This is just a fascinating movie. It is simple enough when bad things happen to good people; in this case bad things happen to pretty flawed people, but it's clear that just because people are flawed doesn't mean they deserve such things.
Since we saw a production of The Crucible recently, this movie made me think of witch hunts and also the later prohibition against spectral evidence. This movie makes you wonder whether cases (about physical crimes) without a shred of physical evidence should be allowed to go forward.
Unusually for us, immediately after we finished the movie, we started watching it again with the director's commentary on, just to get whatever additional bits of information we could.
Highly recommended.
02 December 2007
28 November 2007
Hyperbolic Crocheted Beauty
At the Chicago Cultural Center right now is a remarkable exhibition of work created or curated by the Los Angeles-based Institute for Figuring. Fiber artists have managed to use crochet needles and yarn (as well as other materials such as discarded plastic) to recreate the forms and colors associated with coral reefs.
It sounds like a corny idea, I know, but this work is startlingly beautiful.
The only drawback of the exhibit is that you can't touch.
It sounds like a corny idea, I know, but this work is startlingly beautiful.
The only drawback of the exhibit is that you can't touch.
Fine Field Exhibits
Been to the Field Museum of Natural History a couple of times in the past few weeks and was able to see two excellent exhibits. One, in a small, new gallery, showcases manuscripts and other texts from the Field's collection, and includes a letter with Darwin's signature, a journal in John James Audubon's hand, and lots of other cool stuff.
The other is part of the vaunted 2007 Chicago Map Festival, and is full of really interesting objects, such as a map of ocean swells made of sticks, used by native Marshall Islanders; the London tube map (remarkable for its eschewal of accurate scale and angle in favor of navigational clarity); early maps of "the 4th part of the world" (North and South America; called fourth after Europe, Africa, and Asia), and narrative offering useful distinctions such as navigational v. network maps.
We plan to return to see the map exhibit again this weekend, as we didn't spend as much time there as we'd have liked; perhaps we'll also get a chance to see the Darwin exhibit.
We have such great museums. Was sad to realize I missed the Richard Misrach show (ended this weekend). No excuse for that.
The other is part of the vaunted 2007 Chicago Map Festival, and is full of really interesting objects, such as a map of ocean swells made of sticks, used by native Marshall Islanders; the London tube map (remarkable for its eschewal of accurate scale and angle in favor of navigational clarity); early maps of "the 4th part of the world" (North and South America; called fourth after Europe, Africa, and Asia), and narrative offering useful distinctions such as navigational v. network maps.
We plan to return to see the map exhibit again this weekend, as we didn't spend as much time there as we'd have liked; perhaps we'll also get a chance to see the Darwin exhibit.
We have such great museums. Was sad to realize I missed the Richard Misrach show (ended this weekend). No excuse for that.
The Man in the Chair
This is an amateur-ish movie about amateurism, even though the cast includes an array of pros (not least Christopher Plummer, who delivers a terrific performance), and the movie is ostensibly about a group of seasoned (if long-retired) professionals assisting a film-loving high-school delinquent in making his first movie.
But the most important thing about all of the characters in the movie is their love for their work--amateur by definition. The script even includes that old saw, "Love your job and you'll never work a day in your life." (The quotation is attributed to Churchill, which I could not verify; rather, the source seems to be Confucius.)
Regardless, it is a charming movie in the way that amateurs are charming; and annoying in that way also. The script isn't as good as it could be, the experimental effects are a little grating, the generation gap signals not so well chosen; however, the movie has a winning sweetness overall, and is finally quite moving.
Especially recommended for film buffs.
But the most important thing about all of the characters in the movie is their love for their work--amateur by definition. The script even includes that old saw, "Love your job and you'll never work a day in your life." (The quotation is attributed to Churchill, which I could not verify; rather, the source seems to be Confucius.)
Regardless, it is a charming movie in the way that amateurs are charming; and annoying in that way also. The script isn't as good as it could be, the experimental effects are a little grating, the generation gap signals not so well chosen; however, the movie has a winning sweetness overall, and is finally quite moving.
