Film Reviews
Mixed media round-up
May / June 2006
Staff Utne magazine
New York Doll
(First Independent Pictures)
www.firstindependenctpictures.com
'For everybody, there's an artist that captures you at just the
right time . . . they can never disappoint you. The Dolls were that
band for me,' says Morrissey, who organized a New York Dolls
reunion in 2004. They were 'that band' for thousands who endured
the worst of '70s progressive rock and heavy metal. Their lean,
riotous songs would give rise to the Clash and the Sex Pistols, to
name just two bands. But 30 years after the Dolls disbanded,
bassist Arthur 'Killer' Kane describes himself as 'just another
schlep on the bus.' He has never made money from the Dolls and is a
little stodgy from decades of depression and alcohol abuse, not to
mention becoming a Mormon after rehabilitation. But it's a Killer
Kane stodgy -- wry, droll, and rock and roll. The reunion concert
and the film alike are sweetly nostalgic, bearing witness to an age
of mediocrity and the heroes who saved us from it. -- Tyler
Otis
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Giuliani Time
(Cinema Libre Studio)
www.cinemalibrestudio.com
It's Giuliani Time! It may sound like a campaign slogan for the
former New York mayor's 2008 presidential bid, but the expression
will forever be linked to his allegedly brutal and racist tactics.
Did Rudy Giuliani make Gotham a safer place to live, or did he
create a vicious atmosphere of fear, intimidation, and curtailed
civil liberties? Kevin Keating's levelheaded documentary attack,
subtitled The Man Who Would Be King, includes no
revelations on the matter. But the cumulative effect of recounting
the litany of crimes committed during Giuliani's reign (from Abner
Louima and Amadou Diallo to workfare slavery and First Amendment
violations) is staggering -- and a powerful reminder of similar,
merciless policies now commonplace nationwide. With Giuliani's
post-9/11 resurrection as a hero, Giuliani Time should be
required viewing before the next election cycle. (The film opens
May 12 in theaters and will be released on DVD in September.) --
Anthony Kaufman