying that his own future might not include the girl, so he begins taking drastic measures. An official selection of the Cannes Film Festival, THE BOW is another gripping visual poem from Korean auteur Kim Ki-duk, director of such moving films as 3-IRON and SPRING, SUMMER, FALL, WINTER…AND SPRING. Han, who also starred in Kim’s SAMARITAN GIRL, is mesmerizing as the girl, evoking tender emotion with her body, eyes, and magical lips.
Saturday, April 26 PARAN DAEMUN (BIRDCAGE INN). (Kim Ki-duk, 1998), 4:00
Saturday, April 26 SOOM (BREATH) (Kim Ki-duk, 2007), 6:15
Saturday, April 26 SEOM (THE ISLE) (Kim Ki-duk, 2000), 8:00
Nominated for the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, South Korean writer-director Kim Ki-duk’s THE ISLE is a darkly mysterious, deeply beautiful story of love, sex, and obsession. Jung Suh stars as Hee-jin, a dour young woman who runs a small getaway on a secluded lake, where men come to escape from the real world for a while and do some fishing, drinking, and screwing — either with the prostitutes that Hee-jin shuttles to the tiny, individual floating units or with Hee-jin herself. Hee-jin, who never speaks during the entire film, goes about her day as matter-of-factly as Jeanne Dielman (Delphine Seyrig) does in Chantal Akerman’s 1975 feminist classic, JEANNE DIELMAN, 23 QUAI DU COMMERCE, 1080 BRUXELLES. But as she grows strangely attached to Hyun-shik (Yoo-suk Kim), danger threatens from the murky waters below. THE ISLE is gorgeous to watch, with cinematographer Hwang Seo-shik making the most of the stunning location and Kim’s own glorious art direction and production design, as the colorful units suddenly burst to life with bright greens and yellows amid an otherwise gray, rainy palette. As with Kim’s best films, the pace is slow and alluring, both meditative and elegiac. When the violence comes — and come it does, with two scenes in particular as gruesome as anything Takashi Miike has ever done — it’s absolutely shocking, yet treated no different from any other scene. THE ISLE is another stunner from one of South Korea’s greatest filmmakers.
Sunday, April 27 BIN-JIP (3-IRON) (Kim Ki-duk, 2004), 2:00
http://www.sonyclassics.com/3iron
Don’t be scared off by the golf-related title; this film festival hit, which really has very little to do with the sport, is a lyrical, poetic, existential romance that is beautifully mysterious and charmingly unique. Jae Hee stars as Tae-suk, a young man who, when finding out that a person or family is away for a few days, moves into their house and quietly goes about his business, cooking, eating, cleaning, sleeping — and taking pictures of himself in front of family pictures, as if he has become a part of them. But when he enters the home of Min-kyu (Kwon Hyuk-ho), he eventually discovers that he is not alone. There he meets Sun-hwa (Lee Seung-yeon), a former model who seems desperately unhappy and joins Tae-suk on his neighborhood travels. Along the way, the two never speak, communicating only through gestures. But when they move into a home and find a dead body inside, their peaceful life of solitude quickly goes astray. South Korean writer-director Kim Ki-duk (SPRING, SUMMER, FALL, WINTER…AND SPRING) delves deep inside the human psyche in this stunning work; although the two protagonists don’t talk to each other or anyone else, we learn about who they are by how they react in each house, as if every new place is another piece of them. The film does veer off course in the latter sections, although Kim does straighten things out, successfully getting out of the bunker and sinking an eagle on the eighteenth hole.
Sunday, April 27 BOM YEOREUM GAEUL GYEOUL GEURIGO BOM (SPRING, SUMMER, FALL, WINTER… AND SPRING) (Kim Ki-duk, 2003), 4:30
Monday, April 28 SUCHWIIN BULMYEONG (ADDRESS UNKNOWN) (Kim Ki-duk, 2001), 6:00
Wednesday, April 30 SEOM (THE ISLE) (Kim Ki-duk, 2000), 4:30
Thursday, May 1 SHI GAN (TIME) (Kim Ki-duk, 2006), 6:15
See-hee and Ji-woo see things differently in TIME
After two years together, See-hee (Seong Hyeon-ah) thinks that her boyfriend, Ji-woo (Ha Jung-woo), has lost interest in her. She goes crazy jealous whenever he even so much as takes a peek at another woman, embarrassing him in public time and time again. But when she suddenly disappears, he soon realizes that he can’t live without her. And he won’t necessarily have to; See-hee has taken off to have a plastic surgeon (Kim Sung-min) completely change her face so she can make Ji-woo fall in love with her (now played by Park Ji-yun) all over again, even if he doesn’t know who she really is. But it is a lot harder to change one’s inner psyche than outward physical appearance. Korean writer-director Kim Ki-duk, who has made such unusual and compelling films as 3-IRON, THE BOW (see DVD review below), and SPRING, SUMMER, FALL, WINTER...and SPRING, has crafted yet another fascinating drama that challenges the audience with its unique and unexpected twists and turns, asking intriguing questions rather than doling out simplistic answers. Kim shows the passage of time as a natural enemy to love and romance – but one that can be overcome. "Time travels in divers paces with divers persons," Shakespeare wrote in AS YOU LIKE IT. And so it does in this difficult yet memorable film.
Thursday, May 1 HAE ANSEOM (THE COAST GUARD) (Kim Ki-duk, 2002), 8:30
Friday, May 2 SAMARIA (SAMARITAN GIRL) (Kim Ki-duk, 2004), 6:15
Friday, May 2 NABBEUN NAMIA (BAD GUY) (Kim Ki-duk, 2001), 8:30
BAD GUY is Kim Ki-Duk's most lurid work
Kim Ki-duk’s (SPRING, SUMMER, FALL, WINTER … AND SPRING, 3-IRON) BAD GUY is a preposterous, painfully puerile, and deeply misogynistic movie that is insulting from start to finish. Although it’s only a hundred minutes long, it feels like a thousand. Won Seo stars as Sun-hwa, a college girl who gets conned by Han-ki (Je-Hyun Cho) into becoming a prostitute to pay off a false debt. He watches her transformation through a two-way mirror while one of his henchmen, Myung-soo (Duk-Moon Choi), thinks he has fallen in love with her himself. Lots of sex and violence ensue, most of which makes no sense and is as unbelievable as the premise. Don’t get fooled by the sexy packaging, as the photos on the front and back covers of the DVD are not even from the film, making it look more like a tempting erotic thriller. Plus, they get the title of Kim’s seasonal breakthrough wrong. Even the Web site is offensive, selling merchandise that promises to make you a "bad guy."
