Lay Down Your Burdens: Part 2

Since i moved to NYC on 7/7/2007, i’ve been going to a lot of movies and jazz shows.
This is just a note to keep track of what i have seen.

First the movies
- La vie en rose (Paris Theater) - 7/11
- Hairspray (Ziegfeld) - 8/3
- Two days in paris (Angelika) - 8/12
- My Best Friend/Mon meilleur ami (Lincoln Plaza Cinema) - 8/17
- The Bad and the Beautiful (Anthology) - 8/19

Also the movies I’m going try to see in the next few days
- Paprika (Two Boots Pioneer) - 8/25
- The Wrong Man & Rear Window (Film Forum) - 8/26
- Between (Cinema Village) - 8/29
- Wait Until Dark (Film Forum) - 8/30
- Musicians (Two Boots) - 9/7

As for (Jazz) shows I’ve seen so far
- Dave Brubeck Quartet (Lincoln center outdoor) - 8/5
- Antonio Sanchez Quartet (55th Bar) - 8/10
- Brad Mehldau/Charlie Haden (Blue Note) - 8/12
- Jay Leonhart/Wycliff Gordon (Lincoln center outdoor) - 8/14
- Beledo (Taj) - 8/23 (Don’t know if this deseves mentioning here tho).

Am planning on going to
- JOHN PATITUCCI BAND (Iridium) - 8/25
- The Claudio Quintet (The Stone) - 9/8
- Ted Poor and Third Wheel (The Stone) - 9/11
- Chris Speed and Kris David (The Stone) - 9/11
- Wadada Leo Smith 7 Piece Ensemble (Jazz Standard) - 9/22

I had a high expectation for Aronofsky’s movie. After a long wait (having missed the theater release), I finally got a hold of a DVD and used the lengthy memorial weeeked to watch the film. After seeting, I have a mixed feeling about it. The soundtrack is incredible - with Mogwai and Kronos creating a very strange but very sensational atmosphere that sets the tone throughout the movie, and the cinematography for most part incredibly artistic and spectacular. But the story/plot seems to fall short on what the screen and music provides. Perhaps it’s the lack of chemstry between Rachel Weisz and Hugh Jackman that creates that emptiness.

I guess you are not supposed to expect a typical flick anyway. For that, I would even consider this a new genre of film. Aronofsky should be praised for his very different (sometims complex and sometims purplexing) take on how to create films. If Jackmam and Weisz could have done something to build more “feelings”, it could have been a superb movie.

There’s no question in my mind, however, that the music is the best part of the movie. (You can listen to the music here). It is still a movie worth watching. Just expect to see a poetry/art, not a tranditional film. Find more about the sountrack here

Found a few clips on last.fm
Clint Mansell – The Last Man
Clint Mansell – Xibalba
Clint Mansell – Tree of Life