Matteo Garrone's new film "Gomorra" at LandmarkTheatres : Feb 27 - Mar 26

Matteo Garrone's film is an adaptation of the book by Roberto Saviano of the same name
- that not only won Saviono significant literary praise, but lifelong Police protection... if that
says anything. Reports from Cannes is that the film completely stripped away Hollywood's
fixation with the glamour and romanticism of organized crime in Italy, showing instead the
depth of its reach into the lives of the populace and the extent of its corruption of everything
from the exploitative sweatshop clothing industry, to everyday politics to 'waste disposal'.
Making it the Grand Prix winner at Cannes this past year.

Link to Landmark Theatres "Gomorra" site

Nuri Bilge Ceylan's new film "Three Monkeys" at Landmark Theatres : Feb 20 - Mar 19

Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan's newest looks to expand both on the style and timbre
of "Uzak" and "Climates", his previous two films, which were gorgeous slow-burning,
balancing acts of alienation and the hushed quest for understanding in crumbling social/
emotional relationships. All of his work is heavy on the atmosphere, either through the
amount of screen time given to the meticulously selected landscapes, or the use of digital
filters and saturation creating that 'timbre' mentioned above. "Three Monkeys", looks to
be a good bit more heavy on both the gloom and suspense, while adding the element of
the supernatural to the already heady drama of a family's guilt, responsibility and
comprehension of mortality in their grappling with life after the death of a child.

Link to Landmark Theatres "Three Monkeys" site

Money Will Ruin Everything... Again. : 10 Years of Rune Grammofon

On January 15th Norway's Rune Grammofon releases their second volume of collected music
journalism, progressive graphic aesthetics and (of course) aural adventures - following some
5 years after the sonic/graphic/conceptual brilliance of the first book/collection:

Link to Rune Grammofon's 'Money Will Ruin Everything I' site

"It´s been a long, long time but finally it´s here. Originally planned as an update and slightly
revised edition of the long deleted 2cd / book of the same name released in 2003 to celebrate
5 years of Rune Grammofon, this has now turned into a completely new and absolutely
gorgeous book, quite simply a must have. Completely redesigned and improved with all new
art from Kim Hiorthøy, more pages, slightly bigger and with 4 different types of paper, it features
graphic works, photos, video stills, used and unused sleeve art, complete discography and more.
The essays on the musical and visual profiles of the label from the first book are included, as is
the original interview Kim did with label founder Rune Kristoffersen in 2003."

As much as Rune here claims the 'superior' quality of of the new audio content in this new edition,
I still feel the original is more diverse. Nonetheless, "Ruin II" is again an essential, incomparable
document of adventurous new musics from Norway and the Scandinavian beyond. Free Jazz,
Folk Noise, Cinematic Ambiance , Rock Jamz, , Modern Classical as Ligeti Revival... Rune has
it all. The stars of their Norwegian roster include the titan-like Supersilent and it's various splinter
groups and off shoots; Humcrush, Deathprod and Arve Henriksen's solo works. Electronic works
by Alog, Skyphone, Svalastog and Phonophani, Vocal Improv by Maja Ratkje and her all-lady
avant group Spunk, blasting Free Jazz by Scorch Trio and Shining, Unclassifiable Improvisation
by Box, Moha! and Jono El Grande and some new territory for Rune; that of more traditional song
musics by Susanna and her Magical Orchestra. Making for hours of Nordic A/V exploration:

Link to Rune Grammofon's 'Money Will Ruin Everything II' site

:::: FILMS OF 2008 ::::

TOP FILMS OF 2008 IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER
-------------------------------------------------------

Andrey Zvyagintsev "The Banishment" (Russia)
Pedro Costa "Colossal Youth" (Portugal)
Roy Andersson "You, The Living" (Sweden)
Ari Folman "Waltz with Bashir" (Isreal)
Jia Zhang-Ke "Useless" (China)
Koji Wakamatsu "United Red Army" (Japan)
Gustavo Spolidoro "Still Orangutans" (Brazil)
Lou Ye "Summer Palace" (China)
Aditya Assarat "Wonderful Town" (Thailand)
Pen-Ek Ratanaruang "Ploy" (Thailand)
Carlos Reygadas "Silent Light" (Mexico)
Tomas Alfredson "Let the Right One In" (Sweden)
Patrick Tam "After This, Our Exile" (China)
Frederick Wiseman "34 Documentaries by Frederick Wiseman" -Rereleased (United States)
Apichatpong Weerasethakul "Luminous People / Emerald : Short Films Collection" (Thailand)
Alex Gibney "Taxi to the Dark Side" (United States)