Especially recommended for film buffs.
14 November 2007
Taste
It's been a little frustrating to see all the great reviews of Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, in spite of my pretty vehement reaction against it. Usually it's the other way (I like something and reviews don't). Makes me feel like I've missed the boat, but when I actually read the reviews, I feel like they have; they point out the parts that I agree were excellent(acting, dialogue) and ignore the whole, which--for me--just didn't hold together.
Filed in: Movies
01 November 2007
RIP
I have been holding on to a high school alumni newsletter for weeks because it reports the death of someone I knew. Not a good friend, but a boy I acted with in a play. Not a very nice boy, either--except for our scenes together I doubt we exchanged five words. Amazing that he had this whole other life (wife, kids, friends who remember him as kind and caring)--while persisting in my memory as one of many minor high school tormentors.
Filed in: Thinking
15 October 2007
Argyle Street
We have been up to Argyle Street a couple of times in the past several weeks, and I think we'll be returning more and more often. This area offers a heavy concentration of Vietnamese restaurants, with a couple Thai and Chinese places mixed in.
On our most recent visit, we tried our first banh mi sandwich at Ba Le, on the corner of N Broadway and Argyle. Lemon grass pork. It was like a Vietnamese salad in French bread. Amazing. And so cheap! Three bucks. (And when you buy five you get one free.) This has got to turn into a lunch destination for me. It's a long walk, but the bus ride is not bad.
After devouring the sandwich, we crossed the street to Tank. We sat at a communal round table rather than waiting for a table for two to become available. That was kind of fun and different.
Our first visit to Tank, shortly after we moved to Chicago, did not excite us, but I think we ordered the wrong thing. Victor remembers we ordered a rice noodle bowl. The specialty here is really the pho, which is what we ordered this time. And were utterly delighted. Deeply flavorful.
On this visit I also noticed Thai Grocery for the first time (a few doors south of Ba Le) and we wandered around there for a while, wishing we had such a place in our neighborhood. Will definitely return to do some shopping.
Since we have plenty of decent places to eat in our immediate neighborhood, it is very easy to fall into a rut. It feels good to make the effort to enjoy places that may require a bit of a longer walk or bus ride.
We live in a great food city.
On our most recent visit, we tried our first banh mi sandwich at Ba Le, on the corner of N Broadway and Argyle. Lemon grass pork. It was like a Vietnamese salad in French bread. Amazing. And so cheap! Three bucks. (And when you buy five you get one free.) This has got to turn into a lunch destination for me. It's a long walk, but the bus ride is not bad.
After devouring the sandwich, we crossed the street to Tank. We sat at a communal round table rather than waiting for a table for two to become available. That was kind of fun and different.
Our first visit to Tank, shortly after we moved to Chicago, did not excite us, but I think we ordered the wrong thing. Victor remembers we ordered a rice noodle bowl. The specialty here is really the pho, which is what we ordered this time. And were utterly delighted. Deeply flavorful.
On this visit I also noticed Thai Grocery for the first time (a few doors south of Ba Le) and we wandered around there for a while, wishing we had such a place in our neighborhood. Will definitely return to do some shopping.
Since we have plenty of decent places to eat in our immediate neighborhood, it is very easy to fall into a rut. It feels good to make the effort to enjoy places that may require a bit of a longer walk or bus ride.
We live in a great food city.
Filed in: Food
Jump!
This is an entertaining documentary about a little-known sport: jump rope. The Double-Dutch feats that I remember marveling at when I was a kid have evolved into an elaborate sport that combines skipping rope, gymnastics, and breakdancing.
The movie follows some of the country's best (high-school and college-age) jump rope teams as they compete for regional, national, and international championships. The sport is seeking Olympic recognition, but (the director, who was present at the screening noted) this is a long way off.
Fun to watch.
The movie follows some of the country's best (high-school and college-age) jump rope teams as they compete for regional, national, and international championships. The sport is seeking Olympic recognition, but (the director, who was present at the screening noted) this is a long way off.
Fun to watch.
