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The other week Rachel and I saw another film that will make you look at the food on your plate a little differently. The movie was Forks Over Knives, and it was based in part on the research by a Cornell nutrition professor, T. Colin Campbell. Dr. Campbell grew up a dairy farmer, but spent most of his career looking at the connection between the western diet and degenerative diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis and cancer. The fim follows Campbell and Dr. Esselstyn, a surgeon and head of the Breast Cancer task force with the Cleveland Clinic. Their research led them to conclude that many degenerative diseases could not only be prevented but reversed by adopting a whole foods, plant-based diet.
With the healthcare system and sustainable food movements becoming a significant part of our cultural dialogues, this film is relevant and compelling. Watch it if you have a curiosity, but be prepared to look at the glass of milk or steak a little differently afterwards. One of Campbell’s arguments is that casein, a protein found in milk from mammals, is the most significant carcinogen we consume.
Yesterday, Ethan and I spent our date night at Cinemapolis for a screening of “May I Be Frank“, co-produced by someone Ethan knew growing up in Ithaca, Conor Gaffney. Conor was out in San Francisco working with friends for Cafe Gratitude, (a Vegan/Raw Food restuarant), when their worlds collided with a native Brooklynite, Frank Ferrante. Frank, A 54 year old, obese and depressed addict, caught the affection of Conor & his friends, who put him on a 42-day regimen to transform his life, in quite the opposite way of Morgan Spurlock in Super Size Me.
The result is a very real, raw account of the various steps he commits to take as he begins to heal his body, mind and spirit. It really, really moved me and his message is still with me today - that we, and only we, have the power to be who we want to be. Cliche, cliche, but there is nothing more true that that. Yes, this includes facing your demons and taking risks but Frank lets us into all of this and coming through the other side is a more centered, authentic and fulfilled person. The film also beautifully demonstrates the power of community and giving of your self to impact a life.
If it screens near you, check it out. If not, the DVD will be up on their website soon.
Here’s to paying Frank’s transformation forward in little ripples…
Between the volunteer work at Cinemapolis, our local independent movie theater, and the extra time home with a new baby, we saw a lot of movies in 2010. While I’m still waiting to see 127 hours & Social Network, here is a rundown of favorite rentals & theater films from the past year:
Favorite Rentals from 2010:
A Prophet: Rivals any classic mob film. Incredible story and acting.
Secret In Their Eyes: One of the best foreign films I’ve ever seen. The music, the cinematography, the acting, the story.
Downfall: Fascinating look at the last days of Adolf Hitler’s reign as told through his young secretary, Traudl Junge. Includes a interview with Ms. Junge before her recent death. A rare look, at least for me, on the reflection of a nazi supporter coming to terms with her actions.
A Single Man: Essentially an essay on coping with death. Not the lightest subject, but beautiful film and incredible performance by Colin Firth. With this and King’s Speech, has he escalated to one of the top living male actors? I’ll make the case.
Favorite Films from 2010:
Black Swan: Simply one of the most creative, unique & visually impressive films I’ve seen. I benefited from reading a review that suggested not to over-think this film while watching it. That allowed me to enjoy everything that was happening without trying to figure it all out. If you just let this film take you for a ride of music, art and creativity, you’ll enjoy it. I could have done without the hangnail scene, however.
King’s Speech: Battle of acting savants, Colin Firth & Geoffrey Rush. Instant classic. It will probably be the Academy favorite for Best Picture, but we’ll be pushing for Black Swan in this house.
Winter’s Bone: Particularly interesting as it reminded us of many surrounding poor and desperate neighborhoods in central New York. The realism of the movie was based in part on being filmed on location in the Ozarks, but mostly from great performances by unknown actors. Jennifer Lawrence and the rest of the cast made this feel more like a documentary than a film.
I Am Love: Tilda Swinton made this film with her acting, but the Director or Cinematographer deserve recognition for the creative filmmaking.
True Grit: This didn’t rank with my favorite Cohen Brother films, but it definitely had their stamp in terms of storytelling, smart dialogue, nuanced humor & brilliant cinematography.
