Not a real play, but
a practice run to be strong
during a real play.

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Movie review: ‘Hey Boo: Harper Lee and “To Kill a Mockingbird”‘

sidewalk.wadeonbirmingham.com
By Jennifer West

Review at a glance: “Hey Boo: Harper Lee and ‘To Kill a Mockingbird'” goes beyond the famed novel into the soul of its mysterious Alabama author.

Harper Lee, center, receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom
in 2007, in a scene from “Hey Boo.” Other recipients
are Brian Lamb, head of C-SPAN, and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf,
president of Liberia.

To know Harper Lee is to know Alabama.

The Monroeville native is a mysterious and quiet woman that only wrote one book in her lifetime. This year, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” turned 50. An important documentary takes a look between the lines of the novel and Lee’s life.

“Hey Boo: Harper Lee and ‘To Kill a Mockingbird'” screens Sept. 26 at the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival.

The movie explores many facets of the literary phenomenon, from the author herself to the civil rights movement entwined in the book’s DNA. Writer and director Mary Murphy possesses a passion for Lee that drives this doc. [Note: Murphy says that the festival version is a “work in progress.”]

We see an enlightening look into Lee’s childhood with neighbor and friend Truman Capote, her personal journey and her process as she writes the book. We also see her quiet retreat from the public eye after “Mockingbird’s” huge success. Insightful and rare interviews with her sister Alice Lee take us deep into the soul of the author.

Anna Quindlen, Tom Brokaw, James McBride, James Patterson, Wally Lamb and Oprah Winfrey offer informative and moving commentary. It is fascinating to see how many powerful people Lee’s novel has deeply touched.

This film is especially important to see for Alabamians touched by racism and the civil rights movement. State history is discussed in-depth in relation to the novel, which helped spark a new movement of freedom and state of mind in the Deep South.

In that sense, “Hey Boo” is required reading, ahem … required viewing.

Jennifer West (@thejenwestquest) won the Sidewalk Audience Choice award for her romantic comedy “Piece of Cake” in 2006, which she wrote and directed. She will manage the SideTalk panels at Sidewalk. And her blog, The Jen West Quest, has been featured in Health magazine.

“Hey Boo: Harper Lee and ‘To Kill a Mockingbird'” will screen at 11 a.m. Sept. 26 at the Harambe Room.

Video: “Hey Boo: Harper Lee and ‘To Kill a Mockingbird'” trailer

Also:

• Official site | IMDB | Facebook | Sidewalk page

• • •

Action! Complete Sidewalk Festival coverage.

Election Day will arrive in less than 7 weeks. Can you tell your candidates for governor apart?

Republican nominee Robert Bentley, left, and Democratic nominee Ron Sparks are set to debate in the first of two debates on college campuses. Tonight’s debate will take place in the Frank Moody Music Building at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The rematch will be Oct. 19 at Auburn University.

Debbie Elliott, Alabama graduate and NPR national correspondent, will serve as moderator.

The free event is open only to students. The hourlong debate will be broadcast live at 7 tonight on Alabama Public Television and on WBHM (90.3 FM). A live stream will also be available on the Alabama Public Television website.

Voters can still submit questions for the Oct. 19 debate online, by e-mailing 2010gubernatorialdebate@gmail.com or mailing them to Box 1326, Tuscaloosa, AL 35403-1326. Deadline is Oct. 16.

• • •

Will you be watching tonight? What would you ask the candidates? Tell us in the comments.

• • •

More Vote 2010 coverage.

Leaves of gold and orange
and brown swirl madly around
dancing happy souls.

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“America’s Next Top Model” special report

By Nadria Tucker

Week 2, Cycle 15, “America’s Next Top Model.” Wait …

Has this show has been on for 15 years? Has host Tyra Banks finally decided to shrug the conventions of man, including calendars, to create her own society of Tyraland, where long-necked models run free and flocks of wild hair extensions fill the air?

Kendal Brown of Northport is among the denizens, but will she stay another week? Find out, after the jump …

(more…)

Movie review: ‘Pelada’

sidewalk.wadeonbirmingham.com
By Kenn McCracken

Review at a glance: Soccer doc “Pelada” showcases pickup games around the world, but needs more local flavor at each stop.

