Month: December 2018

Categories
Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

Music Video Monday: Top 10 Memphis Music Videos of 2018

Memphis music was vibrant as ever in 2018. Every week, the Memphis Flyer brings you the latest and best video collaborations between Bluff City filmmakers and musicians in our Music Video Monday series. To assemble this list, I rewatched all 34 videos that qualified for 2018’s best video and scored them according to song, concept, cinematography, direction and acting, and editing. Then I untangled as many ties as I could and made some arbitrary decisions. Everyone who made the list is #1 in my book!

10. Louise Page “Blue Romance”

Flowers cover everything in this drag-tastic pop gem, directed by Sam Leathers.

Music Video Monday: Top 10 Memphis Music Videos of 2018 (13)


9. Harlan T. Bobo “Nadine” / Fuck “Facehole”

Our first tie of the list comes early. First is Harlan T. Bobo’s sizzling, intense “Nadine” clip, directed by James Sposto.

Music Video Monday: Top 10 Memphis Music Videos of 2018 (11)

I used science to determine that Fuck’s Memphis Flyer name drop is equal to “Nadine”.

Music Video Monday: Top 10 Memphis Music Videos of 2018 (12)

8. Aaron James “Kauri Woods”

The smokey climax of this video by Graham Uhelski is one of the more visually stunning things you’ll see this year.

Music Video Monday: Top 10 Memphis Music Videos of 2018 (10)


7. Daz Rinko “New Whip, Who Dis?”

Whaddup to rapper Daz Rinko who dropped three videos on MVM this year. This was the best one, thanks to an absolute banger of a track.

Music Video Monday: Top 10 Memphis Music Videos of 2018 (9)


6. (tie) McKenna Bray “The Way I Loved You” / Lisa Mac “Change Your Mind”

I couldn’t make up my mind between this balletic video from co-directors Kim Lloyd and Susan Marshall…

Music Video Monday: Top 10 Memphis Music Videos of 2018 (7)

…and this dark, twisted soundstage fantasy from director Morgan Jon Fox.

Music Video Monday: Top 10 Memphis Music Videos of 2018 (8)

5. Brennan Villines “Better Than We’ve Ever Been”

Andrew Trent Fleming got a great performance out of Brennan Villines in this bloody excellent clip.

Music Video Monday: Top 10 Memphis Music Videos of 2018 (6)


4. (tie) Nick Black “One Night Love” / Summer Avenue “Cut It Close”

Nick Black is many things, but as this video by Gabriel DeCarlo proves, a hooper ain’t one of ’em.

Music Video Monday: Top 10 Memphis Music Videos of 2018 (4)

The kids in Summer Avenue enlisted Laura Jean Hocking for their debut video.

Music Video Monday: Top 10 Memphis Music Videos of 2018 (5)

3. Cedric Burnside “Wash My Hands”

Beale Street Caravan’s I Listen To Memphis series produced a whole flood of great music videos from director Christian Walker and producer Waheed Al Qawasmi. I could have filled out the top ten with these videos alone, but consider this smoking clip of Cedric Burnside laying down the law representative of them all.

Music Video Monday: Top 10 Memphis Music Videos of 2018 (3)

2. Don Lifted “Poplar Pike”

I could have filled out the top five with work from Memphis video auteur Don Lifted, aka Lawrence Matthews, who put three videos on MVM this year. To give everybody else a chance, I picked the transcendent clip for “Poplar Pike” created by Mattews, Kevin Brooks, and Nubia Yasin.

Music Video Monday: Top 10 Memphis Music Videos of 2018

1. Lucero “Long Way Back Home”

Sorry, everybody, but you already knew who was going to be number one this year. It’s this mini-movie created by director Jeff Nichols, brother of Lucero frontman Ben Nichols. Starring genuine movie star (and guy who has played Elvis) Michael Shannon, “Long Way Back Home” is the best Memphis music video of 2018 by a country mile.

Music Video Monday: Top 10 Memphis Music Videos of 2018 (2)

Thanks to everyone who submitted videos to Music Video Monday in 2018. If you’d like to see your music video appear on Music Video Monday in 2019, email cmccoy@memphisflyer.com. 

