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Archive: November, 2009
In this week's Kaleidoscope, I wrote about the classic, cult-y '60s TV show The Prisoner:
I can't speak for the remake premi'ring on Nov. 15 (AMC, 8 p.m.), but there are few shows like the cult '60s British TV show The Prisoner , now available on DVD. Created by and starring Patrick McGoohan, The Prisoner follows a defected secret agent who is taken to an ostensibly idyllic island called The Village, where his name is replaced by a number and he's not allowed to leave. Exploring themes of identity and free will, The Prisoner is a milestone; television has rarely been so deep or engrossing.
As I said above, I couldn't vouch for AMC's remake, starring ultimate badass Ian McKellan and Jesus/Jim Caviezel. The six-day miniseries premiered yesterday with the first two episodes. It was awful. Like, laughably so. There are similarities in style and structure to the original McGoohan series but adds fast cuts and editing tricks that make it look like film school project. McKellan can't be taking this thing seriously, camping it up as the mysterious and powerful 2 (unlike the series, McKellan's 2 stays the same). But his arch line delivery also doubles as the show's few highlights, especially in the face of ridiculous and unnecessary character development (yo, what's up with 1112, McKellan's son? If his sole purpose within the series is to pout his lips and have fabulous cheekbones, he's doing a stellar job).
That being said, I will most likely watch tonight's installment because I'm a glutton for punishment/find the entire thing hilarious. Any of you guys watch it? What did you think?
AMC is certainly no villain in this situation, if only because they are awesome enough to post the entirety of the original series online. Seriously, watch this. First episode below:
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| Josh Middleton |
There were a lot of tits and ass at the Peaches show. But what else would you expect from the illustrious queen of raunch? Yeah, at 43 she may be sporting a bit of a belly pooch but that didn't keep her from gyrating, humping and stroking anything in sight during her nearly two-hour show. It only made it better.
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| Josh Middleton |
Opening was Philly artist Amanda Blank, who A.D. Amorosi gave the cover treatment to back in July, who was on fire in a tiny, one-piece bathing suit with holes in all the right places. She performed her hit "Might Like You Better," but her most explosive performance was a rad mash-up of L.L. Cool J's 'I Need Love' and Santogold's 'I'm A Lady.'
Peaches hit the stage hypnotizing the audience with her 'pussy light' (her words), which was situated snuggly in her crotch-al region. She sang most of her best songs, including 'Set it Off,' 'Shake Your Dix' and 'Tombstone.' The stand-out moment, though, was a futuristic laser light instrument, which shot up from the ground like green, luminescent harp strings. She and her band created sound by strumming their hands through the beams. It was crazy cool.
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| Josh Middleton |
Contrary to shallower, ageist previews of Peaches' this week in another local weekly, she was in true form and pumped all night long. She only stopped long enough to take a swig from a bottle of champagne, which she then spewed all over the audience.
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| Josh Middleton |
When it came time for an encore she did not one, but two. The only complaint I have is that she didn't play to the entire audience. There's no sense in hatin' on a lady because she's had a few more birthdays than the rest of us. If you got it, you got it and Friday night Peaches proved she has all that and a little more. Do your thang, sister.
Admit it, you want more from this week's Movies Section.
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire ' B+
Shaun Brady gives you the full scoop on Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire from Philly-native Lee Daniels (verdict: Daniels is up to the same melodramatic tricks but they work this time around due to strong performances) but, as loyal CP readers will know, we had A.D. Amorosi interview Daniels when he took Sundance by storm:
Unlike Woodsman and Shadowboxer, Daniels shot Push in Manhattan. He hated it. It wasn't fun. "I wasn't home," says Daniels referring to Philly. Yes, he lives in New York City now. "But shooting there? There're so many other famous directors doing likewise. You're just one more. They don't treat you well. Yawn." So he shut down production and called in his Philly crew to take over. Lee Daniels is unstoppable no matter what Manhattan film crews or persnickety critics think. "Do people in the film biz think I'm crazy?" he asks, rephrasing a more delicately put question about his image. He laughs. "I don't care what anyone thinks except my mother, my kids and my God. If I cared what people thought I'd be in Hollywood."
2012 ' C-
Brief Interviews With Hideous Men ' C
Gentlemen Broncos ' D
The Maid (La nana) ' A
Pirate Radio ' C-
(Untitled) ' C-
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| mtv.com |
| DJ AM |
DJ AM was the Imelda Marcos of the turntable set. So when the Philly native OD'd in August, fans were saddened then greatly concerned. According to the Las Vegas Sun,
His death in August rendered his music his legacy and both the plane crash and his social life relatively irrelevant. Beyond the obvious questions of 'Why?' the other question left unanswered in the eyes of fans was what would happen to his massive shoe collection.
I actually think "How?" would probably be next, considering a coroner's report didn't come out until September, but sure, let's latch onto this shoe thing.
