theremin: an electronic odyssey

Set Your DVR!: May 27, 2009 - the foreseeable future

This is the last time I’ll write one of these columns (unless, of course, someone wants to hire me to do so), but I just wanted to mention how much fun it has been. I know that I haven’t been doing these as frequently as I should. My real job has been taking precedence, and now that I actually will have some time, there ain’t gonna be no Screengrab no more. So, since we are near the end, I wanted to write a super-deluxe column. Luckily, cable tv has made that easy by scheduling a ridiculous number of great movies in the near future!

Smells Like Indie Spirit: Our Favorite Sundance Films Of All Time (Part Three)

MARY JANE’S NOT A VIRGIN ANYMORE (1997)

Sundance is a phenomenon largely because of the buzz and excitement surrounding million dollar jackpot acquisitions, iconic crossover hits like Napoleon Dynamite and star-studded “indie” darlings like Garden State or Little Miss Sunshine. Lost amid the hype are films like Mary Jane’s Not A Virgin Anymore, a humble, charming work of DIY guerilla filmmaking by the late, lamented “Queen of Underground Film” Sarah Jacobson (who died far too young of endometrial cancer in 2004). Lisa Gerstein, as the titular virgin, is gawky, sincere and loveable, just like the accessible, naturalistic movie she inhabits. Sure, the production values are rough and the only real “star” power is a cameo by Jello Biafra, but the low-rent Northern California rock scene Jacobson captured feels like a real place, populated by actual humans, unlike the over-the-top quirksters and too-pretty people filling much of the rest of the indie cineverse.

Our 11 Favorite Romantic Moments in the Movies, Part 2

JACKIE BROWN (1997)

Max Cherry (Robert Forster) knows damn well he's not going to get the girl. He's not one of those idiots you meet in film noirs who feel some flicker of lust and start thinking that they can pull off some big score and get away and have it all; Max knows that whatever happens, he's going to end up back where he started, riding the deak at his bail bonds office, but in the meantime, he's prepared to do whatever he can to help Jackie (Pam Grier), because he figures he owes it to her, just for the way she made him feel the first time he laid eyes on her. He knows that she's out of his league, and he's okay with that; knowing that he could still feel that way is more than he expected to get out of one more trip to the jailhouse. What's amazing is that none of the other characters seem to see what Max sees when they look at Jackie: to them, she's just a middle-aged black woman, someone to be used and screwed over and forgotten. That's why they deserve the worst that can happen to them, and why Max deserves more than he it would ever occur to him to ask for.