In the beginning was High Fidelity, at least as far as I’m concerned. An actor I’d never noticed before by the name of Jack Black was channeling Generation X energies like nobody else on the silver screen. His Barry, the record-store slacker-snob, stole the show and left me with the firm conviction that a new […]
Film
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Iowa City Weekender – June 12-14
The IC Weekender is sponsored by the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival, July 2-4, 2009 Ah, just when we’ve started to recover from Arts Fest, the weekend is here again! Big thanks to Andre Perry and The Mill for bringing yet another world-class band to Iowa City–Last night’s Rock Plaza Central (http://www.rockplazacentral.com/) show was definitely one […]
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Talking Movies: Screening Evil
One morning in April, I went to take my dog outside before I had to leave for work. I stepped onto our porch on Iowa Avenue and saw a young skinny man standing still on the sidewalk across the street. A woman with a video camera stood at a distance from him. Moments later, the […]
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Talking Movies: Copping Out
Jody Hill’s Observe and Report is one weird movie. I’m pretty sure this dark comedy is meant to provoke reflection: The title suggests that the movie is holding the mirror up to our reality. In a sense, it is; the worst parts of the movie are the most interesting, and the best parts are pretty bad. […]
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Talking Movies: Chaplin on the Economy
Someone should write an essay called “In Praise of Pretentiousness,” because in the first years of adulthood—please, those years only!—a little insufferable pretentiousness goes a long way. It was pretentiousness, I admit, that led me into a Charlie Chaplin film festival when I was a freshman at Grinnell: I showed up to appreciate silent films. […]
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Doc Tales
The Iowa City Documentary Film Festival brings nonfiction gems out of the shadows. Wake up. Make coffee. Out the door by 7:45. Work. Eat lunch. Chat with a co-worker. More work. Traffic. Home. Pet the dog. Dinner. Bed. Reset. So often, one day is like the rest. We often forget to open our eyes to […]
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Iowa City Weekender April 3-7
With Mission Creek coming to a close this weekend you’re probably in one of two mindsets: a) “I’m heading for an intentional music overdose” b) “no more music, I’m getting a headache”. Quick Hits: The Mountain Goats, Copyright Criminals, No Age, The Cool Kids, Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival, Raising Medusa, Augusten Burroughs Friday, April […]
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Talking Movies: Tears of a Clown
La Strada dir. Federico Fellini 108 mins In the early morning hours, at the end of a spirited drinking party, as passed-out sophisticates snore on the couches, an old man lectures two weary writers that tragedy and comedy have the same source, and that one who truly understands their root should be able to compose […]
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Iowa City Weekender – February 27-March 1
February’s almost over, but before it is, celebrate Black History Month and catch some musical battles. Friday, February 27 Summercamp Battle of the Bands | The Yacht Club | 8pm | $5 One of two battles going on this weekend (the other being Saturday’s Dollars for Scholars battle at the IMU). Friday night, Uniphonics, Dead […]
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The Best Movies of 2008 (Most of which I didn't actually see)
Sydney Smith once observed, “I never read a book before reviewing it; it prejudices one so.” As a rule, I do watch the movies before reviewing them; though when it comes to the big Hollywood productions anymore, I wonder how necessary my principle is. So many of them have been made to order according to […]
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Movie Review: Australia
Australia Directed by Baz Luhrman Drama, 165 Minutes One of the great pleasures of the movies is seeing what a purposeful filmmaker can do with an old genre or story by attempting to remake it in her or his own image. Such was the case with Baz Luhrman’s last film, 2001’s Moulin Rouge, his hyperkinetic […]
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Talking Movies: A Half-Jigger of Solace
How many children does Lady Macbeth have? That’s the kind of ridiculous question a certain strain of literature teacher will torture students with. The answer, obviously, is: Shakespeare would have told us, had it been important. Nevertheless, there are a few characters who so transcend their storylines that they really do acquire lives of their […]