A pickup soccer game in Marseille, France,  from “Pelada.”

As an on-again, off-again soccer player during the past 25 years, I was really looking forward to seeing “Pelada.” This documentary about pickup soccer games around the globe feels hollow and lacking, in spite of all that it does well.

The movie screens Sept. 25 at the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival.

The main problem is that the film feels watered down. For all the marketed focus on soccer across geographical, political and religious borders, the point in the end seems to be more of a life lesson for stars Gwendolyn Oxenham and Luke Boughen, who also serve as two of the four co-directors. That split in the framing makes the movie inspirational and fun, but also perhaps sets expectations a little off-base.

The filmmakers, who have some experience playing in college, wisely avoid going too deep into the intricacies of the sport, but they seem to gloss over a lot of seemingly important or interesting cultural information.  The narration reads glossy and flat, and its presentation doesn’t help at all.

However, the editing is skillful, the soundtrack is engaging without becoming distracting, and the pacing is strong. The result is a film that sags under the weight of its featured subjects but remains afloat until the end.

With all the reality TV shows out there, it’s surprising that no one has “Pelada” as weekly series. The film views much like a pickup soccer version of the Travel Channel show, “Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations,” with a hint of cultural background providing the backdrop for an area’s version of pickup soccer.

Spreading both that exploration as well as the narrators’ stories would have seemed much more natural, in an expanded version. As it is, “Pelada” is well worth seeing for fans of soccer and the international varations thereof, but for those looking for a film with heft or depth will likely be disappointed.

Kenn McCracken (@insomniactive) is a director and an award-winning screenwriter (2005 Sidewalk Sidewrite grand prize, “Muckfuppet”). His song “Theme for an Imaginary Revenge” was used in the music video of the same title, screening at Sidewalk on Sept. 25.

He’s also a writer (Birmingham Weekly, Spin.com, mental_floss), a bassist for the Exhibit(s), an eight-time cat juggling champion for Malta and an ongoing experiment in sleep deprivation. He occasionally steals your best ideas to claim at his blog, Dairy of a Madman.

“Pelada” will screen at 4:45 p.m. Sept. 25 at the Carver Theatre.

Video: “Pelada” trailer

Video: Interview with “Pelada” filmmakers Luke Boughen,
Rebekah Fergusson, Gwendolyn Oxenham and Ryan White.

Also:

• Official site | IMDB | Facebook | Twitter @PeladaMovie | Sidewalk page
• Reviews from Film School Rejects | eFilmCritic | Variety

• • •

Action! Complete Sidewalk Festival coverage.

Birmingham ranks No. 4 on FBI overall crime list

Birmingham is winning the war on crime. Homicide is down 21 percent, violent crime down 13 percent and property crime down 10 percent, according to the 2009 Uniform Crime Report from the FBI. Overall, crime is down 10 percent in the metro area.

And yet, crime is down everywhere, at even better rates than in Birmingham.

The result? Birmingham came in at No. 4 nationally in overall crime for 2009, a slight change from placing No. 3 in 2008.

The city came in at No. 7 in the most recent CQ Press’ annual city crime rankings, announced late in 2009.

Homicide dropped to its lowest tally since 2004, with 71 murders in 2009, of which the FBI tallied 65 (the rest ruled justifiable and not counted). Across Jefferson County, the number of murders dropped 8 percent, from 125 in 2008 to 115 in 2009.

The city is safer. But among other U.S. cities, not nearly safe enough.

Also:

• Birmingham News: “Birmingham crime rate down overall; still ranks 4th in U.S.”

Is Birmingham losing the war on perception when it comes to crime? Tell us in the comments.

• • •

Visit our Crime Watch page.

Video: Preview for tonight’s episode.
This catwalk puts the high in high fashion.

The 14 contestants are set. The real battle begins tonight on “America’s Next Top Model.”

So far, Northport’s Kendal Brown has dodged the Drama with a capital D that her fellow competitors have stirred up. Tonight, the challenge will be to work the catwalk, one raised four stories into the air.

