The ultimate action-auteur, John Woo revolutionized the way audiences experienced the excitement of gun fights, fist exchanges, and chases with such classics as the untouchable Hard Boiled and The Killer in the 1980s and early 90s. Woo’s ability to take one of the more palatable genres–not to mention the least critically acclaimed–and turn out films using such an accessible form to tell compelling, and at times poetic, stories with such a concise cinematic hand has lent him a place in the pantheon of film’s great directors. Sadly for us cinephiles, the later part of the last decade found Woo moving to the U.S. to helm such pictures as Face/Off and Broken Arrow–not the most exciting fare for a filmmaker of such stature.

Thankfully 2009 has been graced with a return to form, of sorts, for Woo with his soon to be released Red Cliff.

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ATTENTION, NEW YORK READERS!

Back in August I posted a story about calling your elected officials to get the NY Domestic Worker’s Bill of Rights on the agenda for a vote in the State Senate. Well, things have been moving forward, but an extra push is needed.

To help get the attention of the State Senate, an emergency rally is being organized to take place on the steps of City Hall in NYC. The event is being planned for tomorrow, November 4th at 11am.

The issue of putting together an official code of work place enforcement is desperately needed for the thousands of domestic workers who are employed with little workplace regulation in the state of New York. Domestic workers include nannies, care-takers, house-keepers, and the like. Sadly, these folks are at many times subject to unfair labor practices that would simply not be tolerated in other working environments. Domestic employees are not State mandated to be granted such amenities as over-time after eight hours, a guaranteed single day of rest a week, nor are they protected under New York’s workplace discrimination laws. A copy of the proposed legislation can be found here. Read the rest of this entry >>

ATTENTION LOS ANGELES FOODIES!

Author Jill Richardson (known for her contributions to the Daily Kos and interviewed previously here on TakePart) is doing a signing of her new book, Recipe for America: Why Our Food System is Broken and What You Can Do to Fix It today in Culver City at the New School of Cooking. The event lasts from 7pm til 9pm and will feature refreshments. The book is a call to action, a treatise of sorts on how fostering a sustainable eating lifestyle is crucial to America’s health and economic vitality. The book dissects issues ranging from genetically modified foods and the history of agribusiness to the nutritional content of school lunches and how we can address hunger issues here in the States.

Serving to supplement this exciting new release is the book’s accompanying website, which serves to give the average reader ways that we can individually make a difference in bringing a more sustainable diet to the collective American dinner table.

Space is limited for the event. If you wish to attend, RSVP to Anne Smith.

The sidewalks, bus stops, and billboards (and conversations, for that matter) of Los Angeles are glutted with advertisements for Where the Wild Things Are–the upcoming Spike Jonze directed, David Eggers written, Karen O. scored, and Arcade Fire infused trailer’ed adaptation of the beloved children’s book by Maurice Sendak.

Hype much? Just a little?

True, excitement is justified for one of the most compelling filmmakers of his generation bringing to the silver screen a seminal story that taps into the collective experience of childhood. But does it live up to the hype? Mmm…yes and no. Read the rest of this entry >>

As we’ve made some nice headway into the 21st century, one would think that the concept of sustainability should start taking some real world shape. There has been much talk about proposed urban farms and the simple “greening” of the world’s growing urban centers–particularly as the problems associated with urban growth can be felt the world over. But what have we done to lay the foundation to alleviate some of the issues that plague us?

In an effort to promote a green(er) agenda, NYU (shout out to my alma mater) has created a cutting edge new master’s program that seeks to formally educate those who will be facing these issues head on. The program, under the moniker of Historical and Sustainable Architecture, will be housed at NYU’s London campus and will be serviced under the university’s Department of Art History and Urban Design. The nine-month course will teach students to modernized historical buildings to preserve both the architectural integrity and the sustainability of the regions in which they are found. Program Director Mosette Broderick is quoted in NYU’s school paper as stating that the “program…looks at innovative ways to recycle buildings instead of tearing them down.” Read the rest of this entry >>

This past weekend, I was one of the many audience members who flocked to see the Coen Brothers’ newest outing A Serious Man. The film, in limited release, managed to pull in an impressive $41,918 per screen average. As this second weekend of release comes upon us, so does my chance to get myself out to the cinema and once again see this eye-thumbing look at what is nothing less than an existential American nightmare.