Categories
Politics Politics Beat Blog

Strickland Issues Call for More Citizen Involvement

CREDIT: JB

JB

Mayot Strickland

Politics as such went largely unspoken of at Mayor Jim Strickland’s annual New Year’s prayer breakfast on Monday morning — the 2019 edition on New Year’s Eve, actually — at the University of Memphis-area Holiday Inn on Central Avenue. 

Dignitaries of all sorts — past, present, and on-the-way-to-being-future — were on hand for the event, which included some extraordinary singing and preaching, the latter notably including a passionate impromptu sermon on the value of persistence through adversity from the Rev. J. Lawrence Turner of Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, who was filling in for the absent Rev. LaSimba Gray.

Another absentee was former Mayor Willie Herenton, who was the keynote speaker and guest-of-honor two years ago at Strickland’s New Year’s event, where Herenton called for “10,000 black men” to serve as mentors for the city’s youth population. Two years later, the call for mentors was reiterated by Strickland, who in brief remarks asked for volunteers to commit “one hour a week” to a variety of uplift activities, including “Team Read” and “Rise to Read,” two programs aimed at increasing youth literacy.

The 79-year-old Herenton, meanwhile, has demonstrated his own persistence by becoming a declared challenger for the mayoralty again in this year of city elections. The only reference Strickland made on Monday to any previous mayor was indirect and early in his remarks, when he was celebrating the contributions to the city by its faith community, members of which, he noted, had been key supporters of those who “struck against my predecessor [Henry Loeb] 50 years ago.”

By such verbal means, the current mayor deftly put himself on the side of the angels — which is to say, in line with the aspirations of the city’s African-American majority, whom Strickland, who is white, successfully courted in his 2015 victory over then-incumbent Mayor A C Wharton.

The courtship continued through part one of Strickland’s address on Monday, the aforementioned celebration of the Memphis faith community — on the job, he said, “day in and day out” — and extended through part two, which was dedicated to the proposition that Memphis has “momentum” and which allowed the mayor to recount some of what he put forth as recent successes during his administration.

Some of these were the expansion at St. Jude and new jobs through the auspices of Amazon and Indigo, plans for universal pre-K education within two years, reduction of the city’s poverty rate, and increased hires and contracting with the Memphis minority community.

“My job is to celebrate our successes and to be clear-eyed about our challenges,” Strickland summed up in the third and concluding part of his remarks, wherein he issued an appeal to his audience to “get involved” in the task of dealing with the challenges.

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Details on Second Line’s Day of Warmth

On New Year’s Day, the Second Line is serving breakfast for anyone in need.

Details below …

For the second year in a row on New Years Day morning, Second Line Memphis will open its doors for breakfast to people who need a hot meal free of charge, from 9am to noon. They will serve breakfast, give free haircuts, and hand out coats to the guests alongside a team of volunteers and city officials.

MATA buses will have two pick up locations in midtown (Living Hope Church 815 North McLean) and downtown (The Carpenter’s House Room in the Inn 212 N Second Street Memphis) starting at 8:30AM (last shuttle at 11:30). Any mission group, ministry, etc. (who work with the homeless community) that would like to be involved that day should bring people to one of those locations. Anyone wanting to donate coats, jackets, socks, etc. can bring them to the Second Line now until the New Years Eve.

“Everyone deserves to feel special, to be given the basic dignity we all deserve. We want to be a part of spreading that kindness to others.” – Chef Kelly English

Categories
News News Blog

Police Plan “Aggressive” Safety Plan for New Year’s Eve

Stepping out for New Year’s Eve tonight? Think before you drink.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) is planning an “aggressive traffic safety enforcement plan” for Monday evening. The plan will blanket all 95 Tennessee counties with “bar/tavern checks” sobriety checkpoints and more.

Here’s what THP said on Twitter Monday morning:

 

Police Plan ‘Aggressive’ Safety Plan for New Year’s Eve

Yes, you can expect surge pricing for an Uber or Lyft. Yes, the price will still be lower than getting a DUI.

Also, AAA and Budweiser will offer free rides (and a tow) in Tennessee with its now-20-year-old Tow to Go program.

