Last Movie Watched

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

I read this guy's book (Robert Beck not Ice T), PIMP ten or so years ago. One of the most depressing things I've ever read.

I've never read any of his books but they get tons of critical acclaim.... for whatever that's worth

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

not much of a movie but at least there was Rose Byrne, she's always worth a watch

[Flea]

[Flea]

I'm tempted to make the argument for inclusion in the upper half of a Top Ten list.

[Flea]

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

[Duke Silver]

Any good? It's been sitting on my DVR for a few weeks.

[tinnitus photography]

My semi-drunken rant on why Whiplash sucks (sorry if this is redundant but, as always, I'm too lazy to check the thread) This is my true opinion:

Finally watched Whiplash, against all my instincts. It gets everything wrong; music education, jazz, and drumming especially. I knew it was way off base in the first couple of minutes when it set up Buddy Rich as the protagonist's drumming hero. Buddy Rich is a one trick pony (flashy speed) and a confirmed asshole. No serious jazz musicians give him much respect.

As far as the movie: First, no teacher who is such a jerk/racist/bigot would ever be in a position to conduct an award winning college jazz band for any length of time. The students would revolt and the other instructors would not permit such a jerk to remain on the faculty. My father was a band director and I grew up participating in band competitions, including jazz ensembles. That whole scene is an extremely niche activity and you see and work with the same people over and over again. The movie instructor would simply not last.

Second, musicians in music school are generally there for the same reason and spend all of their free time hanging out together sharing influences, talking about and listening to albums, nurturing each other, etc. They would be forming side groups and playing around town. Sure, there's competition, but generally speaking it is not mean spirited. None of this is in the movie.

Third, the movie is completely wrong about what makes a great drummer. Speed is perhaps the least important aspect of drumming (see Buddy fucking Rich). All the shots of the drummer at his "best" show him straining and tightening up in order to play faster. This is the total opposite of what drumming is about. There are ton of technical details that I won't bore you with (shut up, I know I'm boring you already), e.g., how the sticks are held---all of which are wrong. And if anyone played that solo that closes the movie in real life they would be laughed off the stage--all flash no substance.

Finally, the story about Jo Jones throwing a cymbal at Charlie Parker's head that runs throughout the movie is bullshit and does a disservice to both Jones and the Bird. Charlie Parker was 16 years old and showed up at an open mic jam session featuring Jones. Charlie took a solo and totally lost the chord progression and then:
But now he'd left the world he knew. A college-trained musician could have called out the next chord to him in an instant, but Parker was a high school dropout making it up for himself. While Jones's pulse surged on behind him, the teenager lost the tune, and then the beat. Jones stopped, and Parker froze, clutching his gleaming new saxophone. Jones contemptuously threw a cymbal at his (Jones') feet, and the reverberations were followed by the sound of laughter and catcalls.

Bottom line, Whiplash sucks as anything other than an abuse of power movie, although JK Simmons is a great actor and deserved his Oscar. Thanks for indulging me.

P.S. The drumming on the Birdman soundtrack by Antonio Sanchez is simply amazing. Listen to that if you want to hear improvisational drumming.
P.P.S. The story I read about why there is no credit for the actual drummer on Whiplash is because it is a union musician playing on a non-union film/project. Boooo.

Kid Millions (Oneida, Spiritualized, People of the North, etc) agrees:
http://thetalkhouse.com/music/talks/kid ... plash-and/

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

Any good? It's been sitting on my DVR for a few weeks.

OK but nothing in any way exceptional. A friend had talked it up so hard to us but it didn't live up to her praise. The movie clearly wanted to be more than it was but just didn't get there. That said, I would still say watch it. It's certainly not a waste of time. I would say just take the film for what it is, gritty entertainment about "the life"

[The Black Canary]

http://www.wreckingcrewfilm.com/

[Flea]

Yes, please!

[Beebs]

I watched Black Sabbath Saturday night



Then I watched the lead character in The Babadook watch Black Sabbath on Sunday night.



So meta

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

finally

[Cole Younger]

I watched Black Sabbath Saturday night



Then I watched the lead character in The Babadook watch Black Sabbath on Sunday night.



So meta

It's rare that anything new comes along that I care about seeing but I love old movies. And old westerns and horror movies are my favorites. I've always meant to track down Black Sabbath. How was it?

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

Yes, please!

[Beebs]

I've always meant to track down Black Sabbath. How was it?

Quaint. And I mean that in the nicest way possible.

