ARTHOUSE FILM NEWS - Cosmic Disco Detective Rene at Facets, Chicago 11/29/23

- Sujewa

At Film Panel Notetaker . - Sujewa

Granted, I have not been to every restaurant in this town. But, even long before I started working with Jackie's on the Lo-Def screening series, I was a big fan of the look of the restaurant (future location for a film shoot? oh yeah) & of course the food is as delicious as the visual design of the place. Here, judge for yourself re: the look of the place - as seen above, & more pics at the site . Mouth watering interior design for a filmmaker who likes colors & interesting shapes. - Sujewa

Filmmaker & Washington City Paper writer Dave Nuttycombe has a blog, check it out here . Here are his notes on movie watching '07 . - Sujewa

Yes, I will have to call the MD fest "a smaller SXSW, of the east". Man, MD fest's line up this year is so good, I am going to have to trek up to Baltimore during all 3 days of the fest (5/2 Fri - 5/4 Sun). Check out their selection of films here . Some of the MD fest movies that I am excited about/will try to catch: * ( that melvin van peebles movies with the long title ) ***CONFESSIONSOFA EX-DOOFUS-ITCHYFOOTED MUTHA (Melvin Van Peebles) -- CLOSING NIGHT "Telling the fantastic, mystical tale of a man with few resources who joyfully becomes a merchant marine, travels far and wide, and enjoys a wide variety of romantic entanglements, the film champions independent exploration. Distilling years of cultural experience through the eyes of one lone adventurer, the film pulls us into its protagonist's world with cunning and magic. Melvin Van Peebles himself, with only a glancing reference to his chronological age of 75, plays the lead character as he progresses from

So the legal system has exonerated the 3 police officers who shot Sean Bell 50 times and killed him. The only other time in recent memory where such a killing happened was, again, in NYC, & again the victim was another "black" male - and that time, yes again - several plain clothed police officers, shot Amadou Diallo 41 times & killed him. And in both cases the victims were unarmed. Coincidence or are some NYC plain clothed officers just very nervous/trigger happy when they think a "black" male is reaching for a gun? (but really, 50 shots! ????) Maybe the Justice Department's review of the Bell case will provide some answers as to why some plain clothed police officers in NYC are using excessive & deadly force against unarmed NYC citizens; specifically young "black" male citizens - 1 time could be discounted as a freak accident, but 2 times is definitely a pattern. (and yes, i am not blind to the hundreds & thousands of other incidents

Plain Us is a 20-30 some minute (not sure about the exact running time, will find out & update soon), shot on 35 MM (w/ the first scene or two on digital video), slice of life drama depicting a touring musician's visit to his home town. The musician - an indie rocker of course :) - (played by Motlagh) has a young daughter. Motlagh's character is not on good terms with his daughter's mother. The short is well acted (always impressive whenever I see low-budget indie directors work well with child actors), and well shot & overall well made; well directed, acted, photographed, edited and scored. Plain Us is definitely not a plot-driven piece, more a low-key observation of a few special moments, & also some dramatic moments, in the lives of three people. The short also feels like it could be a part of a feature; does a really good job introducing an interesting character & a situation; a young artist with a home vs. the road conflict - and it would be even more

Check out the notes on the conversation at the Film Panel Notetaker . Here's the intro: "Academy-Award-winning documentary filmmaker Errol Morris ( The Fog of War ) participated in a discussion lead by Jarhead author Anthony Swofford during the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival after a screening of Standard Operating Procedure, Morris’ latest film where he interviews the American soldiers who took the iconic Abu Ghraib photographs." Read the rest here . - Sujewa

From Swingers to Iron Man in less than 2 decades (right? when did Swingers come out anyway?) or so, not bad. Check out the video interview here . - Sujewa

Tony Stark learning to fly. So when are we going to see the Iron Man armor/weapon/flight suit/jet pack combo whatever available for US & NATO military use anyway? I bet Lockheed Martin are working on it. Related: not quite Iron Man level armor, but liquid body armor , we have it already. And there's already an armor suit protecting Humvee gunners in Iraq. An armor suit that can withstand an attack by a suicide bomber would be a good thing to develop, since that type of warfare will most likely be a method used by the deeply desperate for years to come. Anyway, the trailer: - Sujewa

Well, this has been in the works for some time, & now I can finally announce it; a new indie screening series, happening once a month (for now:) at The Back Room of Jackie's (quite possibly one of the coolest - great food & decor, warm people - restaurants in Silver Spring) - here's the brand new site & blog for Lo-Def . 1st movie being screened ( Thu May 22, 8 PM, FREE ) is the new version of Date Number One . More info. soon re: the new DNO. Also trailer & clips coming to the web next week; plus screener DVDs for review for interested film bloggers & other media. For more info. on the screening, go here (or visit this blog in a few hours :). And now, more on Lo-Def! Filmmakers & or distributors interested in submitting for future Lo-Def screening events, check out the submission info. at the site (link on right hand side) or e-mail me with a description of your fiction or doc feature or feature length collection of shorts, w/ links to sites, reviews

If I were in NYC tomorrow, I would check this Tribeca fest panel event, at the American Express Insider Center, located at 27 Union Square West, out: "PARADISE LOST? FILM CRITICS OF THE FUTURE Much has been said recently about the transition of film criticism from newsprint to the web. The topic is emblematic of seismic shifts in journalism in general. The potential for unparalleled access to content, real-time interactivity and diversity of dialogue is immense but what does it mean for the future of film critics? Bloggers and film critics and film critics who may soon be bloggers posit their thoughts. Film critics Leah Rozen (People Magazine), Elizabeth Weitzman (Daily News) and Bilge Ebiri (New York Magazine) will share their viewpoints at this lively discussion moderated by the Tribeca Film Institute's Brian Newman. Friday, April 25 from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m." And here's the site for Tribeca fest . - Sujewa

The empire is crumbling, few chosen officials will lose their dream jobs, but the whole situation has already been partially replaced by a fast growing democratic republic that will become much larger & more influential & richer than the old empire ever was. If you are a writer who dreams about criticising or reviewing movies for a living, the current situation - with print review jobs being cut left and right - might be disheartening. However, let's take a look at exactly what you may be losing and what you, and the world, might be gaining. The relationship between Hollywood and the rest of the world is an imperial relationship. Few companies in LA & NYC & elsewhere work together to produce filmed entertainment that generates a lot of revenue (& also employs a large number of people, a very good thing). All the power rests in the hands of the studios or Hollywood - or, in these day of "independent" Hollywood producers and companies - in the hands of

Actually it's 28 years at this point I think. Here's the video, very nice: