SCREENING: 47 INDUSTRIES IS SCREENING 6 0VER SAT. NOV. 10, 2012 AT 7PM

One of the best and most honest mechanics you'll ever meet, my pal Mike, is hosting a screening of 6 Over at his shop 47 Industries. While you're there have him start building you the bike or classic car of your dreams.

For more info. and to subscribe to his blog, go here.

6 OVER

6 Over is a documentary about 6 motorcycle builders (Caleb Owens, Jason Webber, Kim Boyle, Jeremiah Armenta, Max Schaaf and Eddie Cleveland) and their love for 2 wheels.

Check out the trailer and buy a copy for yourself:

Trailer from Wild Honey Productions on Vimeo.

TATTOO AGE

A new tattoo documentary series featuring a series of interviews/profiles of what they're calling "the most interesting and sought-after [tattoo] artists in the world."  It debuts July 13, 2011 on VBS.TV with a profile of a buddy of mine, Dan Santoro.  Although I don't have any tattoos by Dan (yet?), he's a legit artist of all sorts (needle, spray paint, acrylics, etc.) and it's good to see him getting recognized for his talents.  If you like what you see, book an appointment with him at Smith Street Tattoo at (718) 643-0463.  You won't be disappointed. 

 

From the official page:  

Tattoo Age is the new series that takes an inside look at the craft of tattooing through a series of profiles on some of the most interesting and sought-after artists in the world. The series kicks off on July 13th with Dan Santoro, and new episodes featuring such artists as Troy Denning, Mike Rubendall, Freddy Corbin, and Grime will air through November.

WHO CARES: THE DUANE PETERS STORY

A documentary (from 2005) with a shitload of skateboarding and a decent soundtrack. Tells the story Mr. Duane Peters, old school skateboard legend and punk rocker. This movie made me pine for my time as a member of the 4-wheel, 7-ply-maple militia. There's some pretty killer pool sessions that made me want to get a pool built and learn how to skate all over again...

The official(?) trailer:

THIS IS ENGLAND '86

This is England '86 is a sequel of sorts to the movie This is England, except instead of being a feature film, this one is made for TV as a 4 part mini-series. Currently airing on Channel 4 in the U.K., but will be available on DVD on October 11, 2010.

From the Channel 4 site:

It's 1986 - the year Chris de Burgh is at number one, Top Gun is filling the cinemas, VHS is trumping Betamax, the World Cup is raging in Mexico and over 3.4 million Brits are unemployed.

As Shaun (Thomas Turgoose) sits his last school exam, the realisation dawns that adulthood beckons and in mid-80s England he's going to have to find his own way in the world. Luckily life has dealt a surprise hand to his friends too and no one is quite where they thought they would be. Woody, Lol, Smell, Gadget, Milky - they are all looking for love, a laugh, a job and something that resembles a future.

This Is England '86 is a brand new drama coming to Channel 4 this September. It revisits the gang from the hit film This Is England three years on.

"When I finished This Is England I had a wealth of material and unused ideas that I felt very keen to take further audiences seemed to really respond to the characters we created and out of my long standing relationship with Film4 and Channel 4 the idea for a television serial developed. Not only did I want to take the story of the gang broader and deeper, I also saw in the experiences of the young in 1986 many resonances to now recession, lack of jobs, sense of the world at a turning point. Whereas the film told part of the story, the TV serial will tell the rest." - Shane Meadows, Director

REVIEW: LA MISSION

Well, I wasn't disappointed. This was an enjoyable film (pronounced fil-em) that deals with the issue of a machismo father and his acceptance (or lack thereof) of his "best friend", his son, who is gay. Add to that a few lowrider cruising scenes, some obligatory "hood" elements, an OK 1970's influenced soundtrack, and it made for an overall pretty enjoyable movie. Keep in mind it's an independent film, and looks and acts like one and you'll be happy. One of the few movies that you can watch with your chick (or with your dude if you go that way). Check this previous post for the trailer and more info.

LA MISSION

A movie featuring low riders, tattoos, and struggle of a tough hood dad accepting his son. Enough of the stuff that I like mixed with an intriguing premise to make me check it out.

I'll follow up with a review. I really hope this doesn't turn out like when I was waiting for Deuces Wild to come out, and then regretted it when actually did.



From the official website http://www.lamissionthemovie.com/:

Growing up in the Mission district of San Francisco, Che Rivera (Benjamin Bratt) has always had to be tough to survive. Hes a powerful man respected throughout the Mission barrio for his masculinity and his strength, as well as for his hobby building beautiful lowrider cars. At the same time hes also a man feared for his street-tough ways and violent temper.

A reformed inmate and recovering alcoholic, Che has worked hard to redeem his life and do right by his pride and joy: his only son, Jes, whom he has raised on his own after the death of his wife. Ches path to redemption is tested, however, when he discovers Jes is gay. In a rage, Che violently beats Jes, disowning him. He loses his son and loses himself in the process. Isolated and alone, Che comes to realize that his patriarchal pride is meaningless to him, and to maintain his idea of masculinity, hes sacrificed the one thing that he cherishes most the love of his son.

