Pop culture: HBO has gone batty over Batman
Hi folks. It’s another week of limited in-person opportunities, but it’s a strong one in terms of streaming options.
Drive-In DTLA
The only in-person item that popped up on my radar this past week is The Drive-In held in the Hotel Figueroa’s parking lot in DTLA, 818 James M. Wood Blvd. (near the Staples Center).
“The Drive-In, led by an all-women collective, reimagines screenings under the stars,” thedrivein-dtla.com said. “With thoughtful curation, we bring people together safely to celebrate the culture that they love. Our program highlights stories created by women, BIPOC (Black, indigenous and people of color) and LGBTQ voices. One hundred percent of ticket revenue is donated to non-profit partners.”
Their next screening, at 8 p.m., Saturday, is “Queen and Slim.”
Starring Daniel Kaluuya (“Get Out,” “Black Panther”) and Jodie Turner-Smith (Cinemax series “Jett”), the film is about a couple on a forgettable first date who find themselves as outlaws on the run, after the man kills a police officer in self-defense. The shooting is captured on video and goes viral, turning the couple into a symbol of trauma, terror, grief and pain for people across the country.
Tickets are $40 per carload. For more information and the ticket link, visit https://thedrivein-dtla.com
Mad Hatter’s Tea Party
Here’s a website to add to your entertainment toolbox — https://culturalattache.com
One of the site’s features is “Best Bets for the Week,” a nice roundup of cultural happenings of note. It was through that feature that I found this item: The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, a dance production featuring “body popping and break dancing” characters giving a very different twist on the “Alice in Wonderland” story. In this version, created by the UK dance troupe Zoo Nation under a commission from the Royal Ballet, the Alice characters are in therapy at the Institute for Extremely Normal Behaviour.
In this production, a new therapist has been tasked with making the Alice characters “normal.” Among the issues he has to deal with are Alice not knowing what size she should be, the White Rabbit’s OCD and the Queen of Hearts’s anger management issues.
You can find it on YouTube by searching for zoo nation and tea party.
Playing for Change
The coolest thing I found on the Internet this week was a YouTube video of the 1968 song “The Weight” performed by the song’s writer, Robbie Robertson, along with Ringo Starr and musicians across the globe. The song was recorded for the organization Playing for Change, which seeks to connect people around the world through music.
The song, from The Band’s album “Music from Big Pink,” was described by PBS as “a masterpiece of Biblical allusions, enigmatic lines and iconic characters” and “an essential part of the American songbook.”
There are several other Playing for Change videos on YouTube, including Bob Marley and Peter
Tosh’s “Get Up, Stand Up,” featuring Keith Richards and Blues artist Keb’ Mo,’ Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” and a delightful version of “What a Wonderful World.”
I spent an enjoyable hour one evening checking them out. For more information about the organization, visit playingforchange.com
Streaming, TV
New to Netflix is the science show “Connected,” which finds connections in things and people that seemingly have absolutely nothing to do with one another.
In the episode on surveillance, show host Latif Nasser reported on a link between a species of bird and hurricane predictions, how a journalist discovered that the people behind dating app Tinder used facial recognition software to build a three-inch thick dossier on her and how people developing facial recognition software are pulling photos from social media sites like Instagram and Facebook without people knowing about it.
Future episodes will include segments on how shipwrecks, election drama, galaxies and more play a role in our daily life.
HBO Max Goes Batty
Holey guacamoley, Batman, HBO just went bat crazy and just added six Batman films — “Batman,” “Batman & Robin,” “Batman Begins,” “Batman Forever,” “Batman Returns” and “The Dark Knight.”
If that wasn’t enough DC comic movie madness, HBO Max also added “Birds of Prey,” featuring Batman villainess Harley Quinn.
Black is King
Disney+ continues to bring out the big guns, this time they’ve got Beyoncé and her visual album, “Black is King.”
“The voyages of Black families, throughout time, are honored in a tale about a young king’s transcendent journey through betrayal, love and self-identity,” a Disney press release said. “His ancestors help guide him toward his destiny and with his father’s teachings and guidance from his childhood love, he earns the virtues needed to reclaim his home and throne.”
Based on the soundtrack of the live action remake of “The Lion King,” this visual album was written, directed and executive produced by Beyoncé.
“With this visual album, I wanted to present elements of Black history and African tradition, with a modern twist and a universal message and what it truly means to find your self-identity and build a legacy,” Beyoncé said in an Instagram post.
Streaming, documentaries
Available in virtual cinemas now and on video on demand later this month is “Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind.”
The Canadian singer-songwriter sold over 10 million albums and scored hits with the songs “If You Could Read My Mind,” “Sundown,” “Carefree Highway” and “Rainy Day People.” His compilation album “Gord’s Gold,” featuring the song “Canadian Railroad Trilogy,” was a personal favorite of mine.
“He wrote with the sincerity of Dylan (with whom he was friends), in a style that merged Folk and Country and Pop, but the liquid-gold lilt of his voice turned every ballad into a confession,”
Variety magazine said of Lightfoot.
“Produced by Insight Productions, the documentary takes audiences from high school auditoriums in straight-laced, small town Ontario in the ‘50s to the coffee houses of Toronto’s Yorkville and NYC’s Greenwich Village in the ‘60s, through Gordon’s turbulent, substance-fueled arena shows of the ’70s and finally to the artist — older, wiser — in present day,” a press release for the film said.
You can find a virtual cinema showing the film at https://watch.eventive.org/gordonlightfoot/
Creem
Available starting Saturday, in virtual cinemas, is the documentary “Creem: America’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll Magazine.”
“Capturing the messy upheaval of the ’70s just as rock was re-inventing itself, the film explores CREEM Magazine’s humble beginnings in post-riot Detroit, follows its upward trajectory from underground paper to national powerhouse, then bears witness to its imminent demise following the tragic and untimely deaths of its visionary publisher, Barry Kramer and its most famous alum and genius clown prince, Lester Bangs, a year later,” creemmag.com said. “Fifty years after publishing its first issue, America’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll Magazine remains a seditious spirit in music and culture.”
See creemmag.com for a ticket link.
‘Rebuilding Paradise’
Up next in my own personal must-see film list is “Rebuilding Paradise,” the Ron Howard documentary on the devastating 2018 Camp Fire in Northern California.
The firestorm, the deadliest US fire in 100 years and the worst ever in California’s history, destroyed 95% of the structures in Paradise and displaced 50,000 residents.
The film is described as “a moving story of resilience in the face of tragedy, as a community ravaged by disaster comes together to recover what was lost and begin the important task of rebuilding.”
“It isn’t easy to tell a story like this sans narration, but Howard used his decades of experience to find the perfect footage to stitch things together, allowing a coherent, linear tale that goes from the morning of the fire to the slow resurrection of the town,” the Sacramento Bee said in its review of the film.
Streaming, music
New York’s Metropolitan Opera has a series of virtual concerts, each available for $20.
Available through Aug. 12 is a concert from the wonderful diva Renee Fleming performing at the music salon of Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C. The performance includes arias by Puccini and Massenet and moving selections by Handel and Korngold.
For tickets and more information about the series, visit https://www.metopera.org
The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra has a series of 30-minute concerts featuring members of its ensemble as well as special guests. The concerts will be recorded at DTLA’s Colburn School’s Zipper Hall. The concerts will be performed without an audience.
The first concert, feature works by Bach and Haydn, will be available at 5 p.m., Saturday. The concert will be broadcast on LACO’s Facebook page and on YouTube.
The shows are free, but LACO is seeking donations. For more information, visit their website at laco.org
at 7 p.m., Friday, the LA Phil and Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA) will perform a concert at hollywoodbowl.com/benefitforyola
The concert will available to view on the Hollywood Bowl website until Aug. 14.
The show is free, but donations are being sought to support YOLA and the LA Phil’s learning programs.
That’s it for this week. As always, stay safe, stay strong.