Saturday, May 3 YASAENG DONGMUL BOHOGUYEOG (WILD ANIMALS) (Kim Ki-duk, 1997), 2:00
Saturday, May 3 SHILJE SANGHWANG (REAL FICTION) (Kim Ki-duk, 2000), 4:15
Saturday, May 3 AG-O (CROCODILE) (Kim Ki-duk, 1996), 6:00
Saturday, May 3 SHI GAN (TIME) (Kim Ki-duk, 2006), 8:15
Sunday, May 4 NABBEUN NAMIA (BAD GUY) (Kim Ki-duk, 2001), 1:00
Sunday, May 4 HAE ANSEOM (THE COAST GUARD) (Kim Ki-duk, 2002), 3:00
Sunday, May 4 PARAN DAEMUN (BIRDCAGE INN) (Kim Ki-duk, 1998), 5:00
Wednesday, May 7 SHILJE SANGHWANG (REAL FICTION) (Kim Ki-duk, 2000), 6:15
Wednesday, May 7 AG-O (CROCODILE) (Kim Ki-Duk, 1996), 8:30
Thursday, May 8 YASAENG DONGMUL BOHOGUYEOG (WILD ANIMALS) (Kim Ki-duk, 1997), 6:15
Thursday, May 8 SUCHWIIN BULMYEONG (ADDRESS UNKNOWN) (Kim Ki-duk, 2001), 8:30
When we heard that MoMA was doing the first-ever complete retrospective of the work of the great South Korean filmmaker Kim Ki-duk, we were filled with anticipation. Then, when we got our hands on YONGARY, MONSTER FROM THE DEEP, we were even more excited, as we had never even heard of the movie before, and it didn’t seem to be included on MoMA’s schedule. So we eagerly shoved it into the DVD and marveled at how Kim had so successfully re-created the look and feel of low-budget 1950s and 1960s Asian horror films, complete with poorly dubbed dialogue, silly shots, unexplained plot twists and characters, and a general ineptitude that was hysterically funny. In this case, the story involved a Godzilla-like creature decimating Seoul. After watching the film, we decided to do a little research on it — and, much to our chagrin, discovered that it is actually a poorly dubbed, generally inept Asian horror film from 1967, made by a man named Kim Ki-duk who is no relation to the modern-day master behind such unique flicks as THE ISLE, SAMARITAN GIRL, TIME, and 3-IRON. We loved YONGARY when we thought it was a brilliant spoof of a low-rent genre, but is it fair now to hate it because it’s just another lousy postwar monster movie?
twi-ny/mdr
Jim Dine’s statues are finally uncovered
Credit Lyonnais Building
1301 Sixth Ave. between 52nd & 53rd Sts.
http://www.pacewildenstein.com
Standing in front of a nondescript office building (formerly the JCPenney Building), on the left, close to the corner of WC Handys Place, you can see two green headless figures (finally rid of those ugly blue aprons they were wearing while the plaza underwent renovation) standing on a base that is shimmering with water; on the right, closer to 53rd, you can see a third green headless figure, alone. Is this the result of some love triangle gone awry? No, it’s actually a controversial work, based on the Venus de Milo, by modern master Jim Dine. When the pieces were first installed, they were met with criticism because of their depiction of headless, armless women smack in the middle of a business district, as if the females had no power and deserved no respect. Dine’s "Red Devil Color Chart No. 1," which consists of two dozen unmixed, commercially available squares of house paint colors, each placed on the chart randomly and identified in a scraggly handwriting with typos, is included in MoMA’s current "Color Chart" exhibit, right across the street.
twi-ny/mdr
Dupont’s "anti-self-portraits" seem to morph through Lever House
Lever House Lobby Gallery
390 Park Ave. at 54th St.
Through May 3
Admission: free
Native New Yorker Richard Dupont has filled the Lever House Lobby Gallery with nine cast polyurethane resin versions of his naked self, but with a fascinating twist: Each one appears to be its own reversed funhouse mirror, changing shape as you walk around them. Dupont began with a full body laser scan, then digitally manipulated it to create these surreal figures — he calls them "anti-self-portraits" — that are impossibly thin from one angle, unusually large-headed from another, and perfectly normal from a third. It’s especially fascinating to look at several figures at once; even though they are all cast from the same body image, they are decidedly different. It’s also fun watching pedestrians pass by the glass-enclosed space and wonder just what the heck is going on inside.
twi-ny/mdr
Murakami’s "Oval Buddha" meditates in Midtown
The Sculpture Garden at 590 Atrium
590 Madison Ave. between 56th & 57th Sts.
Open daily 8:00 am — 10:00 pm
Through September 7
Admission: free
In conjunction with the Brooklyn Museum’s "© Murakami" exhibition (see above), Japanese artist Takashi Murakami has installed "Oval Buddha" in the Sculpture Garden at 590 Atrium. The genesis for the eighteen-and-a-half-foot aluminum-and-steel statue, covered in platinum leaf, was a T-shirt commission from Issey Miyake; nine years later, Murakami has reimagined his character, Oval, sitting meditatively atop lotus petals and a fantastical elephant base, his face dotted with the artist’s iconic jellyfish eyes and sprouting extra mouths and frog limbs. But Oval is not as peaceful as he might seem, as there is a second face on the back of his huge head, filled with sharp teeth and wearing a devilish glare. As with most of Murakami’s art, "Oval Buddha" combines Japanese art, history, and folklore with modern-day commercialism and technology, as well as religion, resulting in a dazzling piece of art layered with meaning. A monitor next to the statue goes behind the scenes of the making of "Oval Buddha" and its installation at MOCA as part of the "© Murakami" exhibit.
© Yvonne Jacquette
Yvonne Jacquette, "Metropolitan Area Triptych," oil on canvas, 2007
DC Moore Gallery
724 Fifth Ave. between 56th & 57th Sts., eighth floor
Through April 26
Admission: free
212-247-2111
Yvonne Jacquette’s marvelous show with her late husband, Rudy Burckhardt, "Picturing New York," at the Museum of the City of New York, just closed, but you still have time to see some of her recent work at the DC Moore Gallery on Fifth Ave. in Midtown. Jacquette charters small planes or helicopters to fly her over locations, leading to spectacular aerial views that she translates to canvas in a unique way, creating fantastical landscapes. While the show at MCNY featured only her paintings of New York, this exhibit at DC Moore features pieces created in Augusta, Maine, focusing on the lights below rather than the hurried traffic and the tall skyscrapers of Manhattan.
twi-ny/mdr
New York Comic Con looks to pack them in once again
Jacob K. Javits Center
655 West 34th St.
April 18-20
Online registration through 12 midnight April 17: weekend pass $45, day passes $30-$35
Onsite tickets: weekend pass $65, day passes $40-$45
800-871-8326
New York Comic Con is back for its third year, and the slate is growing more and more impressive as it does battle with the long-running and highly respected San Diego Comic Con. For three days, people can gallivant with authors, artists, actors, directors, and lots of fans in costumes in this annual event that attracts lovers of comic books, manga, graphic novels, anime, sci-fi and fantasy, cartoons, and other art forms that bring out the kid in all of us. Among the Living Legends being honored this year are Stan Lee, Joe Kubert, and Joe Simon, with Guests of Honor including Orson Scott Card, Mike Mignola, and Mo Willems. The autograph tables, some of which require free tickets in advance, will be filled with the likes of Lou Ferrigno, Danny Simmons, Chip Kidd, and many of the Living Legends and other official guests. We always like making our way through Artist Alley, where you get to meet the creators face-to-face, and if you buy one of their books they often will make a special drawing for you along with their signature; you can find us hanging out by David Mack, Dean Haspiel, Peter David, Greg Pak, and Phil Jimenez, as well as visiting publisher booths to meet and greet Stuart Moore, Jimmy Palmiotti, Jessica Abel, and many others. We’ll also be on the lookout for such Special Guests and Featured Guests as Neil Gaiman, Frank Miller, Chris Carter, Scott McCloud, Kyle Baker, and Peter David.
