Districts 1 and 8, you can sit this one out. But for Tuesday’s runoffs for Birmingham city council and board of education, voters in the other seven districts have unfinished business.
Listed are the candidates still standing from the Aug. 25 general elections. The Birmingham News has made its endorsements, and in the seven races with incumbents, the editorial board endorsed only two, Carole Smitherman and Roderick Royal on the council.
City council, by district
2. Carol Duncan (I) and Kim Rafferty*
5. Johnathan Austin (I) and Elias Hendricks*
6. Carole Smitherman* (I) and Sheila Tyson
7. Jay Roberson* and Ernestine Williams
9. Leroy Bandy and Roderick Royal* (I)
Board of education, by district
3. Elisa Burns-Macon and Brian Giattina*
4. Carolyn Cobb (I) and Edward Maddox*
6. Gwendolyn Bell* and Willie Maye (I)
7. Odessa Ashley (I) and Alana Edwards*
Washington’s popularity spawned a “cult of Washington”
in which his likeness was used in art
and objects like a saint, such as
the mantel clock by Jean-Baptiste Dubuc shown here.
What’s remarkable about this photograph by
George Frederic Barker, appropriately titled “The Moon,”
was that it was shot around 1864,
with a camera and telescope. Note how the
image is reversed, because of the telescope’s reflected image.
The exhibit runs through Jan. 10. Tickets are $12, $10 for veterans, military members and age 65 and older, $6 for students, free for age 6 and younger.
Taylor Hicks performs all over Birmingham
this weekend, in “Grease” (shown above)
and at WorkPlay. Photo by Joan Marcus.
This final weekend of September in Birmingham is especially jam packed with events …
Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival
You’ve been reading all week about downtown’s annual film festival. We’ve posted 11 reviews, several features and more will be coming throughout the weekend. But here’s what you need to know:
Opening night film, “Best Worst Movie” [review]: 8 tonight, Alabama Theatre, tickets $15, $13 for members and students
Two-day pass for Saturday and Sunday: various venues downtown, tickets $35, $30 for members and students
Review at a glance:The documentary “Best Worst Movie” provides a good look at how an unintentionally bad movie gets made.
A scene from “Best Worst Movie.”
We’ve all seen bad movies. Once in a while, though, you’ll find a movie that takes bad to its logical conclusion, passes it, loops back on itself and becomes entertaining in its awfulness, like the horror flick “Troll 2.”
A documentary goes one step further. “Best Worst Movie” looks at the making of “Troll 2” and the camp celebrations and fandom that have sprung up around the unapologetically bad movie.
Director Michael Paul Stephenson, who played the lead role in “Troll 2,” focuses on the major players of the cast and crew, including director Claudio Fragasso, writer Rossella Drudi and Alexander City native George Hardy.
“Troll 2” — which, coincidentally, isn’t a sequel to “Troll” and doesn’t even feature any trolls — has spawned conventions, viewing parties and fan gatherings.
What emerges is a group of people best known for one of the worst movies ever made and their reactions to the growing fandom. (Novice filmmakers: Rejoice in the fact that you’ve probably made better movies for less money. There’s hope yet.)
Some of them have continued making movies or acting, while others have disappeared from the public eye altogether.
Most interesting, perhaps, is Hardy, the small-town dentist. Watching his earnest excitement grow and fall at being involved with “Troll 2” is somewhat charming, especially if you’ve ever known anyone who had a brief brush with fame.
Will he continue acting, or stick with his dental practice? Will fame go to his head, or can he remain an humble Alabama boy?
Watching “Best Worst Movie” is kind of meta. (I’m fairly certain that with some “Troll 2” cast and crew in attendance to watch themselves watching themselves, we will all fall through the rabbit hole that becomes an actual rip in the space-time continuum.)
Still, it’s a good look at what is becoming a cult classic, from the inside out, looking back.
Kenn McCracken (@insomniactive) is a director and an award-winning screenwriter (2005 Sidewalk Sidewrite grand prize, “Muckfuppet”).
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.
“Best Worst Movie” will screen at 8 tonight at the Alabama Theatre.
Video: Trailer for “Best Worst Movie”
Video: “Troll 2” director Claudio Fragasso
discusses the audience’s reaction.
Review at a glance:The slow-paced but remarkable “That Evening Sun” portrays a love story in the guise of an old farmer’s battle for his house.
Hal Holbrook stars in “That Evening Sun.”
Old Abner Meecham fights an all too familiar battle at the end of his days, one for dignity.
A tragedy dealing with loss, aging and anger, “That Evening Sun” is a love story between a man and his house. It’s also a love story between a man and his wife, and a man and his life.
