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twi-ny, this week in new york

Contemplative Exhibit of the Week

07.11.07

1. Searching for the Dalai Lama’s missing peace in Chelsea

2. Isamu Noguchi in Paris and Queens

3. British filmmakers lead the charge at the Walter Reade

4. The Asia Society hosts the Asian American International Film Festival

5. Mariana Yampolsky embraces Mexico in Midtown

6. Plus Riff’s Rants & Raves: Movies, including Woody Allen’s MANHATTAN, Patrice Leconte’s MY BEST FRIEND, Kasi Lemmons’s TALK TO ME, Kim Ki-duk’s TIME and THE BOW, and Songyos Sugmakanan’s DORM

7. Riff’s Rants & Raves: Music & More, including the Siren Music Festival in Coney Island, the New York Dolls at the Siren and IMAC, Black Lips at the Siren and Maxwell’s, Detroit Cobras at the Siren and Maxwell’s, the New Pornographers in Battery Park, Bob Weir & Ratdog at SummerStage, and Jim Crace’s THE PESTHOUSE

8. and twi-ny’s weekly recommended events, including book readings, film screenings, panel discussions, concerts, workshops, and more


Volume 7, Number 6
July 11-25, 2007

Look for our new weekly column, now available at www.TimesSquare.com!

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at admin@twi-ny.com.

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Twi-ny, This Week in New York

THE MISSING PEACE: ARTISTS CONSIDER THE DALAI LAMA

Rubin Museum of Art, fourth & fifth floors

150 West 17th St. at Seventh Ave.

Through September 3

Closed Tuesday

Admission: $10 (free Friday nights from 7:00 — 10:00)

212-620-5000

http://www.rmanyc.org

twi-ny/mdr

Lewis deSoto, detail, "Paranirvana," mixed media with nylon, painted cloth, 1999


Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso (Holy Lord, Gentle Glory, Compassionate, Defender of the Faith, Ocean of Wisdom), also known as Kundun (the Presence), is like a rock star. He sells out the Beacon Theater, attracts huge crowds to Central Park, and inspires loyalty, dedication, and worship from his fans all over the world. More familiarly known as the fourteenth incarnation of the Dalai Lama, he is the in-exile spiritual leader of Tibet, having escaped from China in 1959 to his new home in India. Curator Randy Jayne Rosenberg has brought together photographs, paintings, video, sculpture, audiovisual projects, and other unique multimedia installations from more than eighty artists from more than two dozen countries to create "The Missing Peace," an extensive two-part exhibition (at the Rubin Museum and the SVA Visual Arts Gallery in Chelsea) that celebrates the Dalai Lama by examining and spreading his mission of peace. In addition, the Rubin has included pieces from its permanent collection that detail the history of the Dalai Lama through the centuries.

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Marina Abramovic, detail, "At the Waterfall," continuous video loop projection, 2000-2003


The Rubin spreads the works across three of its floors, divided into such categories as "Empathy and Compassion," "Transformation," "The Path to Peace," "Spirituality and Globalization," and "Impermanence." Visitors are practically invited to walk in the Dalai Lama’s footsteps in Sylvie Fleury’s "The Dalai Lama’s Shoes," a Kirlian photograph that shows a bright aura emanating from the shoes. (The actual Dexters are in a nearby case.) Take a seat and meditate to Marina Abramovic’s "At the Waterfall," a cascade of 108 monks chanting simultaneously. Guy Buffet’s playful acrylic painting "His Holiness and the Bee (How a Little Annoyance Can Bring Great Joy)" follows the Dalai Lama as he reaches for a bee that has interrupted his prayers. Dove Bradshaw’s "Salt, Half-Heard" features water slowly dripping from a funnel onto a mountainous pile of Himalayan salt, creating a volcano-like hole in the center.

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Laurie Anderson, "From the Air," video projection and installation, 2006


In "From the Air," Laurie Anderson tells a story about taking her dog to a Zen monastery by projecting video onto small clay figures of her and Lolabelle sitting in chairs. Adam Fuss’s enlarged photograph of a caterpillar in a chrysalis, soon to turn into a butterfly, and Mike & Doug Starn’s oversized shot of an ice crystal speak to such Buddhist precepts as impermanence and transformation. Michael Rovner’s swirling "Spiral-Link" demonstrates how people can interact and connect with each other. Jim Hodges’s "When in There Is Out There" consists of a broken mirror that forces viewers to self-reflect on the ego. "These works of art collectively seek to create zones of peace, and are intended to inspire others to generate compassion, love and patience, which are essential if human beings are to achieve passion," the Dalai Lama writes in the preface to the excellent catalog, which also includes short essays by Joel Makower, Robert A. Thurman, Laurie Anderson, Pico Iyer, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and others. In addition, the Rubin’s Web site has audio interviews with many of the artists discussing their involvement in this exciting and fascinating project.

"Panoramic Map of Wutaishan," Sino-Mongolian, painted and colored woodblock, 1846

ALSO AT THE RUBIN MUSEUM

Rubin Museum of Art

Closed Tuesday

Admission: $10 (free Friday nights from 7:00 — 10:00)

212-620-5000

http://www.rmanyc.org

There are only a few days left to see "Illumination: Photographs by Lynn Davis" (sixth floor, through July 16), a collection of large-scale prints taken by Lynn Davis in Nepal, Thailand, Egypt, Greenland, and elsewhere, focusing on intriguing, abstract natural landscapes. Davis has also selected sculptures from the Rubin’s permanent collection to supplement the exhibit. On the third floor, through October 16, is the beguiling "Wutaishan: Pilgrimage to Five-Peak Mountain." Situated in China’s Shanxi Province, Wutaishan is believed to be the earthly home of the Bodhisattva of Wisdom, known as Manjushri, where pilgrims from China, Manchu, Mongolia, and Tibet congregate. The centerpiece of the exhibit is a six-foot-wide Sino-Mongolian panoramic map of Wutaishan, made in 1846 from painted and colored woodblock. We suggest taking one of the Rubin’s magnifying glasses to zoom in on some of the remarkable stories detailed on the map.

Michelle Shocked is part of new
Naked Soul series at the Rubin Museum

K2 LOUNGE: TIME TO ASCEND

Rubin Museum of Art

150 West 17th St. at Seventh Ave.

Friday nights from 7:00 to 10:00; includes free admission to galleries

212-620-5000 ext 344

http://www.rmanyc.org

Friday, July 13 Naked Soul: Michelle Shocked, $40-$45, 7:00

Friday, July 13 Artists on Art: Katrina Wong, free, 7:30

Friday, July 13 Artists on Art: Andra Samelson, free, 8:30

Friday, July 13 CabaretCinema — Artists’ Choice: GROUNDHOG DAY (Harold Ramis, 1993), introduced by Andra Samelson, $7 food/drink minimum, 9:30

Groundhog Day keeps repeating for Bill Murray, starting at 6:00 every morning

GROUNDHOG DAY (Harold Ramis, 1993)

Don’t sell this outstanding comedy short. Bill Murray stars as a self-obsessed TV weatherman sent to cover the groundhog’s emergence, announcing to the world whether winter will continue. He ends up waking up over and over again reliving the same day — but he’s the only person with the knowledge of what he did the last time around. The supporting cast, including Andie MacDowell and Chris Elliott, breathes great life into this absolute joy of a film that we can never turn off whenever we find it on cable. It should be even better with a group of Himalayan enthusiasts at the Rubin.

Friday, July 20 CabaretCinema — Artists’ Choice: IKIRU (Akira Kurosawa, 1952), $7 food/drink minimum, 9:30

Friday, July 27 Naked Soul: Ellis Paul, $30-$35, 7:00

Friday, July 27 CabaretCinema — Artists’ Choice: THE KING OF MASKS (Wu Tianming, 1996), introduced by Rosemary Rawcliffe, $7 food/drink minimum, 9:30

Friday, August 3 Naked Soul: Richard Shindell, $40-$45, 7:00

Friday, August 3 CabaretCinema — Spirals: THE RED SHOES (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, 1948), $7 food/drink minimum, 9:30

Friday, August 10 CabaretCinema — Spirals: THE HAUNTING (Robert Wise, 1963), introduced by Alex McCown, $7 food/drink minimum, 9:30

Friday, August 17 Naked Soul: Lucy Kaplansky, $35-$40, 7:00

Friday, August 17 CabaretCinema — Spirals: THE THIRD MAN (Carol Reed, 1949), introduced by Kurt Andersen, $7 food/drink minimum, 9:30

THE THIRD MAN (Carol Reed, 1949)

Carol Reed’s thriller is quite simply the most entertaining film we have ever seen, twi-ny’s absolute all-time fave. Set in divided post-WWII Vienna amid a thriving black market, THE THIRD MAN is heavy in atmosphere, untrustworthy characters, and sly humor, with a marvelous zither score by Anton Karas. Joseph Cotten stars as Holly Martins, an American writer of Western paperbacks who has come to Vienna to see his old friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles), but he seems to have shown up a little late. While trying to find out what happened to Harry, Martins falls for Harry’s lover, Anna (Alida Valli); is told to get out of town by Major Calloway (Trevor Howard); meets a stream of Harry’s more interesting, mysterious friends, including Baron Kurtz (Ernst Deutsch) and Popescu (Siegfried Breuer); and is talked into giving a lecture to a literary club by old Mr. Crabbin (Wilfrid Hyde-White). SPOILER: The shot in which Lime is first revealed, standing in a doorway, a cat brushing by his feet, his tongue firmly in cheek as he lets go a miraculous, knowing smile, is one of the greatest single shots in the history of cinema.


Friday, August 24 CabaretCinema — Spirals: MIKAËL (MICHAEL) (Carl Theodore Dreyer, 1924), $7 food/drink minimum, 9:30

Friday, August 31 CabaretCinema — WRITTEN ON THE WIND (Douglas Sirk, 1956), $7 food/drink minimum, 9:30

In the Thematic Neighborhood

Seyed Alavi, "Sign of the Times," digital prints, wood, canvas, 2006

THE MISSING PEACE: ARTISTS CONSIDER THE DALAI LAMA

School of Visual Arts Gallery

601 West 26th St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves., fifteenth floor

Through August 22

Closed Sunday

Admission: free

212-592-2145

http://www.schoolofvisualarts.edu

The Rubin Museum exhibit "The Missing Peace" continues at the School of Visual Arts Gallery in Chelsea, featuring another twenty-three works that illuminate on the Dalai Lama’s message of peace, unity, and compassion. Era & Donald Farnsworth’s tapestry "Dharmakaya" is a traditional thangka except there is no deity in the center, evoking the Dalai Lama’s exile from Tibet. Sanford Biggers’s video installation "Hip-Hop Ni Sasagu (In Fond Memory of Hip-Hop)" interweaves hip-hop bling into a Zen bell ceremony. Seyed Alavi’s "Sign of the Times" consists of sixteen yellow signs (two are at the Rubin) that question reality, existence, and meaning in life. Long-Bin Chen creates a DNA helix out of recycled phone books, with faces of an animal, a human, and a Buddha. Salustiano’s mesmerizing painting "Reincarnation," bathed in frightening red, envisions the next Dalai Lama to be a young girl, who does not look happy about it. Visitors are encouraged to add sand to Ryuichi Sakamato’s multimedia tabletop mandala. And Louis Fox & Free Range Graphics project a lotus flower floating on water in the center of constructed Buddhas representing the six realms of existence in their animated installation "Om Mani Padme Hum."

Suzanne Anker, "Buddha Baby," plaster and resin with pyrite, 2004

EVERYTHING I DO ALWAYS COMES BACK TO ME

Visual Art Gallery

601 West 26th St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves., fifteenth floor

Through August 22

Admission: free

212-592-2145

http://www.schoolofvisualarts.edu

Curator Milton Glaser has brought together more than two dozen works from SVA faculty and alums in "Everything I Do Always Comes Back to Me," a companion exhibit to "The Missing Peace." Such themes as war, 9/11, impermanence, the natural world, and spiritual enlightenment are examined in sculptures, paintings, and mixed-media installations by such artists as Robert Weaver, Kate Cunningham, Deborah Ross, Stephen Frailey, and others. A horizontal tree removes the subject’s identity in Stuart Hawkins’s "Fast Food Workers in the Forest." Suzanne Anker’s rapid rototype sculpture "Buddha Baby" depicts the birth of an enlightened embryo. Teresa Fasolino gives Earth Day back to the animals in "Peaceable Kingdom." Michael Pisano uses a rifle to grow tomatoes in "Tomato Planter." Warren Lehrer’s "The Poetry Roll" is a multipurpose roll of toilet paper meant for people to "read, wipe, ponder & flush." And Bruce Wands’s "The Buddha Light Painting Series" reveals the inner spirit blazing in a digital print.

