Rubin Recommends

(Part of the weekly Instant Gratification feature)

Mala Noche
Run time: 78 mins | Director: Gus Van Sant
Netflix categorization: Understated, Romantic, Gritty, Steamy, Dark, Cerebral
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“Mala Noche”…bad night….whatever language you use, it’s an apt title for Gus Van Sant’s first feature film, based on the autobiographical book of the same name by poet Walt Curtis.  Shot on 16mm in black-and-white for a scant budget of $25K, the film is literally full of darkness and shadows. Within minutes, the light (or lack thereof) becomes a character in itself—scantly present to illuminate other characters’ inadequacies, hidden to keep quiet their desires (and perhaps understanding of them). Not unlike Van Sant’s later work (Elephant, especially), Mala Noche falls into a somewhat plodding, methodical rhythm that is not always entirely soothing.

We learn early on that “Walt”, a homosexual convenience store clerk (shittiest store ever, BTW) in Portland, craves the attention and love of a young Mexican patron, Johnny. At first, Walt seems hell bent on earning the boy’s love. But after Johnny’s ambivalence (we wonder, is it intentional?) to Walt’s advances and attempts, he abandons this plan and tries to buy it: sucks for Walt though, since he can’t even manage to scrape together the $25 Johnny will charge for sex.  Ah, Plan B. Invite him over for…dinner? Yes, unorthodox, but perhaps it might just work! Johnny and his brother Roberto “Pepper” come by Walt’s where the former quickly falls under the charms of Walt’s sister, Betty (thanks, Betty).

Tapping into something utterly primal (and sad to witness out at bars), a rejected Walt decides to go after the next best thing, Pepper. After all, Pepper and Johnny are brothers. But after a dangerous run-in with the cops (like, getting shot and killed dangerous), Pepper cannot reciprocate the misplaced feelings Walt throws at him. When Betty decides to hit the road and become a stripper in Alaska (really), Walt is left on his own to sort out the meaning of love and lust after a very weird, bad night.

Purchase the Criterion Collection DVD of Mala Noche at Amazon.

(Part of the weekly Instant Gratification feature)

Run time: 86 mins | Director: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Netflix categorization: Witty, Quirky, Goofy
Watch now at Netflix

What is Collinwood? Well, in the Russo brothers’ comedy, Welcome to Collinwood, I think a shithole filled with inept criminals would serve as an apt description. Set in a drab section of Cleveland, this caper satire follows an unassuming group of likely thieves (Sam Rockwell, William H. Macy, Isiah “I swear I don’t hate gay people” Washington, and Luis Guzman) come together, despite their mutual hatred of one another, for one last job: break into a jewelry store’s safe (classic, right?). It sounds formulaic enough to deserve its placement on the Watch Instant queue, but the film’s hilarious cast and excellent dialogue often make you forget about the heist entirely (not to mention several goofy, but fun, plot twists).

The Russos (who have also shared stints directing shows like Arrested Development and the more recent, Community) may have struck out with box office success with the film (it only grossed $75K in its opening weekend—for perspective, Kangaroo Jack grossed $16.6 mm), but the hapless straight performances of Macy and Rockwell play well against the unadulterated comedic rage of Guzman. Even George Clooney makes a cameo (and a good one at that) as a retired safe picker who offers the gang lessons in his craft.

Although at times a bit meandering, the film does well by not obeying some of the rules of the genre (which is especially great since Cloonicle’s Ocean’s movies seem to be exactly what Collinwood lampoons). Indeed, there is only a slight twinge of melodramatic love story (which selfishly serves a criminal end), an utter void of logistical planning (from which some of the best comedy of the film spawns forth), an inept ringleader, and absolutely no glitz or glamour.

And in case you were wondering, no, this is not a sequel or spinoff to Safe Men (I wish).

Purchase Collinwood on DVD at Amazon.

(Part of the weekly Instant Gratification feature)

Run time:  90 mins | Director: Laura Gabbert, Justin Schein
Netflix categorization: Inspiring
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Wrapping up a day that included visits to Target, REI and Chipotle (I know, I hate myself), I settled onto the couch with my girlfriend to eat Japanese take out and watch No Impact Man. It was clear within minutes that my level of self-loathing would be soaring to meteoric levels.

If you’re not familiar with the No Impact Man, aka Colin Beavan, he made headlines a few years ago with his attempt to reduce his family’s impact on the planet to nearly nothing for an entire year. The project kicked off with drastic reductions in consumption, eating locally (in his case, finding out more about where his food comes from), and getting rid of non-essentials like television. Brutality. Slowly but surely, Colin and his family let go even more and get rid of their electricity. In a scene shortly after that decision, Collin delivers an obvious “too far?” rant to his wife and laments that it probably was a stupid idea—especially when you think about caring for a young child without having a refrigerator.