AM's massive sneaks collection, totaling over 800 pairs, will go up for sale on EBay this Sunday, November 15 at 4:30 p.m. and continue through Monday, December 14 at ebay.com/djamshoes. According to the piece, "Up for sale are both worn and unworn items from Goldstein's collection, including one of 200 pairs of Nike PlayStation Air Force 1s and one of 50 pairs of Eminem Air Jordan 4s, along with Supreme Dunks; Supa Dunks; Hyperstrikes; Air Jordan PEs; and other rare, retro and limited-edition shoes."
What weirds me out the most ' other than the fact that I can't stop making terrible walking in another man's shoes/dead man walking puns in my head ' is this line from the Sun article, "The auction will help solidify Goldstein's shoes as part of the DJ's legacy." Is that what he really wants to be remembered for? Sweet kicks? I guess if your collection is that defining, it makes sense. 'And it's way better than having your legacy be defined by your involvement in Crazy Town.
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It seems like we've been teasing about putting up a new Critical Mass banner since the Mesozoic era, and here it finally is ' courtesy of our art intern Esen Pence and designer Carrie South. In honor of this great day, we're also launching our new banner policy. Let me explain:
We're big fans of local artists here at Critical Mass. We love the art stars like Zoe Strauss; we love the up-and-comers; and we love the little guys who haven't made it into a gallery yet. So, in hopes of promoting all of these artist types while also sprucing up our Web page, we're inviting everyone and anyone to submit a piece of work that could become our new Critical Mass banner. There are only two requirements: It needs to say "Critical Mass" somewhere, and it needs to fit into our dimensions (612 x 242 pixels, 72 dpi). Other than that, you're free as a bird. It can be a photograph, a painting, a collage, a pen-and-ink piece, a graphic illustration ' whatever, so long as it's visual. And it doesn't have to depict the arts in any way at all ' for example, it can be as tangential as our Halloween banner. We'll put the winners up for one month long each, with the first one going up Dec. 1.
You can submit as many works as you'd like, whenever you'd like, to criticalmass@citypaper.net. We will not use the pieces for any other purpose than as our Critical Mass banner, and along with each new banner, we'll do a post on the artist who created it.
Please tell, e-mail, tweet and RT this post to all of your artist friends and contacts ' and hit us up with any questions in the comments! Good luck!
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| Joe Boruchow |
We missed the Nov. 11 opening of "Public Service" at Bean Caf' (615 South St., 215-629-2250), and shame on us ' Joe Boruchow's cut-paper works display Philly, in all its funkiness and despicableness, with a kind of loving understanding that any local can respect. Any follower of Boruchow's is used to seeing his pieces nailed to telephone poles and other makeshift outdoor galleries, but we're happy to say they work just as well in a proper caf'. The exhibit will be up through Dec. 8.
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With its script-ish feuds and jabs that only look like they're hitting, hip-hop is starting to feel like the old-school WWF. Remember when Hulk Hogan was a "bad guy" for a second there? Check this press release:
Everybody wanted to know what would come out of the diss record that Beanie Sigel recorded about Jay-Z two weeks ago. After that record dropped, 50 Cent got a chance to talk to Beans about possible jumping to G-Unit, and this is the product of those talks. So lets see if that will actually come about.
Thanks, Mean Gene!
Anyway, here's the song.
[audio:http://stream.citypaper.net/music/Beanie%20Sigel-I%20Go%20Off%20ft%2050%20Cent.mp3]
this shit goes hard fuk jayz
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| mirodancetheatre.org |
In this week's City Paper, I interviewed Miro Dance Theatre choreographer Amanda Miller about her upcoming work-in-progress, How Am I Not Myself? The piece, which she performed last night with classical Indian dancer Viji Rao, is a reflection on the two dancers' realization that, despite their differences, they're really quite alike:
When Miller met Rao, she probably felt like she was stuck in a modern-dance Parent Trap: Despite their differences in race, gender and hemisphere, the two had led eerily identical lives ' same birth week, same dance background, same shift from classical to contemporary.
Even if you missed last night's Open Studio Series at Girard College, you can still follow Miller and Rao on their travels to India ' they'll be video-blogging, and we'll be stalking them and reporting back periodically on their experiences. Till then, check out my Q&A with Miller, and visit mirodancetheatre.org if you want to help them in their fundraising efforts. (Donate $250 or more and Miro will take a personalized photo for you each day they're in India; donate $1,000 or more and you'll get your own dance video. Pretty cool.)
City Paper: How did you come to the realization that despite being from such different backgrounds, you had a lot in common with Viji?
Amanda Miller: Viji and I met when Miro was putting together Principles of Uncertainty for the 2007 Live Arts Festival. Miro was looking for dancers from all disciplines who were interested in experimental work and Viji fit that bill perfectly. Curing the process she and I started talking about our work and our dance traditions and then it became clear that we were having some of the same dilemma in terms of our work. Some would say it was too conventional or classical and others would say it was too modern or experimental. I think it was actually Tobin [Rothlein] who started asking us questions about our lives and how we each got to this point in our careers and that is when we found the stranger similarities ' born a few days apart, started dancing at the same age, had our first big performance at the same age, both started working with more contemporary work in London, and so on.
