Friday, February 22, 2013
'Searching for Sugar Man' explores the life and work of Sixto Rodriguez. It's nominated for a Best Documentary Oscar.
This week, I thought I would review one of two Oscar-nominated documentaries I saw recently: Searching for Sugar Man. Will it win on Oscar Night, February 24, 2013? We will just have to wait and see. Searching for Sugar Man is the quest for the musical artist from the 1970s that I had never heard of. But, apparently, I am not alone. As a matter of fact, most of the world has never heard of the musician Sixto Rodriguez….EXCEPT, apparently, for South Africa, where he is, was and still is a big cult sensation. Having released only two albums in the early 1970s, Rodriguez remained a man of mystery to those who loved him all over South Africa until some impressive, dogged research by some music fans finally uncovered the mystery. This …
Friday, February 8, 2013
Film shows why Vogue's Anna Wintour is at the top of her profession
What I know about Haute Couture, I could fit in a shoebox (an infant's shoebox). Maybe that is why I found The September Issue SO fascinating. If I knew more about the lifestyle these people were talking about, maybe I would have been bored. Instead, I was riveted. Could people really be this focused on clothes and shoes and, most shocking of all, accessories? Well, this film and the real characters in it proves that yes, people can be this focused on all areas of fashion. Anna Wintour is the star of the film. A British ex-pat who came to New York and the world-renowned Vogue (American VOGUE, that is) from British Vogue and is now Vogue's editor-in-chief. Wintour is a fierce woman...who can make or break a designer’s career with just the …
Thursday, September 29, 2011
“Fordson” opened to big crowds on the weekend of 9/11's 10th anniversary.
This story is part of a Patch series examining the Muslim experience 10 years after the Sept. 11 attacks. Read other stories in the series here. Director Rashid Ghazi doesn’t expect Fordson: Faith, Fasting, Football to make any money. The Glenview resident just thinks the documentary about the post-Sept. 11, 2001 Muslim-American experience needed to be made. Read more: A Review of Fordson: Faith, Fasting, Football Set in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Fordson tells the story of the football team at a predominantly Muslim-American high school. The high school students go through grueling practices leading up to a big rivalry game during Ramadan, a holy month where Muslims do not eat or drink from sunrise to sunset. Through interviews with …
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
'Fordson' examines life and football in a predominantly Muslim city.
Many of the stories told in the documentary Fordson: Faith, Fasting, Football could come from any number of small towns across America. The film is set in a blue collar community with a passion for high school football. Caring coaches motivate their students. Teens dream of playing college ball and talk about the family members that inspired them to join the team. Small children play with footballs during potluck dinners on the patio, while their dads watch the game on TV. It’s a profoundly American story. It just happens to be one set in a town predominantly populated by Muslims of Arab descent. In the wake of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2011, many writers and filmmakers tried to address how the country was coming to terms with the…
Earl Weiss
10:55 am on Friday, February 22, 2013
Seen the movie. Loved it. You can catch a "60 Minutes" piece about him on the net. Better yet, liked his music. He's better than Dylan. more ›