Williamsburg is Dead

Daily Dose O' Preciousness

Fifty People, One Question: Brooklyn from Crush & Lovely on Vimeo.

Williamsburg Gets Gondrified!

Dick Annegarn "Soleil du soir" (par Michel Gondry)
by totoutard

Gothamist solved the mystery of what Williamsburg's patron saint, Michel Gondry de Avenue Orient, was filming in front of his house all those many moons ago. It was a music video for Dick Annegarn, and it features lots of stop motiony fun timery. Gooooooooo Williamsburg!

What Williamsburg is Watching

 

Diner, starring not only Steve Guttenberg but also Tim Daly, is Williamsburg's 24th most rented movie.

Hrrm, I'm pretty sure Gawker or someone already did this, but I'm going to write about it anyway because my brain has stopped working. It's Williamsburg's top 25 rented Netflix movies!

It turns out that Williamsburgers are fairly sophisticated cinephiles. Godard is well represented with "Le Petit Soldat" and "Band of Outsiders," while Antonioni and Cassavetes are also present. You Brooklynites also have an affinity for Spike Lee, with "Crooklyn," "Do the Right Thing," and "Clockers" all on the list.

My favorite selection, however, is one that pretty much sums up the anxieties of apartment hunters in Williamsburg:

The Sentinel: Model Alison Parker (Cristina Raines) gets a great deal on a Brooklyn, N.Y., apartment -- but there's just one catch: It's also the gateway to Hell, and she's on the invite list.

Ha! I'm pretty sure the movie is based on my first apartment in Bushwick. And the number one film on this hipster-heavy 'hood's queue? That would be "A Life Apart: Hasidism in America." It's a documentary starring Leonard Nimoy! Either hipsters are learning about their devout neighbors or the Hasids are learning a little bit about themselves.

P.S. Definitely check out Charles Burnett's poignant 1977 drama about urban life in South Central L.A. "Killer of Sheep."

The entire list after the jump ...

Cute As Shit: Fall Screenings at Cafe Grumpy

Greenpoint, you are so precious. What other neighborhood would have a film series based around hoodies and bicycles? This fall my favorite coffee house, Cafe Grumpy, is showing E.T., Goonies, Donnie Darko and Rad. Good times.

Donnie Darko from filmmonster on Vimeo.

Rushmore Closes SummerScreen

Like with François Truffaut and "The 400 Blows," Wes Anderson set the bar almost too high for himself early in his career with "Rushmore." No matter how entertaining or beautiful, his latest films (like the "The Darjeeling Limited") just leave me pining for the perfection of "Rushmore."

If you've ever wondered why everyone makes such a big stink over Anderson, come to McCarren Park Pool tonight for the very last film in the SummerScreen series. The film will be introduced by Kent Jones of the Film Society of Lincoln Center after The King Left and Trashed on Fiction play. Gates open at 5:30pm.

Švankmania in Bushwick

We raved about our last visit to Starr Space, so it should be no surprise that we heartily endorse next week's Cinema 16 event. Curated by the bad-ass Molly Surno, the event features three short films by Czech surrealist filmmaker Jan Švankmajer accompanied by a live soundtrack courtesy of Hundred Eyes. Plus free food and booze provided by Drambuie and Eat Records. The fun begins at 8:30pm on Thursday night at Starr Space (108 Starr Street)--RSVP now.
 

Pomo-erotic Movie Made in Williamsburg to Be Shown or Something

Oh my god it's like Reality Bites for Williamsburg--on YouTube! The Brooklyn Paper interviewed Brendan Choisnet and Adam Brown, directors of "Cult of Sincerity," which is about a 20-something dude who wants to get rid of sarcasm and irony, while living in Williamsburg no less. Gawker beware! It was originally (and still is) on YouTube but then it was picked up by WNET Channel 13, although you can see it at Stain Bar (766 Grand St) on Aug 23rd at 11:15pm during the viewing party. Anyway, the plot sounds super sweet, like reading McSweeney's while listening to Belle & Sebastian while eating an organic cupcake. Am I being sarcastic? I don't even know anymore.

Tonight ... Braaaaaaains

Tonight at SummerScreen at McCarren Park Pool, check out the zombie flick 28 Days Later. Then stage your own performance like these Filipino inmates.
 

Tonight: Mean Streets at McCarren Park

Mean Streets (1973), the first collaboration between Scorsese and De Niro, screens tonight at McCarren Park Pool. Sure, ol' Marty might have lost his edge recently (cough, cough The Aviator), but this movie should be required viewing for anyone living in New York. A glimpse back to before Little Italy was Nolita, Mean Streets features De Niro in one of his most memorable roles ever--the volatile young Johnny Boy. This movie is Scorsese at his most personal, a low-budget labor of love before anyone knew who he was. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend you show up tonight.

Doors at 7pm, pre-movie music by Second Dan, movie at dusk

Tragic-Comic, Old-World, Intrusive Weekend Guide

There's so much to do in Williamsburg this weekend! Put on your skinniest jeans, down a Sparks and prepare your most disaffected pose--it's time for our groin grabbingly good to-do list.

Tonight you can watch movies under the stars instead of inside a theater like an asshole. Rooftop Films presents the Animation Block Party, an animated orgy of 80 different shorts. Beforehand, the sweet, electro-pop songs of Plushgun will make you feel like you just ate a happiness sandwich. Afterwards, the open bar afterparty at Matchless (557 Manhattan Ave) will make you forget everything you just witnessed. At 50 N. Bedford Ave, doors at 8pm, $9.

Tomorrow, the unfortunately named Head Cheese Cabaret previews at Don Pedro (90 Manhattan Ave). What can you expect? How about "a motley crew of rising cabaret upstarts including tragic-comic monologists, old world musicians, intrusive mimes, dueling opera divas, Biblical burlesque acts, sword swallowing and various other performers." Intrusive mimes? I don't even like regular mimes. But hey, I don't judge, except for always. Saturday, July 26, 10pm, $8 at the door.

Just in case you live alone in a cave inside of another cave, MGMT is headlining this Sunday's free McCarren Park Pool Party, with nice old British ladies the Tings Tings opening.