Lonzo Choat (Ray McKinnon), a violent unemployed drunk, lives in the beloved old home of Abner (Hal Holbrook), a farmer in Tennessee. Lonzo, who shares the house with a wife and a daughter, collects disability pay, even though his injury has healed.
Meanwhile, Abner has set up in a shack on his property, refusing to leave until they move out.
This slow-paced film by writer-director Scott Teems features long beautiful shots and an eclectic old-school soundtrack. The remarkable “That Evening Sun” is worth the wait.
Jennifer West (@juniperlou) won the Sidewalk Audience Choice award for her romantic comedy “Piece of Cake” in 2006, which she wrote and directed. She’s working on a feature-length screenplay and blogging about it on JuniperLou.
“That Evening Sun” will screen at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Alabama Theatre.
Review at a glance:The quirky comedy “You Might as Well Live,” about a suicidal nobody out to prove he’s somebody, is one of the best in Sidewalk’s lineup this year.
Greg Bryk, left, and Joshua Peace
star in “You Might as Well Live.”
Robert Mutt is a real somebody! Robert Mutt likes to talk about himself, or I should say, to himself, in the third person.
“You Might as Well Live” is a brilliantly wacky comedy that follows Mutt after time in a mental institution for repeated suicide attempts.
Upon his return home, he is accused of possession of child pornography. It’s up to Mutt to prove that he’s a “real somebody” and not a “douche bag.”
Trying to raise the $25 needed for an air hockey table, he dabbles in drugs, organ smuggling and Judaism.
“You Might as Well Live” will be one of the best films you will see at Sidewalk this year.
Jennifer West (@juniperlou) won the Sidewalk Audience Choice award for her romantic comedy “Piece of Cake” in 2006, which she wrote and directed. She’s working on a feature-length screenplay and blogging about it on JuniperLou.
“You Might as Well Live” will screen at 9 p.m. Saturday at the Carver Theatre. Opening shorts are “Fuckin’ Old Bitch,” “Receive Bacon” and “Feeder.”
Video: Trailer for “You Might as Well Live”
Video: You need only three things to prove you’re somebody.
Review at a glance: “Dead Snow” bills itself as “Nazi zombies!” but actually delivers on the right mix of laughs and scares in a frozen horror show.
A scene from “Dead Snow.”
Any horror/comedy fan knows that it’s a tough existence: For every success — “Evil Dead II,” “Shaun of the Dead” — a hundred clones fail to deliver on one or both genres.
You’re in for a treat with “Dead Snow” (“Død snø”), a Norwegian import with English subtitles that successfully combines the jumps and gore of zombie movies with a dead-on wry wit.
As with many horror/comedies, the laughs are provided by the human victims, while the scares are doled out at the hands and teeth of zombies. Director Tommy Wirkola’s film is closer in tone to the Sam Raimi films than “Shaun of the Dead.”
And yet it’s a near-perfect mix of tones for the story approach: a very linear recipe of all the tropes you’d expect from a zombie film, but less slick and predictable (in some ways) than your average Hollywood pic.
It’s surprising that there aren’t too many horror films shot against snowy locales. Not only does the blood show up much more spectacularly against the bleak white, but also a haunting beauty to the endless fields of snow and leafless trees emerges.
And seriously, why did it take someone so long to use the idea of Nazi zombies?
The most noticeable problems will jump out, so to speak, to non-horror fans: a lack of character development in some spots, and a total disregard for the realities of human biology. The squeamish should probably avoid this film, as the effects are convincing enough, and the fake blood is used quite liberally.
We zombie-movie buffs are OK with bodies as fodder. When it occasionally lends to the humor, as it does in some scenes, all the better.
Make 2 hours in your schedule available for “Dead Snow,” an excellent example of a slightly left-of-center indie film made with talent and skill. It’s a damned good cross between laughs and scares, in a niche I wrongly thought would have run its course by now.
Kenn McCracken (@insomniactive) is a director and an award-winning screenwriter (2005 Sidewalk Sidewrite grand prize, “Muckfuppet”).
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.
“Dead Snow” will screen at 9:30 p.m. Saturday at the Alabama Theatre. Opening shorts are “Karaoke Show” and “A Healthy Smile.”
Review at a glance:The documentary “Official Rejection” tells the funny meta-tale of getting a movie into a festival.
A publicity still for “Official Rejection.”
You made your first film. And it is pretty amazing, if you say so yourself. Now you’re ready for the big time, Sundance, where your film will obviously be accepted.
Big fat rejection! What?!
You then move on to a slew of smaller festivals, and you get into a handful … if you are lucky.