Though not consistent enough to warrant whole-hearted inclusion in the list above, these two films
are deserving of a notable mention. Distinct for both their adherence and inventive deviation from their
respective genre-film traditions, they both, in distinctively differing ways, reinvented pop culture movie
storytelling and brought the audience along on fantastical rides:

Andrew Stanton/Pixar (For the first 35 minutes alone) "Wall-E" (United States)
Matt Reeves (Excluding the last 15 minutes) "Cloverfield" (United States)

Contrary to a lot of the impressions I've read of this past year in cinema, I've seen some of the finest quality
(and quantity) of film this year, in a way that exceeds the past few that I can recollect. All of which, with the
exception of 3 or so, where in the theatre and most of those exclusively in SIFF, not to return for a theatrical
run. Which strikes me as confounding and frustrating that so much good film never found distribution and as a
product, never found its audience.

That said, again this year, the unseen films by a few directors of note that never made it over here
distributed stateside. I suspect a number of these would have made the list, if I actually had a chance
to see them:

Matteo Garrone "Gomorra" (Italy)
Hayou Miyazaki "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea" (Japan)
Laurent Cantet "The Class" (France)
Steven Soderbergh "Che" (United States)
Steve McQueen "The Hunger" (United Kingdom)
Jia Zhang-Ke "24 City" (China)
Nuri Bilge Ceylan "Three Monkeys" (Turkey)

Respect and appreciation again go out to the Northwest Film Forum and SIFF (both the festival and the
theatre) for bringing many of these to the states, and making Seattle one of the major cities in the country
for catching the best in global film as an aspect of our urban cultural experience!

:::: ALBUMS OF 2008 ::::

TOP ALBUMS OF 2008 IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER
---------------------------------------------------------

Bernard Parmegiani "L'oeuvre Musicale - Box Set" (INA-GRM)
Anthony Braxton/Milford Graves/William Parker "Beyond Quantum" (Tzadik)
Autechre "Quaristice (Versions)" (Warp UK)
Nine Inch Nails "Ghosts I-IV" (Null Corporation)
Boris "Smile (Japanese Edition)" (DIW phalanx)
Hecker & Haswell/Mika Vanio "Popol Vuh Remix" (Mego)
V/A "Money Will Ruin Everything II" (Rune Grammofon)
Arve Henriksen "Cartography" (ECM)
Zeitkratzer "Electronics - Box Set" (Zeitkratzer)
Coh "Strings" (Raster-Noton)
FM3 "Buddha Machine II" (FM3)
KTL "IV" (Mego)
GAS "Nah Und Fern - Box Set" (Kompakt)
Stephan Mathieu "Radioland" (Die Schachtel)
Birchville Cat Motel "Seventh Ruined Hex" (Important)
Skullflower "Circulus Vitiosus Deus" (Turgid Animal)
Jasper TX "Black Sleep" (Miasmah)

Continuing from the films list above... like cinema, the year in sounds there was the curious repeat theme;
2008 was a year for diggers. Wherein, even 'established' acts like Autechre and Boris released their best work
in editions which were never distributed beyond their country of origin. The Japanese version of Boris' "Smile"
and Autechre's audacious "Quaristice - Special Edition" respectively... and all the while more obscure out-there
sounds continue to be released in editions of 300 (Skullflower) and 1000 (Stephan Mathieu) which in both cases
never reached large portions of their audience before becoming unavailable. So, be glad for mp3 blogs!

Overall again, this was another pretty darn explorative year in sound. There were many works that took the
ears to exciting places that did so in distinct, expressive and adventurous ways. In particular appearing again
in the strange crossroads where Modern Classical, Musique Concrete, Improv, Metal, 'Noise' and academic
Avant traditions all meet. Some of these were even witnessed out in the world in a 3rd Dimension kind of
way, performed live, loud and vital.

