The Indie Film World Reformation

"The indie theatrical release is dead" proclaimed Michael Kang, the indie film director of Kimberley Rose Wolters’s new feature-length romantic comedy "4 Weddings". In a Q&A session that was quickly overtaken by the current woes of the indie film industry, this was the most disconcerting comment made by Kang, Rose Wolters, or actress Iliana Douglass. Kang continued …

Ideas of Searching in ‘Searching for Sugar Man’

The first mistake a movie-goer can make is to assume that the way the story they came to see is going to be told in the only way it could have been told. This is particularly true of documentaries, because they are about, before all else, information. Documentarians tell stories by organizing information in their own way, and as with any good …

Check Out Prandial in Chelsea

Mark Stern’s Prandial is comforting in all of its richesse. Plush banquettes, dark wood, and an angular, modern feel about the bar space, which melds up a short set of stairs to the dining main dining area- balancing old world of luxury and the new world emphasis on dining and conversing in the utmost comfort …

So Yong Kim’s Portrait of An Absent Father, ‘For Ellen’

"Please stop. You’re going to make me sad." The pivotal moment in So Yong Kim’s heartbreaking portrait of paternal irresponsibility is when the namesake of the film speaks up in a whisper: “Please stop. You’re going to make me sad.” Her father, whom she met for the first time just hours before, fears he may never see her …

KTCHN: Now Open on West 42nd Street

KTCHN, located at The Out NYC (and sister to the Hell’s Kitchen hotspot Eatery), is a delicious new fixture on West 42nd Street. Smooth white chairs dot the spacious bar-room at front and glassy counter stools line the bar. The candle-lit dining-room has a more private feel to it, with a neutral toned palette and dark leather booths. The place is …

New Italian Restaurant, Galli, Now Open on Mercer Street

Steve Gallo and Michael Forrest’s Galli of SoHo specializes in Italian comfort food, but actually offers much more. There’s something for everyone, and your options are equally crisp, fresh, and unadorned with emphasis on pure flavor; flavor, it seems, is deeply respected in this kitchen. Classics like chicken marsala and pasta bolognese are abundant alongside popular options such as grilled salmon …

Foodswings: Vegan Food Can Be Comfort Food

It seems that everyone loves Foodswings, one of the most classic vegan staples in Williamsburg. Bikers, hipsters, everyone in between flock there to indulge in serious comfort food: milkshakes, burgers, heroes, caesar salad, mac ‘n’ cheese, donuts- they’ve truly got it all. In fact, they have so much that it’s easy to have too much …

Depanneur of Williamsburg

A little market on a random block in Williamsburg has been thriving for years, now. The place was a dream come true: the finest cheeses, meats, and dry goods from around the world, all in one little place a block from the water. Rough and homey, the corner shop, Depanneur, runs on fine goods and …

RedFarm Continues West Village Dominance

RedFarm turns away hundreds of hungry would-be diners every night. Many of these people return, not only because that which is hard-to-get is all the more enticing, but because the guy they meet upon entering that automatic sliding door up front will assure them that the place wants them to get in - if not today, some other …

Farm to Plate at Amali in Midtown East

Herbs are not nearly as appreciated in North American cooking as they should be. Basil, mint, sage, and cilantro are popular in areas where so-called “ethnic” cuisine is valued by the consumers of this fast-food nation (and over this, my foodie heart cries). At Amali, restaurateur James Mallios’ newest venture, the menu is spiked all over …

‘The Artist’ Was…Quiet

Oh, so quiet- and beautiful to watch. As a viewer, I am still not sure what lines I was supposed to connect between the reality of the characters, the history of cinema, and the medium at hand. Since the film is a film in a film, it could be said that there is commentary on …

Homestyle Vietnamese Cooking at An Nhau

Williamsburg, Brooklyn contains its fair share of eccentricity and style: little oddball shops and cafes, full blocks of beautiful murals, lots of random spots to sit in the public domain (there are benches everywhere). It is a people friendly place, as opposed to many other neighborhoods, where money comes first and enjoyment is second- if …

I Loved ‘Bridesmaids’

No configuration of words can express how deeply happy Bridesmaids made me, but I am still going to blog about it. It was a bit “too long”, full of delicious little snap scenes where some woman was doing something that would never, ever have made it into a traditional “romantic comedy”. The first that comes …

Go Wild at Empanada Mama!

