God damn. Questlove does not miss. The opening mash-up sequence alone is a masterpiece. But the whole film is a beautiful, yet complex, tribute to a showbiz institution. The roster of interviews is as diverse and storied and as the performances they’re talking about. It makes me want to spend the next year digging through the 50 years of archival footage. Exactly how I felt after watching Summer of Soul.
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A Real Pain 2024
Powerful in its simplicity and its excess. A Real Pain does a fantastic job of making light in the darkness and finding the darkness in seemingly light people. Kieran Culkin gives a performance that you can’t take your eyes off of. Jess Eisenberg’s direction balances the intimacy of relationships with the enormity of history.
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Problemista 2023
A beautiful and surreal allegory about the immigration system and the arts and FileMaker Pro. Only from the mind of Julio Torres. A feast for the eyes and the mind.
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The City 1939
Reminiscent of Vertov’s Man with a Movie Camera (1929), this short doc is almost poetic in its storytelling. The argument for planned communities feels surprisingly relevant almost 100 years later. But it’s the way the film shows, rather than tells, that makes it a unique piece of experimental Americana. It’s truly amazing that this was as well received as it was on debut. Even more amazing is that it has been so well preserved, restored and made freely available by the National Archives.
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