TOP LIVE MUSIC SHOWS OF 2008
---------------------------------------

Alva Noto / Frank Breatschnieder / Olaf Bender - SFAI - San Francisco
Boredoms - Neumos - Seattle
Boris - Neumos - Seattle
My Bloody Valentine - Concourse - San Francisco
Asunder - Neumos - Seattle
Autechre - Neumos - Seattle
The Bug - Decibel Fest - Seattle

As an aside, once again this year Dubstep & Grime replaced Hip Hop as my musical candy/junkfood of
choice, offering a nutrition-less but tasty counter to the more brainy culinary type sounds listed above -
and an ideal soundtrack to public transportation in the urban 'scape:

V/A "'Steppas Delight : Dubstep Present & Future" (SoulJazz)
Goth-Trad "Genesis" (SoulJazz)
V/A "Skull Disco : Soundboy's Gravestone Gets Desecrated by Vandals" (Skull Disco)
The Bug "London Zoo" (Ninja Tune)
Plastician "Rinse Mix : Volume 6" (Rinse FM)
Roots Manuva "Slime & Reason" (Big Dada)
V/A "An England Story : From Dancehall to Grime - 25 Years of the MC in the UK" (SoulJazz)

Didn't travel this year to see art openings quite as much as previous years, so those didn't amount
to enough to make a separate list of VISUAL ART, but great exhibits were seen throughout the year at:

SFMoMA
Lawrimore Project
Western Bridge Gallery
Frye Art Museum
Henry Art Gallery

...And lets not forget the most important event in arts / culture / politics here in usamerica this past
year, took place on the night of Nov. 4th!

New films by Steven Soderbergh, Darren Aronofsky, Laurent Cantet, David Fincher and Ari Folman at Landmark Theatres : January - March

After many, many months wait some of the notable highlights from Cannes and Venice, are just now
being distributed to usamerica thanks largely to IFC and the Landmark Theatres chain. See previous
promulgations here on both festivals for more info, I'm going to keep this one brief - onto the films!

Steven Soderbergh's massive-scope historically detailed (and rigorously researched) historical drama on
Che Guevara is here! After some distribution delays and concerns about finding its audience, considering
the duration and subject, It's now to be shown as a two-part film, rather than the original intended
4 1/2 hour single work that screened in Europe. Hopefully this adjusted two part, multiple film vehicle
won't disrupt the narrative flow/effect/coherence of the intended experience. Reports from Film Comment
and Sight & Sound have been both critical and highly praising. Possibly the first studio-backed drama on
these historic events that doesn't play up the heroism, but focuses instead on the man and the context:

Link to Landmark Theatre's "Che - Pt.1" site

Link to Landmark Theatre's "Che - Pt.2" site

Fincher's early work struck me as him aspiring to find itself firmly mythologized by the 'MTV generation'
(as much as I liked the adaptation of "Fight Club", possibly even more than the book itself). With last
years "Zodiac", I felt he'd made his first 'mature' film and a riveting crime/detective/period drama at
that. His newest here, an adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald, looks to be also about time's passing,
though in this case, in a more literally sense for one man. Hopefully he won't resort to the overly
-sentimental in this one, as that's his weakest hand:

Link to Landmark Theatre's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"site

Reportedly a strong, critical look at the education process and issues of race, class and culture in
urban France. Apparently, the mostly non-professional teen cast has put in amazing performances
and the depiction of these complex multifaceted issues conveyed in the film won it the highest award
at Cannes, the Palme D'Or:

Link to Landmark Theatre's "The Class" site

Darren Aronofsky has always struck me as overreaching in his projects, aspiring toward grand themes,
or massive lows, and sometimes coming up right in the middle. He deserves credit for being so audacious
and there are striking, memorable passages in everything he's done, "The Fountain" and "Requiem for a
Dream" come to mind. Possibly, with this smaller scale, more intimate subject and film, shot on handheld
video, he's found a vehicle that aligns with his best qualities as a director. Reports from the Venice Film
Festival have said as much and gave high praise to Mickey Rourke's depiction of a down-and-out pro wrestler:

Link to Landmark Theatre's "The Wrestler" site

Ari Folman's animated docu-drama about the first Lebanon War consistently made the 'Films of the Year'
polls in all the major Euro and British press. The images have been striking, the trailer is intense, and
the film is both brutal and poetic in extremis. In short: I have the highest regard for this one of a kind
piece of movie-making. My compliments go to Folman and Co. for creating critical, adult, political cinema
as 'animation' and knowing the form is capable of telling such stories. The humanism and atrocity of the
historic events depicted are the very worst of war, that Folman's art succeeds in conveying both the vivid
essence and the subtlety (and surrealism) of these extremes is the proof of "Waltz with Bashir"'s success.
This is the film of 2008 not to be missed in 2009:

Link to Landmark Theatre's "Waltz with Bashir" site

Venice Film Festival + Hayao Miyazaki's "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea"

All at once, a bunch of modern greats suddenly have new films that have just premiered at various fests
in Europe. Of note, the Venice Film Festival.

Which included the western premier of Hayao Miyazaki's newest along with new work by Abbas Kiarostami,
Haile Germina, Kathryn Bigelow, Mamoru Oshii, Aleksei German, Werner Schroeter, Claire Denis, and Yu
Lik-Wai. A couple of these have shown in NYC and at the Toronto Fest over the fall, but otherwise haven't
seen stateside release/distribution yet. Hopefully they'll appear at Scarecrow Video in the coming months:

Link to the Venice Film Festival site

Hayao Miyazaki "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea" - Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli deliver what looks again
to be another piece of pretty much incomparable animated storytelling. This one involving a Sea
Demon, the Goddess of the Sea and a race of mutant fish that are designed to replace humanity as
Earth's caretakers... that is, until one befriends a young boy and begins to become human her(it)self.
Stateside release is due when? Judging from past delays in Disney's distribution of his films, we may
have to wait upwards of a year:

Link to Studio Ghibli "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea"site

Mamoru Oshii "The Sky Crawlers" - Another animated feature by one of Japan's greats. Oshii is back in
familiar territory with this tale of endless war, dark corporate ambitions to shape society and a race of
immortal youth genetically bred to fight endless (aerial) battles as the backdrop for consumer society,
in this futuristic Orwellian vision:

Link to official "The Sky Crawlers" site

Aleksei German "Paper Soldier" - Won the Silver Lion for Best Director in this period piece depiction of a
Georgian medical officer preparing the first manned travel into space. Apparently, not only exceptional
for its period recreations, but also in its acting, cinematography and ability to convey a pivotal moment
in World History as one distinctly Russian in its richness and depiction of personal sacrifice:

Link to Film.RU "Paper Soldier" site

Werner Schroeter "This Night" - An unnamed man returns to a city under siege to find a woman he
left behind - taking place over the course of one night, the film is said to be a brutal depiction of
desperation told with a mind-bending (nightmarish) surrealistic bent, when his venture brings him
deeper and deeper into the heart of the night and the labyrinth of the city's underbelly:

Link to official "Nuit De Chien/This Night" site

New Cinema from Spain at NWFF : Nov 14 - 20

Short festival of new cinema from Spain screening at the Northwest Film Forum in the month of November.
Adventurous (by degrees, the Serra being the most unclassifiable and genre defying) and critically lauded
(in particular by FIPRESCI in the case of "Yo/Me" and Film Comment for "In the City of Sylvia") narrative
drama from Félix Viscarret, José Luis Guerin, Albert Serra and Rafa Cortés along with relatively new names;
Iciar Bollain, Carles Bosch, Gracia Querejeta, and Jaime Rosales. Check the Northwest Film Forum for
screening times and schedule:

Link to NWFF 'Festival of New Cinema from Spain' site

From the Northwest Film Forum:

