As if I already didn’t have too many things to do, I will be writing casual posts on philosophy and science over here: The Parallax. As usual, you can get all of up my updates (i.e. music and everything else) on my twitter account, where I avoid boring you.

Oh and guess what, I’m getting ready to jump back into Secret Garden footage very soon.

Nick Broomfield’s documentary-style film weaves a 360-degree story around the Haditha killings of November 2005 in Iraq. He’s put together a great cast of non-actors, mostly featuring former US Marines and Iraqi refugees in Jordan, where the movie was shot on location. Not referring to the explicit language, I found the conversations to be blunt and lacking subtleties, but you’ll find plenty of nuances in the complicated folds of the story itself. Besides, it seems Broomfield was going for rawness (there was a lot of improvisation involved), and through the events surrounding one incident, the jab is at a bigger truth. Bigger truths just happen to make perfect stories, but I suppose you’ve got to compress the lines if you’re going to get anywhere near?

Former US Marine Elliot Ruiz gives an incredible performance. Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay for the QA with him and Broomfield (can you believe it)! Film Forum is showing the movie through May 20.

Firstly, Bowerbirds is returning to New York for two dates:
10-01 New York, NY – The Bowery Ballroom
10-02 Brooklyn, NY – Studio B

Mark these down, because the last time they played Bowery Ballroom (video!), they were quite fabulous. Secondly, given that Dan Deacon’s shuffle iPod, which remains taped to a plastic banana, went missing during a show in London, we can assume his cousin’s friend in the State Department was able to get him a passport for his first ever trip to Europe. On his “missing beast”, he posted a MySpace bulletin saying he’s not mad, but he’d like it back.

Photo: Jeffrey Scott

Beth Tacular of Bowerbirds, on the other hand, claims her accordion was stolen by Gumby, and is offering a $500 reward for the Gumby, with or without the accordion.

The intrigue behind Steve Buscemi’s Interview results from it being first of the three movies that are to complete Triple Theo- a project that aims to realize murdered Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh’s wish to remake three of his movies in English, with New York City as the setting of choice. The consequent process itself is a point of interest, since not only does it adopt Theo’s stripped-down style of filmmaking, but it recruits his team to do so. As the movie’s website explains, for example, three digital cameras ran at all takes, one trained on each of the two main characters, the third capturing middle and master shots.

More after the jump.

The end result itself left me with mixed feelings, however. For a plot that extends over an evening spent between its two main characters, there is quite a bit of dynamism, though this doesn’t seem to come without compromise. The hyperbolic hysteria Sienna Miller injects in her character Katya is somewhat in contrast to Buschemi’s subtler portrayal of troubled journalist Pierre, and though the jumpy mood swings in her may keep you wide-eyed, they seem to lack reason (or, at least, credibility). The entire encounter, in fact, what is promised to be a collision of two worlds (political journalist vs. spoiled actress), lacks a clear purpose. Twisted conversations turn interesting at some points, and the two characters are indeed more similar than one would imagine at first, but the biggest disappointment is that the collision that is seeded never really develops. There is no revelation. Every time a trace of collision emerges, it stops prematurely with the obvious, such as a gruesome description of a war zone that may startle a starlet for a few brief minutes. At the same time, the movie never tips. For the most part, there is a well-mixed offering of humor, trouble, mystery, etc. The script has some banal moments, which, to some extent, the acting saves, but at others, I couldn’t help wondering if it comes in the way.

Paprika (Watch the trailer)

Release in New York: May 25, 2007 from Sony Pictures Classics
Language: Japanese

Satoshi Kon’s adaptation of Yasutaka Tsutsui’s sci-fi novel is an elaborate weave of endless imaginations. Animators at Madhouse, Inc. have marvelously brought this bizarre tale to a colorful life. Every bit of the flim is magical, both in idea and execution. The plot involves intrustion of dreams, so it’s free to defy physics, or any rational notion of space and time. But logic is in place, and is, at times, even profound. You’ll just have to grasp its thread and hang on tight. The song posted above, by Hirasawa Susumu, is the theme song. Showtimes at Angelika.

More after the jump.

Daywatch (Watch the trailer)

Release in New York: June 1, 2007 from Fox Searchlight
Language: Russian

Sense was never the point with Timur Bekmambetov’s Nightwatch, based on Sergey Lukyanenko’s fantasy novel of the same name. But Daywatch is even more nonsensical than its predecessor. With a story that revolves around a magical chalk that controls destiny, the plot is aware of its own cheesiness. Whether it’s the hilarious body swap that leads to a girl-on-girl shower scene or a drunken birthday party where hero Anton is mostly being silly and obnoxious, it has the characteristic of being more delirious. As a sequel, it fails to excite as much with the filmmakers’ wonderful offering of visual explorations, which were outrightly stunning in Nightwatch. The ideas are still fun, however, and execution is pretty solid. In addition, thanks to the Russian brand of badass in actors like Galina Tyunina, both Nightwatch and Daywatch are still a blast. Just prepare to cringe every now and then, that’s all. Showtimes at Angelika.

John Pike, fourth from left.

According to Angry Ape:

Ra Ra Riot drummer John Pike was found dead in Massachusetts, following his disappearance at weekend.

Pike went missing early on Saturday (June 2nd) morning after a party in Fairheaven – the band had played a show in Providence, RI on the Friday night.

His cell phone was then found in shallow water on a beach about half a mile from where the party was held, then on Sunday afternoon at around 4pm, his body was found immersed in water seven feet deep at Buzzards Bay.

Fans are now leaving messages on the Ra Ra Riot MySpace page, which can be found here.

Last night our drummer John Pike went missing at 3 am. He was last seen in Fairhaven, MA wearing a yellow t-shirt and jeans. If you have any information on where he may be, know anyone in the Fairhaven area, or spoke with him after 2 am saturday morning, please contact Fairhaven police immediately as well as John’s mother, Paula Pike – (978) 835 2140. We appreciate any information.

Oh no! Deacon’s been vulgarized. I don’t think it’s appropriate to blend winged Wham City dwellers with Khia’s top ho’ness. I’m not a fan of this mix, but Absorb the Lip Goss still rocks.

[imeem http://media.imeem.com/m/84qGme68Pu/aus=false/]

or listen to this live track recorded by Ryan

[imeem http://media.imeem.com/m/ReBi1jUSk2/aus=false/]

As I prepare for two Arcade Fire shows this week, writes Washington Post’s J. Freedom du Lac:

A ticket to an Arcade Fire show represents the possibility, if not the probability, of being transported — of transcendence. It’s the reason tickets to the 3,700-seat venue sold out in less than an hour. It’s also why the band is becoming increasingly known as one of the most vital live acts in contemporary popular music — a sort of modern-day art-rock answer to Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, whose galloping music was echoed in Arcade Fire’s superlative set-closer, “Keep the Car Running.” (The Talking Heads are another important touchstone.)

Hmm. Full article.

Photo: Elizabeth Weinberg / Buy a print of this image