"You came at the perfect time! Empanada Mama- this is the real feeling of the place. Enjoy!" Indeed- Empanada Mama is a tiny, railroad cafe full of delicious eats and close-contact chatter. New Yorkers -particularly Manhattanites- often develop very creative ideas about space, because we don’t usually have any. And life goes on. We collect …

‘The Iron Lady’

The film opens with the most fragile, soft-spoken, elderly woman buying milk at a corner deli. She is shocked by the price. Following her home, we realize soon enough that she is not only fragile, but very dependent. The woman has dementia and keeps herself afloat by imagining her life is as it once was. Her …

Classy Beer & Peruvian Fare at La Cerveceria

Owning a restaurant in Manhattan is, to say the least, a precarious business. Starting a restaurant off a blank page is a daring venture in such an unpredictable place. After a fairly mind-blowing meal in restauranteur Kyle Saliba’s new specialty beer and tapas bar, I developed a whole new appreciation for daredevils. He explained how La Cerveceria came …

‘J. Edgar’: Making History With History

John Edgar Hoover founded the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which, among other things led the United States into a new era of surveillance. He is portrayed, by all accounts, as having been completely consumed by his career, though this may have been due to the unbearable oppression he faced as a gay man in Washington …

‘Beginners’ Confront The End in Fear / Stall Death With Love

Ewan McGregor plays things so gentle, that it is nearly impossible not to empathize with his characters. In Beginners, he plays a protagonist who confronts quite a lot at once, and relatively later in life: death, true love, profound sadness, existential anxiety, the fear of dying alone, the fear of staying with someone he doesn’t …

The Brilliant Star: Michelle Williams in ‘My Week With Marilyn’

Michelle Williams stars in a movie where she is sidelined by the plot- how did that happen? No one involved would ever admit it, but she is the sugar, the cherry, the charm, even the star, but playing Marilyn Monroe is viewed as an ornamental project. The irony here is extreme: a biopic film has been …

‘Albert Nobbs’: “A Woman Passing…” or Succeeding in a Cruel World

ALBERT NOBBS is the story of a man. Is it? Is that what matters? The film is summarized as follows on the film’s official web-page: “Award winning actress Glenn Close plays a woman passing as a man in order to work and survive in 19th century Ireland.” This is true, simple. Still, throughout the film, …

Oh, Look! There Are White Heteronormative People Starring in A Woody Allen Film And It Has Been Nominated For An Oscar

'Midnight in Paris' is a beautiful, delicious, sexy film with a sweet cast. The plot is led straight from beginning to end without a struggle. It is interesting and breezy. That said, it’s absolutely usual and palatable. There’s adultery, psychoanalysis-worthy monogamy issues, wealth, surveillance, awkward parental units, blame-the-maid antics posing as class war commentary, and …

The Clothes Come On: Documenting Butt Naked’s Redemption

  Re·demp·tion (noun) 1.an act of redeeming  or the state of being redeemed. 2. 3. 4.atonement for guilt.   General Butt Naked Murderer, sadist, cannibal, Liberian tribal leader, devil worshipper, religious advisor, criminal, father, husband, Christian, redeemer. To be redeemed, one must be devoted to deliverance from the sins they have committed, so as to keep them forever in the past. Joshua Milton Blahyi is better known …

‘Natural Selection’is a Feminist Feat

NATURAL SELECTION is a feminist film: there’s a lady protagonist on a mission that involves quite a lot more than her body and the journey sets her free of all social restraints, even the need for love. She is strong, without self-pity, and proactively seeks out pleasure and accomplishment without being punished for it. While …

Hunger at The Leopard

Stepping into The Leopard at des Artistes from the chilly, quiet sidewalk is a serious New York experience. The lively scents, the bustling and confident white-shirts, the candlelight with the classic peeking nudes resident Howard Chandler Christy painted in a luscious garden of earthly and earthy delights- that is The Leopard at what once was Cafe des Artistes. I …

‘The Dynamiter’ & Childhood

The concept of children as smaller versions of adults persisted in history up until the early 20th Century. The purpose of children was to grow up and carry on whatever their parents or guardians needed them for, whether it was a family business or help in the field or the family home and bloodline. “Kids” …

Maryam Keshavarz’s ‘Circumstance’

CIRCUMSTANCE is the story of two young women who try to live the lives they desire under an increasingly brutal dictatorial government. Materially privileged Atafeh Hakimi (Nikohl Boosheri) introduces her socially stigmatized friend, Shireen Arshadi (Sarah Kazemy), to the Tehran underground. There after school and before curfew, behind blinds blocking sunlight from makeshift clubs, the …