Also in Chelsea

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Shepard Fairey, detail, "Two Sides of Capitalism: Bad," screened collage on canvas

E PLURIBUS VENOM: NEW WORKS BY SHEPARD FAIREY

Jonathan LeVine Gallery

529 West 20th St., ninth floor

Through July 21

Closed Sunday & Monday

Admission: free

212-243-3822

http://www.jonathanlevinegallery.com

L.A.-based artist Shepard Fairey has been displaying his propagandist street art since 1989, when he started putting up stickers of Andre the Giant wherever he could. The "Obey Giant" campaign soon spread to include stencils, drawings, posters, collages, and album covers, all using easily recognizable, mass-produced imagery and techniques. The familiar, mass-produced package delivers content that attacks America’s unquestioning obedience to the dictates of both advertising and government control, focusing on war and the almighty dollar. More than 150 new works are on view at the Jonathan LeVine Gallery in "E Pluribus Venom" (out of many, poison), a play on the phrase "E Pluribus Unum" (out of many, one) found on U.S. currency. In fact, several of the pieces are large-scale send-ups of U.S. bills featuring such lines as "Obedience Is the Most Valuable Currency," "More Militerry Less Skool," and "Never Bow to the System, Change the System, or Create Your Own." Fairey’s mixed-media canvases are often made of snippets of newspaper articles on violence and war as well as advertisements, which are painted or printed over with his iconography of soldiers, gas masks, floral patterns, nuclear warheads, birds, rifles with roses, and fists at the ready.

© Shepard Fairey

Shepard Fairey, "These Sunsets Are to Die For!" stencil collage and mixed media on canvas


In one of the most stunning and powerful pieces, "These Sunsets Are to Die For!" a man and a woman hold hands on a rock in the left foreground, watching as a city across a bloody river shoots polluted smoke and fire into the sky, the huge canvas bathed in (communist) red, with the title words at the bottom signifying that the American dream is now a living nightmare. In "Uncle Scam," an Uncle Sam-like figure is holding skulls labeled "Human Rights," "Civil Liberty," "Privacy," "Justice," and other supposed freedoms, with the admonition "Do as He Says, Not as He Does." And in "Proud Parents Canvas," a happy couple cradles their beautiful new baby warhead. Despite everything being right in your face, the show doesn’t come off as being didactic or simplistic, because that’s the point; Fairey’s turning the government’s own propagandist language inside out, spitting it right back at them. We think this is a must-see exhibit, but don’t just listen to us. After all, as Fairey notes, "Blind Acceptance Can Be Hazardous."

twi-ny/mdr

Souther Salazar exhibit is a wonderland of imagination

SPACE CADETS: SOUTHER SALAZAR

Jonathan LeVine Gallery

529 West 20th St., ninth floor

Through July 21

Closed Sunday & Monday

Admission: free

212-243-3822

http://www.jonathanlevinegallery.com

After contemplating Shepard Fairey’s complex and angry world view, head into the back room at Jonathan LeVine to delight in Souther Salazar’s wonderful fantasy land. Salazar’s creative creatures fly through the air, relax in futuristic, alien landscapes, have playfully monstrous dreams, live in tree trunks, and talk to animals in engaging collages with such titles as "This Is the Modern World," "It Was the Greatest Story Ever Told," "Lost in Space Again," "Mr. Smashed Apples Rides Again," and "Complicated Social Organization." He also fashions little dioramas featuring cute fire-baked clay figures escaping in a bottle of glue, taking a ride in a lightbulb balloon, standing guard in a tower built on pencils, and swimming atop a box of thumb tacks. And cat lovers will linger over the charming "Widely Distributed Little Creatures," made from orange pigment ink on archival paper. Be sure to look all around the room, as Salazar has added little touches in virtually every nook and cranny.


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Queens Exhibit of the Week

Courtesy the Noguchi Museum

Isamu Noguchi in his studio, Gentilly, France, ca. 1928-29

SURVEY OF PARIS ABSTRACTIONS

The Noguchi Museum

9-01 33rd Rd. at Vernon Blvd.

Closed Monday and Tuesday

Through August 26

Admission: $10

Weekend shuttle service: $10 round trip

718-204-7088

http://www.noguchi.org

The Noguchi Museum’s first-ever summer special exhibition examines the influence Isamu Noguchi’s 1927 Paris apprenticeship with Constantin Brancusi had on his output, both immediately and throughout his career. Noguchi studied under Brancusi while traveling on a Guggenheim Fellowship, leading him to experiment with abstraction in black-and-white water-based gouache drawings and metal and wood sculptures. "Survey of Paris Abstractions" consists of more than fifty drawings, sculptures, and photographs that reveal Noguchi developing his own visual language, incorporating geometric patterns, unique constructions, and light and shadow. Grooves, curves, and sharp edges that appear in many of the drawings can be seen in finished works (actual sculptures in the gallery as well as in photos); for example, compare "Untitled [7000*11/35]" to "Power House (Study for Neon Tube Sculpture)" or "Untitled [7015]" to "Foot Tree." The individual forms in two versions of "Worksheet for Figure" look like letters spelling out impossible-to-decipher words, although they are actually abstract shapes that led to the nearby bronze "Figure." Perhaps the most Brancusi-like object is "Globular," a smooth, curvilinear sculpture of polished brass (that also happens to serve as a funhouse mirror). Other highlights include a stand of Akari light sculptures, a model for "Memorial to Buddha," and several wood-and-paper study models for "Red Cube," which rests in Lower Manhattan.

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Isamu Noguchi, "Ding Dong Bat," marble, 1968

COLLECTION INSTALLATION

The Noguchi Museum

Closed Monday and Tuesday

Through September 2

http://www.noguchi.org

Noguchi Museum slideshow

The Noguchi Museum is one of the most peaceful, beautiful, spiritual, and moving places in New York. Master sculptor Isamu Noguchi designed the space himself; it previously was a photo-engraving plant. Make your way slowly through the different rooms, some of which are open to the sky, and save the remarkable garden for last. Take your time breathing in the essence of each individual piece, walking around it to feel the full force of Noguchi’s expert craftsmanship. Notice the difference between the smooth and rough sides of "Shiva Pentagonal" (area 1). You can almost hear the soothing flows of "Waterfall" (area 3). Area 14 houses the circular red marble "Sun at Noon," "Downward Pulling" on the ground, and "Ding Dong Bat" hovering near the center. Two versions of "Walking Void" begin area 6, in which you’ll also find "Magic Ring" on the floor — check out the rough edges where you can see Noguchi’s chisel marks. In a room virtually unto itself resides "Memorial to the Dead of Hiroshima."

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Isamu Noguchi, "Variations on a Millstone #2," granite, 1962


There are still more treasures upstairs. Area 11 is made up of photographs, models, and works created for public spaces and gardens, both realized and not, from playgrounds and parks to memorials and fountains. Among the recent additions are sets Noguchi designed for productions by Martha Graham and the Erick Hawkins Dance Company. Area 12 is simply spectacular, showing off Noguchi’s vast range with works in marble, alabaster, brass, ink on paper, terra-cotta, mahogany, aluminum, slate, and glass. In area 9, "Double Red Mountain" rises from below, alongside ISAMU NOGUCHI, 18 DRAWINGS AND 18 PHOTOGRAPHS, elements from a limited-edition, handcrafted artist’s book made on special paper. Noguchi envisioned area 10, which includes "Planet in Transit #1," as a place that "recalls us to another life. Within the room there is a calm and, I hope, a wish to rest or contemplate — a change of pace." Before heading outside to the garden, take a seat in the museum shop, where you can learn about Noguchi’s Akari lamps while having an awesome Sage chocolate brownie.

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Sculpture Garden is a beautiful place to relax and contemplate life and art


Take a deep breath and then enter the gorgeous garden, which will revive your body and soul. Look all around "The Well (Variation on a Tsukubai)," following the water as it comes out of the top and glides down the rough and glistening sides. Notice how the holes on both sides of "Core" invite in natural light. "Indian Dancer" stands amid "Practical Rocks in Placement." "Behind Inner Seeking Shiva Dancing" is perhaps the best-named sculpture in the garden. In the far corner is a burial marker, signifying where part of Noguchi was laid to rest. Other mesmerizing pieces carefully arranged around Japanese and U.S. foliage are "The Big Bang," "Unmei," and the naturally formed "Spin-off #1 from the Chase Manhattan Garden." You’ll find it hard to leave this urban oasis.

Sunday, August 12 Music in the Garden: ACME (American Contemporary Music Ensemble), 3:00

In the Neighborhood

twi-ny/mdr

James Johnson’s 2007 "Freedom of Movement" lurks in Socrates Sculpture Park

L.I.C., NYC

Socrates Sculpture Park

Broadway at Vernon Blvd.

Through August 5

Admission: free

718-956-1819

http://www.socratessculpturepark.org

Socrates Sculpture Park slideshow

Socrates Sculpture Park continues the celebration of its twentieth anniversary with "L.I.C., NYC," a rather sparse collection of pieces by Long Island City artists. Flux Factory contributed "Albatross," an abandoned ship run aground, with a skeleton hanging on a clothesline, plastic barnacles, and various tableaux inside. Feel free to take a seat on Isamu Noguchi’s "Pierced Seat / Pierced Table." Joel Shapiro’s "Untitled, for David" and Mark di Suvero’s "Clock Knot" reach toward the sky. Kurt Lightner’s "I Hauled" consists of a narrative told on the boards of a wooden fence. James Johnson’s "Freedom of Movement" is made up of a pair of intricately designed whale fins jutting out from the ground. Unfortunately, you can’t get Rachel Stevens’s panopticon, "Bread Mascots and Heroes," whirling fast enough to get completely immersed in its repeating images of the Lone Ranger and Tonto and Tony Soprano amid a bunch of ducks. Although there are a handful of interesting pieces, most of the works are rather boring and mundane, making for an overall uninspired exhibit.

Saturday, July 14 Saturday Sculpture Workshops: Pop-up Sculpture Park with Jane Benson, 12 noon — 3:00

Saturday, July 21 Saturday Sculpture Workshops: Pom-pom Creatures with Jane Benson, 12 noon — 3:00

Sunday, July 22 Debut of third monumental balloon sculpture by Jason Hackenwerth

Saturday, July 28 Saturday Sculpture Workshops: Do the Hustle with Shaun Leonardo, 12 noon — 3:00

Saturday, August 4 Saturday Sculpture Workshops: Let’s Rock with Cameron Gainer, 12 noon — 3:00

Sunday, August 5 "L.I.C., NYC Video," short videos curated by Andréa Salerno, 7:00

Saturday, August 11 Saturday Sculpture Workshops: Drawing with Light with Cameron Gainer, 12 noon — 3:00

Saturday, August 18 Saturday Sculpture Workshops: Xylophone Jam with FreeStyle Arts Association, 12 noon — 3:00

Saturday, August 25 Saturday Sculpture Workshops: Giant Tinkertoys with FreeStyle Arts Association, 12 noon — 3:00

OUTDOOR CINEMA

Socrates Sculpture Park

Broadway at Vernon Blvd.

Wednesdays at sundown through August 29

Live performances at 7:00, films begin at sunset

Admission: free

718-956-1819

http://www.socratessculpturepark.org

http://movingimage.us

Wednesday, July 11 CROSSING THE BRIDGE: THE SOUND OF ISTANBUL (Fatih Akin, 2005)

Wednesday, July 18 THIS IS BOSSA NOVA (Paulo Thiago, 2005)

Wednesday, July 25 LINDA LINDA LINDA (Nobuhiro Yamashita, 2005)

Wednesday, August 1 Canceled: THE 5,000 FINGERS OF DR. T (Roy Rowland 1953), new film to be announced

Wednesday, August 8 KAL HOO NA HO (Nikhil Advani)

Wednesday, August 15 CALLE 54 (Fernando Trueba, 2000)

Wednesday, August 22 U-CARMEN E-KHYELLSTSHA (Mark Dornford, 2005)

twi-ny/mdr

Roosevelt Island Tram offers fab views of Queensboro Bridge and LIC

ROOSEVELT ISLAND TRAM

Sunday — Thursday 6:00 am — 2:00 am

Friday & Saturday 6:00 am — 3:30 am

Admission: $2 (MetroCard accepted)

212-832-4555

http://www.roosevelt-island.ny.us

Getting to the Noguchi Museum and Socrates Sculpture Park is much easier than you think. Just ride the Roosevelt Island Tram, hop on the RIOC shuttle bus (twenty-five cents), take a casual stroll over the Roosevelt Island Bridge (formerly known as the Welfare Island Bridge), and then just walk a few blocks. Hey, it’s what Isamu Noguchi did every day when he went to work. During rush hour, trams leave every seven and a half minutes, while at all other times they leave every fifteen minutes. Featuring a capacity of 125 people, the tram, which debuted in 1976, travels 3,100 feet at 16 miles per hour, reaching a height of 250 feet as it crosses the East River in a crisp 4 1/2 minutes, offering great views of Manhattan, Roosevelt Island, and Queens.


