SATAN SINCE 2003 is on the bill at Rooftop Films' night of dangerous documentaries
Crown Vic backyard
60 South Second St. at Wythe Ave.
Thursday, August 4, $10, 8:00
www.rooftopfilms.com
All summer long, Rooftop Films presents unusual, genre-bending independent shorts and features in wickedly cool outdoor locations, turning each event into a party. On Thursday, August 4, in the Crown Vic backyard in Williamsburg, they are hosting one of their craziest, “Dangerous Docs and Whisker Wars,” consisting of a half dozen documentaries that examine some pretty strange, offbeat characters, including former women’s professional wrestling champion Irma Gonzalez (Charles Fairbanks’s Irma), a group of dudes competing in the National Beard and Mustache Championship (Thom Beers’s Whisker Wars), the Hell’s Satans of Richmond, Virginia (Carlos Puga’s Satan Since 2003), the Guess Who’s Burton Cummings (Matthew Rankin’s Negativipeg), Polish mountain climber Piotr “Mad” Korczak (Marcin Koszałka’s Declaration of Immortality), and, well, the title says it all: the Zellner Bros.’ Sasquatch Birth Journal 2. The evening begins with live music from bicoastal acoustic folk rocker Elle King at 8:30 and is followed by an after-party at the Crown Vic.
TICKET GIVEAWAY: This Week in New York has three pairs of tickets to to give away for free for what should be a wild and crazy night. To be eligible to win, just send your name and daytime phone number to contest@twi-ny.com by Wednesday, August 3, at 12 noon. All entrants must be twenty-one years of age or older; three winners will be selected at random.
Liberally adapted from Scott Mitchell Rosenberg’s 2006 graphic novel, Cowboys & Aliens is a summer popcorn slice-and-dice mash-up of just about every Western and sci-fi flick you’ve ever seen. Boasting the producing talents of Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Steven Spielberg, Jon Favreau (who also directed), and others, the film pays tribute to its match-made-in-heaven dueling genres with references to such classic tales as The Searchers, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Unforgiven, Aliens, Blazing Saddles, War of the Worlds, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars, Stagecoach, Star Trek, The Magnificent Seven, Avatar, High Plains Drifter, Blade Runner, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Predator, True Grit, The Poseidon Adventure, and many more. Heck, they even throw in some zombies for good measure. In the dry, hot desert shortly after the Civil War, a stranger (Daniel Craig) with amnesia arrives in the small town of Absolution, sporting a six-shooter and a weird bracelet manacled to his left arm. Soon identified as wanted outlaw Jake Lonergan, he gets himself into trouble with Percy (Paul Dano), the bully son of wealthy cattle baron Woodrow Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford). But before Sheriff Taggart (Keith Carradine) can turn over Jake and Percy to the federal marshals, a massive attack comes down from the sky as flying machines start blowing everything up and stealing many of the town’s residents, including María (Ana de la Reguera), wife of the weak-willed Doc (Sam Rockwell), and Percy. So sworn enemies are forced to band together, along with the mysterious Ella Swenson (Olivia Wilde), to figure out just how they can get their loved ones back. Sure, the meandering plot gets unhinged time and time again — it’s never a good sign when half a dozen writers are attached to the story and screenplay — and the film lacks any James Bond–like, Han Solo/Indiana Jones–esque catchphrases, but Favreau (Elf, Iron Man) manages to hold it all together just enough to make Cowboys & Aliens a fun, out-of-this-world oater, even if it should have been better.
For The Interrupters, director, producer, and editor Steve James (Hoop Dreams, At the Death House Door) teamed up with journalist Alex Kotlowitz (There Are No Children Here) to hit the dangerous inner-city streets of Chicago with the men and women of CeaseFire, a grass-roots organization of former gang members who are now trying to stop the violence. Inspired by Kotlowitz’s New York Times Magazine article, the two men concentrate on three primary stories. Ameena Matthews, the Muslim daughter of notorious gang leader Jeff Fort, is working with a deeply troubled young woman who’d rather fight than flee, even if it means being sent back to prison. Cobe Williams has his hands full with the angry, recently released Flamo, who thinks the whole world is against him. And Eddie Bocanegra is attempting to come to grips with a cold-blooded revenge murder he committed when he was a teenager by visiting schools and talking about turning his life around. One of the most poignant moments of the film occurs when Williams brings Lil Mikey back to the barbershop he and several of his cohorts robbed at gunpoint as he again faces some of his victims. Matthews, Williams, and Bocanegra are paid employees of CeaseFire, which was founded by Dr. Gary Slutkin, an epidemiologist who believes that violence is a disease that can be treated in similar ways, and is run by Tio Hardman, who handles his extremely tough task with intelligence and dignity as he deals with what he calls “the madness.” But in a society in which “words’ll get you killed,” as Matthews says early on, these tireless violence interrupters put their own lives on the line every day, battling a sickness that seems to have no end in sight. The award-winning film, a hit at numerous film festivals, felt a bit long at its original 144 minutes, but James has since edited it down to a more streamlined 124 minutes for its theatrical release, which begins July 29 at the IFC Center. James, Kotlowitz, Williams, and coproducer Zak Piper will be on hand for several opening-weekend screenings to talk about the film and CeaseFire. In conjunction with the release of The Interrupters, the Maysles Institute is hosting “