At 10 months, we have a real kid on our hands. We no longer feel like we have a baby to take care of, but a real kid. A kid who can’t walk or talk yet, but a kid nonetheless. He has emotions, curiosity, likes, dislikes and even communication. He’s not speaking in words, but we can still pick up on attempts at language through motions and sounds. Sometimes very bizarre sounds. (see clip below)
Over the past few weeks, Eli saw his Uncle Brian get married, met new relatives, went “swimming”, tried lots of new food, and just got back from a camp weekend with his grandparents (Nana & Papa) in Lenox, MA. The Berkshires are home to summer camps attended by Rachel, her brothers, her mother and her grandfather. Over the past few years, we’ve been making an annual ‘camp’ trip to the area with Rachel’s family at the end of the summer. Photo above is from Eli’s first visit to Stockbridge Bowl.
On a side note, I’m watching a 30 for 30 documentary about Michael Jordan’s stint in baseball while I type this. The documentary series has been outstanding. In particular, “The Two Escobars,” “Run Ricky Run” and “Winning Time.” Check them out if you haven’t caught on already.
If you’re avoiding seeing ‘Precious‘ because the movie seems too heavy or depressing, do yourself a favor and go anyway. Yes, it’s heavy. We saw it on Friday at Cinemapolis with an audience discussion after the film. And by the time the movie was over, Rachel had a splitting headache and the whole audience needed a collective deep breath. But as disturbing as the story is, it forced me to think about a side of our communities often overlooked as someone else’s problem. This movie strips that away. It forces you to look, and forces you to feel the emotion of domestic abuse. Our discussion after the film featured a school psychologist, a community organizer and a member of our local advocacy center for domestic violence. Nobody left the theater after the film. 20 people stood up and spoke about what this film meant to them. How often does a movie bring out that kind of reaction?
The film itself was incredibly well done. The acting across the board was outstanding. Gabourey Sidibe (Precious) and Mo’Nique (The Mother) deserve academy awards. Lenny Kravitz and Mariah Carrey suprised me. My only complaint was with the casting of Paula Patton for the teacher. She’s beautiful, she’s a good actress, and she did a fine job with the role. But she didn’t seem to fit with the rest of the movie. She looked like she was ready for a modeling shoot in every scene. And then one of our audience members noted that in the book ‘Push’ which the movie is based on, the teacher is heavy with much darker skin and dreadlocks. In the book, Precious relates to this teacher in large part because of her looks. I wonder why the producer took the liberty to change the look of this central character so much. Perhaps because Precious herself wanted that type of body and light skin? Regardless, it came across as a mistake in an otherwise near-flawless movie. Oh, and the movie ends on a fairly positive note. So don’t worry about walking out and needing counseling. Just go see it. Two heavy thumbs up.
The Real Mandela & Pienaar
Rachel and I went to our first movie at a theater since parenthood. We were planning on seeing An Education, but the theater was closed. So in a late change, we went with a recommendation from my mother and saw Invictus at another Cinema. And while our initial Netflix rating would have been a three star out of five, the movie has been nagging at me ever since. It’s a similar feeling I had after watching two of Eastwood’s other films (Mystic River and Gran Torino). They were dramatic, they were well shot, they had emotional music, and they had a feel of grandeur. But something was missing. When I told my mom this, she said I was too critical. I actually conceded that she was probably right. I mean, like I said, this was our first visit to a theater since the baby. I’m a little edgy, with the lack of sleep. And the person in the seat behind me was chewing the ice in her fountain soda. So maybe the film really was great, and I was just in a bad place while watching it. But then my favorite sports columnist weighed in on the exact subject and I’m pretty sure he nailed my frustration with the film.
Read Bill Simmons’ review of Invictus HERE (as well as his selection for top sports movies of the decade)
Food Inc. should be required viewing for anyone that eats food. We watched it tonight, and will never walk down our grocery store aisles the same way. The film takes a close look at where the majority of our food comes from and the dramatic changes that have taken place over the last 40 years. A few facts from the movie:
- In the 1970s there were thousands of slaugterhouses producing the majority of beef sold in the U.S. Today there are only 13.