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Film Festival of the Week

Woodfall / the Kobal Collection

Albert Finney is ready to take on the world in TOM JONES

LEADING THE CHARGE:
WOODFALL FILM PRODUCTIONS AND
THE REVOLUTION IN ’60s BRITISH CINEMA

Walter Reade Theater

165 West 65th St. between Eighth Ave. & Broadway

July 13-26

Tickets: $11

212-875-5600

http://www.filmlinc.com

British director Tony Richardson, British playwright John Osborne, and American producer Harry Saltzman founded Woodfall Film Productions in 1956, seeking to show the real England. Mixing in documentary-like elements, controversial subject matter, and a postwar modernist sensibility, they produced such seminal cinema as TOM JONES, LOOK BACK IN ANGER, SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING, and THE LONELINESS OF THE LONG DISTANCE RUNNER, featuring such stars as Albert Finney, Vanessa Redgrave, Laurence Olivier, Anthony Hopkins, Trevor Howard, John Gielgud, and Tom Courtenay, among others.

Friday, July 13 TOM JONES (Tony Richardson, 1963), 1:30 & 6:30 (introduced by Lynn Redgrave)

Friday, July 13 LOOK BACK IN ANGER (Tony Richardson, 1958), and MOMMA DON’T ALLOW (Tony Richardson & Karel Reisz, 1955), 4:00

Friday, July 13 KES (Ken Loach, 1969), 9:00

Saturday, July 14 LOOK BACK IN ANGER (Tony Richardson, 1958), and MOMMA DON’T ALLOW (Tony Richardson & Karel Reisz, 1955), 1:30

Saturday, July 14 KES (Ken Loach, 1969), 3:50

Saturday, July 14 THE ENTERTAINER (Tony Richardson, 1960), 6:10

Sunday, July 15 TOM JONES (Tony Richardson, 1963), 1:00 & 5:30

Sunday, July 15 THE ENTERTAINER (Tony Richardson, 1960), 3:30

Sunday, July 15 LOOK BACK IN ANGER (Tony Richardson, 1958), and MOMMA DON’T ALLOW (Tony Richardson & Karel Reisz, 1955), introduced by Michael Sheen, 8:00

Monday, July 16 THE ENTERTAINER (Tony Richardson, 1960), 2:00

Monday, July 16 A TASTE OF HONEY (Tony Richardson, 1961), 4:00

Monday, July 16 THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE (Tony Richardson, 1968), introduced by Vanessa Redgrave, 6:15

Tuesday, July 17 THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE (Tony Richardson, 1968), 2:00

Wednesday, July 18 A TASTE OF HONEY (Tony Richardson, 1961), 4:30 & 9

Wednesday, July 18 A DELICATE BALANCE (Tony Richardson, 1973), 6:30

Thursday, July 19 A DELICATE BALANCE (Tony Richardson, 1973), 1:30 & 6:20

Thursday, July 19 THE LONELINESS OF THE LONG DISTANCE RUNNER (Tony Richardson, 1962), 4:10 & 9:00

Saturday, July 21 HAMLET (Tony Richardson, 1969), 1:30 & 8:45

Saturday, July 21 THE LONELINESS OF THE LONG DISTANCE RUNNER (Tony Richardson, 1962), 3:50

Saturday, July 21 THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE (Tony Richardson, 1968), 6:00

Sunday, July 22 A DELICATE BALANCE (Tony Richardson, 1973), 1:30

Monday, July 23 MADEMOISELLE (Tony Richardson, 1966), 8:00

Tuesday, July 24 THE BORDER (Tony Richardson, 1982), 2:00 & 6:15

Woodfall / Lopert / the Kobal Collection

Jane Birkin and Ray Brooks get the knack in THE KNACK…


Tuesday, July 24 THE KNACK…AND HOW TO GET IT (Richard Lester, 1965), 4:15 & 8:30

Wednesday, July 25 NED KELLY (Tony Richardson, 1970), 4:00 & 8:15

Wednesday, July 25 SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING (Karel Reisz, 1960), 2:00 & 6:15

Thursday, July 26 MADEMOISELLE (Tony Richardson, 1966), 1:30 & 6:15

Thursday, July 26 THE BORDER (Tony Richardson, 1982), 3:45

Thursday, July 26 HAMLET (Tony Richardson, 1969), 8:30


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Asian Film Festival of the Week

Patrick Tam epic AFTER THIS OUR EXILE is set in 1990s Malaysia

ASIAN AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Asia Society and Museum, New York Auditorium

725 Park Ave. at 70th St.

July 19-28

Tickets: $10

212-327-9385

http://www.asiasociety.org

http://aaiff.org/2007

Hot on the heels of the New York Asian Film Festival at the IFC Center and Japan Cuts at the Japan Society, the thirtieth annual Asian American International Film Festival comprises documentaries, short programs, and feature-length works from Hong Kong, Malaysia, Japan, the Philippines, China, Singapore, Korea, Taiwan, Cambodia, the Netherlands, and the United States. This year’s honoree is Patrick Tam, who will be present for several special events. Among the more familiar stars appearing in this year’s selections are Meryl Streep, Vera Farmiga, Leslie Cheung, and Norah Jones. Below is a partial list of the 2007 schedule.

Thursday, July 19 FINISHING THE GAME (Justin Lin, 2007), 7:00

Friday, July 20 AFTER THIS OUR EXILE (FU ZI) (Patrick Tam, 2006), 6:30

Friday, July 20 NA KAMALEI: THE MEN OF HULA (Lisette Marie Flanary, 2006), preceded by a live hula performance by Na Lehua Melemele, 7:00

Friday, July 20 Opening Night Presentation: FINISHING THE GAME (Justin Lin, 2007), followed by a reception, $50, 10:00

Saturday, July 21 AMERICAN PASTIME (Desmond Nakano, 2007), 11:00 am

Saturday, July 21 DRIVING WITH MY WIFE’S LOVER (Kim Tai-sik, 2006), 1:15

DRIVING WITH MY WIFE’S LOVER (Kim Tai-sik, 2006)

Tae-han (Park Kwang-jung) is a pathetic excuse of a man, a nerdy jellyfish with no backbone. After discovering that his vivacious young wife, Eun-soo (Kim Sung-mi), is having an affair with Jung-shik (Jung Bo-suk), a smooth-talking taxi driver, sad-sack Tae-han hires him to drive him from Seoul back to his seaside town of faraway Naksan, a trip that ends up taking them several days. Along the way, Tae-han slumps in the corner of the backseat, unable to get up the guts to say or do anything to Jung-shik, who constantly boasts of his many conquests and seems to have women lined up in every town. But when Tae-han finally gets back home, he decides to take matters into his own hands. Well, sort of. Directed and cowritten by Kim Tai-sik, DRIVING WITH MY WIFE’S LOVER is a charming yet goofy flick that will have viewers practically screaming at Tae-han to take some kind of action — and even after he does. Jeong Jong-jin’s amazing theme music will be rolling around in your head for weeks after seeing this fun little film from South Korea.

Saturday, July 21 NOMAD (LIE HUO QING CHUN) (Patrick Tam, 1982), 3:30

Saturday, July 21 CAMPAIGN (SENKYO) (Kazuhiro Soda, 2006) 4:30

Saturday, July 21 One on One with Patrick Tam: screening of MIU KAM-FUNG (Parick Tam, 1976), followed by book signing and reception, 5:45

Saturday, July 21 DANCING BELLS (CHALANGGAI) (Deepak Kumaran Menon, 2007), 7:15

Saturday, July 21 BLACKOUT (Ato Bautista, 2007), 10:30

BLACKOUT (Ato Bautista, 2007)

Awkward, derivative, and frustrating, the Filipino horror flick BLACKOUT is a puerile psychological thriller with a ridiculous screenplay by Shugo Praico and minor-league direction by Ato Bautista. Philippines movie star Robin Padilla is downright annoying as Gil, an unemployed alcoholic trying to take care of his young son (John Michael Reyes) as a single parent, having driven away his wife. Gil suffers blackouts that only come back to him in fits and starts, including one particularly bad night in which he backed over a neighbor girl, Isabel (Ella Guevarra). Not knowing what else to do, Gil cements Isabel into his complex’s septic tank, but when her mother, Belen (Iza Calzado), comes a-callin’, the guilt builds to explosive levels inside the deeply troubled Gil. BLACKOUT is a mishmash of elements from THE SIXTH SENSE, DARK WATER, THE TELLTALE HEART, and the TWILIGHT ZONE episode “You Drive,” except inferior on all counts. Even the final twist will leave you wanting to black this film out of your memory.

Sunday, July 22 DO OVER (YI NIAN ZHI CHU) (Cheng Yu-Chieh, 2006), 11:30 am

DO OVER (Cheng Yu-Chieh, 2006)

The Grand Prize winner at the 2006 Taipei Film Festival, DO OVER is a complex, nonlinear tale set in modern-day Taiwan. It’s New Year’s Eve, and a handful of main characters will cross paths as the night goes on, brought together via interweaving story lines merging in past and present. Ding-An (Chien-wei Huang), who came over illegally from mainland China, is working for gangsters and waiting for the ID card he needs to break free of them — and he’s not afraid to challenge his best friend, Kao (Ying-hsien Kao), to get it. Pang (Ching-kuan Wang), a PA on a film set, has a desperate crush on the leading lady, who might just be showing more than a hint of interest. Rat (Yue-Lin Ko) suddenly finds himself in a strange hospital, blood all over his shirt. Butterfly (Chia-yen Ko) goes to the airport every morning, waiting for something or someone to arrive. And Li-hsiang (Tzu-yi Mo), the director of the film within a film, is trying to keep his gangster brother (Chung Hua Tou) a secret from the crew while they both reevaluate their lives. At times DO OVER, the debut feature from highly touted writer-director Cheng Yu-Chieh, is maddeningly confusing, and it’s at least twenty minutes too long, but it’s worth sticking around to watch it all come together — well, those parts that do come together, anyway.

Sunday, July 22 72 Hr Shootout, preceded by a reception with the filmmaking teams, 8:30

Sunday, July 22 THE ELEPHANT AND THE SEA (Woo Ming Jin, 2007), 8:45

THE ELEPHANT AND THE SEA (Woo Ming Jin, 2007)

Woo Ming Jin’s international festival favorite THE ELEPHANT AND THE SEA is a meditative, elegiac film filled with simple beauty and a subtle elegance. Shot in and around the coastal village of Kuala Selangor on the west coast of Malaysia, the film has sparse dialogue, natural sound and light, and offbeat, intriguing characters. Yun Ding is a teen who scrapes up money selling whatever he can find, including a young woman. Ah Ngau is a fisherman whose wife died and was cremated while he was out to sea; their home has been quarantined, so he is forced to live in a public men’s shelter. Barely saying a word, the two main characters go through life slowly, treating every incident with the same nonchalance, as if nothing has any real meaning. Eventually, Yun Ding shows interest in a fish with special lottery powers, and Ah Ngau visits a prostitute that awakens something inside him, but even then it is hard to tell if anything can ever truly move either of them. Woo Ming Jin wrote, directed, and edited this minimalist delight, gorgeously shot by cinematographer Chan Hai Liang.

Wednesday, July 25 NEW YEAR BABY (Socheata Poeuv, 2006), 6:30

Wednesday, July 25 KING AND THE CLOWN (WANGAE NAMJA) (Lee Jun-ik, 2005), 9:15

Meryl Streep stars in centerpiece film, DARK MATTER


Thursday, July 26 Centerpiece Presentation: DARK MATTER (Chen Shi-Zheng, 2006), followed by reception, $15, 7:00

Thursday, July 26 YEAR OF THE FISH (David Kaplan, 2006), followed by a Q&A with the director, 9:15

Friday, July 27 TIE A YELLOW RIBBON (Joy Dietrich, 2007), 9:15

Saturday, July 28 ETERNAL SUMMER (SHENG XIA GUANG NIAN) (Leste Chen, 2006), 2:30

Saturday, July 28 ONE FOOT OFF THE GROUND (JI QUAN BU NING) (Chen Daming, 2006), 4:45

Saturday, July 28 Closing Presentation: NEVER FOREVER (Gina Kim, 2006), followed by reception and awards ceremony, $30, 7:30


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Midtown Exhibit of the Week

© Fundación Cultural Mariana Yampolsky

Mariana Yampolsky, "Cine, genios y abogados (Movies, Geniuses and Lawyers)," linoleum-block print, undated

EMBRACING MEXICO: MARIANA YAMPOLSKY, LIFE AND ART

The UBS Art Gallery

1285 Sixth Ave. between 51st & 52nd Sts.

Monday through Friday, 8:00 am — 6:00 pm

Through August 3

Admission: free

212-713-2885

http://www.ubs.com

Chicago-born artist Mariana Yampolsky (1925-2002) left for Mexico after college and remained there for nearly sixty years, documenting the country’s cultural life in black-and-white photographs and linoleum and woodcut prints. As part of the Taller de Gráfica Popular, she helped spread progressive causes and expose the realities of everyday existence in Mexico. She didn’t just snap photos of the indigenous poor; she stayed in the community, got to know the people, and then photographed them only with permission. Reminiscent of the work of such photographers as Helen Levitt and Walker Evans, Yampolsky’s output reveals the strength and beauty of the land, the people, and the architecture in troubling times, as the growth of the big cities hurt those who remained behind. In "Mujeres Mazahua," a determined young woman looks to the left, as if searching for something, anything, while another woman stands off to the side and a little girl takes a drink from a glass, not worrying about her future.

