Search

Search only in certain items:

40x40

Nitin Sawhney recommended Bird (1988) in Movies (curated)

 
Bird (1988)
Bird (1988)
1988 | Drama

"A beautiful film about Charlie Parker, played brilliantly by Forest Whitaker, and directed by an actor who’s obviously a big jazz fan. Bird really shows you how ludicrously gifted Parker was, how his mind worked on a completely different level, but also how much he got lost in self-loathing, and how addiction made everything fall apart. Parker was 34 when he died, but the coroner thought he was 60, looking at his body. By getting into the New York club scene and looking at aspects of racism, this film also shows just how much Parker achieved, given everything he was fighting against."

Source
  
Do the Right Thing (1989)
Do the Right Thing (1989)
1989 | Comedy, Drama

"I saw this one on the evening of its release in New York City. The advance buzz spread fears that it would ignite racial friction and incite race riots. The tension in the audience before it began was nothing I had ever experienced before in a movie house. The melting pot of moviegoers sat in stillness and silence and finally stood up and applauded the screen as the end credits rolled. We walked out of the theater transformed, more united, tolerant, and together than we were two hours before. How many films have ever been able to do that?"

Source
  
The Horse's Mouth (1958)
The Horse's Mouth (1958)
1958 | Classics, Comedy
3.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"This is not only one of the funniest films ever made, but, as one who has spent time with a number of painters, I could see that it was really about painters and painting. And it was responsible for my first film—a short that ran for almost a year at the Paris Theater in New York. Of course, I’ll always love it. One of the lines I love is when the helper lady asks how you can tell when a picture is finished, and the painter hero looks at her quizzically and says, “You just know.” For me, that was movies."

Source
  
40x40

Dana Calvo recommended Traffic (2001) in Movies (curated)

 
Traffic (2001)
Traffic (2001)
2001 | Drama

"I was living a little bit of this story in real time, because the film came out while I was living on the border, reporting on drug trafficking in Northern Mexico for the Associated Press. (I was also dating the journalist consultant to the film, a reporter for the New York Times.) The filmmakers got it right. They captured the resignation that countless families caught in the narco racket feel: plata o plomo. Benicio del Toro is magnificent as a doomed local cop, and his performance is as understated and sure-footed as anything I’ve ever seen him in since."

Source
  
Right Direction by Benjamin Lazar Davis
Right Direction by Benjamin Lazar Davis
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Rating
This is Beck, circa Sea Change, but with a boxier mix and these lo-fi drums that sound like old sneakers. The songwriting is top notch. This track will resonate with anyone who has had to walk through the darkness. That's always the question: am I doing this right?

Davis got his start in New York City as a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer. We like where he's going with this:

“Fade out but the lights are still glowing
tell me where to go
how long will I run without knowing
if I’m running in the right direction...”
— Benjamin Lazar Davis
  
The Dead Don't Die (2019)
The Dead Don't Die (2019)
2019 | Comedy, Horror
Good comedic timing (1 more)
Self aware/breaks fourth wall
Pacing (0 more)
It's a fun self aware zombie movie. It's not scary so if that's what you want this isn't the movie for you. It's set in a sleepy town in New York so the slow pacing is appropriate although it does drag at times and could have been a smidge faster. I enjoy deadpan humor and dry sarcasm which this movie is littered with. It's not a movie that I'm going to watch over and over again. However I'll put it on for background at a party or have fun watching during"bad movie" night.