Who will fall? Who will soar? Check out the show tonight, and come back for Nadria Tucker’s recap without a net.

Also:

• Episode 1 recap

Video: More from tonight’s catwalk challenge.

Video: Tyra Banks asks Kendal Brown about her “purity.”

“America’s Next Top Model” airs at 7 p.m. Wednesdays on CW 21.

• • •

Subscribe to the RSS feed or e-mail for the latest “America’s Next Top Model” news and updates.

• • •

On the runway: more on “America’s Next Top Model.”

The 12th chapter can
be the first chapter in the
books we write today.

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Movie review: ‘Ready, Set, Bag!’

sidewalk.wadeonbirmingham.com
By Jennifer West

Review at a glance: The winning doc “Ready, Set, Bag!” shows the speedy agility of champion baggers, while moving at an unnecessarily slower pace.

James Hunter takes home the California bagging
trophy in a scene from “Ready, Set, Bag!”

Sometimes, our whole grocery store experience is based on how quickly we can get through the checkout line. Other times, our experience is based on whether or not our bread gets smushed. A good bagger’s got your back.

“Ready, Set, Bag!” gives the audience a glimpse of big ambition from small towns across the United States in the form of bagging groceries.

The documentary screens Sept. 26 at the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival.

These workers train for months, even years, to perfect their bagging skills and qualify for the annual Best Bagger Competition. The film follows several goal-oriented state champions, who are funny and charming.

A few competitors really stand out, like Jacob Richardson from Virginia. This chatty 17-year-old bagger will win your heart from the very first scenes. Utah’s Brian Bay makes you silently root for him as he demands a rematch in Las Vegas for the national title. And don’t forget Roger Chen of Huntsville, who competes to help fund his college education.

While directors Justine Jacob and Alex D. da Silva nail the tone and the story in many ways, the film begs to be about 30 minutes shorter. Nonetheless, “Ready, Set, Bag!” is a great family film, one that will leave you smiling.

Jennifer West (@thejenwestquest) won the Sidewalk Audience Choice award for her romantic comedy “Piece of Cake” in 2006, which she wrote and directed. She will manage the SideTalk panels at Sidewalk. And her blog, The Jen West Quest, has been featured in Health magazine.

“Ready, Set, Bag!” will screen at 4:15 p.m. Sept. 26 at the Alabama Theatre.

Video: Georgia champion Michael Henghi enjoys the support
of co-workers and customers, in a scene from “Ready, Set, Bag!”

Video: “Ready, Set, Bag!” trailer

Also:

• Official site | IMDB | Facebook | Twitter @readysetbag | Sidewalk page
• Reviews from the Seattle Times | Cinematical | IFC | Austinist

• • •

Action! Complete Sidewalk Festival coverage.

Keep your leaves on, don’t
litter them all over— rats.
Time to get the rake.

• • •

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Movie review: ‘Until the Light Takes Us’

sidewalk.wadeonbirmingham.com
By Kenn McCracken

Review at a glance: “Until the Light Takes Us” shines the spotlight on a dark corner of music history, Norwegian black metal.

A scene from the documentary, “Until the Light Takes Us.”

For those of us who listened to the fringes of music in the 1980s and ’90s, black metal was the outer limit: fast, bone-crushingly heavy, raw. VH1’s “Behind the Music” may have overlooked the Norwegian black metal scene, but a documentary from filmmakers Aaron Aites and Audrey Ewell makes up for that gap.

“Until the Light Takes Us” screens Sept. 25 at the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival.

I was excited to watch this film because metal doesn’t usually get the big-screen treatment.

Black metal is the antithesis of slickly produced pop radio crap. It has also had a history of controversy, with its creators involved in vandalism, arson and murder, all in the name of Satanism.

“Until the Light Takes Us” is, to my knowledge, the first time to hear the stories told by those involved, going beyond the news reports of the time. And these fascinating stories — true or false, biased or unbiased — range from the origins of the style to the violent and arguably tragic happenings in the community.

The film is beautifully shot: It’s fascinating that some of the ugliest music comes from one of the most beautiful and tranquil parts of the world. The soundtrack is equally haunting, disturbing and engaging, wisely eschewing for the most part the noise of the genre, exploring more ambient beds instead.