- In the 1970s the top 5 beef packers controlled about 25% of the market. Today they control about 80% of the market
- The average chicken farmer is required to invest $500,000 in their business to meet demands. They make on average $18,000/year
- 70% of processed food have a genetically modified ingredient
- 1 in 3 Americans born after the year 2000 will contract early onset diabetes; among minorities the rate will be 1 in 2
These facts point to a central theme in the movie. That the consolidation and control of our food production by a handful of corporations has resulted in a deterioration of food quality, safety, farming, and environmental protection. While our food choices expand and prices drop, the health of our animals and our people are deteriorating.
As with most documentaries, the movie is fairly one-sided, missing a voice from a big food production company (they declined interview requests). But the movie makes a compelling argument to take a closer look at the food on your plate and the impact of your choices. It also delves into the issue of food prices and the need for large-scale change so that lower income families can actually afford to eat healthy. As with other social-action films, the movie leaves you with a list of steps you can take to help make a difference. If you have the ability to buy locally grown or organic foods, your actions create demand. And that demand is the best way to shift this business of food.
We’ve been working on the new Cinemapolis movie theater in Ithaca for the last 5 months and on June 12th it opened its doors to the public. To open a non-profit independent film theater at a time like this is an ambitious project and a gamble for city development. But the new theater looks fantastic and it has immediately established itself as one of Ithaca’s new great artistic and creative homes. If the crowd from opening night is any indication, the gamble on this project will pay off.
Despite everything that a home theater, downloadable movies and popcorn on your sofa can offer, there is something about going to the movies that’s irreplaceable. And no matter how hard I try, I can never get my popcorn to taste as good as the kernels from Cinemapolis. Congratulations to Lynne, Rich and the rest of the Cinemampolis family.
Pictures from the final day of work and opening night below. For more information on the theater and movies click here
Watched Synechdoche, New York last night. If you’ve watched Charlie Kaufman’s other films (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), you can prepare yourself for the wild experience of watching one of his movies. I know for instance, not to try too hard to understand everything that’s happening during the film. I know I’m going to have to read a review or discussion board afterwards in order to make sense of the movie. And sure enough, it was that kind of movie. And like his other movies, I found myself laughing out of the insanity and genius of the writing throughout. I also found myself scratching my head and answering Rachel’s questions with, “No, I have no idea what that meant, honey.” But after it ended, and I woke Rachel up, I just felt appreciation for the ambition of the project. I didn’t love the movie. But I loved the experience of watching it. And after reading reviews, including this one, it all made a lot more sense. So, I recommend the movie, but with the caveat that you be in a stable and open frame of mind. And don’t try to figure it all out on first viewing. Just accept that you’ll be lost for parts of it, and appreciate the genius of the Kaufman and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Building a New Theater
At a time when most companies and organizations are looking for ways to tighten their belts, a small non-profit movie theater is opening a new home in downtown Ithaca.
For people that live in Ithaca, there were two theaters you could visit for independent movies. Fall Creek Pictures and Cinemapolis. This Spring however, both theaters are closing and being replaced with a state-of-the-art, 5-screen, stadium-seating cinema. The project has become a bit of a family affair, with my mother chairing the board of directors, my wife working on the grand opening event, and I am working on the marketing and communication committee.
This is an exciting project for downtown Ithaca, as it has the potential to create a strong destination on the Commons. Our hope is that it will pull students from Cornell and Ithaca College off the hills, and people from around the community downtown. We’re partnering with local restaurants to offer dinner & a movie / movie and dessert specials, and we’re hoping that the success of this theater will help with the overall rehabilitation of downtown. With the opening of Urban Outfitters across the street and a proposed redesign of the commons in 2010, things are looking promising.
For more information on the project, including pictures of the development, or to become a member, visit our facebook page. The theater is scheduled to open in late May.
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