The film follows a middle class Jewish college professor who finds himself at odds with every element of his life: his kids are repulsively irreverent, his job is thankless, his neighbors pay him little respect or attention, and his over-bearing wife gives him gut-checking notice that she is leaving him for one of their family friends. He is the prototypical helpless American male–weighed down by the social constructs that supposedly give a sense of anchoring to our society. Read the rest of this entry >>

Tonight marks the premiere of the documentary series Brick City on the Sundance Channel. The show follows the struggle to reduce violent crime in one of the toughest cities in America: Newark, New Jersey.

The first episode is canvased across the backdrop of the summer of 2007, which saw a gross surge of violence that culminated with the execution-style murder of three university students on the playground of a local elementary school. Now, in 2008, the city’s much lauded Mayor Cory Booker and Police Director Garry McCarthy must work vigorously to keep the calm during the upcoming hot (and volatile) summer months. Read the rest of this entry >>

Just ahead of its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, famed (or infamed, depending on who you are) entertainment industry muckraker Nikki Finke has been given an exclusive trailer of Oliver Stone’s much awaited and already controversial documentary South of the Border to post on her blog Deadline Hollywood Daily. The film aims its lens on Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez and several other Latin American leaders who are generally painted as being left-leaning tyrants by the U.S. media (at some times unfairly, but let’s be honest, a lot of these folks aren’t exactly cut from the most democratic of cloth).

Regardless of one’s political leanings, this little picture serves as a interesting caveat to Stone’s recent surge of work. First there was the much anticipated Pinkville. The script was awesome and his production plans sounded dynamic and exciting, but then fell apart just before production began. It will supposedly still see the light of day—at least I’m hoping it will. Read the rest of this entry >>

Attention New York Readers-

A new piece of legislation that would formalize a bill of rights for domestic workers in New York is currently being pushed to be placed on the agenda for the upcoming NY State Senate session.

The Domestic Workers Bill of Rights seeks to “provide the same rights to domestic workers as are provided to other workers in New York State.” Among those rights are those which, when compared to the workplace regulations that protect other workers, seem to be no-brainers. Some of the key provisions of the bill seek to provide for overtime pay after 8 hours of work per day, paid vacation, five sick days per year, five personal days per year, a required day of rest each week, and protection under New York’s employment discrimination law. Sounds pretty reasonable, no? Sadly, many domestic workers (which includes nannies, housekeepers, and caregivers) are not afforded anything close to such amenities. They suffer low-pay, uncompensated long hours, punishment for taking sick leave, and a slew of various forms of mistreatment and isolation without any of the fair labor protections afforded to other more formalized workers. Read the rest of this entry >>

Among the litany of interest-piquing films that will have their day at the upcoming Venice Film Festival, one will be particularly worth noting, especially considering Take Part’s attention to the protests following the still-contested Iranian elections this past June. The film is titled Green Days and comes from Iranian helmer Hana Makhmalbaf.

Makhmalbaf, the 21-year-old daughter of acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf, previously had her Venice debut at the tender age of 15 while showcasing her documentary Joy of Madness.

Her recent bow follows a storyline plotted around the aforementioned protests and features documentary footage of the public dissent built into the narrative film. The picture, as described on the director’s website, follows a young girl who is prescribed by her doctor to write a play to help quell a stint of depression. She pens a work that expresses her dissatisfaction with the socio-political climate of her country and it is subsequently banned by authorities. Shortly thereafter, the protests begin. Read the rest of this entry >>