AltWeeklies Wire
'Amreeka' Skillfully Evokes American Post-9/11 Uneasenew
Amreeka hops over every one of its predictable, carefully laid-out hurdles.
New York Press |
Armond White |
09-03-2009 |
Reviews
Short fiction (finally) gets some respectnew
It has been a banner year for new short story collections, with impressive efforts from first time authors and veterans alike. Here’s the cream of this year’s crop.
New York Press |
David Berke |
09-03-2009 |
Books
Nick Cave's Demons Come Out to Play in 'Bunny Munro'new
While Cave is better known for his music than his prose, it turns out that he's a surprisingly gifted, if slightly deranged, author.
New York Press |
Jessica Loudis |
09-03-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Diet Kong Fizzes With Fun and Ominous Undertonesnew
Countless bands can trace their beginnings to one or maybe two significant and serendipitously accidental meetings, but Diet Kong, the collaborative effort between the Brooklyn-based, husband-and-wife team of Keith Gladysz and Jenn Penn is highly unusual and touching, even for the most cynical music fan.
New York Press |
William Ruben Helms |
08-28-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Ang Lee and James Schamus Take a Dry Look at Free-Love in 'Taking Woodstock'new
The same year as Woodstock, Arthur Penn's anti-bucolic Alice's Restaurant memorably said farewell to hippiedom's illusions. Penn's insights seemed ahead of his time; It's depressing that he was also ahead of Lee and Schamus 40 years later.
New York Press |
Armond White |
08-28-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Taking Woodstock, Ang Lee
'Inglourious Basterds' Uses the Holocaust as a Pretext for Gore, Sadism and Fanboy Lorenew
"Back to Barbarism" is the theme of Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. Its misspelled title and cheesy homage to a 1970s grindhouse flick (by Enzo Castellari) all mock the notion of sophistication. Yet it is truly unsophisticated.
New York Press |
Armond White |
08-20-2009 |
Reviews
New Documentary 'Art & Copy' Celebrates the Men Behind Ads by Skimming the Surfacenew
Advertising has long been perceived as a mirror reflecting reality back to consumers as a wish-fulfillment exercise. In that sense, Art & Copy is a worthy addition to a time-honored tradition.
New York Press |
Mark Peikert |
08-20-2009 |
Reviews
Todd Graff's 'Bandslam' is the Best American Movie This Summernew
If the late John Hughes had taught the generation who grew up on Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Home Alone anything beyond narcissism, then Bandslam would be getting sky-high praise.
New York Press |
Armond White |
08-20-2009 |
Reviews
Forget Bushwick: NYC's Next Big Band, The Beets, Hails From Queensnew
Just over a year old, the band plays so many shows that it barely has time to practice. That kind of effort, along with a recent stint in a TV ad for clothing designer Cynthia Rowley's Fall 2009 line, consistent buzz from all the right press and recent dates supporting Oxford Collapse has put The Beets at the top of several lists of bands to watch.
New York Press |
Andrea Bussell |
08-20-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
It's Time for the LGBT Community to Shake Off its Addiction to Democratic Panderingnew
It's up to the LGBT community to seize this momentum and put a freeze on donations to the Democrats and show them that until real progress is made, it's the Democratic Party that is going to need the help.
New York Press |
Jamaal Young |
08-20-2009 |
Commentary
What Happened to the NYC Teenager?new
The recent Bravo reality show about elite prep schools espouses a glam lifestyle, but as I remember it, high school was way more boring.
New York Press |
Emma Allen |
08-20-2009 |
Culture
Making a Compelling Film is Not Julia Child's Playnew
A Talking Heads song gives this pedestrian, snobbish film a couple minutes of genuine art - and fun. Julie & Julia doesn’t match the delights of sensual/aesthetic food movies ... it merely dramatizes Julia Child and Julie Powell's contrasting routes to media success.
New York Press |
Armond White |
08-06-2009 |
Reviews
Some of Your Beeswax: Director Andrew Bujalski Chatsnew
If the word “mumblecore” ever meant anything in the first place, it definitely had something to do with Andrew Bujalski. The lo-fi indie director of Funny Ha Ha and Mutual Appreciation debuted his third feature, Beeswax, in March, and speaks about the film festival favorite.
New York Press |
Eric Kohn |
08-06-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Documentaries Don't Get More Compelling Than 'The Cove'new
The Cove is one of the best documentaries of 2009. It deserves an audience for its aesthetic beauty alone. But the film, like almost every issue-driven doc, lacks much-needed nuance, and audiences should remember to approach anything set out to manipulate their heartstrings with a decent level of skepticism.
New York Press |
David Berke |
07-31-2009 |
Reviews
The Dardenne Brothers Deliver More Visual Poetry in 'Lorna's Silence'new
The Belgian film team of Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne do small things profoundly. Their new movie, titled Lorna's Silence, makes its strongest, most persuasive moments when Albanian immigrant Lorna silently weighs her options and her moral choices.
New York Press |
Armond White |
07-31-2009 |
Reviews