Filed in: Movies
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
This is the best movie I've ever seen that totally sucked. It has a fabulous cast (Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei, Rosemary Harris, Albert Finney), and very sharp individual scenes, some of which are extremely moving. So it's not that the screenwriter is totally bad.
However, it's a case where the whole is dramatically less than the sum of its parts. I think the Achilles' heel is the plot: how can you make a satisfying story about sympathetic characters, brothers, who decide to rob their parents' shop and in the process get their mother killed? They have to be sympathetic because otherwise you don't want to keep watching; but how can you justify such behavior? Well, the older brother (it turns out) is an embezzling junkie--doesn't that explain everything? And the younger brother is a terminal screwup--he'll pretty much do anything his older brother asks if he gets bullied enough. And there's more: pick a dysfunctional family trope and it's probably inserted somewhere in this story.
You watch attentively all the way through (while perhaps muttering, "What a family!" to yourself) because of the magnetic characterizations, and because you just have to see how it all turns out--in this sense, the movie totally works--but when the end comes, and the screen goes white, you feel robbed. That was it? You're left contemplating the movie's logic, and then it all falls apart--if the guy needed money, why didn't he just sell his expensive car? Why didn't he rob the drug dealer in the first place? What about the other brother? Where does the sister fit in all this?
Etc., etc. Not at all recommended.
However, it's a case where the whole is dramatically less than the sum of its parts. I think the Achilles' heel is the plot: how can you make a satisfying story about sympathetic characters, brothers, who decide to rob their parents' shop and in the process get their mother killed? They have to be sympathetic because otherwise you don't want to keep watching; but how can you justify such behavior? Well, the older brother (it turns out) is an embezzling junkie--doesn't that explain everything? And the younger brother is a terminal screwup--he'll pretty much do anything his older brother asks if he gets bullied enough. And there's more: pick a dysfunctional family trope and it's probably inserted somewhere in this story.
You watch attentively all the way through (while perhaps muttering, "What a family!" to yourself) because of the magnetic characterizations, and because you just have to see how it all turns out--in this sense, the movie totally works--but when the end comes, and the screen goes white, you feel robbed. That was it? You're left contemplating the movie's logic, and then it all falls apart--if the guy needed money, why didn't he just sell his expensive car? Why didn't he rob the drug dealer in the first place? What about the other brother? Where does the sister fit in all this?
Etc., etc. Not at all recommended.
Filed in: Movies
12 October 2007
Katha Pollitt
After yesterday's terrible movie I hopped a bus north to Women & Children First to try and save my evening. Katha Pollitt was reading from her new book, Learning to Drive.
I tried not to let the man who sat next to me after the reading started--tall and sprawling, in a red-white-and-blue top hat and a cape made out of an American flag--ruin my experience. But I thought, That's what I get for coming to something alone, and having an empty chair next to me.
I'd seen Pollitt once before, but only briefly, at an Auden tribute that was part of the New Yorker Festival a couple years ago. So this was a treat. I bought her new book before the reading. As I waited for her to sign it, I said, "You're my hero."
She said, not too pleased, "That's a heavy burden."
I said, "I know, I'm sorry." Shrug.
You always wish for something more intelligent to say, but nothing comes. On my way down Clark Street later, I thought I should have said, "You and Grace Paley." Which is true, and might have led to some conversation.
I tried not to let the man who sat next to me after the reading started--tall and sprawling, in a red-white-and-blue top hat and a cape made out of an American flag--ruin my experience. But I thought, That's what I get for coming to something alone, and having an empty chair next to me.
I'd seen Pollitt once before, but only briefly, at an Auden tribute that was part of the New Yorker Festival a couple years ago. So this was a treat. I bought her new book before the reading. As I waited for her to sign it, I said, "You're my hero."
She said, not too pleased, "That's a heavy burden."
I said, "I know, I'm sorry." Shrug.
You always wish for something more intelligent to say, but nothing comes. On my way down Clark Street later, I thought I should have said, "You and Grace Paley." Which is true, and might have led to some conversation.