Both Harold and Kumar will appear at this year’s New York Comic Con
The Variant Stage will be home to a wide range of special events and programs, including a Hero Initiative Auction, Start Trekkin’, Greek Warriors, NY Jedi, Uncle Shappy, Vampire Cowboys, Dr Sketchy’s, Joe Kubert School Class, Stjepan Sejic, the Gothic & Lolita Bible Fashion Show, a Cosplay and Costume Contest, the New York - Tokyo Fashion Show, the Cuteness Parade!, Fat Momma and Major Victory, Fist-a-Cuffs, The Hero and His/Her Foil, DC vs. Marvel, and the Comic Trivia Challenge. This year’s Comic Con also has lured out a bunch of Hollywood stars, with actors, directors, writers, and producers presenting clips from their upcoming films and then talking about the making of the movie. However, we are extremely disappointed that the event is being held over Passover weekend — especially given that a few panels are honoring Jews in comics. Here’s part of their official response: “We certainly intended no disrespect. The unfortunate reality is that these were the only available dates for the space we needed. The good news is that the dates for New York Comic Con 2009 — February 6 – 8, 2009 — do not conflict with Passover.”
Friday, April 18 Will Eisner: Portrait of a Sequential Artist, 1E10-1E11, 12 noon
Friday, April 18 A Webcomics Round Table, with Dean Haspiel, Molly Crabapple, Ryan Roman, Leland Purvis, Ulises Farinas, Pedro Camargo, Kevin Colden, Paul Maybury, Simon Fraser, Nikki Cook, Jeff Newelt, Michael Cavallaro, Michel Fiffe, Tim Hamilton, and Jennifer Tong, moderated by Dan Goldman, 1E08, 2:00
Friday, April 18 The Legends Behind the Comic Books, 1E10-1E11, 3:00
Friday, April 18 America: Through the Eyes of the Graphic Novel, with Special Guest Howard Zinn, Jonathan Hennessey, Sid Jacobsen, and Ernie Colon, 1E16, 3:00
Friday, April 18 Weird Tales — 85 Years, 85 Storytellers, 1E10-1E11, 4:00
Friday, April 18 Women in Comics, with Gail Simone, Heidi MacDonald, Karen Green, Jennifer Grünwald, Shelly Bond, and Becky Cloonan, moderated by Abby Denson, 1E07, 5:00
Friday, April 18 Lights, Camera, Comics! with Edward Burns, Jimmy Palmotti, Jeff Parker, and other special guests, 1E15, 6:00
Friday, April 18 MoCCA presents Ralph Bakshi — Unfiltered, IGN Theater, 6:30
Friday, April 18 20th Century Fox presents: X-FILES 2, with Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz, IGN Theater, 7:30
Saturday, April 19 Make Mine Marvel, with editor Nick Lowe, Orson Scott Card, Duane Swierczynski, John Romita Sr., and a special surprise guest, 1E08, 11:00 am
Saturday, April 19 Stan on Stan! with Stan Lee, 1E10-1E11, 11:00 am
Saturday, April 19 Spotlight on Mike Mignola, with Mike Mignola, 1E08, 12 noon
Saturday, April 19 The World of Shannara, with Terry Brooks and Robert Napton, 1E07, 1:00
Saturday, April 19 Universal Studios presents WANTED and HELLBOY 2: THE GOLDEN ARMY, with Mark Millar, Timur Bekmambetov, Guillermo del Toro, Mike Mignola, Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, Luke Goss, IGN Theater, 2:00
Saturday, April 19 Lionsgate Films presents WILL EISNER’S THE SPIRIT, with Frank Miller, Eva Mendes, Deborah Del Prete, and Michael Uslan, moderated by Kurt Loder, IGN Theater, 4:15
Saturday, April 19 Adult Swim Presents: Robot Chicken: Star Wars, with Seth Green and Matthew Senrich, 1E07, 5:00
Saturday, April 19 Bill Plympton Goes to the Dark Side, with Bill Plympton and a free drawing for all attendees, 1E16, 7:00
© Glenn Fabry
Poster is one of many Comic Con exclusives
Sunday, April 20 MoCCA Presents Mo Willems Spotlight, 1E09, 11:00 am
Sunday, April 20 Nick Mag Presents . . . Gag Cartoons & Funny Drawings, with Chris Duffy, Karen Sneider, Gary Fields, and Alec Longstreth, 2D02-03, 11:00 am
Sunday, April 20 Amuri in Star Ocean, presented by New York — Tokyo, 1E07, 12 noon
Sunday, April 20 New Line Cinema presents HAROLD & KUMAR ESCAPE FROM GUANTANAMO BAY, with John Cho, Kal Penn, Neil Patrick Harris, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg, IGN Theater, 12:30
Sunday, April 20 New Line Cinema presents JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH 3D, Brendan Fraser, Eric Brevig, and Charlotte Huggins, IGN Theater, 1:15
Sunday, April 20 The Creation of Toon Books: Beginning Reader Comics, with Françoise Mouly, 1E04, 2:00
Sunday, April 20 Nick Mag Presents… 3-D Comic Carousel, with R. Sikoryak, Kim Deitch, Michael Kupperman, Chris Duffy, and Dave Roman, 1E09, 3:00
AMC Village 7, Third Ave, between 12th & 13th Sts.
Pace University, Front St. between Beekman St. & Peck Slip
BMCC TribecaPAC, 199 Chambers St. between Greenwich & West Sts.
Tribeca Cinemas, Varick St. at Laight St.
Village East Cinema, 189 Second Ave.
April 23 - May 4
Hudson Pass $1,100; other packages $64-$75
Individual screening tickets: $15 (matinees and late-night screenings $8)
866-941-3378
http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org
Originally started to help bolster the downtown economy following 9/11, the Tribeca Film Festival, now in its seventh year, is back with another massive slate of shorts, indie flicks, panel discussions, musical performances, gala premieres, art shows, and lots of special events, with more and more actually held outside Tribeca. Also back is the drive-in, the family street fair, and Sports Day.