© Fundación Cultural Mariana Yampolsky

Mariana Yampolsky, "Mujeres Mazahuas" (Mazahua Women), gelatin silver print, 1989


In "Huipil de Tapar," a woman walks away from the camera and down a small walkway, a white headdress flapping in the wind, her shadow lining up with the shadow on a nearby building. In "Waiting for the Priest," four women are sitting on a bench, seemingly gossiping as they await their spiritual leader. And in the stunning linoleum-block print "Cine, genios y abogados," skeletons have taken over on the Day of the Dead. In addition to being a photographer, Yampolsky was a curator, collector, and book editor. The exhibition also features various books she participated in, works from artists who influenced her, and items from her personal collection of Mexican folk art, including colorful masks and figurines.


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Riff’s Rants & Raves: Movies

Courtesy of MGM

Iconic image is part of Woody Allen’s love letter to city

MANHATTAN (Woody Allen, 1979)

Film Forum

209 West Houston St. between Sixth & Seventh Aves.

July 13-19, 1:30, 3:25, 5:20, 7:15, 9:10

212-727-8110

http://www.filmforum.org

Woody Allen’s masterwork, MANHATTAN, is a nonstop celebration of the city he so loves. Coming off the overwhelming critical and popular success of ANNIE HALL (1977) and the mixed reaction to the Bergmanesque INTERIORS (1978), Allen combines the best of both in this heartbreakingly funny look at life and love involving brown water, religion, television, Nazis, infidelity, tell-all books, geniuses, and a stellar cast that includes Allen, Meryl Streep, Diane Keaton, Mariel Hemingway, and Michael Murphy. Shot in breathtaking black and white by cinematographer Gordon Willis and with a spectacular soundtrack — featuring George Gershwin music performed by Zubin Mehta conducting the New York Philharmonic and Michael Tilson Thomas leading the Buffalo Philharmonic — MANHATTAN is a film meant to be seen on the big screen, and Film Forum is doing just that for a special one-week run, in a new 35mm scope print. And try not to read too much into the plot, in which television writer Isaac Davis (Allen) goes bananas over a high school girl (Hemingway).

Daniel Auteuil is desperate to find a friend in Leconte flick

MY BEST FRIEND (MON MEILLEUR AMI)
(Patrice Leconte, 2006)

Opens Friday, July 13

Lincoln Plaza Cinemas

1886 Broadway between 62nd & 63rd Sts.

212-757-0359

IFC Center

323 Sixth Ave. at Third St.

212-924-7771

http://www.ifccenter.com

http://lincolnplaza.moviefone.com

http://www.monmeilleurami-lefilm.com

The great and suddenly ubiquitous Daniel Autieul is a goofy delight in Patrice Leconte’s lightweight but fun MY BEST FRIEND. Auteuil stars as François, a successful antique dealer who is surprised to suddenly discover that no one likes him. His business partner, Catherine (Julie Gayet), bets him that he won’t be able to prove that he has a best friend. Given ten days, François sets out to find someone he can call his best friend, with pathetically funny results. Desperate, he hires Bruno, a gregarious cabdriver (Dany Boon, who also stars in THE VALET), to show him how to be nice to people and make friends. Leconte, the director of such acerbic comedies as THE HAIRDRESSER’S HUSBAND and RIDICULE as well as such powerful dramas as INTIMATE STRANGERS and THE WIDOW OF ST. PIERRE, aims low but hits high with this charming, if silly, little film. Add half a star if you can’t get enough of Autieul.

© Focus Features

Don Cheadle talks up a storm in Lemmons’s docudrama

TALK TO ME (Kasi Lemmons, 2007)

Opens Friday, July 13

http://www.focusfeatures.com/talktome

Not afraid to speak his mind, Petey Greene revolutionized talk radio in Washington, DC, in the turbulent 1960s and 1970s, influencing the next generation of shock jocks (including an impressionable DC newbie named Howard Stern). Kasi Lemmons’s TALK TO ME details Greene’s (Don Cheadle) transformation from incarcerated armed robber to controversial media celebrity by concentrating on his friendship with young radio executive Dewey Hughes (Chiwetel Ejiofor), two black men with very different personalities. While Greene preferred a wild, flamboyant lifestyle, Hughes chose to walk the straight and narrow, quietly working within the system, personified by Martin Sheen as conservative station owner E. G. Sonderling. But Greene’s unwillingness to play the game has a profound effect on Hughes as well as on the people of DC. As major cultural events unfold, Lemmons (EVE’S BAYOU, THE CAVEMAN’S VALENTINE) lets the audience experience them through Greene, offering a unique perspective on familiar happenings. Cheadle and Ojiofor make a great team, but Taraji P. Henson nearly steals the show as Vernell Watson, Greene’s far-out lover. TALK TO ME skips around a bit too much and teeters too often on the edge of preachiness, especially when Terence Blanchard’s sappy score overheats the melodrama, but the central story —­ the screenplay was cowritten by Hughes’s son, Michael Genet, with Hughes serving as a consultant —­ helps the film rise above its maudlin tendencies. The awesome, if obvious, soundtrack includes songs by Sam Cooke, James Brown, the Supremes, Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Booker T & the MGs, Sam and Dave, Archie Bell and the Drells, Al Green, Sly & the Family Stone, and the Chambers Brothers.

Troubled lovers try to rekindle their romance in TIME

TIME (Kim Ki-duk, 2006)

Opens Friday, July 13

Cinema Village

22 East 12th St. between University Pl. & Fifth Ave.

212-924-3363

http://www.timethemovie.net

http://cinemavillage.com

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.

Gena Rowlands takes Parker Posey shopping for a good man in BROKEN ENGLISH

BROKEN ENGLISH (Zoe Cassavetes, 2007)

Landmark Sunshine Cinema

143 East Houston St. between First & Second Aves.

212-330-8182

Lincoln Plaza Cinemas

1886 Broadway between 62nd & 63rd Sts.

212-757-0359

http://lincolnplaza.moviefone.com

http://www.landmarktheatres.com/Market/NewYork/NewYork_frameset.htm

http://magpictures.com

Parker Posey is simply delightful as Nora Wilder, the hard-pressed protagonist of BROKEN ENGLISH, the debut feature film by writer-director Zoe Cassavetes. Nora is the behind-the-scenes concierge of a ritzy Midtown hotel who, while pulling off miracles for the hotel’s VIPs, can’t get anything to work in her own life. Her mother (Gena Rowlands) and seemingly happily married best friend (Drea de Matteo) try their best to help, but she seems doomed to live life alone. After a series of ridiculously bad dates, she’s about to give up on ever falling in love when she bumps into Julien (Melvil Poupaud), a gorgeous but somewhat goofy French playboy-type who is everything she never wanted in a long-term relationship. Despite her misgivings, the two hit it off, but that is only the start of a whole new slew of problems. Cassavetes, the daughter of John Cassavetes and Rowlands, shows an astute sensibility in BROKEN ENGLISH, mixing in pathos and humor with a fine ear for dialogue and good character development. The film also includes some great New York locations, including Film Forum, the Central Park Zoo (where Cassavetes brutally steals a scene from Woody Allen), the Chambers Hotel, and more.

Hagen Keller

Ulriche Mühe keeps his eyes open in German thriller

THE LIVES OF OTHERS (DAS LEBEN DER ANDEREN)
(Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, 2006)

Lincoln Plaza Cinemas

1886 Broadway between 62nd & 63rd Sts.

212-757-0359

Village East

181 Second Ave. at 12th St.

212-777-3456

http://citycinemas.moviefone.com

http://lincolnplaza.moviefone.com

http://www.sonyclassics.com/thelivesofothers

Winnter of the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, THE LIVES OF OTHERS is a tense political thriller set in 1980s East Berlin. Ulriche Mühe gives a mesmerizing performance as Capt. Gerd Wiesler, an expert interrogator for the Stasi, the German Democratic Republic’s secret police, who keep a close watch on all suspicious activity — and to them, everything is suspicious. When powerful culture minister Bruno Hempf (Thomas Thieme) tells Wiesler’s nervous yes-man boss, Lt. Col. Anton Grubitz (Ulrich Tukur), to spy on noted playwright Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch), Wiesler takes the case, setting up audio surveillance on Dreyman and his actress girlfriend, Christa-Maria Sieland (Martina Gedeck). But when the ever-loyal, humorless, always stalwart Wiesler discovers that Hempf ordered the surveillance primarily because he has a thing for Sieland, Wiesler begins to reconsider the case — and the ultimate responsibility of the Stasi itself. And the more he learns, the more he understands. THE LIVES OF OTHERS was written and directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, making an extremely impressive feature-film debut, capturing a precarious, paranoid part of recent German history in which the vast majority of the nation was either being spied on or were informers themselves.

© Edward Burtynsky

Documentary about Edward Burtynsky is filled with unsettling beauty

MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES (Jennifer Baichwal, 2005)

Film Forum

209 West Houston St. between Sixth & Seventh Aves.

212-727-8110

http://www.filmforum.org/films/manufactured.html

Burtynsky at the Brooklyn Museum

Photographer Edward Burtynsky has been traveling the world with his large-format viewfinder camera, taking remarkable photographs of environmental landscapes undergoing industrial change. Cinematographer Peter Mettler and director Jennifer Baichwal joined Burtynsky on his journey as he documented ships being broken down in Chittagong, Bangladesh; the controversial development of the Three Gorges Dam Project in China, which displaced more than a million people; the uniformity at a factory in Cankun that makes irons and the Deda Chicken Processing Plant in Dehui City; as well as various mines and quarries. Burtynsky’s photos, which were on view at the Brooklyn Museum in late 2005, are filled with gorgeous colors and a horrible sadness at the lack of humanity they portray. As in the exhibit, the audience is not hit over the head with facts and figures and environmental rhetoric; instead, the pictures pretty much speak for themselves, although Burtynsky does give some limited narration. Baichwal lets the camera linger on its subject, as in the remarkable opening shot, a long, slow pan across a seemingly endless factory. She is also able to get inside the photographs, making them appear to be three-dimensional as she slowly pulls away.

Satoshi Kon’s animated fantasy is set in a dreamlike future

PAPRIKA (Satoshi Kon, 2006)

Village East

181 Second Ave. at 12th St.

212-777-3456

http://citycinemas.moviefone.com

http://www.sonyclassics.com/paprika

Based on the novel by Yasutaka Tsutsui, PAPRIKA is an animated, futuristic sci-fi thriller in which reality and dreams merge in clever and confusing ways. The title character is a superhero psychotherapist who can enter people’s dreams by using cutting-edge technology known as the DC MINI, which was invented by Dr. Tokita, a huge man with a baby face and a tremendous appetite. When one of the prototypes is stolen, Paprika, whose alter ego is Dr. Atsuko Chiba of the Foundation for Psychiatric Research, sets out to find the thief, who is using the invaluable — and not fully tested and approved — equipment for seemingly evil purposes. Other central characters include Torataro Shima, the adorable old chief of the lab; the ruthless, wheelchair-bound foundation chairman, Seijiro Inui; Detective Konakawa, who develops a liking for Paprika; Dr. Osanai, a hunky researcher; and lab assistant Himuro, who has gone missing but can be seen in dreams. Adapted by Satoshi Kon, the director of MILLENNIUM ACTRESS and TOKYO GODFATHERS, and featuring the voices of Megumi Hayashibara, Toru Emori, Katsunosuke Hori, Toru Furuya, and Akio Ohtsuka, PAPRIKA is an entertaining, if at times hard to follow, anime with lots of cute characters and some very beautiful scenes.

Barbet Schroeder gets a leg up in one of eighteen cinematic love letters to Paris

PARIS, JE T’AIME (Multiple directors, 2007)

Landmark Sunshine Cinema

143 East Houston St. between First & Second Aves.

212-330-8182

http://www.landmarktheatres.com

http://www.firstlookstudios.com/pjt

The City of Light is celebrated in eighteen short tales about love and loss in PARIS JE T’AIME, each set in a different Paris neighborhood. Each director was assigned a location and given only a few days to shoot a work of no more than five minutes. Joel & Ethan Coen set "Tuilieries" in the Metro, where an American tourist (Steve Buscemi) pays the price for making eye contact with a couple making out across the tracks. In Isabel Coixet’s "Bastille," a cheating husband (Sergio Castellito) decides to dump his girlfriend (Leonor Watling) and help his wife (Miranda Richardson) fight cancer. In Nouhiro Suwa’s "Place des Victoires," a grieving mother (Juliette Binoche) wants one last chance to say goodbye to her dead son, with assistance from a mysterious cowboy on a horse (Willem Dafoe). The producers cleverly put Vincenzo Natali’s vampire story, "Quartier de la Madeleine," after Wes Craven’s surprisingly poignant "Pere-Lachaise," which is set in the famous cemetery (and with Alexander Payne, who directed the bittersweet "14eme Arrondissement," playing Oscar Wilde).