Categories
Beyond the Arc Sports

Bickerstaff’s Bad Habits Bite Again Against Boston

CREDIT: Samuel X. Cicci

Sometimes a person can be so good at what they do that they make whatever it is that they are doing look easy. Oddly enough, sometimes someone can also be so bad at what they are doing that they can make whatever it is look like it’s a lot easier than what it is.
I’ve never coached an NBA team before. I’ve never been a coach of any sports team on any level. I am far from the greatest of basketball minds. I won’t pretend to act like I know all of the ins and outs of what an NBA head coach’s job entails, but like many other people who observe the Grizzlies of late, I can’t help but wonder: Is it really that hard? Samuel X. Cicci

Grizzlies Head Coach J.B. Bickerstaff

Certain things seem like they should be simple. If a certain thing works, then let’s keep doing that until said thing doesn’t work, or, even better, starts to show signs that it is about to stop working soon. It also seems that with all of the advanced metrics available at any head coach’s disposal, that it would never be out of the realm of possibility to see, with even more great detail, what works and what doesn’t. Like, there are literally stats that show you what combinations of players work and which ones don’t.

I thought that the Grizzlies had moved past this. After two consecutive wins — against the Lakers on the road and then at home against the Cavaliers — it seemed as if head coach JB Bickerstaff had had an epiphany. It seemed as though he and his players were going to embrace Jaren Jackson Jr. more, and look to make him more of a focal point on both ends of the court. After a great game against Los Angeles, which included a step-back three-pointer to drive a stake through the heart of LeBron James, and a Cleveland game where Bickerstaff allowed Jackson to play through a not-so-good performance without pulling him, it looked like he was finally getting it.

But yeah …

The Grizzlies hosted Boston Saturday night, held a 17-point half-time lead, and led by as many as 19 points. Even so, the team found a way to lose, 112 to 103, in a game where, with a 14-point lead with 5:43 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Jackson was taken out and played only a little more than a minute for the rest of the way.

Dillon Brooks, who finished with 19 points, was the team’s leading scorer when he was pulled early in the fourth quarter in favor of Garrett Temple. Actually, Brooks and Jackson were the team’s leading scorers when both were pulled — which also coincided with Boston’s comeback and a 33-16 fourth-quarter scoring advantage.

Coaching is hard. I’m sure it is. Bickerstaff comes from a distinguished line of coaches who mentored him, including his father, but I swear coaching seems a lot easier than Bickerstaff has made it look, lately.

Bickerstaff has to hear the murmurings from the fan-base. I’m sure he reads tweets and columns like mine, as well as those of other local journalists. I’m sure he knows what’s being said. It seems to me that if he got the same losing results while using all of his assets, namely Jackson and Brooks (and Jevon Carter), that fans and pundits would be more understanding. There would be less, “Well, if we only did this …” and more, “Well, we gave it all we had.”

Therein lies the problem: We haven’t been giving it all that we have. Too much of what we do have — and need, in my opinion — is remaining on the sideline when they’re needed most.

Categories
Sports Tiger Blue

Tigers 96, Florida A & M 65

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

Jeremiah Martin scored a game-high 22 points and the Tigers drained a season-high 13 three-pointers Saturday afternoon at FedExForum to beat Florida A & M and end their nonconference schedule with a record of 8-5. Freshman guard Tyler Harris added 16 points while Raynere Thornton and Isaiah Maurice contributed 12 each to extend the Tigers’ winning streak to three games.
Larry Kuzniewski

Jeremiah Martin

Memphis has scored at least 90 points in five straight games. The Tigers shot 59 percent from the field in handing the Rattlers their 12th loss in 15 contests.

The U of M opens American Athletic Conference play Thursday night at FedExForum when Wichita State (7-5) comes to town. The Shockers won last season’s meeting, 85-65, on the Tigers’ home floor.

Categories
Book Features Books

Daryl Sanders’ That Thin Wild Mercury Sound

“The invention of Bob Dylan with his guitar belongs in its way to the same kind of tradition of something meant to be heard, as the songs of Homer.”