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

I recommend this, the Iron Sheik is a fascinating character

[Kudzu Guillotine]

Last night's screening and discussion of the James Booker doc Bayou Maharajah by Joe Boyd at UNC was originally supposed to have been a talk and screening of Amazing Grace, the long delayed Aretha Franklin concert documentary. As it turns out, Aretha has blocked its release once again. Though I would love to see it, I was not let down by Bayou Maharajah in the least though I was admittedly largely unfamiliar with James Booker prior to last night. Joe Boyd also spent a good deal of time before and after the screening discussing the various aspects of his career. There was lots of stuff there I was unaware of as well.

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

originally known as Stones in the Park

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

almost certain I hadn't seen this since around 1989

[Flea]

If this is the type of thing you like, you will enjoy this.

[beantownbubba]

Black Mass - The acting, especially Johnny Depp, was great and the Boston related stuff was kind of fun, but overall, meh. They didn't really capture what I suspect they were going for.

[Bill in CT]

This is a superb film. One quote said it's "Kafka meets The Sopranos" and that's not a bad description.

http://filmforum.org/film/the-fool-film

[Bill in CT]

This is a solid documentary about the rise and fall of the Black Panthers.

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

This is a solid documentary about the rise and fall of the Black Panthers.

Highly recommend this book.



interested in seeing the movie but most reviews I have read says that is way too sympathetic and that a lot is covered up. I am very interested in the Panthers but at this point I am not interested in hagiography

[Bill in CT]

interested in seeing the movie but most reviews I have read says that is way too sympathetic and that a lot is covered up. I am very interested in the Panthers but at this point I am not interested in hagiography

I didn't think it was hagiography myself.

From Odie Henderson's review:

The film avoids hagiography, and in doing so, brings out the undeniable humanity of its subjects.

Here's Henderson's review of the film:

http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-b ... ution-2015

Here's the Metacritic page for the movie:

http://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-bla ... ic-reviews

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

interested in seeing the movie but most reviews I have read says that is way too sympathetic and that a lot is covered up. I am very interested in the Panthers but at this point I am not interested in hagiography

I didn't think it was hagiography myself.

From Odie Henderson's review:

The film avoids hagiography, and in doing so, brings out the undeniable humanity of its subjects.

Here's Henderson's review of the film:

http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-b ... ution-2015

Here's the Metacritic page for the movie:

http://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-bla ... ic-reviews

good to hear! Perhaps hagiography wasn't the best word for me to have used. Having read the book I had it fresh in my mind when reading some reviews and it was made clear by the reviewers that some key events were glossed over or completely left out which ended up making the Panthers look better. If anything I lean strongly towards the Panthers but worried that the film wasn't as balanced as the way things actually went down

Fairly certain this won't make it to Chico so I hope it ends up on cable/Netflix/Amazon Prime ASAP

[beantownbubba]

Child 44 - I imagined that this would be a hard book to bring to the screen and overall I think the director, writer, etc made a pretty good attempt. It fell short, but I'd still say it's worth watching on some small fee service. The acting was very good and I don't know if their accents were accurate, but at least they were consistent throughout which was nice. The first half of the movie was slow, possibly too slow although the plot and characters do require some time to sort out, but the second half was fast, definitely too fast. Some of the more interesting plot elements got lost in the rush (not left out just not fully explained so presumably puzzling to those not familiar w/ the book). Hmmmm, that sounds more negative than i intend it to be. How about this: Read the book, wait a few months, then watch the movie and you'll probably enjoy both.

[John A Arkansawyer]

Film Snob? Is That So Wrong?

It seems to be an article of modern democratic faith that disputing taste is taboo: at best a lapse in manners, at worst an offense against feelings or social order (which sometimes seem to amount to the same thing). Our nation is at present riven by social inequality and polarized by ideology, but the last thing anyone wants to be called is an elitist.

I think about this sort of thing every time someone tells me there's no such thing as better or worse in, say, a poem, that it's all just a matter of taste. And I myself have quoted whichever Roman said, "In matters of taste, there is no disputation." And meant it. But taste isn't the same as judgement. Of course, who wants to judge anything? Isn't that the same as being judgmental? Well, no, of course not. But it's any easy argument to make as long as you don't mind being dishonest. And it's most prominently made by people with something to gain by hawking inferior wares. That their customers parrot it isn't any surprise: Monkey see, monkey do.

P. S. This weekend, my daughter is going to show me "Spirited Away" for the first time, and I'm going to show her "Captain America: The First Avenger". I plan to enjoy them both.

[UTHeathen]

Go see it. That is all.