Movie review: ‘Not My Son’

sidewalk.wadeonbirmingham.com

By Kenn McCracken

Review at a glance: “Not My Son” shows Birmingham mothers determined to move beyond tragedy to healing and improving their community.

A mothers’ support group, seen in “Not My Son.”

“Man, the world ain’t supposed to work like this. I’m supposed to be able to do my job without having to ask you if I can. That dude is supposed to be able to wait with his car without you ripping him off. Everything is supposed to be different than it is.”

— Simon (Danny Glover), “Grand Canyon”

This bit of dialogue kept echoing through my head as I watched the film, “Not My Son.”

The documentary screens Saturday at the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival.

The movie focuses on Birmingham-area mothers left behind after the murder of their children, though not on the reasons behind these killings. Whether the victims were innocent bystanders or gang members is ultimately unrelated and unimportant to the parents, who bury their offspring before they reach adulthood.

The public-television quality is a bit off-putting, sadly, more akin to a PBS documentary special than a feature film for a theater setting.  Regardless, an important message emerges from Dwight Cammeron’s film, and not just for the black community or for families in underprivileged neighborhoods. Problems like this shouldn’t exist, and solutions to them are possible only with a true community effort, whether you’re black or white, rich or poor, single or married, childless or the head of a huge clan.

Films like “Boyz n the Hood” show the nihilistic perspective of the young men and women growing up in today’s mean streets. “Not My Son” shows the hope and determination of mothers to help others carry on, even when their future feels like it’s been taken away.

Perhaps everything is supposed to be different than it is, but these women do a commendable job not only in dealing with the way things aren’t supposed to be, but trying to make them better.

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.

“Not My Son” will screen at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Alabama Theatre Studio Loft.

Video: “Not My Son” Trailer

Also:

• Official site | Sidewalk page

• • •

Action! Complete Sidewalk Festival coverage.

Movie review: ‘Gabi on the Roof in July’

sidewalk.wadeonbirmingham.com
By Jennifer West

Review at a glance: The actors in “Gabi on the Roof in July” used improvisation to define their tiresome, self-centered characters.

A scene from “Gabi on the Roof in July.”

Cheering for the hamster in a movie about underdogs trying to make it in the big city might be all the warning you need.

“Gabi on the Roof in July” focuses on young artists living in New York struggling to discover themselves. Gabi leaves college for the summer to spend time with her brother Sam and escape from the emotional fallout of her parents’ divorce.

The movie screens Saturday at the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival.

I appreciate the unique tack that writer and director Lawrence Levine took letting the actors develop their characters through improvisation, then developing the storyline of the script itself. The acting is truly great, but I found it extremely hard to identify in any way with the characters themselves.

The main character, Gabi (Sophia Takal), comes across as a spoiled and annoying child. It’s really difficult to listen to her talk even for brief moments. You just want to yell “Grow up!” at the screen each time she speaks (or strips in an attempt to be an “artist”).

Her brother Sam (Levine) is no better. At first, he seems like the only character about whom you might actually care, but he quickly blows that by adopting his sister’s self-indulgent behaviors. Neither seem to care about anyone else but themselves, which in turn makes it hard to care about them.

I lost all interest about halfway through the 99-minute runtime, making for an endless second half. Only one word comes to mind when considering the entire movie: pretentious.

I did really like one character, the hamster. He didn’t say a damn word the whole time. And just in time for the credits, the hamster finally gets put out of his misery, just like us.

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.

“Gabi on the Roof in July” will screen at 11:20 a.m. Saturday at the Alabama Theatre Studio Loft. The short “Hipster Job” precedes it.

Video: Gabi and Garrett make a bet, in a scene
from “Gabi on the Roof in July.”

Video: An art dealer checks out Sam’s work,
in a scene from “Gabi on the Roof in July.”

Video: “Gabi on the Roof in July” trailer

Also:

• Official site | IMDB | Facebook | Twitter @gabiontheroof | Sidewalk page
• Reviews from Box Office Magazine | CQ Central | Jason Watches Movies | Movie and Television Arts

• • •

Action! Complete Sidewalk Festival coverage.

Tonight, Samford University plays host to Republican nominee Robert Bentley and Democratic nominee Ron Sparks as they face off in their second gubernatorial debate.

The focus will be on business issues.

The 90-minute event starts at 6:30 p.m. at Wright Center. No word on whether the debate will be carried live. Tickets are free for Samford students and faculty, but the $15 general admission tickets are sold out.

Update: The debate will be broadcast live on WERC (105.5 FM), including streaming, and on the Fox 6 website.