‘Another Earth’ & Earthly Redemption

The elements of science fiction in ANOTHER EARTH accentuate the most important human elements of the story: forgiveness, alienation, victimization, and how to carry a burden. Protagonist Rhoda Williams is just about to start her life as a student at MIT, when she crashes into a car, killing a man’s wife, son, and unborn child. …

RAMPART: Notes on “Date Rape Dave”

When an admittedly racist, controlling, sexist LAPD officer named Dave Brown is caught on camera nearly beating a man to death, his personal and professional life slip out of his control faster than he seems ever to have imagined possible. He has two wives -sisters- and two young daughters, who feel as though he’s neglected …

Mother America: ‘Think of Me’

By the time Angela Jerome, played sans sentimentality by Lauren Ambrose, says the title line, most viewers will probably have lost all compassion for her as a human being. As the protagonist, her role is that of decision-maker: she does things and what she does is often a helpless mess. All of the general sympathy …

Thoughts on ‘Margin Call’

MARGIN CALL deals with a group of corporate risk analysts struggling to survive a particularly nasty awakening in the face of an economic quake. There is a Firm carving out a large percentage of its staff. The hierarchy is presented to us amidst a bubbling chaos. If not for the structure we’re given in the …

‘Take Shelter’: A Storm Is Coming

The film begins with a man watching this extraordinary storm approach along a vast stretch of farmland. A thick, slimy orange rain begins to fall. The man touches it, looking out into the distance with a sense of foreboding. He is, obviously, not in control of what is happening. Or is he? The power of …

Bright Night: Cafe du Soleil

Crème brûlée with a hint of lavender, cornmeal-crusted calamari, moules frites with garlic aplenty- what says sun like the fruits of the sea and cream spiced with flowers? Cafe du Soleil is very much about maintaining an air of fresh air and sunlight. I know this because I tested it out on an overcast, bone-cold Manhattan night, and …

IL Tesoro: Gustatory Treasures

I haven’t had a real reason to go to the East Side from the West Side more than occasionally for years. One surefire way to lure me somewhere I normally would not go (without a definite and good reason) is with the promise of amazing food- I am simple like that. The Upper West Side …

Like Project Continua on Facebook

Project Continua will be accessible and contributable by everyone. The core of Project Continua is the “female biography” archive, searchable content containing individual entries for each woman, including up-to-date scholarship on their life trajectories, their work, and the new knowledge they produced. Project Continua will also act as a virtual workspace in which students can …

The Chocolate Room is Heaven & You Should Go There

The Chocolate Room in Cobble Hill Brooklyn is the kind of cafe you can enter comfortably in a group of ten, as a couple, or solo. The menu is centered around chocolate, as one would expect, but more than just being made of chocolate, the recipes ate inspired by the ingredient. A prime example is the …

Piola For Pizza Magic

Not a fan of tomatoey things, myself, I know that most of the United States is obsessed with pizza. Piola, which has more than 30 locations worldwide, is (in New York, at least) a cozy little pizzeria in the village that has over 50 varieties of individually made-to-order pizza flavor combinations. They also boast a sizable …

Cozy Gray Days at The Grey Dog Cafe

During one very rough finals season in college, The Grey Dog cafe gave me memorable tummy comfort. After spending a wholly sleepless night in one of the university computer labs, I finished my work with two hours until class. Without enough time to sleep or enough energy to continue studying, I headed out into the freezing winter …

Dessert Haven: Citrus Bar & Grill

There is no shortage of sugar in the city. Walking down any avenue, one will most-likely come into contact with at least one guy holding a tray of little cups, offering some sort of happy-tasting treat. I am usually interested in grabbing one. So, there are many, many places where a resident can get their …

Refreshingly Fresh “Fast Food”: Chirping Chicken

The pro-sides of this food stop are many, including the simple facts that follow: it’s inexpensive, fast, and never tastes like fast food. The service is the same whether you stop by for table service or order-in. The servings are generous and the mainstay, namesake - the once chirping, now not so, chicken - is …

Max Brenner Presents Chocolates with Loopy Presentations

Down around Union Square, there is a restaurant with a waiting area, full of chocolate. The idea is that you can support the Bald Man’s chocolate factory while waiting to consume the chef’s creative, chocolatey bounty. Max Brenner’s menu is as pricey as it is mouthwatering. The creative presentation of the food is mainly in the cookware: pressed sandwiches …