While there are no blockbusters, the majority of the films are successful in their own way, and because they’re only five minutes long, the dull ones are over rather quickly. Other highlights include Gus Van Sant’s "Le Marais," Alfonso Cuaron’s "Parc Monceau" (with Nick Nolte, Ludivine Sagnier, and a cool plot twist), Oliver Schmitz’s evocative "Place des Fetes," and Frédéric Auburtin and Gérard Depardieu’s "Quartier Latin," with Ben Gazzara and Gena Rowlands preparing to make their divorce final. Interestingly, Olivier Assayas’s "Quartier des Enfants Rouges" features Maggie Gyllenhaal as an actress with a drug problem; last year, Gyllenhaal starred in Laurie Collyer’s SHERRYBABY, which was essentially an uncredited remake of Assayas’s 2004 film CLEAN, with Maggie Cheung in the drug-addict role.

Michael Moore heads to Paris to look for quality health care in SiCKO

SICKO (Michael Moore, 2007)

In theaters now

http://www.sicko-themovie.com

http://michaelmoore.com

After taking on GM in ROGER & ME, the gun lobby in BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE, and the Iraq war in FAHRENHEIT 9/11, Michael Moore goes after the health-care industry in SiCKO, another vastly entertaining and wildly informative documentary that will make you laugh till it hurts. Instead of focusing on the 50 million Americans who don't have health insurance, Moore zeroes in on the 250 million who do — and still can’t afford treatment when they become seriously ill. Collecting ridiculous stories culled from tens of thousands e-mailed to him via his Website, Moore shares remarkable tales of maddening insurance company denials, including one woman who was dragged unconscious from a car accident and taken to the hospital — and whose carrier refused to pay for the ambulance because she failed to get the emergency ride preapproved. And that’s only the tip of this melting iceberg. Moore goes inside the industry to reveal frightening details of how these for-profit institutions run and why it is always in their best interest to say no. He also travels to Canada, France, England, and even Cuba to show how the supposed evils of socialized medicine actually work for everyone. And just wait till you see how Nixon and Reagan are involved. SiCKO rips the million-dollar mask off the health-care industry; be prepared to leave the theater as mad as hell and not wanting to take it anymore.

Ben Kingsley and Téa Leoni develop an offbeat relationship in YOU KILL ME

YOU KILL ME (John Dahl, 2007)

In theaters now

http://www.youkillmethefilm.com

John Dahl’s YOU KILL ME opens with a fabulous scene in which a man (Ben Kingsley) walks out onto his stoop, swigs from a bottle of vodka, tosses it a bit ahead of him, then shovels some snow until he reaches the bottle again, then takes another swallow, tosses it again, shovels, etc. It immediately establishes the nature of the character, a hit man named Frank Falenczyk who toils for the Polish mob in Buffalo. (Who knew?) But when he blows a crucial assignment to kill incoming Irish boss O’Leary (Dennis Farina), the family insists he either go to rehab in San Francisco or else. Unfortunately, despite the good setup, the rest of the film is maddeningly uneven, as Frank begins attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, hangs out with his sponsor, a gay toll taker (Luke Wilson), gets pushed around by a slimy real estate dude (Bill Pullman), and falls for a beautiful but confused younger woman (Téa Leoni). Dahl, one of Hollywood’s best modern-noir directors, has done better, with such complex thrillers as RED ROCK WEST and THE LAST SEDUCTION. YOU KILL ME does feature fine performances by Kingsley and Leoni, but otherwise the plot is just too dried out.

THE BOW (Kim Ki-duk, 2005)

Now available on DVD from Tartan Video

http://www.tfmdistribution.com

http://www.tartanfilmsusa.com

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. The DVD includes a making-of featurette in which the cast and crew are extremely honest about the quality of their work.

DORM (Songyos Sugmakanan, 2006)

Now available on DVD from Tartan Video

http://www.tartanfilmsusa.com

Unhappy that his parents have shipped him off to a boarding school run by a strange woman named Ms. Pranee (Jintara Sukaphatana), twelve-year-old Chatree (Chalee Trairut) is about to see his life get more complicated than he could ever imagine: ghost stories, being bullied by other kids, mysteriously getting locked in the bathroom, and wetting his bed — and that’s just the first day. Refusing to speak with his father, Chatree feels alone in the world — until he meets Vichien (Sirachuch Chienthaworn), a young boy with a very dark secret. Directed and cowritten by Thai filmmaker Songyos Sugmakanan, DORM has trouble deciding whether it’s a horror film or a coming-of-age drama, often leaving it lost in the middle somewhere (sort of like Chatree himself?), but a chilling soundtrack and enough good scenes make it worthwhile viewing.


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Riff’s Rants & Raves: Music & More

Dustin Pittman

Crowd piles in for 2006 Siren Music Festival

SIREN MUSIC FESTIVAL 2007

Main Stage: West Tenth St. & the Boardwalk

Stillwell Stage: Stillwell Ave. & the Boardwalk

Saturday, July 21, 12 noon - 9:00 pm

http://www.villagevoice.com/specials/siren

The Village Voice Seventh Annual Siren Music Festival at Coney Island is one of the summer’s hottest shows, featuring two stages of diverse live music, including the New York Dolls, We Are Scientists, Matt and Kim, the Black Lips, Dr. Dog, the Noisettes, Lavender Diamond, M.I.A., the Detroit Cobras, Elvis Perkins, Cursive, Voxtrot, the White Rabbits, the Twilight Sad, and DJ Gibby Haynes, as well as unusual cabaret and circus acts and multimedia artists along the boardwalk. Get there nice and early to grab a good spot — last year’s fest attracted 150,000 sweaty fans — and to check out bands that might be headlining future summer festivals, such as past Siren singers as Scissor Sisters, Tapes’N Tapes, Spoon, Mates of State, Death Cab for Cutie, TV on the Radio, Blonde Redhead, the Fiery Furnaces, Modest Mouse, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Mooney Suzuki, Superchunk, and others.

New York Dolls glam it up this summer in Huntington and Brooklyn

NEW YORK DOLLS

IMAC, Huntington

Saturday, July 14, $45, 8:00

212-549-ARTS

Siren Music Festival, Coney Island

Saturday, July 21, free, 12 noon - 9:00 pm

http://www.imactheater.org

http://www.myspace.com/newyorkdolls

In 2004, Morrissey reunited original band members David Johansen, Sylvain Sylvain, and Arthur "Killer" Kane for the Meltdown Festival, where they performed as the New York Dolls for the first time in nearly thirty years. Shortly thereafter, Kane died of leukemia, joining the great Johnny Thunders and Jerry Nolan in that glam dollhouse in the sky. (As Johansen sings on the new album, "It’s a punishing world.") But Johansen and Sylvain decided to forge ahead nonetheless, playing lots of tour dates and releasing ONE DAY IT WILL PLEASE US TO REMEMBER EVEN THIS (Roadrunner) last summer. The album looks both forward and back, featuring Johansen’s in-your-face vocals on such numbers as the biographical "Fishnets & Cigarettes" ("Happiness / Fishnets and cigarettes / A pagan monkey in a dress / Tell me who I impress?"), "We’re All in Love" (with its sing-along chorus and Johansen’s declaration that "love ain’t pretty"), and the 1950s girl-group throwback "Plenty of Music." The album also includes strings (!), Michael Stipe, and the Igster himself. When Iggy Pop joins Johansen on the harmonica-driven blues tune "Gimme Luv & Turn on the Light," singing, "This is infinity / This is eternity / This is my destiny!" who could have predicted, more than three decades ago, that the Stooges and the Dolls would be touring in 2006-7 behind good new albums? The Dolls, who predated both the Ramones and the Sex Pistols (but came after the Stooges), will be headlining the Siren Music Festival, featuring many groups whose members weren’t yet born when the Dolls disbanded in the mid-1970s. They’re also playing a pay gig at the IMAC theater in Huntington. We’ve seen them several times since they reunited, and they put on one helluva great rock and roll show.

twi-ny/mdr

Black Lips let things fly at Bowery Ballroom in March

BLACK LIPS

Maxwell’s, 1039 Washington St., Hoboken

Thursday, July 19, $12, 9:00

201-653-1703

Siren Music Festival, Coney Island

Saturday, July 21, free, 12 noon - 9:00 pm

http://www.maxwellsnj.com

http://www.myspace.com/theblacklips

Atlanta’s Black Lips let things fly at their live shows with all the psychotic reactions and carburetor dung they can muster. Playing it fast and loose, they race through crazy, messy tunes sounding like the Replacements if the ’Mats were ’60s darlings. Cole Alexander, Jared Swilley, Ian St. Pe, and Joe Bradley, who cite Robitussin as one of their influences, tear through wild sets of what they call "flower punk." Their recent live album, LOS VALIENTES DEL MUNDO NUEVO (Vice, February 2007), is like their own condensed NUGGETS compilation, chock full of familiar-sounding songs with bizarre twists, turns, screams, and confusion that endear them to their fanatic fans. LOS VALIENTES kicks butt with such stompers from LET IT BLOOM and WE DID NOT KNOW THE FOREST SPIRIT MADE THE FLOWERS GROW as "Buried Alive," "Hippie, Hippie, Hoorah," "Not a Problem," "Juvenile," and the riotous Beatles riff "Dirty Hands" ("Do you really wanna hold my dirty hands?" they sing), cementing the Black Lips’ growing rep as one helluva great retro party band. At the end of "Stranger," the band announces, "This is gonna be the best live record of all time"; while that might not be quite true, it is pretty freakin’ awesome. We caught them in March, when they tore apart the Bowery Ballroom. Before playing the Siren Music Festival on Coney Island, they’ll be at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, where they’re likely to kick butt yet again (on a bill with Turbo Fruits and the Coathangers). And prepare yourself for the July 31 release of their live DVD, WILDMEN IN ACTION.

The Detroit Cobras come to Coney and Jersey this summer

DETROIT COBRAS

Siren Music Festival, Coney Island

Saturday, July 21, free, 12 noon - 9:00 pm

Maxwell’s, 1039 Washington St., Hoboken

Sunday, July 22, $13, 8:30

201-653-1703

http://www.maxwellsnj.com

http://www.detroitcobras.org

Garage-band heroes the Detroit Cobras are touring the country in support of their first new record in three years, TIED & TRUE (Bloodshot, 2007), thirteen covers of old-time rock-and-soul tunage by such songwriters as James Brown, Gerry Goffin, Eddy Grant, and Bob Elgin — but avoiding overly recognizable hits, instead making these relatively unfamiliar songs their own. Original members Rachel Nagy on vocals and guitarist Mary Ramirez (previously known as Maribel Restrepo) rip through such gems as "Nothing But a Heart Ache," "Leave My Kitten Alone" (complete with meows!), and "(I Wanna Know) What’s Going On," propelled by Kenny Tudrick’s rollicking drums. If the jaunty "On a Monday" sounds familiar, that’s because when Johnny Cash recorded it, he called it "I Got Stripes." The Cobras will be playing the Siren Festival on July 21, followed by a show at Maxwell’s with the Willowz and the Ribeye Bros.

twi-ny/mdr

The New Pornographers fought off the rain for solid set on July 4

THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS

River to River Festival

Historic Battery Park Lawn

Wednesday, July 4,

Admission: free

212-528-2733

http://rivertorivernyc.org

http://thenewpornographers.com

New Pornographers slideshow

As lucky ticket holders started congregating for Battery Park’s annual July 4 concert — which in the past has featured such acts as Emmylou Harris, Yo La Tengo, Dr. John with Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes, and Belle & Sebastian — Downtown Kitchen handed out free sandwiches and everyone hoped that the threatening rain would never come. Shortly after a sleepy, overly long set by Denton, TX’s Midlake that found us nearly napping, the New Pornographers hit the stage, with Neko Case in tow. The Canadian group marveled at being able to see Lady Liberty from their vantage point — "Ain’t she a grand ol’ dame?" asked chief singer-songwriter Carl Newman, who is now a resident of Brooklyn — while previewing songs from their upcoming album, CHALLENGERS (Matador, August 21, 2007). Relying on infectious three-part harmonies from Newman, Case, and pianist Kathryn Calder, the NPs featured such new tunes as "My Rights Versus Yours," "Go Places," and "This Spirit of Giving" in addition to such groovy old-time favorites as "Twin Cinema," "The Bleeding Heart Show," "Sing Me Spanish Techno," and "From Blown Speakers,"with plenty of playful banter in between (sometimes a little too much, detracting from any flow). When the rain did finally arrive, someone had to hold an umbrella over John Collins’s laptop to keep it dry. The band finished up their eighty-plus-minute set with "Testament to Youth in Verse" and "Slow Descent into Alcoholism," as Newman promised they’d be playing indoors in the city soon. In the meantime, Case fans can catch her free solo gig with Eric Bachmann at SummerStage on July 20.

twi-ny/ofer rind

Elder statesman Bob Weir dips into Dead classics at SummerStage

BOB WEIR & RATDOG

Central Park SummerStage

Rumsey Playfield

Central Park (enter at Fifth Ave. & 69th St.)