Fred Lebow’s legacy is examined in RUN FOR YOUR LIFE
Sunday, April 27, AMC Village VII Theater 3, 3:30
Sunday, April 27, AMC Village VII Theater 4, 9:00
Thursday, May 1, AMC 19th St. East Theater 2, 6:00
Friday, May 2, Village East Cinema 6, 3:15
Saturday, May 3, AMC 19th St. East Theater 1, 11:30 am
RUN FOR YOUR LIFE tells the remarkable story of Fischl Leibowitz, better known to the world as Fred Lebow. At the age of fourteen, Lebow left his home in Romania and eventually immigrated to the United States. In the late 1960s, he became obsessed with running, at the time a strange form of exercise practiced by very few New Yorkers. But soon Lebow was organizing events such as the Cherry Tree Marathon through the Bronx in 1969 and the Central Park Marathon, leading to the first-ever five-borough New York City Marathon in 1976, a race that many believe helped lead the city through its financial, crime-filled crisis. Through archival footage, news reports, photos, and new interviews with Lebow’s friends, family, and colleagues, a fascinating picture emerges of a driven visionary who was a masterful manipulator and negotiator, a man ahead of his time with regard to marketing and sponsorship. Among the people who share their memories of Lebow are marathoners Bill Rodgers, Frank Shorter, and Greta Waitz, former mayor Ed Koch, parks commissioners Henry Stern and Gordon Davis, past presidents and board members of the New York Road Runners Club, and his sister, who makes latkes for filmmaker Judd Ehrlich. Lebow was one of the all-time great New York characters, forever wearing a painter’s cap and sweatsuit, doing whatever was necessary to get himself and his sport to the next level. The ending is both exhilarating and heartbreaking.
Guy Maddin looks back on his hometown as only he can
Thursday, April 24, Village East Cinema 1, 6:00
Wednesday, April 30, AMC 19th St. East Theater 1, 10:30
Sunday, May 4, Village East Cinema 6, 1:15
Guy Maddin (THE SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD, CAREFUL) returns to the Tribeca Film Festival, where his splendid cinematic installation COWARDS BEND THE KNEE was a hit in 2003, with MY WINNIPEG, an insanely brilliant homage to his native city. In MY WINNIPEG, he pays tribute to the long, bizarre history of the title Canadian province, which sits directly in the middle of North America, what Maddin refers to as the "heart of the heart of the continent." Combining archival footage with newly re-created scenes, all of which look like faded newsreels and early, degraded prints, Maddin, in voice-over narration, tells of horses buried in ice with their heads sticking out, the Happyland amusement park, Ledge Man, the Hudson’s Bay Company, stampedes, spirit photography and seances, a beauty pageant for men, local scavenger hunts in which the winner gets a ticket out of town, and other strange elements; one of the many joys of the film is not knowing what is exactly true and what is invention, although there is more fact here than you might think. "Everything that happens in this city is a euphemism," Maddin says, just to keep us guessing. He also gets personal in the film, which he calls a "docu-fantasia," with many scenes focusing on his mother — or an actress playing his mother. A masterful meditation on memory, MY WINNIPEG is one of Maddin’s most accomplished, most accessible works, the successor to such classic avant-garde filmmakers as Dali and Bunuel (UN CHIEN ANDALOU), Brakhage (DOG STAR MAN), and Welles (F FOR FAKE). To get a little taste of what Maddin is all about, you can check out many of his short films, including NUDE CABOOSE, FUSEBOY, A TRIP TO THE ORPHANAGE, and SISSY-BOY SLAP-PARTY, on YouTube. Don’t worry about feeling like you’re "stealing" them by seeing them for free; Maddin put them up there himself.
Emily Mortimer and Chiwetel Ejiofor prepare for battle
Friday, April 25, BMCC Tribeca PAC, 6:30
Sunday, April 27, AMC Village VII Theater 3, 6:30
http://www.sonyclassics.com/redbelt
Chiwetel Ejiofor, one of America’s best and most underrated actors, gives a mesmerizing performance in REDBELT, a rather bizarre offering from David Mamet. Ejiofor stars as Mike Terry, an honest, hardworking master of self-defense who runs a Jiu Jitsu studio in L.A. and lives by a samurai-like code. When a distraught woman, Laura Black (Emily Mortimer), enters the studio on a rainy night and ends up grabbing police officer Joe Collins’s (Max Martini) gun and shooting it, shattering the front window, a series of events soon finds Terry in the midst of an elaborate con, a specialty of Mamet’s. However, lurking in the background as Terry meets a Hollywood action hero (Tim Allen), his right-hand man (Joe Mantegna), and a shady fight promoter (Ricky Jay), is the prospect that Terry might have to participate in a mixed-martial-arts competition in order to solve his personal and financial woes, a low-grade, conventional plot device that is more KARATE KID II, ROCKY V, and BEST OF THE BEST 3 than THE SPANISH PRISONER and HOUSE OF GAMES. It’s almost inconceivable that such an accomplished writer and director as Mamet (THINGS CHANGE, HOMICIDE) could use such a ridiculous story line until one discovers that Mamet has been studying Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for several years now, so he worked his obsession into an otherwise compelling drama. However, REDBELT is still worth watching for Ejiofor, although even he can’t save the embarrassing final fifteen minutes.
Errol Morris looks at Abu Ghraib in new documentary
Thursday, April 24, Directors Guild Theater, 6:30
Opens in theaters Friday, April 25
Lincoln Plaza Cinemas
1866 Broadway at 63rd St.
212-757-2280
Angelika Film Center
18 West Houston St. at Mercer St.
212-995-2000
http://www.city-cinemas.com/angelika.html
http://www.lincolnplazacinema.com
http://www.sonyclassics.com/standardoperatingprocedure
Oscar-winning documentarian Errol Morris (THE FOG OF WAR, A THIN BLUE LINE) examines the use of still photography as evidence in STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE, which focuses in on the recording of the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Morris speaks with five of the seven members of the military who were directly involved (Sabrina Herman, Megan Ambuhl, Lynndie England, Jeremy Sivitz, and Javal Davis — Charles Graner and Ivan Frederick were still in prison and not permitted to talk to him) who describe the events surrounding the systematic torture in which prisoners were forced to commit humiliating, degrading acts for what appears to be the pleasure of their captors, who take still photos and video of the events, even including themselves in the images, smiling and pointing. Among the other men and women he speaks with is Brent Pack, the special agent for criminal investigations, who discusses which of the acts constitutes actional abuse and which doesn’t, and former brigadier general Janis Karpinski, who was relieved of command and demoted once the events were made public. One of the most fascinating parts of the film are Herman’s letters to her domestic partner, containing worries that are not visible as Herman parades around with naked prisoners. But in many ways that gets to the heart of the problem; the photographs show one thing, but the testimony describes circumstances that go outside the frame. It also examines how the responsibility for the abuses did not reach very far up the chain of command. Morris supplements the film with emotionally effective and artistic, if somewhat manipulative, reenactments that heighten the tension.