Taim: ‘Delicious’ is right

While Taim is super tiny and you usually can’t get a seat at peak hours (which is most likely when you will go), walking and eating an amazing- and I by that I mean AMAZING - falafel sandwich is not that difficult. It is hand-held food, after all. No matter the wait, no matter the lack of …

Mama Mexico Raises Delicious Food in Manhattan

Mama Mexico is consistently fun and full of good eats. It is now common to order guacamole and have someone come over to the table and prepare it before your eyes. At this place, though, the guy (I’ve never seen a woman prepping there) will actually make the activity look interesting- putting visible effort into the …

Serenity in Brooklyn at Tazza Cafe

I ran into Tazza when I got lost in Brooklyn Heights on a cold, rainy day. It seems that many of the best taste-related experiences are had on cold, rainy days, and on one of these dreadful days last winter, I walked into Tazza in need of a warm drink. I walked to the counter soaking wet …

American Comfort Food That’s ‘Good Enough To Eat’

The food at Good Enough To Eat is well-proportioned, “All-American,” and satisfying to all senses. There’s a little extra something to each dish. Take the turkey club as one example. I have never in my life been tempted to order a turkey club. One day I went to Good Enough to Eat and was devastated when the …

Sarabeth’s West Offers Rural Fare in an Urban Setting

Sarabeth’s Kitchen on the Westside of Manhattan is a place of extremes. For weekend brunch, it is packed to the brim from opening to close, but weekdays after 2 p.m. you can enter and take over any table you want for an indefinite period of time because it is totally barren of people (though mostly not …

Brooklyn’s Finest: Palmyra of Atlantic Avenue

*** Sadly, Palmyra closed for good in 2011. Over the summer, I happened upon a little cafe called Palmyra whilst strolling down Atlantic Avenue with a friend, waterfront bound. I smelled fresh pita bread- which is not too random in that area, but I hadn’t really explored too many cafes along the avenue and we …

Mandangsui: My Intro to Korean BBQ Delight

ONE: There are supposed to be as many plates on the table as possible. Start stacking. TWO: “It doesn’t really matter how you hold your chopsticks as long as you get the food in your mouth.” THREE: “Are you still hungry? Good. Because we’re going to just keep refilling your plate.” There are, as far …

Top Picks at Magnolia Bakery

Magnolia Bakery is known for its cupcakes. The little cakes are beautiful, with plentiful, colorful frosting. The cake itself is quite nice, but I am not a fan of the frosting, so I often skip to the real stars of the show: the assorted muffins and the banana pudding. A fact of life that too many …

Afghan Food on St. Mark’s at Khyber Pass

Khyber Pass is fun because you can sit in the window seats cross-legged and watch people walk down the street on the coldest, most intolerable days without feeling the chill yourself. The food is warming and the decor is inviting (though it has become a bit of a grunge-fest in the past three years). I …

Ice Cream & Bliss at Rosa Mexicano

Rosa Mexicano has three locations in Manhattan- Lincoln Center, Union Square, and Midtown east. The Lincoln Center location has this gorgeous wall of falling men: art. It is grand, with blues and reds and high ceilings. While the place is visually stunning, no thing of sight can compare to what your tongue will experience if …

Up All Night, Uptown: French Roast

I do not think that people go to French Roast for the food, though it is quite a delight- day or night.  I have been there on holidays, in the wee hours of the morning, past midnight, for brunch, and around dinner over the span of a decade, and the food is, generally, delicious. Still, …

Top 3: Tea for Tea Lovers

For tea, you need time. There should be a process of inhaling, sipping, tasting and breathing out that informs the tongue and the mind that it is time to slow down. Whether a tea shop is downright bustling or you’d startle if a pin dropped / glass clanked, the experience of tea should be physically …

Le Monde of Manhattan

There are three things about Le Monde of Morningside Heights, Manhattan, that draw crowds: cream, liquor, and meat. Everything else is an accessory (no worries: there’s no shortage of excess here in the land of French flavor). I have written about their soup bowls of hot chocolate, a creamy, brain/body melting elixir, and now I feel compelled …

The Top 3 Cupcake Shops in NYC

I love cupcakes so much that a couple years back, my coworkers started calling me Cupcake. It stuck (I allowed it…) and now I proudly refer to myself as “Cupcake” when I think that it is appropriate. Aside from my love of cupcakes as a creation, I have a very particular taste that few cupcakeries …