Monday, July 9

212-360-2756

http://www.summerstage.org

Having attended nearly a hundred Grateful Dead and related offshoot shows back in the spirited bloom of our youth, we sometimes wonder whatever happened to all of the characters that would ubiquitously reappear, like peonies, or San Juan de Capistrano’s swallows, in the parking lots and byways of each and every show, year in and year out. They’ll pop up once in a while at a folk festival, a Railroad Earth concert, a Rainbow family gathering. But by and large they seem to have vanished, like endangered species, rarely spotted in New York City anymore, consigned to college towns and hippie havens and marginalized into such fringed bastions as Boone, NC, and purportedly much of Oregon. Well, there was a homecoming of sorts on July 9 in Central Park. Bob Weir, last surviving guitarist of the Grateful Dead, joined by his constantly touring band Ratdog, played a benefit concert for SummerStage, and the lost nation of Deadheads were decidedly in the house. And outside of it. And around it. And all over the environs, actually, to the point where the number of tie-dyed celebrants with a finger in the air (sign language for “I need a [preferably free] ticket”) was incalculable, the pleasant aroma of cannabis omnipresent, and the hissing of nitrous tanks audible in plain earshot of anyone waltzing down Fifth Avenue. Professionals, panhandlers, hippies, schoolkids...they were all there to partake in the almost ritualistic interfaith sacrament that comes with the music and the scene, and Weir and Co. delivered.

twi-ny/ofer rind

Ratdog raises money while jamming out at SummerStage


With Weir’s longtime songwriting partner, John Perry Barlow, on hand, Ratdog played a set of mostly GD originals or songs covered by them, with the spirit of improvisation proving paramount. While refraining for the most part from long, meandering explorations and aimless jamming, the band played tunes that blended fluidly into one another, the performance succeeding not because these guys are extraordinary musicians but because they are clearly a band that can groove the hell out of familiar material: a hazy rendition of the Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows” and “Dear Prudence,” stretched to epic lengths; the requisite “Playing in the Band”; Garcia’s “Ramble on Rose” (with its “just like New York City” verse drawing the expected response); “Help on the Way > Slipknot!” with its “Franklin’s Tower” finale coming later; and a flashy encore of “U.S. Blues.” Playing for about two hours, Ratdog seemed to leave the masses sated. The Grateful Dead may be no more, but the music lives on. And so do the acolytes.

THE PESTHOUSE by Jim Crace
(Nan A. Talese / Doubleday, May 2007, $24.95)

http://www.randomhouse.com/doubleday

British writer Jim Crace, who has won such prestigious literary awards as the Whitbread Novel of the Year, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Guardian Award (in addition to being shortlisted for the Whitbread Prize and the Booker Prize), examines his own self-described "confused love-hate relationship with the United States" in THE PESTHOUSE, a spectacularly well written novel set in an undetermined time and place in America. In a postapocalyptic landscape, two disparate people come together to battle the elements and fight for survival: Margaret, a young woman who has had every hair plucked from her body and has been sent to the Pesthouse to either recover or die from the dreaded flux; and Franklin, a large, slightly younger man who, with his brother, Jackson, has left his beloved mother in order to find a better life. As they head west to the great sea, which holds the only promise of hope, they encounter pestilence, disease, rape, brutality, slavery, and death. For Crace, the future of America echoes its past as he reverses the Industrial Revolution, eliminates any form of government or law, and forces his extraordinary characters to rely on their basest of instincts. THE PESTHOUSE is a special book filled with great insight, lots of desperation, and surprising warmth.


All contents copyright 2007 by Mark Rifkin and twi-ny. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reprinted without written permission. Please note that events, dates, and prices are subject to change.

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back to top

twi-ny top two dozen (or so)
weekly reminders & special events

twi-ny/mdr

Virginia Poundstone, "Life in the Fast Lane (Arrangement #3)," 2006-7

EMERGING ARTISTS

SmackMellon

92 Plymouth St. at Washington St., DUMBO

Wednesday through Sunday 12 noon — 6:00 pm

Through Sunday, July 22

Admission: free

718-834-8761

http://www.smackmellon.org

SmackMellon’s summer group show features the work of eight emerging artists, with the uniting theme being place. Virginia Poundstone’s "Life in the Fast Lane (Arrangement #3)" is an imaginary island with an impossibly looped roadway and the television show LOST screening continuously. Tracey Goodman uses plaster to create a fake series of electrical conduits, quad boxes, and switches. Suzanne Song plays with perspective in "White Lie." There are also pieces by Svetlana Rabey, Michael Schall, Devin Powers, Theresa Bloise, and Jason Rosenberg.

CHANGING ROOM

145 Nassau St. between Spruce St. & Beekman Pl.

Thursdays & Fridays, 12 noon — 8:00 pm

Through Saturday, July 28

Admission: free

http://anjahitzenberger.com/changingroom

"Changing Room" is a new "photo/installation/performance series" that takes place in a storefront on Nassau St., featuring live performances every Friday night at 6:00. On Thursdays and Fridays starting at 12 noon, visitors can see new photographs, installation pieces by Illya Azaroff, and more, with such participants as Deborah Lohse, Kathy Westwater, Thom Fogarty, Jimena Paz and Pascale Wettstein, Jennifer Monson, Edward Ratliff, Nicole Vlado, Alexandra Beller, Judith Sánchez Ruíz, and Beth Schenck.

Fred Gates, "Brooklyn Skyline (Red)," acrylic, krylon, lithography crayon on panel

BREATH OF LIGHT…

Seed Gallery

111 Front St., DUMBO

Through Sunday, July 29

917-622-8761

http://www.seedgallerynewyork.com

The Seed Gallery describes its current exhibition as "awakening a myriad of messages — genesis, beauty, serenity, hope, and vision." The work of five artists is on view, liberally spread apart in the small room in order to allow visitors time to breathe in the spirit of each canvas. John Milton Ensor Parker incorporates mathematical equations into "A Life Worth Livin’." Twi-ny designer Fred Gates bathes the Brooklyn skyline in a shockingly dense red. Yuko Ueda’s "Waters of March" series of five small pieces combine nature scenes with metallic elements. Cecile Romat’s pigments explode in "Breeze of Love." And, on the far wall from the entrance, Isabel Carrio’s "Pilgrimage" lures passersby in with its breathtaking subtlety. To see more works by the artists, visit the above Web site or ask gallery owner Nya’ when you stop by.

THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

Humanities and Social Sciences Library

Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III Gallery, first floor

Fifth Ave. at 42nd St.

Closed Sundays and Mondays

Through Saturday, August 4

Admission: free

212-869-8089

http://nypl.org

The NYPL’s fair copy of the Declaration of Independence in Thomas Jefferson’s hand is on display Tuesday & Wednesday from 11:00 am to 7:30 pm, Thursday through Saturday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.

MIDSUMMER NIGHT SWING 2007

Lincoln Center, Josie Robertson Plaza

Through July 21

Tuesday through Saturday at 7:30 pm unless otherwise noted

Preshow dance lessons at 6:30 pm

Single tickets: $15

Six-night pass: $78

Season pass: $225

212-721-6500/212-875-5766

http://www.lincolncenter.org

Wednesday, July 11 Bill Haley’s Original Comets

Thursday, July 12 JC Hopkins Biggish Band

Friday, July 13 Hector Del Curto’s Eternal Tango Orchestra

Saturday, July 14 Kid’s Day! Salsa for Kids, 11:00 am

Saturday, July 14 Fruko y Sus Tesos con Alredo De La Fé

Tuesday, July 17 Pete Jacobs and His Wartime Radio Revue

Wednesday, July 18 Direct Latin Influence

Thursday, July 19 Midsummer Brazilian Carnaval with Beleza Brazil

Friday, July 20 Stompy Jones

Saturday, July 21 Harlem Renaissance Orchestra featuring a tribute to Illinois Jacquet

RIVER TO RIVER FESTIVAL

Rockefeller Park in Battery Park City (RP) / World Financial Center Plaza (WFC)

Wagner Park in Battery Park City (WP)/ Historic Battery Park Lawn (BPL)

Music at Castle Clinton, in Battery Park (CC) / South Street Seaport, Pier 17 (SSS)

Zuccotti Park (ZP) / Governors Island (GI)

Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts, Pace University (MSC)

Admission: free

212-528-2733

http://www.rivertorivernyc.org

Wednesday, July 11 Music Under New York, 12 noon

Wednesday, July 11 Spoon, RP, 7:00

Thursday, July 12 Ron Sexsmith, CC, 7:00

Thursday, July 12 Strange Fruit, WFC, 7:00

Friday, July 13 Music Under New York, 12 noon

Monday, July 16 Summer Stars: Makoto Nakura, Marimba, MSC, 7:30

Tuesday, July 17 Marc Ribot — Musical Portraits, WFC

Wednesday, July 18 Music Under New York, 12 noon

Wednesday, July 18 Toumani Diabate’s Symmetric Orchestra, RP, 7:00

Thursday, July 19 Drive-By Truckers, CC, 7:00

Thursday, July 19 Summer Soul Nights: Ruben Studdard, SSS, 7:00

Friday, July 20 Music Under New York, 12 noon

Friday, July 20 Seaport Music: Bishop Allen with Rock Plaza Central, SSS

Monday, July 23 Summer Stars: Timothy Conner, Trombone, MSC, 7:30

Wednesday, July 25 Music Under New York, 12 noon

JAPAN CUTS: FESTIVAL OF NEW JAPANESE FILM

Japan Society

333 E. 47th St. at First Ave.

July 5-15

Tickets: $10

212-715-1258

http://www.japansociety.org

http://www.subwaycinema.com

Wednesday, July 11 MATSUGANE POTSHOT AFFAIR (MATSUGANE RANSHA JIKEN) (Nobuhiro Yamashita, 2006), 6:30

Wednesday, July 11 SWAY (YURERU) (Miwa Nishikawa, 2006), introduced by the director and followed by a Q&A, 8:45

Thursday, July 12 KAMOME DINER (KAMOME SHOKUDO) (Naoko Ogigami, 2005), 8:10

Friday, July 13 SWAY (YURERU) (Miwa Nishikawa, 2006), introduced by the director and followed by a Q&A, 6:30

Friday, July 13 FACES OF A FIG TREE (ICHIJIKU NO KAO) (Kaori Momoi, 2006), 9:00

Saturday, July 14 Puppet Animation Double Bill: KOMANEKO — THE CURIOUS CAT (Tsuneo Goda, 2006), 1:45, and MONSIEUR GREENPEAS (RYOKUTAMA SHINSHI) (Yasuo Kurita, 2004), 2:50, followed by a live puppet demonstration by director Yasuo Kurita

Saturday, July 14 INTO A DREAM (YUME NO NAKA E) (Shion Sono, 2005), 4:00

Saturday, July 14 KAMOME DINER (KAMOME SHOKUDO) (Naoko Ogigami, 2005), introduced by the director and followed by a Q&A, 8:15

Sunday, July 15 ANTS (ARI NO HEITAI) (Kaoru Ikeya, 2006), 1:30

Sunday, July 15 THE BLOSSOMING OF ETSUKO KAMIYA (KAMIYA ETSUKO NO SEISHUN) (Kazuo Kuroki, 2006), 3:30

Sunday, July 15 FACES OF A FIG TREE (ICHIJIKU NO KAO) (Kaori Momoi, 2006), 6:00

Saturday, July 15 THE PRISONER (YUHEISHA — TERORISUTO) (Masao Adachi, 2006), 6:00

twi-ny/mdr

After performing with the New Pornographers at Celebrate Brooklyn! on July 4, Neko Case goes solo at SummerStage on July 20

CENTRAL PARK SUMMERSTAGE

Rumsey Playfield

Central Park (enter at Fifth Ave. & 69th St.)

