Studio Synopsis:
“Director Tamra Davis pays homage to her friend in this definitive documentary but also delves into Basquiat as an iconoclast. His dense, bebop-influenced neoexpressionist work emerged while minimalist, conceptual art was the fad; as a successful black artist, he was constantly confronted by racism and misconceptions. Much can be gleaned from insider interviews and archival footage, but it is Basquiat’s own words and work that powerfully convey the mystique and allure of both the artist and the man.”

Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child was released on Feb 21.

Side note:
The song you hear throughout the trailer is “Salty Peanuts” by Charlie Parker

posted by: Harold Johns III

Set against the harsh and unforgiving landscape of the 188o’s Australian outback, The Proposition is a visually stunning tale of loyalty, revenge and the quest for justice in a lawless land. Director John Hillcoat (The Road), working from a screenplay by  musician Nick Cave (Birthday Party, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds) has made an anti-hero western so raw and uncompromising, so filled with unnerving character studies and grisly suffering, it would’ve made Sergio Leone jealous.

Guy Pearce, Ray Winestone and John Hurt all turn in incredible performances, while Danny Huston is utterly brilliant as the  poetic psychopath Arthur Burns, who the indigenous Australians simply refer to as “The Dog Man” because of his vicious behavior.

Running time: 104 minutes
2006, First Look Pictures

posted by: Harold Johns III

Studio Synopsis:
Co-winner of this year’s Freedom of Expression Award from the National Board of Review (and one of their Five Best Documentaries of the Year), Winner of the Special Jury Award at IDFA, and in contention for the year’s Best Documentary Feature Oscar, The Most Dangerous Man in America tells the story of Daniel Ellsberg, a high-level Pentagon official and Vietnam War strategist, who in 1971 concluded that the war was based on decades of lies and leaked 7,000 pages of top secret documents to The New York Times, making headlines around the world. A riveting story of how this one man’s profound change of heart created a landmark struggle involving America’s newspapers, its president and Supreme Court. With Daniel Ellsberg, Patricia Ellsberg, Tony Russo, Howard Zinn, Hedrick Smith, John Dean, and, from the secret White House tapes, Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger, who called Ellsberg “the most dangerous man in America.”

Learn more about the film here

posted by: Brent Carter

Studio Synopsis:
An un-missable look at one of the art world’s most fascinating controversies and a celebrated selection of the Toronto, New York and AFI Film Festivals, Don Argott’s gripping documentary The Art of the Steal chronicles the long and dramatic struggle for control of the Barnes Foundation, a private collection of art valued at more than $25 billion. In 1922, Dr. Albert C. Barnes formed a remarkable educational institution around his priceless collection of art, located just five miles outside of Philadelphia. Now, more than 50 years after Barnes’ death, a powerful group of moneyed interests have gone to court for control of the art, and intend to bring it to a new museum in Philadelphia. Standing in their way is a group of Barnes’ former students and his will, which contains strict instructions stating the Foundation should always be an educational institution, and that the paintings may never be removed. Will they succeed, or will a man’s will be broken and one of America’s greatest cultural monuments be destroyed?

Release date: February 26, 2010

This is a photo reproduction of Giorgio de Chirico’s 1926 portrait of Dr. Albert C. Barnes posted on a large sign in the 2000 block, Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA.

Find out more about the film here

posted by: Brent Carter

The rumors appear to be true. UK street artist Banksy will premiere his first film Exit Through The Gift Shop for the first time at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Which explains why new pieces by Bansky have been popping up all over Park City, Utah.

Learn more about the film here

posted by: Harold Johns III