Squires and Shapiro share a strange friendship in THE WACKNESS
Saturday, April 26, AMC 19th St. East Theater 2, 9:00
Monday, April 28, AMC Village VII Theater 2, 7:00
Thursday, May 1, AMC Village VII Theater 5, 10:30
http://www.sonyclassics.com/thewackness
Winner of the Audience Award for Dramatic Film at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, THE WACKNESS is a quirky coming-of-age drama set in 1994 New York City, which is quickly being taken over by new mayor Rudy Giuliani’s so-called quality-of-life initiatives. Josh Peck stars as Luke Shapiro, an easygoing loner who sells pot in the parks from a disguised Italian ices cart. He’s just graduated high school, and he’s trying to raise enough money so he can go to college. Luke has a strange relationship with his drug-addled shrink, Jeffrey Squires (a wickedly funny Ben Kingsley), that changes when Luke starts getting a little too friendly with Dr. Squires’s hot stepdaughter, Stephanie (Olivia Thirlby). Meanwhile, Luke’s father (David Wohl) has lost a large sum of money, leaving the family facing possible eviction. Writer-director Jonathan Levine (ALL THE BOYS LOVE MANDY LANE), who graduated high school in 1994 himself, sets the film amid the burgeoning world of hip hop, featuring songs by Nas, the Notorious B.I.G., a Tribe Called Quest, and Method Man (who also plays Luke’s supplier) that heavily influenced his own coming of age. In Luke and Dr. Squires, Levine has created a truly odd, engaging couple in this offbeat, surprisingly affecting film.
Charles Bronson stands tall in classic Western
Wednesday, April 30, MoMA, 7:00
http://www.sergioleone.net/intro_sk.html
One of the grandest Westerns ever made, this masterpiece features an all-star cast that includes Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, Jason Robards, Woody Strode, Keenan Wynn, Lionel Stander, and Jack Elam, all enhanced by Ennio Morricone’s epic score and Tonino delli Colli’s never-ending extreme close-ups. (The opening shot of a fly crawling over Elam’s grimy face is unforgettable.) Fonda was never more evil, and Bronson was perhaps never more likable. The film is a huge step above most of Leone’s Spaghetti Westerns, partially because of the cast, but also because of the script help he got from Italian horrormeister Dario Argento and iconic filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci. Tribeca is presenting this special screening in honor of the film’s fortieth anniversary.
Friday, May 2, Pace, 9:00
and
Saturday, May 3, Village East Cinema 1, 11:00: Special Event Screening: EMPIRE II (Amos Poe, 2007)
twi-ny/mdr
Nick Lowe will kick off Tribeca ASCAP Music Lounge
Canal Room
285 West Broadway
Admission: free for festival badge holders only
212-941-8100
http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org
Tuesday, April 29 Nick Lowe, 3:00; Brett Dennen, 3:40; Chris Thile, 4:20; Regina Spektor, 5:00; Ingrid Michaelson, 5:40
Wednesday, April 30 Jon Foreman, 3:00; Lizz Wright, 3:30; Chris Thile, 4:20;
Thursday, May 1 Small Mercies, 3:00; Jack Savoretti, 3:40; Jessie Baylin, 4:20; Augustana, 5:00; Sia, 5:40
Friday, May 2 Meaghan Smith, 3:00; Rachael Yamagata, 3:40; Joseph Arthur, 4:20; Sixpence None the Richer, 5:00
Lou Reed will talk about BERLIN on May 4
BMCC TribecaPAC, 199 Chambers St. between Greenwich & West Sts.
Directors Guild Theater, 110 West 57th St.
Pace University, 3 Spruce St.
Kellen Auditorium at the New School, 65 Fifth Ave.
Tickets: $25
http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org
Thursday, April 24 Conversations in Cinema: STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE (Errol Morris, 2008), screening followed by Errol Morris in conversation with Anthony Swofford, Directors Guild Theater, 6:30
Friday, April 25 Click to View: The Future of New Media, with Isabella Rossellini and Gaurav Dhillon, moderated by Georg Szalai, Tribeca Cinemas, Theater 2, 5:00
Saturday, April 26 Tribeca Talks Industry: Shane Meadows, hosted by Skillset, with Shane Meadows and Paul Fraser, moderated by Anthony Kaufman, Kellen Auditorium at the New School, 3:00
Saturday, April 26 Behind the Screens: LAKE CITY, screening followed by conversation with Sissy Spacek, Directors Guild Theater, 6:30
Sunday, April 27 Conversations in Cinema: 2001: A Space Odyssey - Ahead of Its Time, screening followed by a panel discussion with Buzz Aldrin and Ann Druyan, Pace, 3:00
Sunday April 27 Behind the Screens: UNDER OUR SKIN (Andy Abrahams Wilson, 2008), with Andy Abrahams Wilson, Dr. Richard Horowitz, and Amy Tan, Directors Guild Theater, 6:30
Monday, April 28 Tribeca Talks: Mike Figgis, hosted by Skillset, Directors Guild Theater, 6:30
Tuesday, April 29 Pangea Day, TED & Tribeca, with Christiane Amanpour and Jehane Noujaim, moderated by Chris Anderson, Directors Guild Theater, 7:00
Thursday, May 1 Tribeca Talks Industry: Reuse, Remix & Renew Film tools for the 21st century, with Eric Steuer, Paul "DJ Spooky" Miller, Himanshu Singh, and Tiffany Shlain, Kellen Auditorium, 5:00
Thursday, May 1 Conversations in Cinema: 90 MILES THE DOCUMENTARY (Emilio Estefan, 2008), screening followed by discussion with Emilio Estefan, Gloria Estefan, Nelson Gonzalez, Johnny Pacheco, and La India, BMCC, 6:00
Thursday, May 1 Behind the Screens: CONFESSIONSOFA EX-DOOFUS-ITCHYFOOTED, with Melvin Van Peebles, Directors Guild Theater, 6:30
Saturday, May 3 Injecting the American Dream, with Christopher Bell, Victor Conte, and others, moderated by Shaun Assael. Pace, 5:00
Sunday, May 4 Conversations in Cinema: Celebrating BERLIN, screening of LOU REED’S BERLIN (Julian Schnabel, 2008), followed by a conversation with Lou Reed and Lisa Robinson, Directors Guild Theater, 7:00
World Financial Center Plaza
225 Vesey St. at West & Liberty Sts.
Doors open at 6:30, programs at 7:30, screenings at 8:00
Admission: free
212-945-2600
http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org
http://www.worldfinancialcenter.com/calendar
Thursday, April 24 Thriller Night: THRILLER & THE MAKING OF THRILLER, with John Landis, a zombie disco, a Michael Jackson look-alike contest, and face-painting
Friday, April 25 MEERKAT MANOR: THE STORY BEGINS, with a Meerkat personality test, Meerkat Manor trivia, and a Meerkat dance-off challenge
Saturday, April 26 Winner of the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival Fans’ Favorite Football Flick, with WE ARE MARSHALL currently running away with it
Apple Store SoHo
103 Prince St. at Greene St.
April 25 - May 4
Admission: free
212-226-3126
Friday, April 25 Clive Owen, 6:30
Saturday, April 26 Tony Gilroy, 6:30; Amy Poehler, 8:00
Sunday, April 27 Guy Maddin, 5:30
Monday, April 28 Morgan Spurlock, 6:30
Tuesday, April 29 Tom Kalin, 6:30; Isabella Rossellini, 8:00
Wednesday, April 30 Greg Mottola, 6:30
Thursday, May 1 Harmony Korine, 6:30
Friday, May 2 Adam Yauch, 6:30
Saturday, May 3 Paul Haggis, 6:30
Sunday, May 4 Matthew Modine, 5:30
Fair: Greenwich St. between Hubert & Duane Sts.