"José Luis Guerín nimbly brings moviemaking and moviegoing back to some of their lovely early pleasures
in his masterful In the City of Sylvia. He is so successful at modernizing and rarefing these elements that it
forces one to reconsider the dialogue and special effects in other films as clutter. In the City of Sylvia is an
everyday, yet sublime, vision, one so exquisite you’d think that everything Guerín looks at—the city of
Strasbourg, its flaneurs and shops, even the sun that shines on it-was created for the loving gaze of his
camera. The story also evokes the most blessed moments of a New Wave work like Agnès Varda’s Cleo from
5 to 7. During a few languid summer days, a young foreigner spends his afternoons sketching in an outdoor
café. He is looking for a woman named Sylvia who he’d met years before in the same city. He is also sketching
the many attractive young women he sees everywhere, any one of whom could be her. Then one afternoon,
thinking he’s actually seen her, he sets off through the city to confront his memory. Guerín’s graceful work
eloquently captures the feeling of being in love with love, and the youthful sense of a world filled with an
almost limitless sensuality.

Link to official "In the City of Sylvia" site

From the Northwest Film Forum:

"Named “Revelation of the Year” by FIPRESCI, the international association of film critics at Cannes 2007,
"Me" is the story of a man who, suspecting he is to be accused of something he hasn’t done, sets out to
prove an innocence that nobody yet questions. Every attempt to correct this mistake leads him closer to
the real problem: himself. Set on Majorca island, the atmosphere is supported by strange characters,
suspicious looks, and a surreally nightmarish climate. They begin to build into an unsettling and
meticulously crafted drama. Rafa Cortés’ burgeoning talent is undeniable, creating a palpable
atmosphere with the help of Alex Brendemühl’s (who co-wrote the film) brilliant performance."

Link to official "Me" film site

Tomas Alfredson's new film "Let the Right One In" at Landmark Theatres

I'm promoting a Teen Romance Vampire Movie from Sweden? You know if that's
happening, there's a good reason for it. In this case, a handful of reasons. My thoughts
on why its deserving of a larger audience are namely that for once, Vampirism isn't over-
glamorized in a X-men kind of comic book outsider-superhero nonsense way and more
significantly, that the film doesn't feel any need to impose a moral interpretation (of the
sometimes pretty gruesome acts involved with said Vampirism) on the audience. You are
given time to develop a relationship with the characters and make your own judgments
(something not seem in much genre film, especially 'horror') and that society (as
represented in the film by the comical depiction of the Swedish), isn't there as a 'moral
enforcer' within the narrative to show you, the audience, how to consider these characters,
their actions and ultimately the choices they make. Like any good cinema for adults, this
film knows those considerations should be left to you. Lastly, it should be mentioned
that its simply and precisely shot, with very subdued effects and restrained soundtrack
punctuation, all of which compliment the light-handed narrative delivery.
Well done, Tomas Alfredson.

And yes, "Let the Right One In" is indeed that very same film that showed at SIFF
this past summer - and other than a few positive reviews from those who attended,
it received just about nil in the way of recognition, much less any high-profile press.
Expect that to change in the coming months now that it has national distribution.
Especially with the inevitability of some bullsh*t american remake in the coming year
that manages to lose all the subtlety and balance of the original in its translation.
See the original in the cinema while you can:

Link to official "Let the Right One In" site

Link to Landmark Theatres screening schedule

20 Years of Zeitgeist Films at SIFF Cinema : Nov 14 - 26

Seattle International Film Festival celebrates Zeitgeist Film's excellence over the course of their 20 years
with this selection of notable releases. Series includes such directors (and some of my personal favorites
among their work) as Guy Maddin, Jia Zhang-Ke, Nuri Bilge-Ceylon, Francois Ozon, Brothers Quay and
Derek Jarman. Check the SIFF site for schedule and screenings:

Link to SIFF Cinema '20 Years of Zeitgeist Films' site

From the SIFF site:

"We celebrate 20 years of extraordinary vision with our tribute to independent distributor Zeitgeist Films.
Founded in 1988, Zeitgeist has consistently sought out and championed films that are both innovative
and challenging—expressions of the best in world cinema. They have embraced such artists as Todd
Haynes, Francois Ozon, Olivier Assayas, and Guy Maddin in the early stages of their careers, introducing
them to American screens; and have revived the works of master filmmakers like Jacques Demy and
Derek Jarman. Happy Anniversary, Zeitgeist!"

Link to Zeitgeist Films site