Filed in: Books
The Man from London
This movie reminded me of a paper I wrote in a "Teaching Creative Writing" class in grad school, in which I said that bad writing doesn't hurt anybody. The professor wrote in the margins that this was a very generous attitude, but in fact, bad art does cause harm: it steals time.
And that's how I felt about this movie. I'll never get those two hours back again.
And that's how I felt about this movie. I'll never get those two hours back again.
Filed in: Movies
10 October 2007
Chicago 10
This is the kind of movie you hope to see when you go to a film festival: creative, surprising, inspired and inspiring. This movie tells the story of the Chicago 8 (sometimes called the Chicago 7, but this leaves out Bobby Seale, the Black Panther who was bound and gagged in court, and then severed from the case early on). The defendants were accused of traveling across state lines to incite a riot. The movie title counts 10 to include the two lawyers, William Kunstler and Leonard Weinglass, who were (along with the defendants) convicted of contempt.
The movie uses archival footage, music, and (most surprisingly) animation to tell the story of the 1968 protests in Chicago and the subsequent trial. You can't believe what you're seeing, but everything is based on transcripts, so you know at least the words are true. While I was not enamored of the music, on the whole this is a splendid recreation.
The director, Brett Morgen, was present after the screening and answered some questions. Ever concerned about accuracy, I asked about the basis for the visual portion of the animation. He discussed all the research they did to try to recreate the courtroom.
People asked questions about surprising things. One man asked whether Morgen felt his film was a "balanced" portrayal. Victor yelled out, "What other side is there? They were all acquitted later!" A woman asked whether Morgen really felt that all the humor was appropriate. Another woman asked what movies inspired Morgen in making this movie; when he said none, another woman accused him of dissembling, because he had used footage from Medium Cool.
Strange audience but great movie.
The movie uses archival footage, music, and (most surprisingly) animation to tell the story of the 1968 protests in Chicago and the subsequent trial. You can't believe what you're seeing, but everything is based on transcripts, so you know at least the words are true. While I was not enamored of the music, on the whole this is a splendid recreation.
The director, Brett Morgen, was present after the screening and answered some questions. Ever concerned about accuracy, I asked about the basis for the visual portion of the animation. He discussed all the research they did to try to recreate the courtroom.
People asked questions about surprising things. One man asked whether Morgen felt his film was a "balanced" portrayal. Victor yelled out, "What other side is there? They were all acquitted later!" A woman asked whether Morgen really felt that all the humor was appropriate. Another woman asked what movies inspired Morgen in making this movie; when he said none, another woman accused him of dissembling, because he had used footage from Medium Cool.
Strange audience but great movie.
Filed in: Movies
09 October 2007
La France
Another day, another film festival movie. We didn't get this one, though. Victor was willing to give it more credit than I was ("maybe all the absurdity was a metaphor for the absurdity of the first world war..."). While it was watchable, it just didn't make any sense.
Or else I'm not smart enough to figure it out.
Or else I'm not smart enough to figure it out.
Filed in: Movies
08 October 2007
On the Wings of Dreams
This was the first movie of this year's Chicago Film Festival that we felt really good about. The Bangladeshi film shows what happens to a poor family when a wad of foreign currency is found in a pair of secondhand pants.
It would be easy if they recognized the currency, but they don't. The movie follows the family in the week or two that it takes to figure out what--if anything--the currency is worth, and along the way offers some beautiful landscapes and scenes of family life.
There's nothing clever in this movie; just straightforward storytelling and solid performances that offer a window into another world.
It would be easy if they recognized the currency, but they don't. The movie follows the family in the week or two that it takes to figure out what--if anything--the currency is worth, and along the way offers some beautiful landscapes and scenes of family life.
There's nothing clever in this movie; just straightforward storytelling and solid performances that offer a window into another world.
Filed in: Movies
Blackout
We saw this as part of the Chicago Film Festival and were pretty disappointed. First disappointment was that they screened the movie with a big fat timestamp running across the bottom of the screen. Second was that the soundtrack had problems. But mostly it was disappointing because in spite of terrific performances, the movie really suffered from unimaginative writing. The plot was one cliche after another.