More…

I’d like to welcome my friend Mr. Adam Wood to Rubin Recommends.

Adam will be doing a new feature here titled “Instant Gratification.”

The hook: “There are currently over 12,000+ titles available to watch instantly via Netflix. Many of them suck. Here are some that don’t.”

Here’s the new Avi Buffalo video for the song What’s It In For? that’s been going around today. I’ve been into this record a lot since it came out last week. Get it.

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MP3 >> Avi Buffalo – What’s In It For?

(If they have a STAR by them, it means I’ve heard it and I like it. Album title links go to Amazon. If I miss any good releases, please add them in the comments.)

For all your MP3 needs purchase from iTunes or Amazon.

Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti: Round and Round
Avi Buffalo: Avi Buffalo (vinyl) *
The Boy Least Likely To: A Fairytale Ending EP
Brian Posehn: Fart & Wiener Jokes
Brilliant Colors: Never Mine (vinyl)
Frog Eyes: Paul’s Tomb: A Triumph Oceans (vinyl)
Hole: Nobody’s Daughter (vinyl)
Lali Puna: Our Inventions (vinyl)
The Mynabirds: What We Lose in the Fire We Gain in the Flood (vinyl)
Piebald: Volume 1
Small Black: Small Black EP (remastered) *

Thirty Days NY is a project that I’ve been helping out on for months now (with our crew from We Love You So and new people) which launched today. Dallas and Graham did the heavy lifting but I am behind the scenes helping and adding to the amazing content with artist interviews, music, and more. It’s been magical to see this all come together and if you’re in New York you have to check out what’s going on there.

Here’s what Graham posted on Future Shipwreck about the project:

“Following the release of Spike Jonze’s robot love story, I’m Here, Absolut Vodka and TBWA teamed up with Spike and the rad dudes behind Family Bookstore, David Kramer and Sammy Harkham, to create a live gallery space for one month only in New York City. But more than just a gallery, it’s a performance space, bookstore and an artist studio– and all the events are free! Located at 70 Franklin Street, Tribeca, Thirty Days will feature weekly performances, symposiums, and showcases from contemporary artists, musicians, writers, filmmakers from all over the world.”

Dallas Clayton and I were tasked with creating the online presence for Thirty Days, and it’s evolved into so much more than a blog. In addition to providing daily coverage of live events at the gallery, the site will host loads of original content including exclusive interviews with No Age, Little Joy, The Morning Benders, Humberto Leon of Opening Ceremony, Sumi Ink Club, and many more. There are so many awesome people contributing stellar content for the site, from We Love You So’s Molly Young to photographer Bryan Derbella to Matt Wolf, the filmmaker behind the stunning Arthur Russell documentary Wild Combination, who’s been shooting a ton of original video content to the site.

Among those participating at the physical space are some of my favorite artists, like Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore, Ben Jones of Paper Rad (whose designs are all over the space– check out his bookshelves on the upper left of this post), Andrew Jeffrey Wright and SNL’s Fred Armisen, Albert Maysles, Shana Moulton, Matthew Thurber, and Lance Bangs. Take a peek at the full schedule and stop by if you’re in the area! I’m flying out tonight for the opening event on Thursday, which will include sets by the amazing Aska, Brian Degraw of Gang Gang Dance, and a psychedelic light show by Joshua White and cartoonist Gary Panter.“

(If they have a STAR by them, it means I’ve heard it and I like it. Album title links go to Amazon. If I miss any good releases, please add them in the comments.)

For all your MP3 needs purchase from iTunes or Amazon.

I couldn’t list Saintseneca twice in a row but that is my favorite release of this week because I am releasing it. It’s available everywhere. So get it.

MUSIC:
Adam Green: Minor Love (vinyl)
Annuals: Sweet Sister
Black Francis: Nonstoperotik
Catherine Wheel: Ferment (reissue with bonus tracks)
Dum Dum Girls: I Will Be (vinyl) *
The Go Find: Everybody Knows It’s Gonna Happen Only Not Tonight
Jawbreaker: Unfun (reissue with bonus tracks) (vinyl) *******
Lali Puna: Our Inventions
Raekwon, Ghostface Killer and Method Man: Wu-Massacre
Saintseneca: Grey Flag *********
Sinead O’Connor: Throw Down Your Arms (vinyl)
Usher: Raymond v. Raymond
Wooden Shjips: Vol. 2 (vinyl)

DVD:
Sherlock Holmes