Monday, October 23, 2006

This and That

A "what the heck" moment: Walked into Parisian (a nice department store) over the weekend. Saw a LONG line of people, some sporting KISS t-shirts and makeup. I made my way past the line and saw Gene Simmons on a platform touting his new line of fragrances for men and women. Someone who was with me confirmed that it was him, since Simmons wasn't sporting the makeup. Um, the heck?! KISS perfume and cologne?! Now, I'm hard-pressed to name a single KISS song (someone did tell me they did the one about rocking and rolling every night and partying every day, which I've heard). When I think of KISS, I think of something like, say, "Back in Black," which is not even a KISS song. If I hadn't been afraid of, I dunno, getting attacked and having my head ripped off or something, I should have yelled out, "Hey, Gene—back in black, baby!" Heh.

A mess of a movie: Watched Bunny Lake Is Missing. Wondered if The Zombies produced this film, as the movie managed to randomly insert performances by them here and there throughout. Scenario: Two main characters walk into a pub to talk about a missing girl. Cut to a TV set in the pub. Show a couple of minutes of The Zombies performing. Later, have the heroine escape from the hospital by finding her way through a back exit. A man near the exit is listening to the radio, which is conveniently playing the same song by The Zombies. Dumb. And then there was Noel Coward's very bizarre cameo. And a silly ending that just went on and on and on....

Greek to me: I ordered a used copy of the Tri-Danielson Alpha CD from a vendor at Amazon. It arrived today, and as I looked through the track listing, I noticed that something was amiss. Where was "Rubbernecker"? Where was "Pottymouth"? Where was "Lord Did You Hear Harrison"? Hmm. Then I realized I'd been sent Omega instead. That's what happens when you don't know your Greek alphabet, I guess, since the title's not spelled out anywhere. (Of course, you could go by the fact that the background for the cover art is black on one disc and white on another.) But now I know the symbol for omega, anyway. No crisis, since I don't have this CD yet, but this is the old original version, and some things were changed, I think, for the rerelease. Hmm.

And speaking of Danielson...

Thank the good Lord above for: Daniel Smith (plus the family/famile) and all of the various incarnations of Danielson (Famile, Br., Ship, Tri-). This music makes me feel happy in unhappy times. "Give it up and crawl on through!"

Friday, October 13, 2006

Sidewalk Overview

So, it's been almost three weeks since the Sidewalk festival. It already feels like it's been much longer. During the event, downtown Birmingham seemed to be throwing parties right and left. Besides Sidewalk, the area hosted a jazz festival and a Greek food festival, along with an upstart film festival called Cakewalk (the founder says his purpose is to screen films that don't make it into Sidewalk, but some locals say this is a case of sour grapes). And if any theatergoer felt the need to rest his or her eyes, Sidewalk also featured a music café with live bands. There really was something to do around every corner.

I hate to admit it, but this was my very first film festival, so there was a learning curve, of course. Actually, things got started with a bit of ticket confusion. (Lesson learned: Don't listen when they tell you that you can pick up tickets at ANY venue—it's not true!) But all my friend and I suffered was a hasty and hot eight-block walk; we picked up the tickets and made it back to our venue warm and flustered but with time to spare before our first viewing. Aside from that, everything else ran pretty smoothly. What followed were two hectic, exhausting, and delightful days.

Another thing: It didn't pay to be too attached to the idea of eating regular meals. Films usually started a bit late, and then Q&As followed, resulting in 30-40 minute breaks between screenings, usually just enough time to get from one venue to the other, stand in line, find a seat, etc. Eventually we had to skip a screening because, you know, people have a way of getting hungry.

One last thing: Wow, I had no idea sitting and watching movies could be so exhausting. I was totally wiped out at the end of both days. And I never noticed how painful it can be to sit for so long.

Lest you think I'm complaining too much, let me just say that the fest was a blast. What really struck me about Sidewalk was its egalitarian nature. Sidewalk is an independent film festival, after all—there are no red carpets, and if you want to speak to a director, you go up to him or her and do so. Actually, the director of my favorite screening of the weekend (Danielson: A Family Movie) kept popping up at other screenings I attended. We must have similar tastes.

It's amazing that three of the films I saw (all documentaries) looked at the role faith plays in the various subjects' lives. In all of the films, people discussed the ways they felt God was working through them. This really became the message of the weekend, as I heard remarkably similar speeches from three very different people in three very different films. Two of the films were enjoyable (Danielson and Awake, My Soul). One was not (Jesus Camp). But more on those later, hopefully.

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Well, well, well...

Didn't I say I'd post about my Sidewalk experience? I guess I need to keep my mouth shut. Anyway, sorry for the delay. These days, writing anything is a bit like pulling teeth (it seems like I say that all the time). I don't know why I have such a hard time getting myself to write; it's very frustrating. And then, of course, there are time limitations, too. But I haven't given up the idea of posting something. An overview is almost done and should be up before too long, hopefully.

In other news, I'm excited about some new music I'm just getting into. Any time I "discover" a new artist, I always throw myself into the deep end. I'm usually years late to the game, but I make up for being tardy by being ridiculously enthusiastic. I'm thinking about an upcoming music post, too. Wait, did I just open my mouth again?!

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

September Film Journal

Ossessione (Luchino Visconti, 1943)
Adam Had Four Sons (Gregory Ratoff, 1941)
Kurosawa (Adam Low, 2001)
Jackie Brown (Quentin Tarantino, 1997)
The Bad Sleep Well (Akira Kurosawa, 1960)
Little Dieter Needs to Fly (Werner Herzog, 1997)
Enduring Love (Roger Michell, 2004)
Capturing the Friedmans (Andrew Jarecki, 2003)
Distant (Nuri Bilge Ceylan, 2002)
The White Sheik (Federico Fellini, 1952)
The Nutty Professor (Jerry Lewis, 1963)
Pollock (Ed Harris, 2000)
The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (Cristi Puiu, 2005)
A Tale of Springtime (Eric Rohmer, 1990)
When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (Spike Lee, 2006) (special screening at work)
Force of Evil (Abraham Polonsky, 1948)

* * *

Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival Films:

Geocaching: From the Web to the World (Jeff Orlowski and Tessa Banks, 2006) (short)
10 MPH (Hunter Weeks, 2006)
Danielson: A Family Movie (or, Make a Joyful Noise HERE) (J.L. Aronson, 2006)
Paralegal (Eric Lane, 2006) (short)
LOL (Joseph Swanberg, 2006) (I'm cheating here because I had to leave early, but I saw most of it.)
Stickmen (David Possien and Clint Martin, 2006) (short)
The Man with Apple-Shaped Boxing Gloves (Jason LaRay Keener and Jeremiah Ledbetter, 2006) (short)
Goodbye Beautiful Day (David Possein, 2006) (short)
Monday Monday Monday Monday (Daniel Scheinert, Stuart Webb, and Zach Rucker, 2006) (short)
The Dogwood Trees (Lee Fanning, 2006) (short)
'Til Death (Nadia Perry, 2006) (short)
Time and Tide (Julie Bayer and Josh Salzman, 2006)
Awake, My Soul (Matt and Erica Hinton, 2006)
Jesus Camp (Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, 2006)

* * *

Italics denote a theater viewing.