Still, it was watchable. You just kept hoping it wouldn't go where you expected. Unfortunately, it did, every time.
Still, it was watchable. You just kept hoping it wouldn't go where you expected. Unfortunately, it did, every time.
I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With
We saw this movie in a special presentation at the Music Box Saturday night, and Jeff Garlin answered questions afterward. That was really fun, and he was really funny.
The movie itself had a lot of good laughs and was probably extra fun for Chicagoans because of all the local shots. But it felt kind of slapped together; somehow it wasn't very cohesive.
Still, glad we saw it.
The movie itself had a lot of good laughs and was probably extra fun for Chicagoans because of all the local shots. But it felt kind of slapped together; somehow it wasn't very cohesive.
Still, glad we saw it.
Filed in: Movies
Charm School
This movie, which we saw as part of the Chicago Film Festival, was entertaining, but did not knock our socks off. It's a light comedy about a young woman whose politician father has had enough of her scandalous antics--they're threatening his career. So he sends her to an old fashioned charm school.
Nothing happens that you wouldn't expect, but the characters and performances are all very appealing. The ending (where everything must be put right) is a rushed mess, though.
Nothing happens that you wouldn't expect, but the characters and performances are all very appealing. The ending (where everything must be put right) is a rushed mess, though.
Local Girls
Alice Hoffman is a wonder. Her sentences are so compelling that you just want to keep turning pages, regardless of the subject matter. While I don't think she ever writes "once upon a time," her narratives have a fairy tale quality, and her frequent use of hyperbole seems to rise naturally from this tone, so that you take the exaggerations literally and enter more deeply into her imagined world.
Local Girls, which was misplaced on my bookshelf (among novels instead of short story collections) consists of linked stories about a family that's falling apart--during the time covered by the stories, the parents divorce, the A-student son becomes a drug addict and dies in the street, the mother sickens and dies of cancer, and the daughter falls in love with a dope dealer. From this material, Hoffman manages to create a book that you don't want to put down.
Local Girls, which was misplaced on my bookshelf (among novels instead of short story collections) consists of linked stories about a family that's falling apart--during the time covered by the stories, the parents divorce, the A-student son becomes a drug addict and dies in the street, the mother sickens and dies of cancer, and the daughter falls in love with a dope dealer. From this material, Hoffman manages to create a book that you don't want to put down.
Filed in: Books
Book of Dragons
This book by E. Nesbit, the author of The Railway Children, is a selection of fantastic tales, suitable for young children, about a variety of dragons. Very enjoyable. My favorite story is the first, which is about a young king who inadvertently lets a dangerous dragon escape from a book (which he wasn't supposed to be reading, anyway); he then has to figure out how to save his country from the terrible beast.
Filed in: Books
A Handbook for Visitors from Outer Space
This book by Kathryn Kramer has been sitting (incorrectly) in my science fiction bookcase possibly for around 20 years--I don't remember when I got it, but it was published in 1987, and I just may have been lugging it along for most the years that have passed since.
A couple weeks ago I realized I was feeling kind of blue at about the same time that I realized I hadn't actually finished reading a book in several weeks (I'd been mostly reading magazines). So I stopped what I was doing and blazed through a few things, including this novel, which--in spite of its title--is not science fiction (though it has its fantastic aspects).
It is an odd book, well written but full of gothic twists--an exiled royal family, relatives in love with each other, wasting diseases, misunderstandings that last years, and envelopes that never reach their target. Readable, entertaining, and sad.
And now shelved (properly) in the general fiction section.
A couple weeks ago I realized I was feeling kind of blue at about the same time that I realized I hadn't actually finished reading a book in several weeks (I'd been mostly reading magazines). So I stopped what I was doing and blazed through a few things, including this novel, which--in spite of its title--is not science fiction (though it has its fantastic aspects).
It is an odd book, well written but full of gothic twists--an exiled royal family, relatives in love with each other, wasting diseases, misunderstandings that last years, and envelopes that never reach their target. Readable, entertaining, and sad.
And now shelved (properly) in the general fiction section.
Filed in: Books
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