Does this officially mean your movie is bad?
The documentary “Official Rejection,” directed by Paul Osborne, is an intimate look at another film’s journey (“Ten ’Til Noon”) through the complicated and expensive film festival circuit.
Not all good films are created equal, and not all good films get the attention they deserve in the film festival circuit. However, lots of bad movies circulate out there (and lots of filmmakers in serious denial of that fact).
If learning the ins and outs of the film festival circuit is interesting to you, then you will find “Official Rejection” very educational, funny and entertaining.
Jennifer West (@juniperlou) won the Sidewalk Audience Choice award for her romantic comedy “Piece of Cake” in 2006, which she wrote and directed. She’s working on a feature-length screenplay and blogging about it on JuniperLou.
“Official Rejection” will screen at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the Carver Theatre.
Review at a glance:The documentary “45365” shows small town Ohio life, warts and all, in entertaining and provocative fashion.
A scene from the documentary, “45365.”
Sidney, Ohio, gives us a fascinating glimpse into rural American life. Can’t visit? Try “45365,” a documentary that on first glance doesn’t seem to have much of a plot. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
The focus is on several people and storylines in Sidney. Like most small towns, it boasts a wide array of interesting characters all living within one community. Smoky bars, high school football, police officers, trailer parks, teenage drama, county fair … it’s all there in director Bill Ross’ vision.
True to life, “45365” doesn’t sugarcoat anything. This must-see documentary is raw, sometimes hard to swallow, real small town USA living. But it’s guaranteed to make you laugh, and think.
Jennifer West (@juniperlou) won the Sidewalk Audience Choice award for her romantic comedy “Piece of Cake” in 2006, which she wrote and directed. She’s working on a feature-length screenplay and blogging about it on JuniperLou.
“45365” will screen at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Carver Theatre.
Review at a glance:One of the most inspiring documentaries in Sidewalk history, “They Came to Play” puts on a virtuoso show of amateur pianists battling and bewitching at the Van Cliburn competition.
Birmingham ophthalmologist Drew Mays practices his
piano pieces at home in a scene from “They Came to Play.”
Not every gifted player makes more than a hobby of their playing.
You meet such amateur artists in “They Came to Play,” a documentary about participants in the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. An inspirational film that showcases amazing talent and a variety of characters, it does an excellent job of showing that not every classical pianist is the same.
What makes this so spectacular is director Alex Rotaru’s framing of the competition and construction of the narrative. Ninety minutes pass quickly, and the competitors he focuses on are introduced in a natural progression. Among them is Drew Mays, an ophthalmologist at Birmingham’s Veterans Administration Medical Center and the director of the UAB School of Medicine residency program.
The film shows more than just the performance and practice sides of its subjects, but never strays so far that you feel it has lost focus. The competitors are so varied — in age, playing background, professional lives and especially personalities — that it’s hard even as a music fan to decide which is more entertaining, the pieces or the people.
The components are equally strong: gorgeous cinematography, seamless editing, and an absolutely astonishing sound mix, perhaps the most important part of a music documentary. The pianos, whether onstage or at home, sound clear and enveloping.
As a musician and a sometime filmmaker, I find “They Came to Play” is a documentary I’ve been waiting to see without realizing it. While many music documentaries focus on one band or genre, this one is about music, performance and the passion that runs underneath it all.
Musicians, fans and arts patrons would be remiss in not seeing one of the best, most inspiring and uplifting documentaries in the 11-year history of Sidewalk.
Kenn McCracken (@insomniactive) is a director and an award-winning screenwriter (2005 Sidewalk Sidewrite grand prize, “Muckfuppet”).
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.
“They Came to Play” will screen at 6:45 p.m. Sunday at the Birmingham Museum of Art.
10. “‘Interplanetary’ is what all B-movies should want to be: audacious, intelligent and start-to-finish entertaining, a slice of genius standing in bold defiance of the budget.” So says reviewer David Cornelius of efilmcritic.com.
9. Someone you know is probably in it. The credited cast:
Cary Borders, Alison Britt, David Brown, James H. Brown, Melissa Bush, Damon Carter, Nick Crawford, Willie DeVold, Jacquese Evans, David Forbes, Mia Frost, Jen Graham, Sanford Hardy, Chris Hartsell, Chuck Hartsell, Joshua Hester, Kyle Holman, Tim Houchens, Erik Jambor, Sylvester Little Jr., Lisa Mason, Eric McGinty, Kyle McKinnon, Gabrielle Metz, Amanda Myers, Jonathan Norris, Shelley Phelps, Rod Robinson, Scott Ross, William Michael Schuelly, Michael Shelton, Shane Traffanstedt, Taylor Traffanstedt and Kevin S. Van Hyning.