Bentley and Sparks traded soundbites and jabs Thursday at the University of Alabama in their first debate. (See clips below.) The next debate is scheduled for Oct. 19 at Auburn University.

In case you missed Thursday’s debate, we have a couple of video clips.

Video: Sparks and Bentley make opening remarks Thursday.

Video: Bentley and Sparks share their closing statements.

Watch the hourlong debate in its entirety, or see more clips by topic.

Election Day is Nov. 2.

• • •

Which business issues do the candidates need to address? Share your thoughts in the comments.

• • •

More Vote 2010 coverage.

A new promotion for local restaurants started this week.

The first Birmingham Restaurant Week invites diners to sample dozens of restaurants and bars across town for special menus at fixed prices of $10.10, $20.10 and $30.10. Try sushi, pizza, Mediterranean, barbecue, French, Southern and other styles in this 9-day celebration, which started Friday and runs through Sept. 25.

The preview party took place Wednesday at Hotel Highland Conference Center in Five Points South. So popular was the event that food ran out by 7:30 p.m.

For more information, visit the Birmingham Restaurant Week official site. Or visit the event’s Facebook page or Twitter account, @bhamrestweek.

Participating restaurants

$30.10

• Bottega
• Century Restaurant and Bar
• Dreamland BBQ
• The H Bar
• Highlands Bar and Grill
• Jinsei
• Little Savannah
• Maki Fresh
• Michael’s Restaurant
• Ocean
• Veranda on Highland

$20.10

• Bottletree Cafe
• Brannon’s Public House
• Cafe de Paris
• Chez Fonfon
• Cosmo’s Pizza
• Crestline Seafood Company
• Culinard Cafe at the Palisades
• Dodiyos
• The H Bar
• Jim ’N Nick’s Bar-B-Q
• John’s City Diner
• La Cocina
• La Paz
• Mafiaoza’s
• Maki Fresh
• Nabeel’s Cafe and Market
• Rojo
• Silvertron Cafe
• Sol y Luna
• 26
• V. Richards
• The Wine Loft

$10.10

• Bottega Cafe
• Brannon’s Public House
• Brick and Tin
• Cosmo’s Pizza
• Crestwood Coffee Company
• Dodiyos
• Dreamland BBQ
• The Gardens Cafe by Kathy G
• The H Bar
• Jim ’N Nick’s Bar-B-Q
• La Cocina
• Maki Fresh
• Mellow Mushroom
• Michael’s Restaurant
• Ted’s Restaurant
• Urban Standard

Participating bars

• Bottletree Cafe
• The H Bar
• The J. Clyde
• Lou’s Pub

Which restaurant will you try? Let us know in the comments.

Also:

• Birmingham’s Best Eats
• Birmingham restaurant guide

A once-barren area in the heart of the city has found new life as a park.

Railroad Park brings a new four-block green space to Birmingham, complete with water features, wi-fi, a bistro, a skate park, two children’s play areas and workout equipment. The park opens at 10 a.m. today.

Located near the central rail lines, the space runs along First Avenue South between 14th and 18th Streets. Discussions about transforming the unused area started as early as the 1970s, but the effort became formalized with the formation of the Friends of the Railroad District in 2001.

The park will be open daily from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. As part of today’s grand opening event, Railroad Park will show the animated movie, “Up.”

Transforming the vacant lot into a fully-realized city park took $25 million and a year and a half. Railroad Park is part of a three-park initiative which includes a new Red Mountain Park and expanding the existing Ruffner Mountain Park.

During construction, bricks and other materials found on the site were incorporated into the walls and seating areas. Hand-cast bricks and original cobblestone were recycled and used throughout the park.

The Railroad Park Foundation, which oversees park operations, continues to raise money through online donations to “buy” a piece of the park, starting at $25 per square foot.

For more information on Railroad Park:

• Official website | Facebook | Twitter @RailroadPark
• Birmingham News: “Railroad Park, downtown Birmingham’s new patch of green, has grand opening”
• Bhamwiki: Railroad Park

Photo credit: Railroad Park

Movie review: ‘A Marine Story’

By Chance Shirley

Review at a glance: “A Marine Story” stumbles in tackling too many issues with a broken screenplay.

Dreya Weber stars as Alexandra Everett in “A Marine Story.”

A former Marine returns to her hometown after four tours of duty in Iraq. She’s barely off the train when she tackles a shoplifter at a convenience store.

Early in “A Marine Story,” I’m thinking I’m in for something like the 2004 “Walking Tall” remake: Military vet cleans up troubled town, but with a female lead. That’s a movie I wouldn’t mind seeing.

Instead, it’s a “message movie.” Several messages, actually.

The film screens on Sept. 25 at Birmingham Shout.