— Robert Fitzgerald

I’ve always loved making lists, ranking anything from movies to books to music to my friends. My ears perk up when I hear, “Name your Top 10 whatevers.” So, numerous times throughout my life, I’ve enthusiastically answered the question “What’s your favorite album?” Trouble is I’ve toggled back and forth numerous times between two albums: The Beatles’ Revolver and Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde. To me, they seem the pillars of ’60s rock, my favorite genre in the known universe. Obviously, the book That Thin, Wild Mercury Sound: Dylan, Nashville, and the Making of Blonde on Blonde by Daryl Sanders was right up my alley.

Sanders slowly leads up to the recording of that double album in Nashville, providing some colorful background: Dylan going electric, Dylan making Highway 61 Revisited, Dylan meeting and going on the road with the Hawks (who became The Band). It’s a pivotal period in Dylan’s life. He is about to change music forever. “I know my thing now,” Dylan says. “I know what it is. It’s hard to describe. I don’t know what to call it because I’ve never heard it before.” Sanders adds, “It would be another thirteen years before he found a description that worked — ‘that thin, wild mercury sound.'”

The title phrase refers to a music Dylan heard in his head, but which eluded him in the studio. He thought he found it with the Hawks. Instead, he was finally able to create the sound in his head on record when he went to Nashville and recorded this, his greatest album. Here’s the most common lineup with whom he found that once elusive sound: Producer: Bob Johnston. Nashville cats: Charlie McCoy (guitar and harmonica), Hargus Robbins (piano), Joe South (guitar), Henry Strzelecki (bass), and Kenneth Buttrey (drums). And Dylan brought with him Robbie Robertson (guitar) and Al Kooper (organ).

I’ve read a lot about Dylan, but he seems an inexhaustible subject. I learned a lot here. For instance, I didn’t know that Jerry Schatzberg, who later became a wonderful director (the Al Pacino film, Scarecrow), took the iconic cover shot. Dylan himself chose the blurry print, which delighted Schatzberg.

The meatiest part of the book concerns the actual recording of the album. Many of the sessions were done in the wee hours of the morning, which didn’t always please the professional Nashville cats, though they were, mostly, aware that they were part of something momentous. “According to studio records,” Sanders says, “it was 4 a.m. when the Nashville musicians finally got their introduction to the ‘Sad Eyed Lady’.” The reference is to “Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands,” the epic song that took up the entire side four of the LP. “To me, this is the definitive version of what 4 a.m. sounds like,” Al Kooper said. Much of the wait was because Dylan was writing and polishing the lyrics as they went along. Often, he sat in a part of the studio cut off from the other musicians with just paper and a pen. Strzelecki said, “You know, this is going to be either the biggest album in the world, or it ain’t gonna do nothin.'”

Fortunately, the former part of his prediction is on the mark. After Blonde on Blonde was released and digested, it became one of the most influential records in rock music. Much about the recording, the songs, even the title, has become part of rock myth. Many believe the title is a reference to Edie Sedgwick, from Warhol’s factory, who dated Dylan briefly. Others suggested it referred to Brian Jones and Anita Pallenberg, or to Dylan’s high school girlfriend. Sanders adds, “Finally, there is also the fact that taken as an acronym, the title spells BOB.”

This fascinating, delicious book offers great insight into both the minutia of the recording process and Bob Dylan’s idiosyncratic, eccentric methods. For songwriters, this book may offer unlimited inspiration. For Dylan fans, it is a must.

Categories
News News Feature

Counting down to 2019.

Editor’s Note: Ghost River Brewing will be closed on New Year’s Eve. It will be open on New Year’s Day for its New Year, New You, Not Today event from noon to 8 p.m. An earlier version of this story contained incorrect information.

You survived the holidays without cracking under the pressure — or stabbing your unruly uncle who won’t stop bringing up politics at the dinner table. No, I do not want to hear just one more thing about “Pizza-Gate,” Uncle Rob. And you made it through the rest of 2018. That alone is cause for celebration, and your trusty Flyer calendar editor (that’s me) is here to help guide you through the last night of the year. Without further ado, here’s our guide to New Year’s events in and around Memphis.

