Public Options: “Certified Copy” at BAM

Posted by Nick Curley Certified Copy directed by Abbas Kiarostami France, 106 mins. The Italian translation of the new book by psych-laden art critic James Miller (baritone opera star William Shimell, showing staggering poise in his first film role), Copie Conforme (trans: Certified Copy), is built like a slab of lead.  His text is all Helvetica, gray aesthete for gray matter: sleek and sophisticated, it wouldn’t be out of place in Vol. 1’s recurring “Book Porn” feature. 

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Lars Ulrich of Metallica in Ernest Hemingway Biopic

Posted by Jason Diamond From the Things that Sorta Make No Sense department: Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich has been cast in an HBO drama also starring Nicole Kidman and Clive Owen. The film, called “Hemingway And Gellhorn”, is described as “a drama centered on the romance between Ernest Hemingway and WWII correspondent Martha Gellhorn. (Via Blabbermouth) My only hope is that there is a “For Whom the Bell Tolls” joke in this movie.

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On Gregg Araki’s “Kaboom”

Posted by Jon Reiss Director Gregg Araki is best known for his 1995 film The Doom Generation. Upon release, The Doom Generation quickly developed a strong cult following, and hoisted up Rose McGowan as a sex symbol for the dark alterna-teen set.  Meanwhile, mainstream critics panned the film as nothing more than a cheesy riff on Larry Clark’s Kids, with insufferable dialogue and poor performances. 

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Band Booking: Dustin Wong

Posted by Jason Diamond Dustin Wong is one of the great guitar geniuses of our time, and on his first solo album since the hiatus–or whatever the kids are calling it these days–of his former band, Ponytail, he delivers big time. Infinite Love is an expansive work of heady, spazzy, and textured instrumentals that sounds something like surf rock for the Silver Surfer. A lot of it sounds improvised (and frankly, it probably is), and some of it sounds like […]

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Band Booking: Noveller

Posted by  Tobias Carroll Noveller, the musical alias of Sarah Lipstate, has made some of the most vital ambient/drone work in recent memory. This set from the Issue Project Room gives a good sense of the breadth of Lipstate’s work, which can veer from challenging instrumental soundscapes to precise evocations of bliss in an instant. 2010 saw the release of two the CD Desert Fires (to be released on LP next month by Weird Forest) and Bleached Valentine, a split […]

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Weekend Borges

Posted by Jason Diamond Philippe Molins directed The Mirror Man, a 2007 documentary on Jorge Luis Borges. It’s 47 minutes but it’s the weekend, so make a bloody mary, sit back and enjoy. (Tip: Dangerous Minds)

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