Books:
Akira Kurosawa: Master of Cinema
+ 2010 is seeing its share of legendary Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, with his 100th birthday being celebrated all over the world. Recent tribute screenings at Film Forum and the Kurosawa 100 Years box set released by Criterion (containing 4 films never before available in the US, including his debut film Sanshiro Sugata) are all part of the build up over the course of the year which will feature many, many tributes to the director and his contributions to the art of film. Peter Cowie’s book seems a fitting addition to the fervor of the year. Cowie, a frequent contributor to Criterion Collection liner notes and former international director of Variety, has created a long book that is full of still frames analyzing what what Kurosawa so great, along with Cowie dissecting the paths that lead to the grand oveure of samurai films, dark, introspective post-war film, the late epics in his career, and the anomolies like his Russian opus Dersu Uzala. The book also includes annotated script pages, written by the director himself, and many of Kurosawa’s paintings and drawings which became a lynch pin of the development process for a number of his films including the epics he made late in his career such as Ran and Kagemusha.
Other Notable Releases:The Book of Firsts by Peter D’Epiro [Anchor], Burning Bright by Ron Rash [Ecco], The Maeve Binchy Writers’ Club by Maeve Binchy [Anchor], So Much for That by Lionel Shriver [Harper], The Surrendered by Chang-rae Lee [Riverhead], The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag: A Flavia de Luce Mystery by C. Alan Bradley [Delcorte], A Week in December by Sebastien Faulks [Doubleday]
Poetry:
City: Bolshevik Super-Poem In 5 Cantos by Manuel Maples Arce, translated by Brandon Holmquest [Ugly Ducking Presse]
+ City was originally written sometime between 1922-24, the date of its first publication. Mexican poet Manuel Maples Arce was not necessarily known for revolutionary poetry, but something within this era brought out the epic Cantos that Ugly Duckling Presse is re-releasing here. The poet works out a lot of the mental cobwebs following the Mexican Revolution and the physical mess left in it’s wake. The collection focuses on the imaginary city of Stridentopolis, while containing distinct references to a number of Mexican cities it creates a new world to look at the troubles of this one. This is just another reason, in a long scroll of them, why Ugly Duckling Presse is simply one of the best presses in America. (Not to mention their recent exhibition of books at PS1 in Long Island City.)
Other Notable Releases: Living Free: New and Selected Poems by Edward Hirsch [Knopf], Moving Blanket by Kostas Anagnopoulos [Ugly Duckling Presse], Three Arctic Booklets by Ellie Ga [Ugly Duckling Presse]
Music:
The Besnard Lakes – Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night
+ The Besnard Lakes psych brand of lush indie-pop come Pavement meets The Jesus and Mary Chain had me by the larynx with their release The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse. I still find myself craving “Devastation” and “Disaster” far more frequently than is probably healthy. On The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night they build on The Dark Horse, taking their psych and noise tendencies up a notch, but creating a beautiful concoction with those elements and their pop tendencies, instead of vacillating between them. They bring these elements into a beautiful union on tracks like “Albatross” (available below) where walls of sound crumble beneath breathy hooks. The Besnard Lakes are one of the most under-appreciated bands in America.
Free download of “Albatross” from The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night.
Other Notable Releases: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Beat the Devil’s Tattoo [Abstract Dragon/Vagrant], Broken Bells – Broken Bells [Columbia], The Chieftains featuring Ry Cooder – San Patricio [Fantasy], Frightened Rabbit – The Winter of Mixed Drinks [FatCat], Gorillaz – Plastic Beach [Virgin], jj – jj no 3 [Sincerely Yours/Secretly Canadian],The Knife – Tomorrow in a Year [Mute], Liars – Sisterworld [Mute], Miles Kurosky – The Desert of Shallow Effects [Majordomo/Shout! Factory], Pavement – Quarantine the Part: Greatest Hits 1989-1999 [Matador], Ted Leo and the Pharmacists – The Brutalist Bricks [Matador], Titus Andronicus – The Monitor [XL]
Movies:
Mother (Bong Joon-Ho) [Magnolia/Barunson]
+ South Korean director Bong Joon-Ho is one of the most engaging, emerging filmmakers in the world. His genre bending 2006 monster film The Host was a critical and cult success all over the world (in a genre that generally doesn’t garner that kind of acclaim). With Mother he returns to the noir-ish detective stylings of his second film Memories of Murder. The film concerns a mother trying to clear the name of her mentally handicapped 28-year old son who has been accused of brutally murdering a young woman. Bong Joon-Ho is always notable for his ability to blur the lines between genres. Films can be simultaneously suspenseful, scary, funny, and dramatically engaging in his hands. The Cannes favorite Mother is no exception to the rule.
Other Notable Theatrical Releases: Green Zone (Paul Greengrass) [Universal], Delta (Kornel Mundruczó) [Facets]
Other Notable DVD Releases: Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day (Troy Duffy) [Sony], Breaking Bad: The Complete Second Season [Sony], Capitalism: A Love Story (Michael Moore) [Starz / Anchor Bay], Fix (Tao Ruspoli) [E1], Gigante (Adrián Biniez) [Film Movement], The Stoning of Soraya M. (Cyrus Nowrasteh) [Lionsgate]
Graphic Literature:
Notable Graphic Novel Releases: GI Joe Origins Vol. 2 [IDW], Mighty Avengers: Secret Invasion [Marvel], Wolverine: Dark Wolverine Vol. 2: My Hero [Marvel], Superman: Nightwing & Flamebird [DC], Superman: New Krypton Vol. 3 (James Robinson) [DC]
Notable Single Issue Releases: The A-Team: Shotgun Wedding #1 [IDW], Batman & Robin #10 [DC], Batman: Widening Gyre #5 (of 6) [DC], Criminal: The Sinners #5 [Icon], Dark X-Men #5 [Marvel], Hulk Let the Battle Begin #1 [Marvel], Powers #3 [Icon], Red Robin #10 [DC], Zombies vs. Robots Adventure #2 [IDW]