Elena Beloff’s Zaritsas: Russian Women in New York

Zaritsas: Russian Women in New York Elena Beloff is a Russian woman who loves living in New York. She came to the city ten years ago as a student and has since found parallel fields as a healer (she is a certified and practicing hypnotist) and filmmaker. In 2010, she debuted a film about Russian women in New York, one …

‘The Help’ Cast Shed Light on New Film

The first time I saw “The Help,” I had a sticky feeling I would see it again, not because I was dying to or needed to clarify some big mystery in the plot, but because while the movie was very well done and quite important to film history, something was, shall we say, not sticking …

A Better Life: Discussion with Demian Bichir & Chris Weitz

KS: Was there any moment that you shot, but then removed from the film with deep regret? If yes, what was it? CW: “Um. No. I will tell you two moments that we shot, but didn’t keep. One was a big hug at the end of the film, because I wanted to keep things balanced …

Lose Yourself (a Little Itty Bite): Brunch at Alice’s Tea Cup Chapter I

Upon entering the magical sugar-filled world that is Alice’s Tea Cup (specifically Chapter I) one should feel quite warm and fully prepared to indulge in deliciousness like time is of no importance, whatsoever. Why come to a place inspired by a little girl who gets lost in another dimension, where the fact that clocks tick …

Classy & Sweet Harney & Sons, Soho

Going to tea and drinking tea is not just about tea. There is this all-to-common misperception about tea: that it is an alternative to coffee, more refined, but just as easy to make happen. While some portion of the world population must consider tea their coffee (a part of their daily routine) it is, in …

My Top 3: Italian Eateries on the UWS

Most of the American population indulges in the saucy, cheesy, doughy, often meatiness of pizza dishes and hero sandwiches. Separating “going out or Italian” from Italian American cuisine, I would like to introduce you to three of the more traditional Italian eateries on the Upper West Side. These places are suited for big family meals, …

The Ever Always Lovely Cafe Lalo

Lalo is probably the most reviewed and viewed cafe on the Upper West Side. It is packed on weekends and in the evenings, as one would only expect from a place so revered by locals and travelers-in alike. Bustling on high volume or early morning serene, this airy, bright space has a time (they open …

The Coziest Nook: Popover Cafe

*** Very sadly, Popover Cafe close earlier this year, 2014. You'll forever be in my heart! Popover Cafe is an establishment on the Upper West Side. On the average weekend morning, you will find that the population is not touristic, though the place has a good reputation. Instead you will encounter grandparents, kids, and their …

Interview with Wally Lamb

Interview with Author Wally Lamb I met author Wally Lamb after his reading at Central Park SummerStage in 2008. During a phone interview later that year, Wally was kind enough to share his thoughts on his first novel, She’s Come Undone, nearly two decades after its first publication. Three books later, Wally Lamb was more …

Discussion After the Amazing Women in Film Panel with Thelma Adams

Thanks to Thelma Adams, the moderator of this years Amazing Women in Film panel at the Woodstock Film Festival, I got to participate in an enlightening and exciting discussion on Facebook about the state of women in film. Check it out by clicking the link above. I nearly burst with excitement at the chance to …

An excerpt from “Imagining a Cinematic World without Rape”

                          The problem with cinematic gendering is that when it comes in the form of fantasized characters made for the purpose of entertainment, then the foundations are conventions, not innovations. Audiences can connect to the mother figure, but they are not supposed to admire the femme fatale: what happens if they do? Is it because …

Interview with Peter Pamela Rose, the Chiropractor for the Mind

This is a piece I recently constructed using audio from an interview I did with Master Life Coach Peter Pamela Rose back in 2008, where we talked about her philosophy, methods, and “niche” as the one and only CHIROPRACTOR FOR THE MIND®.

Filmmaker Elena Rossini writes about the state of women in film

I really recommend this link and the blog that hosted the piece - The Beheld. Also take a look at Rossini’s http://theillusionists.org/ to get a taste of what it means to be a feminist in the eerily elusive yet totally pervasive world of film and media. Filmmaker Elena Rossini writes about the state of women in …

R.I.P: The Original Edgar’s Cafe

NOTE: this article was written a month and a half before Edgar’s closed their main location on West 84th Street. Their flag is down (literally - they had a flag over the entrance) after twenty years as a late night staple of the Upper West Side. I tend to be out late. If I have …