To survive his neighborhood, Che has always lived with his fists. To survive as a complete man, hell have to embrace a side of himself hes never shown.

From writer/director Peter Bratt comes La MISSION, a 5 Stick Films, Inc. and TomKat Films production. Produced by Benjamin Bratt, Peter Bratt, and Alpita Patel and executive produced by Tom Steyer, Kat Taylor, and Dan Nelson, La MISSION stars Benjamin Bratt, Erika Alexander, Jeremy Ray Valdez, Jesse Borrego, and Talisa Soto Bratt. The supporting cast includes Kevin Michael Richardson, Patrick D. Shining-Elk, René A. Quiñonez, Ruben Gonzalez, and Max Rosenak.

The talented behind-the-scenes crew includes director of photography Hiro Narita, production designer Keith Neely, editor Stan Webb, costume designer Aggie Rodgers, composer Mark Kilian, and casting director Victoria Thomas.

REVIEW: WHO KILLED NANCY

Like many a young punk rocker, the Sex Pistols were one of my favorite bands growing up. With the Sex Pistols comes Sid Vicious. With Sid came Nancy. With Nancy came turmoil. With turmoil came the murder (?) of Nancy. With Nancy's murder came the overdose of Sid. With Sid's overdose came infamy, notoriety, and legendary status. With this legendary status came the legend of Sid and Nancy, and why 30 plus years after the death of these two junkies in their young 20's we're still wondering what the hell happened that night and how did Nancy end up in the bathroom laying in a pool of blood with a stab wound in her stomach.

With a title like Who Killed Nancy I was expecting this to be a deep investigation into the crime that ended with the death of Nancy Spungen in room 100 of the Chelsea Hotel. In actuality this is more of a biography of Sid and Nancy, their relationship together, and their demise. The story is strung together with interviews with their friends (but none of the famous ones you'd really expect - No Johnny Rotten), interspersed with some crudely animated drawings/pictures, reenactments, live performances, old documentary footage (DOA?), and news footage. The "who killed Nancy?" question seems thrown into the movie as more of an afterthought. Seems like they had the idea about making a movie about who killed Nancy (as per author Alan Parker's supposed promise to Sid's mom), but realized they had about 5 minutes worth of that title subject matter, so they decided to fill up the time by telling the story of Sid and Nancy. The movie probably should have been called Sid and Nancy, but Alex Cox beat them to the punch using that title decades ago.

Overall an OK documentary, good for both those who do or don't have knowledge of who Sid and Nancy were (but probably better for those with an interest in the subject matter).



From the Press Release:

Based on the book Sid Vicious: No One is Innocent

On October 12th 1978 Nancy Spungen, an ex-prostitute, sometimes stripper and heroin addict, was found dead in a bathroom at the Chelsea Hotel in New York. She also happened to be the girlfriend of the Sex Pistols’ bassist Sid Vicious, who was quickly accused of her murder. Less than 6 months later, he died of a heroin overdose and the case was closed.

The death of Sid and Nancy has passed into rock legend and has only added to the controversial and notorious image of the Sex Pistols and punk music. At the request of Sid’s mother, who committed suicide in 1996, rock author and punk expert Alan Parker has devoted himself to discovering Who Killed Nancy? By interviewing 182 people and re-examining NYPD evidence, he reveals what he believed happened that night in room 100.

HUGH HEFNER: PLAYBOY, ACTIVIST AND REBEL

I've been on a vintage Playboy kick over the last few months. I procured (by undisclosed nefarious means) a (digital) copy of Playboy number 1 (and a few other old issues). I also put the Playboy After Dark DVD box set on my Netflix queue. The box set actually contains two different Playboy shows, the late 1950's show Playboy's Penthouse from Chicago, and the late 1960's updated version Playboy After Dark shot in LA. I really didn't give a shit about the later show (don't really care about the whole late 60's vibe, music, etc.), but Playboy's Penthouse was great. You see a really young Hef hanging out in his apartment (really a T.V. studio) with performances by Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Cy Coleman, Lenny Bruce, Sammy Davis Jr., etc. I really liked the Lenny Bruce and Sammy Davis Jr. sketches. Worth the time adding it to your queue (or maybe you can find it on You Tube?) for these performances alone.

While today all you see is an old man hitting on girls made of plastic (microchips here and there?), but it's no small wonder (hahaha) the effect Playboy had on America. It's a miracle that Playboy and Hef are actually still around. Although tame by today's internet porn standards, Playboy Magazine shook the cultural status-quo back then and not just because of the nudity. He was one of the first people out on the front line in the war for racial equality, First Amendment and anti-censorship rights (before the Tropic of Cancer and Howl obscenity trials), abortion rights, sexual freedom, and social justice. It seems that the articles were actually worth reading. (Come to think of it, going through all this old Playboy stuff is probably what planted the seed for me to do this site.)

Well, yesterday (and much to my amusement) when I was flipping through the Village Voice I saw an ad for a new documentary entitled Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel. Definitely going to be checking it out. Trying to "procure" it through my normal means, but I may have to actually procure a ticket to see this in the theater or at least wait to Netflix it.

Check out the trailer below, check out the film, and let me know what you think.