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Art

Young Poets Shine in “Summertime” (Review)
Art, Film, Reviews

Young Poets Shine in “Summertime” (Review)

In the spring of 2019, Carlos López Estrada ("Blindspotting") attended a poetry showcase hosted by a Los Angeles-based non-profit organization called Get Lit: Words Ignite. He was so inspired by the young poets who performed that he rounded up all of them and worked with some of his closest filmmaking friends to put to a project together that would incorporate their words into a functional feature film to serve as a love letter to the city. The end result effortlessly manages to merge spoken word poetry with occasionally bombastic musical numbers featuring a host of intersecting characters into a cohesive timeline over the course of one summer day. I can't say enough good things about these performances, all from high school poets who were not professional actors. You would nev...
The Metrograph Introduces Us To “Sisters With Transistors” (Review)
Art, Film, Reviews

The Metrograph Introduces Us To “Sisters With Transistors” (Review)

The Metrograph is one of the country's finest art house theaters. Their physical NYC location is still closed through at least September, they have been delivering fascinating programming through their website. Last week, they launched an app that easily allows for television viewing and is available for Apple TV, FireTV, and Roku devices. Films are available within the United States for streaming, some are scheduled live events and others can be viewed on-demand for a specific period of time. Such the case with Lisa Rovner's "Sisters With Transitors." It premiered on the Metrograph website back in April and they brought it back for an encore booking this week. Narrated by Laurie Anderson, this documentary tells the story of the pioneering female artists who experimented with e...
Almodovar’s English-language “The Human Voice” Streaming Now on HBO Max (Review)
Art, Film, Reviews

Almodovar’s English-language “The Human Voice” Streaming Now on HBO Max (Review)

I've been a huge fan of Pedro Almodovar's work since I saw his Academy Award-nominated 1988 film "Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown" as a teenager. Prolific and always provocative, the Spanish director has never made a feature film in English, but now he has delivered a rather experimental 30-minute film that is. During the COVID lockdown he teamed up with the brilliant Tilda Swinton to create the short based on a play by Jean Cocteau. Swinton is credited simply as "Woman." Her lover has left and she is in their shared apartment with his packed suitcases and dog, who has slowly begun to realize that his master isn't coming back. Distraught and unsure of how to manage an animal who wants nothing to do with her, we observe her grief, anger, sadness, and ultimately a phone c...
SFFILM Review: “Lily Topples The World”
Art, Film, Reviews

SFFILM Review: “Lily Topples The World”

After its recent world premiere at Austin's SXSW Film Festival, Jeremy Workman's superb new documentary "Lily Topples The World" won the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary Feature. The film is being featured this week on the lineup of the 64th Annual San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM) and it's a must-see. 22-year-old Lily Hevesh started posting videos of her unique domino creations at the tender age of nine. Over time, her ideas became more elaborate and she has built a massive following on YouTube where her videos have reached over a billion views. Before watching the film, I never could have imagined that being a "domino artist" was something you could make a living from. Something tells me that your average person still could not, but a small handful (of otherwise ...
Green Day, Billie Eilish & More Set To Headline Life Is Beautiful Festival
Art, Features

Green Day, Billie Eilish & More Set To Headline Life Is Beautiful Festival

The Life is Beautiful Music & Arts Festival has announced a stacked lineup in what is the most high-profile concert announcement since the outset of the pandemic. Green Day, Billie Eilish, and Tame Impala are set to headline with performances from A$AP Rocky, Haim, Illenium, and many more planned. According to an interview with Forbes, organizers are making safety for fans a top priority. The Las Vegas-based festival got its start in 2013 and by 2019 was one of the world's highest-grossing festivals. Canceled in 2020 as a result of COVID-19 they're looking to make a roaring comeback September 17-19. The festival takes place over an 18 block area in downtown Las Vegas. The major question is how the ongoing pandemic will affect the event. With vaccines rolling out at an increasing...