What piece of art changed your life? How did it affect you?
When I was five years old, my Dad took me to see a movie with Louis Armstrong and Danny Kaye. It was called The Five Pennies. I saw Louis play trumpet and sing in the movie and told my Dad to get me […]

Posted at 12:00 pm
Categories: film, life-changing art, music | No Comments

Matthew Porterfield’s poetically sublime film, Hamilton, screens tonight at MICA’s Brown Center. If you aren’t familiar with the local filmmaker’s work, think Jim Jarmusch’s long and steady gaze infused with the lush color and thoughtful composition of a William Eggleston photograph. Hosted by Porterfield, the screening begins at 7:30 pm. Admission is five bucks.

Posted at 8:59 am
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Lynn Redgrave will appear at the Baltimore Women’s Film festival on Friday, October 24th. Immediately after the screening of Beyond Breast Cancer: Stories of Survivors at Landmark’s Harbor East Cinemas, Redgrave and her daughter, Annabel Clark, will sign copies of their collaborative book, Journal: A Mother and Daughter’s Recovery from Breast Cancer, at RA Sushi. […]

Posted at 11:39 am
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What piece of art changed your life? And how did it affect you?
I first saw Kubrick’s Paths of Glory as an undergraduate at the University of Maryland. The last scene — an affirmation of the dignity inherent in even the most common man — shattered me. I got that much out of it, […]

Posted at 11:23 am
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I ran into Leslie Raimond of the Kent County Arts Council over the weekend, and she’s very excited about the showing of Purification that’s slated for September 20th at Chestertown’s Prince Theater. The film examines traditional river baptisms and focuses on ancestral customs, as well as contemporary environmental awareness. It features footage of the first […]

Posted at 2:00 pm
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When I first heard that actress Scarlett Johansson was recording an album of Tom Waits songs, all I could do was shake my head. I’m a huge Waits fan, and it was hard to imagine her—or anyone else, for that matter—taking on an entire album of his material. Jazz singer Holly Cole had tried, and […]

Posted at 2:48 pm
Categories: film, music | 1 Comment

A friend burned me a copy of The Tinklers documentary, Everybody Loves The Tinklers. Directed by a pair of local undergrad filmmakers, it’s a wonderful tribute to a beloved Baltimore duo known for deftly combining performance art, common sense philosophy, and a lo-fi/diy sensibility. For almost 30 years, Chris Mason and Charles Brohawn have created a unique, […]

Posted at 7:01 pm
Categories: film, music, tribute | 3 Comments