01.11.10 My Top Ten RIGHT NOW

1. DANCE Pacific Northwest Ballet

Opening with a new work from Twyla Tharp set to the music of Brahms, this playful series of coupling, delightful in the moment, turned out to be the least of the night’s offerings.  A stunning pas de deux followed, set to the haunting piano work of Arvo Part, with an amazing use of white light and absolute dark and striking yet simple innovative movement that produced such subtle drama.  Concluding the evening was the New York Premiere of “3 Movements,” choreographed by Benjamin Millepied, a stunner in the completely opposite way.  Capturing the pulsing movement of a crowded city, of people streaming through the streets and randomly pairing and grouping, this piece had so much driving energy, expansive in scope and perfectly matched to the Steve Reich score, enough to make me forget the few odd nods to Jerome Robbins’ West Side Story. With the whole troupe costumed in grays whites and blacks, coursing across the stage in various formations, I was in awe of this amazing piece of dance.  A great night at the Joyce Theater… A

2. MOVIE Avatar

There is no doubt that the technology that James Cameron has harnessed is unbelievably impressive.  As opposed to the motion capture that makes humans into oddly dead creatures, this work is filled with life.  The Na’vi people are beautiful and as alive, if not more alive, than any of the humans that grace the same screen.  But seriously, what use is such incredible technology if it is not in service of an equally incredible story.  I am certainly not the first person to make the comparison, but Avatar is just a big budget and ultimately over-wrought Ferngully.  We’ve been through this before, big bad corporations tearing down the natives’ lands to rape the natural resources.  So once you get past the oohs and aahs of the 3D and computer graphics, you’re left with two hours and forty minutes of hoping that something interesting will actually happen.  The technology deserves a higher grade, but I believe they have to work together… C-

3. ALBUM Contra Vampire Weekend

A sophomore effort is always difficult, especially for a band that got so hyped and over-played in its initial run, which is what makes this album all the better.  They have by no means abandoned their sound, rather they stuck to it beautifully and pushed it even further, clearly demonstrated with the opening track, “Horchata,” that starts out with the same old VW but soon breaks open into tribal drumbeats announcing that something new is going on.  The rest of the album is a strong mix of upbeat and quieter tracks, all heavily influenced by Paul Simon’s Graceland sound.  With a song like “Taxi Cab,” you can hear the potential for the next album, a softer and more mature sound.  And hey, these guys name check Richard Serra in one track, that’s something I can definitely get behind… B+

4. ALBUM Glee: The Music – Volume 2

Is there anything more absurdly delightful than this show and the music it makes?  Offering up another round of new pop, old pop and Broadway, Volume 2 is missing the rock anthems that made the first one so enjoyable.  Instead, you get more emotional hits like “Imagine,” “Lean on Me,” and “True Colors,” enjoyable all the same, but less obviously so.  The mash-up of “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” and “Young Girl” is fantastic, as are the show-stopping theater hits “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going” and “Don’t Rain on My Parade.”   The group’s take on Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile” is heartbreakingly beautiful and one can never deny the pleasure of covering Kelly Clarkson’s “My Life Would Suck Without You.”  Like the show, it’s a mixed bag of tricks that works unbelievably well even when it’s least expected… B

5. TV Men of a Certain Age

On first viewing, I was bored out of mind.  Art these days seems captivated by navel gazing in all forms, but I simply could not get behind middle-aged navel gazing.  Luckily, I stuck it out and have found the show to be profound in its own quiet way.  Three friends of that late 40s, early 50s moment of life are basically powerless to make the world the way they want it to be.  Thanks to winning performances from Ray Raomano, Scott Bakula and the always great Andre Braugher, the hand-held 16mm shot show captivates with subtlety, emotional loss and the constant questioning of how did I end up like this.  I’m sure the show has more power for people closer to the age, but I’m taking it as a lovely cautionary tale well told… B

6. MUSICAL Bye Bye Birdie

Never have I seen such pointless and egregious stunt casting.  Putting the adorable John Stamos and the seductive Gina Gershon as the leads in a classic beloved musical, you would imagine that these two could sing, act and/or dance.  Well folks, they can do none of those things so essential to selling a musical.  Rather than breathlessly awaiting a number like “Put On a Happy Face,” or “What Did I Ever See in Him,” I was biting my nails just hoping someone would hit the right note and at least try and sell the number.  The rest of the show was all unnecessarily glitzed up, too smooth and seamless for such a home grown concoction and the one potential bright spot, the incomparable Bill Irwin as Mr. MacAfee, just seemed lost in everything going on around him.  I would give this show a big ol’ F, but at the end of the day, it’s still Birdie, a heartfelt piece of Americana that maybe should remain exclusively on the high school stage… D

7. ALBUM Boxer The National

After becoming such a fan from their track on Dark Was the Night, it took me way too long to acquire this amazing album.  Matt Berninger’s baritone voice is so distinct and gorgeous when matched with the piano and percussion of this Brooklyn outfit.  The beauty of this band is classic songwriting matched with deeply interesting orchestrations.  “Apartment Story” and the often played “Fake Empire” are the most accessible songs, but more intriguing sounds come from “Squalor Victoria” with its extended drum heavy opening that transforms into ambient tone and piano or the Magnetic Fields inspired “Start a War” with its sing-song tune that slowly crescendos over the three minutes.  It’s a beautiful album and deserved all the praise it received this past year… A-

8. MOVIE Blindness (2008)

I do not know why critics felt the need to completely bash this film.  It’s by no means amazing, and maybe had too much pedigree to embrace some sub par work, but it was extremely true to the extraordinary book by Jose Saramago, and as usual, Fernando Meirelles does some fascinating things with the camera.  Everything is obscured, at odd angles, too much light, not enough light, all creating this absorbing visceral feeling of disorientation that I imagine must have been heightened seeing it in an actual theater.  My main issue was with the very odd acting choices, somehow stilted and false, forcing me to recall the book to fill in bits and pieces that made the proceedings more real.  While not a true winner, there was no need to tear this thing apart so brutally… B-

9. MOVIE Nine

As one friend said upon seeing this movie, I think we can all agree that Rob Marshall is a hack.  Based on this film (and his complete destruction of Memoirs of a Geisha) I think it’s safe to say that Marshall has no clue how to make a film.  This deconstructed mess of a musical betrays the Fellini inspiration 8 1/2 as well as Maury Yeston’s original splendid musical about the difficulties of constantly one upping your own creativity.  With all the subtlety and beauty of the show missing, you’re left with horrendous music video upon horrendous music video that doesn’t so much advance the story as demonstrate that even with a stellar cast, gorgeous costumes and too much money, you can still create pure crap.  It’s muddled, it’s ultimately pointless and it is a crying shame that he got to this material before I did… F

10. PLAY Wishful Drinking

There is no doubt that Carrie Fisher’s life is unique, somewhat trashy and in the end, quite scary, but when put together into a one-woman show in which she paces the stage making fun of her family’s dalliances, her stop and start career and her trips to rehab, you find yourself laughing.  She’s a natural at playing herself, no doubt, but she brings with it a wit and heart that makes her trials and tribulations relatable and winning, especially when tackling the diagnosis of her bipolar disorder.  She makes us all feel like we could easily walk into a psych ward, fill out a survey and quickly be carted off to a safer place where we can’t harm anyone else.  Not necessarily the best night in the theater, but certainly a worthy show to remind us that even without famous parents, we all have the right to take the stage… B-