At times, the narrative seems disjointed, bouncing from topic to topic and back again with no real flow.

Still, for any fans of music, metal or otherwise, or culture, “Until the Light Takes Us” is highly recommended for its rare and insightful look into a unique branch of rock history.

Kenn McCracken (@insomniactive) is a director and an award-winning screenwriter (2005 Sidewalk Sidewrite grand prize, “Muckfuppet”). His song “Theme for an Imaginary Revenge” was used in the music video of the same title, screening at Sidewalk on Sept. 25.

He’s also a writer (Birmingham Weekly, Spin.com, mental_floss), a bassist for the Exhibit(s), an eight-time cat juggling champion for Malta and an ongoing experiment in sleep deprivation. He occasionally steals your best ideas to claim at his blog, Dairy of a Madman.

“Until the Light Takes Us” will screen at 5:40 p.m. Sept. 25 at the Harambe Room. Opening short is “Delmer Builds a Machine.”

Video: Fenriz, in a scene from “Until the Light Takes Us”

Video: “Until the Light Takes Us” trailer

Also:

• Official site | IMDB | Facebook | MySpace | Twitter @blackmetalmovie | Sidewalk page
• Reviews from the Boston Globe | FilmShaft | Future Movies | /Film | MTV | New York Post | NPR

• • •

Action! Complete Sidewalk Festival coverage.

Great food writing, like great food, leaves you stuffed, but still wanting more.

In August, we featured Birmingham’s Best Eats, a daily look at food around town. Our team of bloggers shared new recipes, cooking ideas, restaurants, even obscure food finds. I learned so much from them that I wanted to pass along the lessons from the series.

1. One of Birmingham’s hidden strengths is food. Living here makes it somewhat difficult to gain perspective, but Birmingham is a destination for dining. The metro area is written up regularly by travel writers in national and regional publications. Sure, the obligatory civil rights struggles are always mentioned, but usually followed by a rave about a Frank Stitt operation or a barbecue joint in town.

We continue to find our way as a city, in direction, in leadership, in education, in jobs. But in food, we are strong. We boast diversity in types, prices and ethnic choices. We continue to expand in both homegrown and chain restaurants.

And more importantly, we value the importance of knowing food well. What is food’s true cost? Where did it come from? How was it prepared? How do we make it better at home?

2. We have much more to learn (and teach) when it comes to food. Many of my friends are foodies. As such, it’s easy to assume everyone knows their way around the kitchen or a menu.

During our special Best Eats live chat, I was reminded that while interest has grown in different ways to nourish ourselves, uncertainty remains a common deterrent. So if you’re looking to try a new type of dining — Indian, sushi, soul food — you might not immediately run to the nearest restaurant and attempt to decipher the menu.

If you don’t cook regularly, you might feel overwhelmed at trying a complicated new recipe. Talking about all these Birmingham food options is fine and wonderful — unless everyone isn’t speaking the same language.

As food bloggers, we must continue to reach out to those who want to learn more but aren’t sure about the next step. And we must share everything we can about food, everything we love about growing it, cooking it, eating it.

If you want to learn more about food, ask questions. Have a friend go with you to that untried restaurant to help you make good choices on the menu. Take a class, visit a farmer’s market and write about your experiences online.

3. We’ve barely begun. We covered a lot of territory in 31 days. But we also left a lot unsaid.

• What is a food desert, and how does this affect Birmingham? Who is working on the issue?
• Who are the up-and-coming professional chefs in town?
• Where are the best places to take cooking classes?
• Which farmer’s market has the best selection? the best prices? the most variety?
• What Birmingham needs in terms of dining options is …

Maybe you can be the next great food blogger to answer these questions.

If you love food, join us at the table. We have plenty of room.

What do you want to explore when it comes to Birmingham’s best eats? Let us know in the comments.

• • •

Hungry for more? Check out the menu of Birmingham’s Best Eats!

Photo by Kenny Louie, Creative Commons 2.0 license.

The ocean pushes
down on the diver trying
to resurface, breathe.

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She neither barks nor
wags her nonexistent tail,
just waits for some pats.

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