CP: Where's the piece now in terms of theme and content? Where do you hope the piece will be in the coming months?
AM: The show contains elements of our dance histories from the story ballets and dance dramas of our particular training, to our own style of contemporary choreography. The main theme is about transformation, about creating something new for yourself. We hope that this piece will go beyond our personal stories and resonate with audiences both in India and the U.S.
CP: Since you're both moving from classical to contemporary, and since the piece is a work in progress, should audiences expect a lot of improvisation and/or experimentation in your work? It almost seems like,' after years as classical dancers, you'll be finding your contemporary feet together, which should be interesting.
AM: Part of the creation process has actually been about finding our contemporary feet together. We have been having a true dialogue, through dance, where we found that in order to understand how the other thinks about contemporary we needed to understand the rules of their classical. If it is about breaking free from the rules then it is important that we know what those rules are. So I have learned some Bharatanatyam and Viji has learned some ballet. In addition to that we have been challenging each other to go further in our contemporary explorations. This process has allowed us to play with the other's style and find something within ourselves or our own style that might relate. And that sparks a nice conversation about how each of us thinks of contemporary, and how each of us uses or discards the classical in that thinking. From these conversations Viji and I created a dance that melts and morphs between classical ballet, traditional bharatanayam, and our own contemporary dance styles. It is challenging for us both and has been a lot of fun to put together.
CP: Anything else you want us to know about the work?
AM: Tobin Rothlein is writing and directing, and making sure that we don't get too serious. Viji and I can get deep into our conversation and Tobin reminds us that it is all a bit absurd and that we should keep acknowledging that aspect of our stories. We also have a commissioned score from Indian composer Praveen D. Rao that is a lot of fun and very special. Because we have been looking at our dance histories we have each choreographed a classical variation. I have not even thought of dancing like this for many years, and yet there it was- like riding a bicycle! Sort of.
How Am I Not Myself? will be premiering in Philadelphia on January 29 and 30 at the Painted Bride Arts Center. See you then!
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| starz.com |
In last week's Kaleidoscope, I wrote about Robert Zemeckis' Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Here's what I said:
Robert Zemeckis haters say the director, who releases A Christmas Carol this week, values special effects over all else. But I'm always amazed by the way he uses them. Re-watch 1988's Who Framed Roger Rabbit? , in which the great Bob Hoskins interacts with cartoons as if they're tangible beings; it still looks awesome in the era of CGI. (Plus, it's considerably dirtier than I remember it.) Not impressed? As Roger asks, "Is there nothing that can permeate that impervious puss?"
Well, wouldn't you know, it's playing tomorrow as part of the Ritz at the Bourse's Midnight Movies. Here's my favorite scene for the criminally uninitiated/perennially nostalgic:
Hear me out, boys ' Jessica Rabbit = sexiest cartoon character ever?
Also highly recommended: This selection of YouTube comments about the validity of Jessica and Roger Rabbit's marriage. My fave comment is, "i've always wondered how Roger and Jessica met or? what was their 1st date like." Me too, anonymous YouTube commenter, me too.
Don't forget, you can always find the Midnight Movie schedule, along with other repertory film listings at citypaper.net/repilm.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Sat., Nov. 14, midnight, $9, Ritz at the Bourse, 400 Ranstead St., 215-925-7500, landmarktheatres.com.
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| Selma Karaka |
Don't know what to do tonight? Don't worry, we've got you covered.
' Just a friendly reminder: We told you about the nifty new Live Arts artist-in-residence program and concurrent second-Thursday series last week. Its inaugural event will be tonight at 6:30 p.m. for free at the Festival Studio (919 N. Fifth St., 215-413-9006). Featured performers include the homegrown Thaddeus Phillips, Kathryn Tebordo and Subcircle's Jorge and Niki Cousineau. Like Carolyn Huckabay said in last week's post, free admission and free beer? I'm there.
' The Fire (412 W. Girard Ave., 267-671-9298) is holding a Neil Young Tribute Night at 9 p.m. for $7, and though I usually don't go for that sort of thing, I must say I'm excited to see what The Spinning Leaves does with it. (A dozen other bands will be there, too.) And please, everyone, let's forget that Trans ever existed for tonight.
' The Philadelphia Museum of Art is holding the first day of its annual craft show at the Pennsylvania Convention Center (1101 Arch St., 215-684-7930) until 9 p.m. for an entry free of $5-$15. Yeah, yeah, you're spending money to spend more money ' but it's for a good cause and there's lots of cool, cool stuff, like Selma Karaca's clothing (pictured above). Buy us this plz.
Not satisfied? Check out today's listings for more and more and more events.
That outfit is so you!
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