Beach Culture

A Variety Of Moments This Summer

Juliet, Naked

I am obsessed with when movie critics get it wrong. There are some critics who...as soon as they give a bad review...I go see the movie because I know I'm going to love it. And sometimes critics I relate to and read and enjoy also get it wrong. Ebert panned ALIEN. (so did several other film critics...can you imagine? So funny.) And I have read a couple of reviews panning an incredible recent release and so I feel compelled to recommend it here. JULIET, NAKED is the best adaptation of a Nick Hornby novel. I think it five times better than HIGH FIDELITY which I also love....but I think JULIET, NAKED is better! The characters truly have some problems and are damaged, broken and just not connected to life. The brilliant aspect of the story is that fan obsession or "collectors" and music geek or fandom....is utilized as a metaphor for trying to be connected and in the moment but part of the problem of disconnected alienation. My whole life has been a relationship as a fan, and as friends of obsessed fans...and involved in the fetish of loving music, tearing up "historically correct notions of art and music"...and this movie explores some of these things about art and music perfectly. I know that was a terribly long confusing sentence, opps. The three main characters are at different phases of waking up...or staying asleep. This makes for a very interesting tension. In fact, it's so invisible it's possible to forget what we are watching. There is a failed and retired musician....who is a cultural hero. There is a woman who works ina small town museum and a man who collects fan archives. The latter has a podcast/youtube channel...and is a professor who teaches about THE WIRE. So many things are subtle amazing portraits of contemporary life of hipsters, folk artists and punks. It's a personification of aesthetics in the last 50 years. And...the characters are frozen. Some know it some don't. And that creates the conflict. The photo I've posted here really sums up what I love about the movie. the crazy weird expression on Ethan Hawke is poignant and distills who he is. I love Rose Byrne so much and here she is so earnest in costume of her museums new exhibit about the year 1964. What is more hilarious than a museum having a show about one year!? Ha!!! Ethan Hawke is not only one of my very favorite actors....but he is so fantastic and lovable and sad and frustrating in this movie. He is perfect. Rose Byrne keeps us traveling through the innocently psychotic minds of these two men in the movie. I can not recommend this movie enough especially because it had some bad reviews. It's delightful and it felt so good just relaxing and watching the characters unfold. And Ethan Hawke is super hot in it and he sings a lot of the songs. 10/10.

BlackKKlansman

Spike Lee is back! Wow I am so glad we saw this movie in the theatre. Based on the book about the true story of a black cop infiltrating the KKK. John David Washington is truly charming and compelling in this role. I could not take my eyes off of him. The entire cast is perfect. A lotto heart and comedy in this story. One of my favorite parts of the film was when the romantic leads go to a dance party. The way it is filmed is so cool portraying the young people as dancing and singing along to the music is so realistic and emotional and fun. Topher Grace playing David Duke is phenomenal. Newcomer Laura Harrier is awesome. All power to all the people. Must see movie. 10/10.

I haven't written a longer post about this movie (like I do about some movies) because I didn't want to give away the atmosphere. I feel this is a movie that needs and deserves to be seen in a theatre. The atmosphere that Lee develops, the personality of the protagonist, his way of talking and walking is so compelling I feel the best thing someone could do is go to this movie. Let go, enjoy the soundtrack, and the characters, Spike Lee takes you on a journey...let him take you!

Chutney

I was looking for a recipe for pearl onion and raisin chutney. I couldn’t find it but found one for pear and raisin chutney. It’s good. And fun to make and can.

Tiki Bar

We went out for supper with our friends Darrick and Nancy. Stagg and Darrick have been friends since grade school....and they went to art school together too. We had such a fun night.

Times Square

From Harlem all the way to Times Square....corporate business signs. Depressing. At least a little bit of the east side was stuff I associate with the nyc I used to frequent.