Mostly Birmingham actors, plus the obligatory Wade cameo …
[Full disclosure: Crewless Productions, maker of “Interplanetary,” is my client.]
8. It’s about a base on Mars under attack from a mysterious slasher. But what will kill our beloved office drones first: serial killer or paperwork? Director Chance Shirley (“Hide and Creep”) will help sort it out on Fox 6’s noon news Tuesday, so tune your Earth-based receivers to that station.
7. “Interplanetary” won the Audience Choice award at the WT International Film Festival in Norway. Norway! If there’s one thing the Norwegians know, it’s cinema, specifically sci-fi-horror-comedy.
6. Director Andrew Bellware calls it “beyond brilliant. … Yeah, it was like a religious experience. Yeah.”
5. Someone you know probably worked on it. The credited crew:
Steve Ashlee, Peyton Fanning, Sam Frazier Jr., Sanford Hardy, Chuck Hartsell, Chris Hilleke, Kyle Holman, Alex Justinger, Kenn McCracken, Eric McGinty, Jim Roberson, Carl Ross, Stacey Sessions, Linda Shirley, George Smyly, Arik Sokol, Ted Speaker, Jonathan Thornton, Ramona Thornton, Shane Traffanstedt, Joseph Walker and John White.
4. This snazzy trailer …
Look at that trailer again. Can you believe this movie was shot in Birmingham? That’s right, Birmingham. (Well, OK, except the desert part. That was shot on Mars.)
3. It wants you as a Facebook fan. Just you. (And be sure to RSVP for Sunday’s screening on Facebook and Sidewalk.)
2. It also has a blog, Everybody on Mars Is Dead, a great detailed look by Chance at the making of “Interplanetary” over the last 2 years.
1. “The movie has the right blend of sex, blood, greed and aliens to make for a classic. Watch out for this one.” So says Melanie Addington of Oxford Film Freak.
“Interplanetary” will screen at 4:15 p.m. Sunday at the Carver Theatre.
Review at a glance: “The Vicious Kind” serves up a standard indie love triangle, but what a soundtrack.
Brittany Snow stars in “The Vicious Kind.”
Are you in need of a real indie film fix? “The Vicious Kind” will almost satisfy, filled with sweet and somber moments, strange people and awkward situations.
Familiar faces abound onscreen, including stars Adam Scott (“Party Down”), Brittany Snow (“Hairspray”), Alex Frost and J.K. Simmons (“The Closer”).
After a terrible breakup, Caleb Sinclaire (Scott) falls for his younger brother’s emotionally mature girlfriend. “The Vicious Kind” follows them plus Caleb’s father through the twists and turns of strange normalcy.
The story is predictable, the characters a little contrived. But director Lee Toland Krieger still creates an emotionally rewarding film with an amazing soundtrack and great performance. It probably won’t be your favorite film at the festival, but one still worth seeing.
Jennifer West (@juniperlou) won the Sidewalk Audience Choice award for her romantic comedy “Piece of Cake” in 2006, which she wrote and directed. She’s working on a feature-length screenplay and blogging about it on JuniperLou.
“The Vicious Kind” will screen at 4 p.m. Sunday at the Alabama Theatre.
Video: Caleb and Emma’s argument ends with a surprise.
Review at a glance: “The Dungeon Masters” has no agenda as a documentary, other than to show three role-playing gamers and their hobby up close.
A scene from “The Dungeon Masters.”
When I watched “The Dungeon Masters,” I wondered if it would present a fair portrayal of people commonly regarded as socially inept geeks. The documentary follows three participants in role-playing games, especially Dungeons and Dragons (the title refers to the person who organizes and runs the games).
I was pleasantly surprised. While most documentaries that receive attention seem to have an overt message, “The Dungeon Masters” does a commendable job in presenting a likely prejudged topic in a very “without-comment” manner.
The film, directed by Keven McAlester, was too long by 30 minutes, delving into areas that seem completely tangential to the focus. While the storyline follows the three subjects, too many scenes come across as either minutiae or unrelated to their hobby.
As a people watcher and a (cough) former D&D player in elementary school, I would’ve also liked to know more about why they became interested in gaming, how it influences their everyday lives, what they think about being stereotyped. The three touch upon these points briefly, but I wanted more substance.
The film is beautifully shot, as cinematographer Lee Daniel seems to have a natural for presenting a mostly unbiased view while still delivering some extraordinary scenes.
Make no mistake: “The Dungeon Masters” is not going to change your mind. If you’re a gamer, you’ll recognize your friends or yourself.