Admission: free unless otherwise noted

212-360-2756

http://www.summerstage.org/

Wednesday, July 11 Femi Kuti & the Positive Force, DJ Rich Medina, and screening of MUSIC IS THE WEAPON (Jean-Jacques Flori & Stéphane Tchalgadjieff, 1982), 7:00

Saturday, July 14 Café Tacuba, Pacha Massive, La Sista, 3:00

Sunday, July 15 Global Family Day, with Hip-Hop Harry, Sippy Cups, Break!, and guest chefs Craig Samuel and Ben Grossman of the Smoke Joint, 1:30

Monday, July 16 Benefit Concert: The Decemberists, Grizzly Bear, Land of Talk, $35, 6:30

Thursday, July 19 UCB Theatre’s Comedy Cabaret, with Human Giant, Demetri Martin, Rebecca Drysdale, and the Defibulators, 7:30

Friday, July 20 Neko Case, Eric Bachmann, 7:00

Saturday, July 21 Music of Sudan, with Shurahibeel Ahmed, Abu Araki Al Bakhiet, Yousif El Moseley, Ali El Sigade, Omer Banaga, Rasha Sheikh Aldein Gibreel, Al Warif, Sheikh Aldein Gibreel, Brides of the Nile Dance Group, Emmanuel Kempe (South of Sudan), Omer Ihsas (Darfur), the Nile Music Orchestra, and Hadia, Ammal, Hayat "Al Balabil" (The Humming Birds), 3:00

Sunday, July 22 Brazilian Girls, Cat Empire, HIMALAYAS conducted by Kenny Wollesen & Jonathon Haffner, 3:00

NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC

Central Park Great Lawn

Midpark from 79th to 85th Sts.

Admission: free

212-484-1222

http://www.centralparknyc.org

Wednesday, July 11 The New York Philharmonic, conducted by Ludovic Morlot: Berlioz’s Le Corsaire Overture, Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto featuring soloist Stefan Jackiw, and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6, "Pathéthique," followed by fireworks, 8:00

Tuesday, July 17 The New York Philharmonic, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis: Richard Strauss, "Til Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks"; various arias by Puccini, Massenet, Catalani, and Weber, featuring soprano Measha Brueggergosman; and Mussorgsky/Ravel’s "Pictures at an Exhibition," followed by fireworks, 8:00

WORD FOR WORD

Bryant Park Reading Room

42nd St. side of Bryant Park between Fifth & Sixth Aves.

Wednesdays at 12:30 through September 11

Admission: free

212-768-4242

http://www.bryantpark.org/calendar

Wednesday, July 11 Pamela Des Barres and special guest readers, LET’S SPEND THE NIGHT TOGETHER: BACKSTAGE SECRETS OF ROCK MUSES AND SUPERGROUPIES

Wednesday, July 18 Chuck Klosterman, CHUCK KLOSTERMAN IV: A DECADE OF CURIOUS PEOPLE AND DANGEROUS IDEAS, hosted by Rich Cohen, SWEET AND LOW: A FAMILY STORY

MOVIES UNDER THE STARS

Pier A Park at First & Sinatra Dr.

Hoboken

June & July, around 9:00

August & September, around 8:15

Admission: free

Blankets & low lawn chairs encouraged

201-420-2207

http://www.hobokennj.org

Wednesday, July 11 GREASE (Randal Kleiser, 1978), with a look-a-like contest, sing-a-long, karaoke, prizes and more

Wednesday, July 18 LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris, 2006)

Wednesday, July 25 SHUT UP & SING (Barbara Kopple & Cecilia Peck, 2006)

MOVIE NIGHT 2007

Brookhaven Amphitheater

Arts & Cultural Center at Bald Hill, Farmingville, Long Island

Wednesday nights in July and August at approximately 7:45

Admission: $5 per carload

631-732-4011

http://brookhavenamphitheater.com

Wednesday, July 11 HAPPY FEET (George Miller & Warren Coleman, 2006)

Wednesday, July 18 BARNYARD (Steve Oedekerk, 2006)

Wednesday, July 25 CURIOUS GEORGE (Matthew O’Callaghan, 2006)

RIVERFLICKS FOR GROWN-UPS: BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!

Pier 54, Hudson River at Fourteenth St.

Wednesdays around dusk July 11 — August 22

Admission: free

http://www.hudsonriverpark.org

Wednesday, July 11 ROCKY BALBOA (Sylvester Stallone, 2006)

Wednesday, July 18 NACHO LIBRE (Jared Hess, 2006)

Wednesday, July 25 THE MATRIX (Andy Wachowski & Larry Wachowski, 1999)

STILL MUSIC PRESENTS…

APT

419 West 13th St. between Ninth Ave. and Washington

Admission: free

212-414-4245

http://www.aptwebsite.com

http://www.itstillmusic.com

Thursday, July 12 Still Music Presents DJs Marcus Worgull, the Subliminal Kid, and Jerome Derradji, 9:00

CITYSOL CLEAN ENERGY, INTERACTIVE ARTS & MUSIC FESTIVAL MUSIC AND MARKETPLACE

Solar One at Stuyvesant Cove Park

2420 FDR Dr. at 22nd St. and Ave. C

Admission: free

212-505-6050

http://solar1.org/about/events/index.html

Thursday, July 12 Opening Night, with Dragons of Zynth, DJ Mistakes, and Brightside, 6:00 pm — 11:00 pm

Friday, July 13 Good Morning Sunshine, featuring sunrise projections, breakfast, and a live performance by High Places, 6:00 am — 10:00 am

Saturday, July 14 Renewable Powered Performances, featuring Les Savy Fav, Land of Talk, O’Death, Besnard Lakes, These Are Powers, the Budos Band, Frankpollis, OCDJ, WNYU DJs, and a green-product marketplace, 11:00 am — 11:00 pm

Sunday, July 15 Games and Workshops, including Biodiesel in a Blender, Soundwalks, Experiments in Urban Camping, Shop for Air!, Solar Powered Toys, Old Goat Karts Obstacle Course, DIY Micro Turbines, Experimental Outdoor Ambulatory Sound Performances, Go Ahead and Touch It!, and Old Goat Karts Drag Race, 11:00 am — 6:00 pm

BURLESQUE AT THE BEACH

Sideshows by the Seashore

Surf Ave. & West 12th St.

Coney Island, Brooklyn

Friday night burlesque & vaudeville shows at 10:00, followed by fireworks

Thursday night Bawdville at the Beach shows at 10:00

Through September 21

Admission: $10 at the door

http://www.coneyislandusa.com

Thursday, July 12 Sweet & Nasty Burlesque

Friday, July 13 Starshine Burlesque Presents: I *pastie* NY, a Burlesque A love/hate story, with Creamy Stevens, Little Brooklyn, Tigger!, Nasty Canasta, Darlinda Just Darlinda, an music by: DJ Fresh Prince of Darkness

Thursday, July 19 Rose Wood Presents: Sister Frederique’s Home for Wayward Girls

Friday, July 20 Fisherman’s Love Luau, with Bunny Love, Harvest Moon, Pinky Special, Gal Friday, Heather Holiday, and Albert Cadabra.

CONSERVATORY STARS

Trinity Church virtual pipe organ

Broadway at Wall St.

Thursdays at 1:00 from July 5 to August 9

Admission: free

http://www.trinitywallstreet.org

Thursday, July 12 Nathan Laube, 1:00

Thursday, July 19 Tom Trenney: works by Ives, Franck, and Bach, plus improvisation, 1:00

MOVIES WITH A VIEW: MOVIES IN MOTION

Brooklyn Bridge Park at Empire-Fulton State Park

1 Main St. at Water St.

Thursday nights at sunset, preceded by music by live DJs at 6:00

Admission: free

718-802-0603

http://www.bbpc.net

Thursday, July 12 THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (Robert Wise, 1951)

Thursday, July 19 THE MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTAN (Frank Oz, 1984)

SUMMER NIGHTS: MUSICAL ICONS OF EL BARRIO

El Museo del Barrio Teatro Heckscher

1230 Fifth Ave. at 104th St.

Thursday nights at 6:30 through August 23

Admission: free

212-831-7272

http://www.elmuseo.org

Thursday, July 12 CIRCO, part of the Latin Alternative Music Conference

Thursday, July 19 Plena Libre

UP ON THE ROOF

JCC in Manhattan

334 Amsterdam Ave. at 76th St.

Thursday nights in July at 8:00

Admission: $5

646-505-5708

http://www.jccnyc.org

Thursday, July 12 WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER (David Wain, 2001)

Thursday, July 19 BORAT: CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN (Larry Charles, 2006)

BORAT: CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN
(Larry Charles, 2006)

http://www.boratmovie.com

Believe the hype. Sacha Baron Cohen holds a mirror up to America, and you might not like what you see — although you’ll laugh your head off while watching it. Cohen stars as bushy haired Kazakhstan journalist Borat Sagdiyev, a role he created for DA ALI G SHOW, the 2001 series in which he interviewed such luminaries as Newt Gingrich, Boutrous Boutros-Ghali, Andy Rooney, and Norman Mailer while pretending to be a British hip-hop wigger (Ali G); he also disguised himself as a German fashionista (Bruno) and Borat, a reporter who likes to talk about sex, especially with his sister. In CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN, Borat leaves his little village in Kazakhstan and travels across the United States with his producer, the rotund Azamat (Ken Davitian), in search of his true love, BAYWATCH’s Pamela Anderson. Along the way, he is making a documentary about the American way of life, turning a revealing lens on racism, anti-Semitism, sexism, misogyny, homophobia, blind patriotism, fundamentalism, and southern hospitality, with a healthy dose of toilet humor (literally). The people he speaks with — a feminist group, gun and car dealers, rodeo cowboys, conservative politicians Bob Barr and Alan Keyes, etiquette and humor experts, Christian evangelicals at a revivalist tent meeting, drunk frat boys in an RV — believe he is really a Kazakh journalist, and Cohen holds nothing back, unafraid to ask any question or kiss any man, often risking his personal safety in hysterical ways. He’s got the biggest cojones we’ve ever seen — and you nearly get to see them when he and Azamat chase each other naked through a hotel, ending up fighting onstage at a mortgage bankers convention. BORAT is more EASY RIDER than JACKASS and BEAVIS AND BUTT-HEAD DO AMERICA, a road trip movie that captures the state of the nation in frightening yet very funny ways.

SEASIDE SUMMER CONCERTS

Asser Levy Seaside Park

Sea Breeze Ave. & Ocean Pkwy.

Brighton Beach, Brooklyn

Limited seating: $5 per chair ($10 for special shows), but you can bring your own for free

Requested donation: $5

Thursday nights at 7:30 pm

718-469-1912/718-222-0600

http://www.brooklynconcerts.com/seaside

Thursday, July 12 Tommy James & the Shondells, Jay Black, and Johnny Maestro and the Brooklyn Bridge

Thursday, July 19 Billy Ocean, Air Supply, and special solo performance by Graham Russell

ROOFTOP FILMS

Multiple venues

Live music: 8:30

Film screening: 9:00

Tickets: $8 at the door, $5 online

718-417-7362

http://www.rooftopfilms.com

Friday, July 13 Rural Route Film Festival, short films, with live music by Feral Foster, Automotive High School, 50 Bedford Ave. between North 12th St. & Lorimer, Williamsburg

Saturday, July 14 CROSSING THE LINE (Daniel Gordon), the Old American Can Factory, 232 Third St. at Third Ave., Gowanus, followed by a reception and Q&A with the director

GOOD MORNING AMERICA CONCERT SERIES

Bryant Park Upper Terrace

42nd St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.

Fridays through August 24 at 7:00 am

Admission: free

http://www.bryantpark.org

http://abcnews.go.com/Sections/GMA

Friday, July 13 Fantasia

Friday, July 20 John Mayer & Special Guest

TODAY SHOW TOYOTA CONCERT SERIES

Rockefeller Plaza

49th St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.

Outside TODAY studio 1A

Fridays from 7:00 to 9:00 am

http://www.msnbc.com

Friday, July 13 KT Tunstall

Friday, July 20 HAIRSPRAY the movie

RIVERFLICKS FOR KIDS: BIG ADVENTURES

Pier 46, Hudson River Park at Christopher St.