Screenings: Tribeca Film Center, 375 Greenwich St.
Admission: free
http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org
Saturday, May 3 Annual street festival with live music and dance, stilt walkers, face painters, arts and crafts, storytellers, a reading tent, kite flying, a Bubble Garden, Chess in Schools, local food vendors and merchants, including performances from LEGALLY BLONDE and XANADU, Victorian Gardens Amusement Park, New American Youth Ballet, the PS 150 TLC Singers, and free family-friendly film screenings, 10:00 am — 6:00 pm
North Moore St. between Greenwich & West Sts.
Admission: free
http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org
Saturday, May 3 Street fair featuring two short tennis courts, a quick-serve cage, a slapshot area, a three-point shooting contest, a quarterback challenge, and more, with the Rangers Road Tour, the Knicks Groove Truck, Generation Jets Fest, the New York Jets Flight Crew, Mr. Met, and other special events and live performances, 10:00 am — 6:00 pm
Bernaducci Meisel Gallery
Stephen Hannock, "Maternal Nocturne: Clearing Storm," polished oil on envelope over Chuck Close daguerreotype, 2007
The New School Kellen Gallery
Sheila C. Johnson Design Center
66 Fifth Ave.
April 23 — May 1
Admission: free
http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org
The actual awards that the Tribeca Film Festival hands out are individually commissioned from New York-based artists. The awards will be on display at the New School until they are handed out at the end of the festival. This year’s group were designed by John Alexander, Ross Bleckner, Francesco Clemente, Renee Cox, Brandon d’Leo, Donna Ferrato, Ralph Gibson, Don Gummer, Stephen Hannock, Ryan McGinness, Clifford Ross, Timothy White, and O Zhang.
twi-ny/mdr
The Hold Steady headline a special show at Tribeca
Webster Hall
125 East Eleventh St. between Third & Fourth Aves.
Tickets: $15
http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org
Friday, May 2 The Hold Steady, the Virgins, Republic Tigers, Bad Veins
© David Lyle
David Lyle, "Are We There Yet," oil on panel, 2008
Canal St. to Murray St., Washington St. to Lafayette St.
April 25-28
Admission: free
212-479-7317
Nearly one hundred TriBeCa artists open up their studios for this twelfth annual self-guided tour, including receptions, slide shows, window displays, and children’s activities. The above Web site includes sample pieces by each participant as well as an artist statement so you can whittle down the choices based on your specific interests. Among the participants are Elena Ab, B. Amore, Miyako Aoki, CJ Collins, Jinsey Dauk, Murray Hidary, Jennifer Kotter, Artem Mirolevich, Alkan Nallbani, Salvador Oliveros, and Sophie Sejourne. There are also special exhibitions at the Synagogue for the Arts (49 White St.), which will feature a group show of the participating artists; Art Gotham (192 Sixth Ave. between Spring & Prince Sts.); Franklin Station Restaurant (222 West Broadway at Franklin St.); and the NY Law School Windows (Worth St. at Church St,).
Lower Manhattan Cultural Council
200 Hudson St.
LMCC Studios, fourth floor (LMCC)
92YTribeca, ground floor (92Y)
Admission: free but online registration required
http://www.lmcc.net/openstudios
Friday, April 25 Opening reception, LMCC, 6:00 — 8:00
Saturday, April 26 Open Texts: Fiction, Poetry, and Performance, 2:00 — 4:00
Saturday, April 26 Moving Pictures: screenings by Workspace artists, 92Y, 5:00 — 7:00
Saturday, April 26
and
Sunday, April 27 Open studios featuring the twenty artists in residence who are part of the LMCC’s Workspace program, LMCC, 1:00 — 6:00
Documentary follows the Derby Trail to the Run for the Roses
Cinema Village
22 East 12th St. between University Pl. & Fifth Ave.
Opens Friday, April 18
212-924-3363
http://www.thefirstsaturdayinmay.com
Brad and John Hennegan take viewers behind the scenes in THE FIRST SATURDAY IN MAY, a fascinating look at six sets of trainers and horses as they head out on the Derby Trail, on a path to qualify for the 2006 Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs. Every year forty thousand Thoroughbreds are born; of those, twenty-three thousand become racehorses, but only twenty get to compete as three-year-olds in the Kentucky Derby. The Hennegan brothers follow former equestrian champion Michael Martz as he trains Barbaro in Florida; Kiaran McLaughlin, who has MS, as he prepares Jazil in Dubai; Dale Romans working with Sharp Humor in Kentucky; trainer Bob Holthus and groom Chuck Chambers with Lawyer Ron in Arkansas; wheelchair-bound Dan Hendricks readying Brother Derek in California; and assistant trainer Frank Amonte Jr. prepping Achilles of Troy in New York. The Hennegans focus on the hopes and dreams of these men and their families as they go through stakes races, deal with the press and the horses’ owners, work on strategy with the jockeys, and basically open up their whole lives for the camera. A selection of the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival, THE FIRST SATURDAY IN MAY is a thrilling inside look at the glory and tragedy of the sport of kings, a treat for both racing fans and those who know nothing about the sport.
Jet Li and Jackie Chan finally unite
in THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM
Opens Friday, April 18
http://www.forbiddenkingdommovie.com
In the most exciting first-time movie pairing since Al Pacino and Robert De Niro appeared together in Michael Mann’s less-than-sizzling HEAT in 1995, martial arts masters Jackie Chan and Jet Li team up in Rob Minkoff’s THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM, with much hotter results. Based on the famous Chinese legend of the Monkey King, the film opens in modern-day South Boston, where martial arts fan Jason Tripitikas (Michael Angarano) is the new kid in town, getting pushed around by local bullies. But when the tough kids try to rob a local pawnshop, Jason grabs a legendary staff and suddenly gets sent back to ancient China, where the Jade War Lord (Collin Chou) has imprisoned the Monkey King in stone and is terrorizing the population. Jason is soon joined by drunken immortal Lu Yan (Chan), the meditative Silent Monk (Li), and vengeance-seeking Golden Sparrow (Liu Yifei) as they head to Five Elements Mountain to return the staff to its rightful owner — and meet their destiny. Their journey takes them through the Bamboo Forest, a field of cherry blossoms, hundreds of warriors, and white-haired demoness Ni Chang (Li Bingbing), with Lu Yan and Silent Monk trying their best to train Jason so he is prepared to fight the Jade War Lord at the end of their quest. Minkoff takes a huge step up into live-action drama after directing such Disney fare as STUART LITTLE, THE LION KING, and THE HAUNTED MANSION; THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM is still family-friendly, but kung fu fans won’t be disappointed, as Minkoff has brought along famed cinematographer Peter Pau (CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON) and fight choreographer extraordinaire Yuen Wo Ping (the MATRIX trilogy, KILL BILL). It’s all sort of THE WIZARD OF OZ meets TIME BANDITS meets THE KARATE KID meets KILL BILL, which is not necessarily a bad thing.