One message focuses on the American military’s shameful treatment of gay and lesbian soldiers. Other issues include the government’s questionable handling of Middle East conflicts and the economy, the role of women in the military and meth’s effects on small towns.

The plot deals with Alexandra Everett (Dreya Weber) coming to terms with her discharge, forced but “honorable,” from the Marine Corps. Her friends and neighbors must also come to terms with her sexuality. Her outing as a lesbian seems contrived, forced by the terribly unlikely machinations of the screenplay.

None of the main characters are believable. They either work as talking heads debating one of the issues or act in arbitrary ways to drive the plot.

Writer and director Ned Farr serves up some clunky dialogue. Camp, while fine in B movies, does no favors for serious social commentary. An example:

“Well, I’m a meth-head now, so …”

Has any methamphetamine addict, anywhere, ever uttered those words?

Despite those severe limitations, the movie features top-notch production; cinematography, sound and editing are all solid. The cast is capable, with many of them putting in extra work behind the scenes. Weber even performs one of the songs playing over the end credits.

Unfortunately, all that talent and dedication can’t fix a broken screenplay. “A Marine Story” is ambushed by its own multiple-message mess.

Chance Shirley, co-founder of Birmingham-based Crewless Productions, will participate as a panelist at the “Changing Forms of Distribution” Sidetalk at the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival. He served as producer and writer on “Monster Hunt with James and Kevin,” premiering at Sidewalk on Sept. 25.

His sci-fi horror/comedy film, “Interplanetary,” should finally arrive on DVD in early 2011 from Camp Motion Pictures.

“A Marine Story” will screen at 7 p.m. Sept. 25 at the Hill Arts Center.

Video: On the set of “A Marine Story”

Video: “A Marine Story” trailer

Also:

• Official site | IMDB | Facebook | Shout page
• Reviews from the San Francisco Chronicle | LA Weekly | Variety

• • •

Action! Complete Shout festival coverage.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Found on the stroll to Artwalk Friday evening …

View Larger Map

Property location

On Richard Arrington Jr. Boulevard between Second and Third Avenues North, this vacant lot is making you an offer:

Barber Companies

We would like to give this property to the organization or individual that will build a building and open a new Birmingham business on this site.

See website for details
www.barbercompanies.com

A quick check of the Barber site reveals no additional information.

Anyone want to open a supermarket? Tanning salon? Coworking space?

What would you put there? Leave a comment.

Movie review: ‘Phillip the Fossil’

sidewalk.wadeonbirmingham.com
By Kenn McCracken

Review at a glance: “Phillip the Fossil” offers a well-worn tale of a slacker’s attempt to, you know, like grow up and stuff.

Behold the Phillip (Brian Hassenfus), protagonist
of “Phillip the Fossil.”

A sub-genre of indie films can be found at almost every festival: the pseudo-reality film that revels in its angst. “Phillip the Fossil” is definitely a film that fits into that category, and whether it’s worth your time can be decided almost entirely on that knowledge alone.

It screens on Sept. 25 at the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival.

The film tells the story of Phillip (Brian Hassenfus), an overgrown slacker finally taking steps to turn his dead-end life around. To move on to the next phase of his life, he must get out of his slump, unfortunately trickier than he hoped. The eventual climax is apparent from the beginning, as set forth in fairly exaggerated characters.

While the acting and even the story and dialogue are all fine, the characters make no real progress in the 70-minute runtime. Tighter editing, cutting just 5 minutes of meandering footage, would have made for a stronger movie from director and writer Garth Donovan.

“Phillip the Fossil” is like the popcorn movie of the festival scene. It’s predictable and only cursorily satisfying, much like summer blockbusters. What you hope you see is pretty much what you’ll get, even if it is OK in execution.

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.

“Phillip the Fossil” will screen at 9:40 p.m.. Sept. 25 at the Harambe Room.

Video: Interview with Garth Donovan, director and writer of “Phillip the Fossil”

Also:

• Official site | IMDB | Facebook | Twitter @PhilTheFossil | Sidewalk page
• Reviews from Film Threat | Austin (Texas) Chronicle

• • •

Action! Complete Sidewalk Festival coverage.

This piece from Veronique Vanblaere, owner of Naked Art
Gallery in Forest Park, is one of many featured in Artwalk 2010.

The magic of Artwalk weekend is almost here.

The 9th annual downtown art festival takes place Friday evening and Saturday afternoon. The free event includes children’s activities, music and hundreds of artists.

Map of Artwalk site. Click image to see
larger version (or check out the PDF).

So, Birmingham, who should we see this weekend? Leave a comment with your favorite artist, and a location, too! (You can see the full lineup of artists on the Artwalk site.)