If you’re the guy who beat up my high school friends, you’ll still be a small-minded jock destined to die alone and miserable, secretly wishing you’d had a good hobby, too. (Kidding. Mostly. Sort of. OK, not really.)
The film will, however, demonstrate a well-made and well-considered documentary.
Kenn McCracken (@insomniactive) is a director and an award-winning screenwriter (2005 Sidewalk Sidewrite grand prize, “Muckfuppet”).
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.
“The Dungeon Masters” will screen at 6:15 p.m. Saturday at Alabama Power.
Video: Interview with “The Dungeon Masters”
director, Keven McAlester
Review at a glance: A “love story” in the guise of a documentary, “Courting Condi” would’ve better been served by ditching the faux-mance and focusing on its true object of desire, Condoleezza Rice.
A scene from the documentary “Courting Condi.”
It’s a love story, about a simple nobody and the Secretary of State originally from Birmingham. The quirky documentary “Courting Condi” traces the journey of a man in his 20s to meet the woman of his dreams, Condoleezza Rice.
Viewers will quickly figure out this film is actually about Rice herself, a k a Condi. Our lovestruck hero turns out to be completely fictional, a framing device to move the documentary forward.
But it doesn’t work, serving to distract from the film’s true message. And the musical interludes? Really bad and frustrating to sit through.
The movie takes us through the life of a controversial political figure from birth through the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to 2009. And it reminds us of Rice’s role in the George W. Bush administration, throwing in some lesser-known nuggets of intel.
This one is a hard call. If director Sebastian Doggart had cut a few of the silly bits woven throughout the “real” documentary, “Courting Condi” might have been a really great movie.
Jennifer West (@juniperlou) won the Sidewalk Audience Choice award for her romantic comedy “Piece of Cake” in 2006, which she wrote and directed. She’s working on a feature-length screenplay and blogging about it on JuniperLou.
“Courting Condi” will screen at 12:30 p.m. Sept. 26 at the Birmingham Museum of Art.
Review at a glance: “Forgetting Dad” provides a chance to explore questions of identity and memory in a doc about a dad who loses his memory and moves on to another family.
“Old Richard” and Rick Minnich on graduation day
in 1990, in a still from “Forgetting Dad.”
“If your father no longer remembers you, does he stop being your father?”
The answer, of course, depends on who you ask. Director Rick Minnich asks the question in his documentary, “Forgetting Dad.” More interesting are the questions that such an exploration can — and in this case, does — uncover.
In 1990, a car accident caused Minnich’s father to lose his memory, or so it seems, since no physical damage was ever uncovered. The amnesia gradually caused the family to fall apart, creating a divide between what he terms as “Old Richard” and “New Richard.” Minnich spent years documenting his exploration of his own memories and connections to New Richard.
Trailer: “Forgetting Dad”
The narrative seems to move a bit slowly at times. But it is put together so new questions — wrinkles in the fabric of the story — introduce themselves gradually and naturally, creating a layered, thought-provoking examination of family, identity, memory and self that should be of interest to anyone.
Also, Minnich manages to avoid what I feared: playing the personal connection for cheap emotional reaction. Not to say that the family members are without emotion, but rather that the simple honesty and rawness in the presentation doesn’t feel manipulative.
Mom wonders if Richard’s amnesia could be fake
in this clip from “Forgetting Dad.”
From a production standpoint, the film itself is nothing terribly unique. The cinematography is mostly quite passable, current interview footage interspersed with old 8mm family films. The audio mix seems a bit uneven, making it difficult to focus on the interviewees at times.
Also, momentary blackouts of the picture occurred (the audio was clear throughout), hopefully a glitch limited to my screener copy. Those were very jarring, especially well into the film.
It’s certainly not the strongest documentary you’ll have the chance to see over the weekend, but those interested in the workings of the human brain and mind, or the dynamics of family memory, will find a provocative story.
Kenn McCracken (@insomniactive) is a director and an award-winning screenwriter (2005 Sidewalk Sidewrite grand prize, “Muckfuppet”).
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.
“Forgetting Dad” will screen at 4:30 p.m. Sept. 26 at Branch Life Church.
The Mérida Report1Last week, I went on a Mexican vacation. It included seeing my married friends Jen Barnett and Brett Andrews, who moved there in 2023. They run a company called Expatsi, which helps Americans move abr …
The death of Twitter logs1I share a lot on Twitter, as I have documented in my weekly Twitter logs for 14 years on this site. But that ends today.
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. More voter info available in this earlier post.
Kenn McCracken (@
Jennifer West (@