Jason Segel wrote and stars in vastly overrated "romantic disaster comedy"
Opens Friday, April 18
http://www.forgettingsarahmarshall.com
Jason Segel, the twenty-first-century Judge Reinhold, wrote and stars in FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL, the latest in the successful string of comedies from producer Judd Apatow, which include THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN, KNOCKED UP, and SUPERBAD. In this self-described "romantic disaster comedy," Segel stars as Peter, a television-series composer whose big dream is to stage a Dracula musical with puppets. When his girlfriend, Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell), the star of the TV show CRIME SCENE: SCENE OF THE CRIME, suddenly breaks up with him, he goes on a downward spiral of cheap sex and depression. His stepbrother, Brian (SNL’s Bill Hader), convinces him to get away and go on vacation, but when Peter heads off to Hawaii, he immediately discovers that Sarah is staying at the same resort, with her new sex toy, indie pop star Aldous Snow (British comedian Russell Brand). While exploring a friendship with hotel worker Rachel (Mila Kunis), Peter can’t get him mind off Sarah, following her around like a pathetic little puppy dog. Segel is likable enough, and there are a bunch of legitimately laugh-out-loud moments, but the film ultimately fails because of sloppy direction by first-timer Nicholas Stoller (hey, get that boom mic out of the shot!), terrible editing and continuity, cliches galore, silly subplots and minor characters, and way too many frontal nude shots of Segel. (Once was plenty, thank you very much.)
Filmmaker goes in search of ruling class
BAMcinematek / BAM Rose Cinemas
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
Thursday, April 24 at 4:30, 6:50 (followed by a Q&A with the director), 9:30
718-636-4100
http://theamericanrulingclass.org
Described by debut director John Kirby as the “world’s first dramatic documentary musical,” THE AMERICAN RULING CLASS, which screened at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival, is a very funny and extremely fascinating search for America’s ruling class. Former Harper’s editor Lewis Lapham creates two very different Yale graduates — one from a wealthy background who is considering entering the maelstrom by going after the money at Goldman Sachs, the other from a poor family who decides to work as a waiter as he tries to get his writing career off the ground — and introduces them to all the right people to help determine if a ruling class exists and, if so, just what the heck it is and what the requirements are to sign on. Along the way advice is offered by a slew of guests, including Walter Cronkite, Bill Bradley, Pete Seeger, Barbara Ehrenreich, Vartan Gregorian, Robert Altman, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr., James Baker, Kurt Vonnegut, William Howard Taft IV, Hodding Carter, Larry Summers, Mike Medavoy, and many others, not all of whom seem to know about the premise.
Jon Reiss
Kenor & Kode bomb away in beautiful Barcelona
Cinema Village
22 East 12th St. between University Pl. & Fifth Ave.
Opens Friday, April 25
212-924-3363
http://www.myspace.com/bombitthemovie
Jon Reiss’s BOMB IT!, which premiered at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival, is a broad survey of the who, what, where, when, and why of graffiti. Beginning with Cornbread, who got things started in Philly in 1967, the documentary traces the development of street art in New York City, then heads to Paris, Amsterdam, London, Berlin, Capetown, Barcelona, Sao Paulo, Tokyo, and L.A., speaking with such legendary writers, artists, bombers, and taggers as Tracy 168, Lady Pink, Mickey, Taki 183, Chino, Tribe, Revs, Ron English, and many others. Reiss also gives a wee bit of time to community activists, local business owners, police, and city officials who have a different take on graffiti. Reiss examines the never-ending debate over whether graf is vandalism, rebellion, art, “all-out destruction,” “urban intervention,” “visual pollution,” “typographic terrorism,” or the unstoppable expression of youth culture. The writers, some of whom keep their faces hidden, argue that graffiti is all about taking back public space, from buses to billboards and buildings to subway trains, asserting one’s identity and fighting the power; while one bomber states, “I tag, therefore I am,” another states that “art must serve a social cause.”
The most fascinating aspect of BOMB IT! — and one that hasn’t been effectively dealt with in previous films on the subject — is the inherent cultural differences behind graffiti around the world. For example, in London, it’s focusing on the battle over the privatization of public space in the face of the pervasive surveillance cameras that track citizens’ every move; in Sao Paulo, it brings to life the daily struggle just to survive; in Berlin, it still has to do with the freedom that came with the tearing down of the wall; in Tokyo, it centers on government control and Japan’s long-term isolationist policies; and in L.A., it’s about deeply superficial anarchy. Reiss shows us numerous artists at work all over the world, often under cover of night, describing in detail the creation of their tags and pieces. There’s also a brief look at graffiti’s growing impact on consumer culture and expansion into art galleries; in fact, in the past few years, such BOMB IT! participants as Obey Giant creator Shepard Fairey, French stencilist Blek Le Rat, Brazilian underground artist Zezao, and the amazing Os Gemeos twins have either been involved in gallery shows or presented officially commissioned murals in New York City (and Zephyr designed the interstitial month identifiers in Jonathan Levine’s THE WACKNESS, a hit at this year’s Sundance and Tribeca Film Festivals — and no relation to the Jonathan LeVine gallery in Chelsea that specializes in displaying street art). “A lot of the work does lose its power and its potency when it’s just not illegal,” England’s Arofish explains. While it’s impossible for any one film, in ninety-three minutes, to exhaustively cover every element of the history — and future — of graffiti and graffiti culture, BOMB IT! does an excellent job of breaking well beneath the surface of this controversial public form of expression.
Harold and Kumar are back for more fun in ESCAPE
Opens Friday, April 25
Overflowing with more toilet humor than you can shake a plunger, HAROLD AND KUMAR ESCAPE FROM GUANTANAMO BAY is the very funny follow-up to the unforgettable HAROLD AND KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE. Written and directed by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, who wrote the original as well, the sequel lets viewers know just what they’re in for right from the very start; the first few minutes — which take place immediately after Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn) have fed their crave at White Castle and are preparing to go to Amsterdam so Harold can declare his love for Maria (Paula Garces) — include no-holds-barred aural and visual jokes about flatulence, pubic hair, and self-pleasure, setting the stage for a naughty road movie that quickly lands the pair in Guantanamo Bay when a frightened airline passenger mistakes Kumar’s homemade smokeless bong for a bomb. Former DAILY SHOW correspondent Rob Corddry is a riot as the inept racist deputy chief of Homeland Security, determined to track down the alleged terrorists, who encounter the Ku Klux Klan, a bizarre southern family, a Texas whorehouse, and, once again, the great Neil Patrick Harris along the way. Also back are Goldstein (David Krumholtz) and Rosenberg (Eddie Kaye Thomas), with LAW AND ORDER: SVU’s Christopher Meloni, who made a bizarre cameo as Freakshow in the original, now doing a bizarre cameo as a KKK grand wizard in the new film. Penn gets to show his romantic chops as well this time, as Kumar tries to deal with the frustration of his first love, Vanessa (Danneel Harris), getting married to super-Republican douchebag Colton (Eric Winter). Even when it crosses the bounds of extremely bad taste and utterly ridiculous silliness, HAROLD AND KUMAR ESCAPE FROM GUANTANAMO BAY somehow always manages to bring itself back and make you laugh your head off. Stick around for the end of the credits for a little bonus.