Fridays around dusk July 7 — August 25

Admission: free

http://www.hudsonriverpark.org

Friday, July 13 CHARLOTTE’S WEB (Gary Winick, 2006)

Friday, July 20 OPEN SEASON (Roger Allers & Jill Culton, 2006)

WHITNEY LIVE

Whitney Museum of American Art

945 Madison Ave. at 75th St.

Robert J. Hurst Family Gallery

Free with pay-what-you-wish admission after 6:00

212-570-7715

http://www.whitney.org

Friday, July 13 Kompasshun, hosted by Elan Vytal, aka DJ Scientific, and multi-instrumentalist Dana Leong

Friday, July 20 Psychedelia’s Progeny: Dirty Projectors, reimagining Black Flag’s DAMAGED and Luke Fischbeck performing as Lucky Dragons

Friday, July 27 Earth to Sun Ra, with a reading of a new opera, MR. MYSTERY: THE RETURN OF SUN RA TO SAVE PLANET EARTH!, featuring music by Fred Ho and libretto by Quincy Troupe, and additional performances by Latasha N. Nevada Diggs, Taylor Ho Bynum, VJs Love Intelligence Group; and DJ Steinski

LIBERTY FESTIVAL & BASTILLE DAY RACES

Les Halles Downtown

15 John St. off Broadway

Admission to block party: free

Suggested entry fee for races: $10

212-571-2100

http://www.leshalles.net

Saturday, July 14 Block party with such standard-bearers as the Children’s Race (12 noon), Cook/Chef’s Race (12:30), Customer’s Race (1:00), and Waiter’s Race (2:30), with a special menu

THE LOSERS LOUNGE TRIBUTE TO SERGE GAINSBOURG

Joe’s Pub

425 Lafayette St. between East Fourth St. & Astor Pl.

Tickets: $25

212-967-7555

http://joespub.com

Saturday, July 14 Bastille Day Celebration, 7:00 & 9:30

DIETRICH & GARBO: SCREEN GODDESSES

Symphony Space, Leonard Nimoy Thalia

2537 Broadway at 95th St.

Through September 2

Tickets: $11

212-864-5400

http://symphonyspace.org

Saturday, July 14

and

Sunday, July 15 A FOREIGN AFFAIR (Billy Wilder, 1948), 6:00, and NINOTCHKA (Ernst Lubitsch, 1939), 8:15

Saturday, July 21

and

Sunday, July 22 BLONDE VENUS (Josef von Sternberg, 1932), 6:00, and CAMILLE (George Cukor, 1937), 7:45

FOLKS ON THE ISLAND

Ferry leaves from Battery Maritime Building, Slip 7, at 10 South St.

Saturdays at 1:30 from July 7 to July 28

Admission and ferry service: free

212-602-0768

http://www.folksontheisland.com

Saturday, July 14 Harry Chapin: A Celebration in Song, 1:30

Saturday, July 21 Richie Havens, 1:30

WARM UP 2006

P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center / MoMA

22-25 Jackson Ave. at 46th Ave.

Long Island City

Saturdays from 3:00 — 9:00 pm through September 1

Admission: $10, includes admission to art galleries, free from 12 noon to 2:00

718-784-2084

http://www.ps1.org

Saturday, July 14 Poni Hoax, the Penelopes, Frustration, Morpheus, JB Whiz, Ex Nihilo Cres, and Marina Rosenfeld and Zeena Perkins

Saturday, July 21 Dennis Ferrer, the Martinez Brothers, Eric Singer’s LEMUR (League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots), and special guests, hosted by Objektivity

SUMMER SESSIONS AT COOPER-HEWITT:
DESIGN + DJs + DANCING

Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum

2 East 92nd St. at Fifth Ave.

Friday nights through September 8 from 6:00 to 9:00

Free with museum admission of $12

212-849-8380

http://ndm.si.edu

Friday, July 14 DJ Shalako

Friday, July 21 Jeannie Hopper

THE BEACH PARTY:
A SATURDAY NIGHT GET DOWN AT WATER TAXI BEACH

Water Taxi Beach

Second St. & Borden Ave., Long Island City

Saturdays from 8:00 pm to 3:00 am

Cover charge: $3 (twenty-one and over only)

http://www.nywatertaxi.com

All shows will feature residents Justin Carter, Probus, and the Brothers’ Brothers in addition to the below special guests.

Saturday, July 14 DJ Gilb’R from Chateau Flight (Versatile)

Saturday, July 21 Turntables on the Hudson

CONEY ISLAND SATURDAY NIGHT FILM SERIES 2007

Coney Island Museum

1208 Surf Ave. between Stillwell Ave. and West 12th St.

Saturday nights at 8:30 through September 8

Tickets $5, including free popcorn

718-372-5159

http://www.coneyisland.com

Saturday, July 14 DOG DAY AFTERNOON (Sidney Lumet, 1975)

Saturday, July 21 KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE (Stephen Chiodo, 1988), preceded by FOOL (Lux Killmore)

JOHN ENTWISTLE FOUNDATION BENEFIT

B.B. King Blues Club & Grill

237 West 42nd St. between Seventh & Eighth Aves.

Tickets: $75

212-997-4144

http://www.bbkingblues.com

Sunday, July 15

and

Tuesday, July 17 Brian Johnson and Cliff Williams of AC/DC with special guests Mark Farner, Joe Lynn Turner, Steve Luongo, and Mark Hitt, playing new songs and classics by AC/DC, Deep Purple, Rainbow, Grand Funk, and more, raising money for "free music education and instruments for underprivileged children through the public library system," 8:00

CELEBRATE SCIENCE WITH SUMMER SUNDAYS 2007

Brookhaven National Laboratory

U.S. Department of Energy

William Floyd Pkwy. (County Road 46)

Sundays through August 19, 10:00 am - 3:00 pm

Whiz Bang Science Show: 10:30 am, 12 noon, 1:30 & 3:00 pm

Admission: free

631-344-2651

http://www.bnl.gov

Sunday, July 15 See with Invisible Light

Sunday, July 22 Explore the Frontier of Ultrasmall Science

HARLEM MEER PERFORMANCE FESTIVAL

Charles A. Dana Discovery Center

Inside Central Park at 110th St. & Lenox Ave.

Through September 30

Sundays at 4:00

Admission: free

212-860-1370

http://www.centralparknyc.org

Sunday, July 15 Max Pollak & Rumbatap

Sunday, July 22 Casym Steel Orchestra

SUMMERGARDEN 2007: NEW MUSIC FOR NEW YORK

Museum of Modern Art

Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden

July 8 — August 26

Gates open at 7:00, concerts begin at 8:00

Admission: free

http://moma.org

Sunday, July 15 Jazz Concert I: Marc Cary Focus Trio

Sunday, July 22 Juilliard Concert II: Music for String Quartet

SUMMER RESTAURANT WEEK 2007

July 16-20; July 23-27

Lunch: $24.07; dinner: $35

Reservations now being accepted

http://www.opentable.com

More than one hundred eateries will be offering prix-fixe lunches and/or dinners, including Aquavit, Artisanal, Asia de Cuba, Asiate, Aureole, Barbetta, Beacon, Blue Smoke, Butter, Café Boulud, Compass, Craftbar, davidburke & donatella, db Bistro Moderne, Devi, Estiatorio Milos, Fleur de Sel, Frankie & Johnny’s, Gotham Bar & Grill, Gramercy Tavern, Inagiku, JoJo, Megu, Nice Matin, Patroon, Payard, Riingo, the River Cafe, San Domenico, Smith & Wollensky, Spice Market, Steak Frites, SushiSamba, Tabla, the Modern, Union Square Cafe, Vong, and the ‘21’ Club, among dozens of others — but you better book your reservations fast.

THALIA READING SERIES

Symphony Space, Leonard Nimoy Thalia

2537 Broadway at 95th St.

July 16 — August 6

Admission: free

212-864-5400

http://symphonyspace.org

Monday, July 16 HELPERS, written by Isaiah Sheffer, directed by Eduardo Machado, followed by a Q&A with the cast and creative team, 7:00

Monday, July 23 THE SPLIT, written by Frank Strausser, directed by Michael Bush, followed by a Q&A with the cast and creative team, 7:00

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. CONCERT SERIES

Wingate Field

Winthrop St. between Brooklyn & Kingston Aves., across the street from Kings County Hospital

Monday nights at 7:30

Admission: free, chairs recommended

718-469-1912

http://www.brooklynconcerts.com/mlk

Monday, July 16 Annual Gospel Night, with Fred Hammond, Byron Cage, and Vanessa Bell Armstrong

Monday, July 23 An Evening of Smooth Grooves, with Boyz II Men and Ruben Studdard

MONDAY MOVIE SERIES

All Saints Parish Hall

707 Washington St.

Screenings begin at 6:30 pm

Discussion follows film

Admission: free, with free popcorn and seltzer

http://www.hobokeni.com

Monday, July 16 LILIES OF THE FIELD (Ralph Nelson, 1963)

Monday, July 23 HIGH SIERRA (Raoul Walsh, 1941)

2007 HBO BRYANT PARK SUMMER FILM FESTIVAL

Bryant Park

Sixth Ave. from 40th to 42nd Sts.

Monday nights through August 20

Lawn opens at 5:00 pm for blankets and picnicking

Films begin at dusk (between 8:00 & 9:00 pm)

Admission: free

212-512-5700/212-983-4142

http://www.bryantpark.org

Monday, July 16 TO SIR, WITH LOVE (James Clavell, 1967)

Monday, July 23 THE STING (George Roy Hill, 1973)

SUMMER BROADWAY FESTIVAL

The Town Hall

123 West 43rd St. between Sixth Ave. & Broadway

Monday nights at 8:00, July 16-30

Tickets: $35-$40 ($75-$90 for all three shows)

212-608-0555

http://www.the-townhall-nyc.org

Monday, July 16 A Night at the Operetta, with Christianne Noll, Sarah Jane McMahon, Douglas Ladnier, Marc Kudisch, and more, 8:00

Monday, July 23 Broadway’s Rising Stars, 8:00

Monday, July 30 All Singin! All Dancin! The Song & Dance of the Great White Way, with Kimberly Ziemba, Nancy Anderson, Joyce Chittick, Sean Martin Hingston, Nancy Lemenager, Julia Murney, Rachelle Rak, Megan Sikora, and more, 8:00

JAZZ IN JULY

92nd St. Y

1395 Lexington Ave. at 92nd St.

July 17-26 at 8:00

Tickets: $50 (6 concerts $234, 4 concerts $168)

212-415-5500

http://www.92ndsty.org

Tuesday, July 17 Phil Woods Plays Q and Ollie: The Music of Quincy Jones and Oliver Nelson

Wednesday, July 18 Cole Porter: All Through the Night

Thursday, July 19 Bird & Diz: Bebop Today

Tuesday, July 24 Moody’s Moods: An Evening with James Moody

Wednesday, July 25 Piano Jam

Thursday, July 26 Eddie Palmieri-Brian Lynch: Latin Rhythms

SUMMERSCREEN

McCarren Park Pool

Lorimer St. between Driggs & Bayard Aves.

Tuesdays through August 21

Live music at 7:00, screening at 9:00

Admission: free

718-596-3462

http://summerscreen.org

Tuesday, July 17 DAZED AND CONFUSED (Richard Linklater, 1993)

Tuesday, July 24 LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE FABULOUS STAINS (Lou Adler, 1981)

WASHINGTON SQUARE MUSIC FESTIVAL

Washington Square Park

Fifth Ave. below Eighth St. by Garibaldi statue

Rain space: NYU’s Frederick Loewe Theater, 35 West Fourth St.

Tuesday nights through July 31 at 8:00

Admission: free

212-252-3621

http://washingtonsquaremusicfestival.org

Tuesday, July 17 Gershwin/Weill — Music as Political Statement: Strike Up the Band, featuring mezzo Laila Maria Salins, bass baritone Steven Marking, and winds and strings arranged by Eric Saltzman

Tuesday, July 24 Music for Piano, Winds, and Strings: works by Rimsky-Korsavov, Mozart, and Kalkbrenner

VINCE GIORDANO AND THE NIGHTHAWKS

Iridium Jazz Club

1650 Broadway at 51st St.

Select Wednesday nights through August 29

Tickets: $25

212-582-2121

http://www.iridiumjazzclub.com

Wednesday, July 18

and

Wednesday, July 25 Vince Giordano leads his Nighthawks through jazz and popular classics of the 1920s and 1930s, from the more than thirty thousand big-band charts he keeps in his Brooklyn home, 7:30 & 9:30

NEW YORK MURDER MYSTERY NIGHT

Lower East Side Tenement Museum

108 Orchard St. between Delancey & Broome Sts.

Admission: free

212-982-8420

http://www.tenement.org

Thursday, July 19 Book readings and signings with Jed Rubenfeld, THE INTERPRETATION OF MURDER, and Joel Rose, THE BLACKEST BIRD, 6:00

UNDERGROUNDZERO FESTIVAL

Collective:Unconscious

279 Church St.

212-352-3101

http://www.weird.org

Thursday, July 19

through

Sunday, August 5 Deserving shows from the previous year are given reprise performances, highlighting some of the city’s best directors, writers, and actors in what is being billed as a "laboratory for a new model for the future of off-off Broadway where good productions can find a home and grow in a repertory setting"

LIDIA BASTIANICH

Sorrento Cheese Summer in Little Italy

DePalo’s Fine Foods

Mulberry St. at Hester St.

Admission: free

212-302-0551

http://www.littleitalynyconline.com

Saturday, July 21 Book signing and cooking lecture by Lidia Bastianich, host of LIDIA’S ITALY, introduced by Lou DePalo, 3:00

GRADY TATE QUINTET

Blue Note

131 West Third St.

Tickets: $25 table, $15 bar

212-475-8592

http://www.bluenote.net

Tuesday, July 24

and

Wednesday, July 25 Half Note CD Release Party for Grady Tate’s FROM THE HEART: SONGS SUNG LIVE AT THE BLUE NOTE, 8:00 & 10:30


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