BEALE STREET

Starting at 10 p.m., the entire street is given over to a holiday celebration, with live music, dancing, fireworks, and food and drinks. The street-wide party, open to all 21 years old and older, is part of a night-long celebration with a big fireworks finale. Beale (526-0117)

Hard Rock Cafe

The folks at Hard Rock bring on the bright lights, flapper fashion, giggle water, and all that jazz at their Roaring ’20s Party, with a 10-foot-tall guitar dropped at midnight. $35-$125. 126 Beale (529-0007) Jerry Lee Lewis’ Cafe & Honky Tonk

Celebrate the new year with this concert featuring Jerry Lee Lewis. Seating for the show is at 7 p.m., the Killer plays at 11 p.m. $150-$325. 310 Beale (300-6788)

New Daisy Theatre

Daisyland presents the fourth annual New Year’s Eve Blackout!, featuring DJs Z-Dougie, Oh Losha, Finn, Defcon Engaged, and more. Doors at 9 p.m. $12-$25. 330 Beale (525-8981)

Tin Roof

Glow Co, Max Victory, and Desire perform. Fast passes and booth rentals are available. 315 Beale (527-9911)

DOWNTOWN

Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid

The Lookout at the Pyramid offers the chance to spend the holiday at the pinnacle of style at the top of the Pyramid, with a four-course meal, live music, and complimentary toast at midnight. Reservations required: (800) 225-6343 to reserve your spot. $125. 1 Bass Pro Drive (291-8200)

Loflin Yard

The evening’s festivities include bonfires, s’mores, drink specials, and more. 7 W. Carolina (524-0104)

The Peabody Hotel

This year’s high-energy party includes performances by Garry Goin Group, Seeing Red, and DJ Epic. The party will be hosted throughout the Grand Lobby and Mezzanine of the “South’s Grand Hotel,” with the bands playing in the Continental Ballroom. The Rene Koopman Trio will perform classics in the Corner Bar. 8 p.m.-2 a.m. 149 Union (529-4000)

MIDTOWN

Ballet Memphis

The Phoenix Club presents the Suit and Sequins party at Ballet Memphis’ elegant digs in Overton Square. General admission includes an open wine and beer bar, late night hors d’oeuvres, and a champagne toast at midnight. $75-$150. 9 p.m.-1 a.m. 2144 Madison (737-7322)

Beauty Shop

A celebration with a four-course dinner and live music by Gary Johns & His Mini-Orchestra. 966 Cooper (272-7111)

Black Lodge

From its new location on N. Cleveland, Black Lodge presents a party with music by a resurrected Dead Soldiers, an album release and music by Ben Abney & the Hurts, with Lipstick Stains, Shamefinger, and 1,000 Lights. “We’re all excited to get to play together again,” says Dead Soldiers guitarist and vocalist Benjamin Aviotti of the band’s reunion show. “Our hiatus continues indefinitely after this, but as we’ve said before, we’re not done. We all have projects in the works. It probably won’t be [Dead Soldiers’] last show ever, but what if it is?” $10. 9 p.m. 405 N. Cleveland

Blue Monkey

The Smiths/Morrissey tribute group Louder Than Bombs performs. 2012 Madison (272-2583)

Celtic Crossing

Cooper-Young’s neighborhood bar is setting up tents to accommodate the crowd. The celebration includes music from a live band and a DJ, a champagne toast at midnight, a prix-fixe menu, and more. $10. 903 Cooper (274-5151)

Hattiloo Theatre

The FunkSoul New Year’s Eve party is a full night of mini-concerts and comedy in Hattiloo’s theater-turned-dance hall. An on-site bistro will offer an à la carte menu designed by some of Memphis’ finest chefs. $150. 37 Cooper (525-0009)

Hi-Tone

Get an early dose of strange and unusual by starting the year off with performances by Quintron and Miss Pussycat, Jack Oblivian, and Three Brained Robot. Will it rock? Oh, yes. Will Quintron break out the Weather Warlock act? There’s only one way to know for sure. $20. 412-414 N. Cleveland (278-8663)

Lafayette’s Music Room

Pearl and Almost Famous perform. The event features reserved seating “Vegas style,” with hors d’oeuvres, champagne toast, and party favors. $80. 2119 Madison (207-5097)

