Movie (and Magazine) Magic

 I haven't been to a multiplex theater in so long that immediately upon entering one this weekend I choked back on the smell of popcorn butter and was made dizzy by the busy carpet patterns and escalators and almost instantly regretted my decision to be there. But, I know some films should have the respect of being seen on a big screen and, unfortunately, a lot of those big screens are housed inside these horror show venues, melted chemical nacho cheese & all! The movie I ended up seeing was Drive. I knew it won something big over at Cannes and I remember really liking the style of the  other film I had seen by this director so I thought hell, why not? Drive is a basic hero thriller story cased inside a super stylized meta-shell. The main character drives stunt cars and fixes cars and drives getaway cars and eventually gets caught up in some pretty intense gangster action in the name of love. The music and production design were a near 80s aesthetic (think hot pink and synths) and the film quality itself had this glowing 70s vibe about it that made one think of Steve McQueen speeding away on the lonesome California streets.

The Hollywood story, complete with the cinematic tropes mentioned above, remind you that the film you are watching is just that, a film, making me think that this is why Drive, and the director in general, have gotten so much interest: they have decided that movie magic is a new medium unto itself. The serious(ly awesome) blood and gore, the car chases, the masks, the extended dramatic pauses, the ironic Hollywood qualities all blended together in search of what it means to be a new cinematic hero (and, in turn, a new hero identifying cinematic viewer), taking the audience along for the ride (pun most definitely intended). I hate when people say "I can't wait to see what he does next" disregarding the thing they just watched that the director has slaved over, seeing the potential for improvement but the obvious raw talent, but I left the theater with this exact thought...so close, but not quiet right...all the film-making skill but not the most perfect display of ideas? Maybe next time! (shrugs while holding enormous popcorn tub)

In the near opposite realm of the multiplex fiasco Brent and I headed to another spectacle in the form of a Triple Canopy (the best online culture magazine out there) new issue release party! Art events in loud bars (in this case a nice little, loud bar that felt like the living room of a NY five and dime baron tucked under the The Woolworth Building in the depths of lower Manhattan- chandelier pictured here) filled with the super stylish aren't really my thing nowadays but I was there to support the magazine more than anything else. I've read Triple Canopy from the very beginning mostly because it is constantly at the forefront of content, ideas and just plain interesting-ness across all disciplines. I will admit that sometimes things get a little jargony but...an article about a man who invented a card catalog of the world, another of a man who foresaw the future of technology predicting tablet life decades ago and a steady stream of cutting edge online contemporary art is more than enough to keep me reading! They are so on the cutting edge my computer no longer supports their reading platform so I can't link to articles directly... or even read them right now for that matter! Ha! Time for an upgrade! An upgrade in the name of Triple Canopy! Huzzah! (raises invisible glass to the air)