Harold and Kumar try to satisfy the crave in raunchy comedy
Available on DVD
Harold (John Cho) is a hardworking Asian who is taken advantage of by the men in his office, forced to do their work and have no fun. Kumar (Kal Penn) comes from a family of doctors and is expected to do the same. But all Kumar likes to do is get blasted on beer and pot and chase girls. So one night he convinces Harold that they have to go to White Castle to fill their craving for major munchies. Unfortunately, the nearest White Castle branch is no more, so they go on a rowdy all-night adventure in search of the next WC, in Cherry Hill, and on the way they get sidetracked by college parties, strange bathroom incidents, the ugliest man in the world, a team of extreme idiots, cops with attitude, and Doogie Howser. We hated ourselves for laughing so much at all the toilet humor, but we understand this movie way too much.
Film festival favorite flies into New York City on April 4
IFC Center
323 Sixth Ave. at West Third St.
212-924-7771
Paris Theatre
4 West 58th St. at Fifth Ave.
212-688-3800
Commissioned by the Musee d'Orsay and inspired by Adam Gopnik’s book PARIS TO THE MOON and Albert Lamorisse’s children’s classic THE RED BALLOON, director Hou Hsiao Hsien creates a wonderfully gentle, beautifully peaceful work in FLIGHT OF THE RED BALLOON. Mimicking the Taiwanese Hou making a film in Paris, Song Fang stars as Song, a Taiwanese film student who arrives in Paris to be a nanny to Simon (Simon Iteanu), whose mother, Suzanne (a blonde Juliette Binoche), runs a local puppet theater — which is currently putting on a version of the Chinese story of Zhang Yu, in French. Song goes everywhere with her video camera, recording whatever she sees. Meanwhile, a mysterious red balloon follows Simon through the city. (In THE RED BALLOON, it’s reversed, as a young boy runs after the balloon.) There is no real plot but merely daily life, sort of Truffaut meets Ozu as Song makes pancakes, Suzanne gets involved in a rent dispute, and Simon practices the piano. The film is all about place and character, not about narrative; in fact, all of the dialogue is improvised. Lovingly shot by Mark Lee Ping Bing, FLIGHT OF THE RED BALLOON is a sweet, tender film.
Partners Etgar Keret and Shira Geffen collaborate on JELLYFISH
Cinema Village
22 East 12th St. between University Pl. & Fifth Ave.
212-924-3363
Short-story writer and children’s book author Etgar Keret and playwright and kids’ book writer Shira Geffen, who are life partners, have teamed up for their feature-film directorial debut, JELLYFISH (MEDUZOT), a small, charming Israeli film that won the Camera D’Or at Cannes. Written by Geffen, the story follows three women dealing with family problems that threaten to leave them lost and lonely. After her boyfriend dumps her, Batya (Sarah Adler) heads off to her job working for a wedding caterer, where she is surrounded by happy people celebrating a marriage while she contemplates her own bleak future. But her life changes when she is sitting on the beach and a silent young girl (Nikol Leidman) comes walking out of the ocean and approaches her. When a policeman says that no one has reported the girl missing or is looking for her, Batya decides to take care of the child herself, perhaps as a reaction to the offhanded way in which her own wealthy, successful mother treats her. Meanwhile, Keren (Noa Knoller), who broke her leg at her wedding reception after being trapped in the bathroom, has to spend her honeymoon in a local seaside hotel instead of jetting off to the Caribbean; her unhappiness is soon magnified when she suspects her husband (Gera Sandler) might have eyes for an older woman who is staying alone in the deluxe penthouse suite. And Joy (Ma-nenita De Latorre) is a Filipino guest worker who has come to Israel to make money to send back to her son in the Philippines, but because she cannot speak Hebrew, it is difficult for her to communicate with anyone, especially one old woman (Zharira Charifai) she has been hired to care for. Like the multiple-character drama BABEL, Keret and Geffen’s film focuses on complex family relationship and the challenges of interpersonal communication, with water — whether it’s the leak in Batya’s ceiling, the ocean rumbling outside Keren’s hotel room, the sea the young girl mysteriously emerges from, or the large expanse that separates Joy from her family — serving as a metaphor for both life and death, joy and sorrow. This sweet, painful, and somewhat surreal examination of four generations of women might be set in Tel Aviv, but its themes are universal.
George Clooney and John Krasinski go after the pigskin in LEATHERHEADS
http://www.leatherheadsmovie.com
Not even George Clooney’s considerable charm can save this mess of a movie. Clooney, who also directed the film, stars as Dodge Connelly, an aging professional football player trying to save the future of the laughingstock of a league as one team after another goes bankrupt in 1925. But Dodge finds his meal ticket in Carter Rutherford (THE OFFICE’s John Krasinski), a Princeton star and supposed war hero who has captivated the country. Meanwhile, hotshot reporter Lexie Littleton (Renée Zellweger) has been assigned to cook Carter’s goose, which becomes more difficult when she becomes attracted to him — and to Dodge as well. Clooney, who scored touchdowns with the first two features he directed, CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND (2002) and GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK. (2005), turns the ball over way too much in LEATHERHEADS, a well-meaning but misguided homage to 1920s madcap farce, screwball romantic comedy, newspaper drama, and classic sports films. The fumbling script was written by Duncan Brantley and longtime Sports Illustrated scribe Rick Reilly. LEATHERHEADS is no HORSE FEATHERS (Norman Z. McLeod, 1932); while the Marx Brothers’ romp was so crazy it worked, LEATHERHEADS tries for a more realistic feel, making the ridiculous final play in the big game all the more unbelievable and absurd. However, the film does consistently score with Randy Newman’s jazzy ragtime score; Newman also makes a cameo as the piano player in the bar-fight scene.
Marjane Satrapi animates her life for the big screen
Cinema Village
22 East 12th St. between University Pl. & Fifth Ave.
212-924-3363
France’s official selection for the 2007 Academy Awards, PERSEPOLIS brings to animated life Marjane Satrapi’s stunning graphic novels. Codirected by Satrapi and comic-book artist Vincent Paronnaud, PERSEPOLIS tells Satrapi’s harrowing life story as she comes of age during the Islamic Revolution in Iran in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Raised in a well-off activist family, she fights against many of the country’s crippling mores and laws, particularly those that treat women as second-class citizens, trapping them in their veils, denying them any kind of individual freedom. But the progressive Satrapi (voiced first by Gabrielle Lopes, then Chiara Mastroianni) continually gets into trouble as she speaks her mind, experiments with sex, and refuses to play by her country’s repressive rules. Satrapi and Paronnaud do an outstanding job of adapting the books’ black-and-white panels for the big screen, maintaining her unique style and emotional breadth. The first part of the film is excellent as the precocious teenager who talks to God learns about life in some very harsh ways. Unfortunately, the second half gets bogged down in Satrapi’s failures as an adult, focusing too much on her myriad personal problems and taking away the bigger picture that made the first part so entertaining as well as educational. Still, it’s a story worth telling, and well worth seeing. (Interestingly, since the film, which is in French, is subtitled in English, the audience ends up reading it similarly to the way th