DJANGO Unchained

Quentin Tarantino fills my revengeful soul like no other filmmaker.  He portrays Nazis as  cultured and articulate men you can't wait to be killed (painfully).  And now Southern slave owners are played as mean to the core, chillingly violent, and in one silly scene stupidly dependent on their wives to make proper KKK hoods.  I just LOVED this quintessential Tarantino film.  He gives a revisionist view of history where slaves (oh yes, called n****** throughout) rise up and are amazingly successful in retribution.  "You wanna cut off my balls?  I'll shoot you in yours."  Who could not cheer for that moment?
Christoph Walz, Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel Jackson and Kerry Washington are perfectly cast and brilliantly deliver. The dialogue is wonderful, as is the photography.  Alas, Tarantino's editor recently died so there is too much of the stuff he loves (she would have deleted), but nevertheless a GREAT film.  A great re-making of American history.

HOLY MOTORS

What a ride!  What a performance by Denis Lavant.  Suspend all thoughts of a film that follows any film making formula and let yourself enjoy this zany, insane, provocative ride with a beautiful older woman chauffeur who takes her passenger to nine stops where he becomes nine different characters.  And when he finally returns home you will laugh and shake your head.  I can't think of a better film to see if you're feeling weighed down by the stuff in our world right now.

Armadillo Crafts Bazaar

Since arriving in Austin one of my favorite annual events is this crafts sale at Palmer Events Center where I hear great music, drink wine and support local artists.  I visit the fare a couple of times, pick my selections and then bring Abe back to confirm that he likes what I do.  This year it's a mosaic owl from Aly Winningham, my favorite mosaic artist in Austin, and an acrylic painting (rooster named Chester) by a folk artist, Jackie Haliburton (no relationship to Cheney whatsoever), who travels from Houston with her husband to sell her wonderful paintings of African American figures.  While I am not a lover of Christmas shopping I do love supporting local artists and this venue is perfect.  It's where I first heard Ray Wylie Hubbard and I've been a fan since!  Alas this year there was no Asleep at the Wheel.  KUT tells me Ray Benson is off in Montana.  There's always next year.

LIFE OF PI/Thank-You Ang Lee

Ang Lee, a masterful filmmaker, has created a film which embodies the power of  film.  A film that lifted me from a week of grief and bereavement I have felt since the shootings of children in Connecticut. A film that reminded me of the power of art to demonstrate the human capacity and potential to survive enormous loss.  A film that proved a non-actor could reach into his being to bring us a performance like Suraj Sharma did.  A film that reminded me once again of  the incredible story telling talents of Irrfan Khan.  And all of the technology that went into keeping me captivated by beauty, natural and otherwise was, on this occasion, so appreciated.  A reprieve from madness that surrounds us is, for me, the power of film.  Always always I found myself in a theater since I was a little girl in the Bronx to help me face the demons of this world.  Thank-you Ang Lee for this exquisite film.

Only Two Can Play/Austin Film Society

Last night was the end to our Welsh Essential Cinema Series and an end to Tuesday nights at Alamo South Lamar.  We're being sent up to the Alamo Village for 10 months (bet it's a year) while Tim League builds his empire.  (I'm smiling.)  This was a great B/W film starring Peter Sellers as a loathsome character who you really quite like!  A philanderer, theater critic and librarian.  Who treats his wife shabbily (she's really quite cute) and lives a pretty difficult life in a flat with his wife and two kids and a parade of Welsh characters.  Jim Kolmar's notes as always provided enormous background information and I will never look at THE PINK PANTHER in the same light.  Peter Sellers I learned was a magnificent talent who dealt with his tormentors of self loathing as so many artists do, with drugs and alcohol.  What a shame!  Thank-you Jim and AFS for this wonderful series.

UT/RTF End of Semester Films

Tonight we headed up to the Mc Cullough Theater where we had a chance to view the films made by students in Nancy Schiesari and Kat Candler's Narrative classes.  We were so impressed with the talent, hard work, creativity and collaborative effort demonstrated by these students.  So good to see and hug Amada Yam, Ta Neil Dodson and Skylar Moran. And to let them know I feel like a proud mama watching their accomplishments. One of the best parts of my transition to Austin was meeting and working with these fine young filmmakers.

UNFATHOMABLE GRIEF

I taught two children how to ride the NYC subways when they were 11 years old.  By themselves.  I taught them how to go to middle schools  in Brooklyn called "ghetto schools" and to be wise and safe.  I sent them off to the heartland of America, Wisconsin and Texas where they were surrounded by kids whose families had guns, and I said "have an open mind."  But NEVER EVER could I prepare a kid to go to kindergarten and be safe from a family's dysfunction.  And evil. And a shooter.  Enough of your guns America!  Enough!!