Dara Garbuzinski

Minglewood Hall

Friends for Life presents Pink Champagne, a high-energy New Year’s Eve dance party. “We’re performing on stage with these giant champagne glasses I’ve constructed,” says Dara Garbuzinksi of Sock It to Me Burlesque. With performances by DJ A.D., Goldie Dee & Friends, the boys of Ballet Memphis, the aerialists of QCG Productions, and the aforementioned burlesque beauties of Sock It to Me Productions. $20-$60. 1555 Madison (312-6058)

Playhouse on the Square

The Germantown Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity hosts its first-annual Nupe Year’s Eve Masquerade Ball with complimentary hors d’oeuvres. $50. 9 p.m.-2 a.m. 66 Cooper (725-0776)

Railgarten

Midtown’s backyard is celebrating with live music from Porch Pigs and Walrus, champagne, and a photobooth. 2166 Central (504-4342)

Rec Room

Live music from PXLS and a complimentary champagne toast. 3000 Broad (209-1137)

Second Line

Celebrate with a patio party, live DJ, a buffet, and a champagne toast at midnight. $30. 2144 Monroe (590-2829)

Young Avenue Deli

The Deli invites Memphians to celebrate in comfort with a pajama party sponsored by Wiseacre Brewing and Sipsmith Gin, with a champagne toast at midnight. 2119 Young Avenue (278-0034)

SOUTH MEMPHIS

Guest House at Graceland

The VIP Celebration includes a dinner buffet for two, dancing with live music from Party Plane, a cash bar, and a champagne toast at midnight. The grounds will still be decked out for the holidays, Christmas at Graceland-style. $125. 8 p.m.-1 a.m. 3600 Elvis Presley Boulevard (443-3000)

EAST MEMPHIS

Gold Club

Free champagne toast and balloon drop at midnight. 777 N. White Station (682-4615)

Old Whitten Tavern

Live music by Bob and Susie Salley, with a champagne toast at midnight. 9 p.m.-1 a.m. 2465 Whitten Road (375-1965)

West Memphis

Southland Gaming & Racing

With a $25,000 Cash Ring in the New Year Hot Seat, and five winners will receive $2,019 at 11:30 p.m.. 1550 N. Ingram (800-467-6182)

Tunica, MS

Horseshoe Casino

Includes overnight accommodations and a $50 spa credit. 1021 Casino Center Drive (800-303-7463)

Hollywood Casino Thumpdaddy and Roxy Love perform. 1150 Casino Strip Resort Boulevard (800-871-0711)

Tunica Roadhouse

Silk and Sir Charles Jones perform. 1170 Casino Center (800-745-3000)

Categories
Film Features Film/TV

2018: The Year In Film

If there is a common theme among the best films of 2018, it’s wrenching order from chaos. From Regina Hall trying to hold both a restaurant and a marriage together to Lakeith Stanfield navigating the surreal moral minefields of late-stage capitalism, the best heroes positioned themselves as the last sane people in a world gone mad.

Dakota Johnson in Fifty Shades Freed

Worst Picture: Fifty Shades Freed

In her epic deconstruction of the final installment of everyone’s least favorite BDSM erotica trilogy, Eileen Townsend called Fifty Shades Freed a “sequence of intentionally crafted visual stimuli” that “bears coincidental aesthetic similarity to a movie … But I believe Fifty Shades Freed is nonetheless not a movie at all, but something far more pure — a pristine document of the market economy, a kind of visual after-image created as an incidental side effect of the exchange of large sums of capital…We literally cannot perceive the truest form of Fifty Shades Freed, because to do so, we would have to be money ourselves.”

Sunrise over the Monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey

Best Moviegoing Experience: 2001: A Space Odyssey in IMAX

The Malco Paradiso’s IMAX screen, which opened last December, has quickly earned the reputation as the best theater in the city. During the late-summer lull, a new digital transfer of 2001: A Space Odyssey got a week’s run to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary. Even if you’ve watched Stanley Kubrick’s film a dozen times, seeing it the size it was intended to be seen is a revelation. Also, all lengthy blockbusters should come with an intermission.

Chuck, the canine star of Alpha

Best Performance by a Nonhuman: Chuck, Alpha

Director Albert Hughes’ Alpha is a sleeper gem of 2018. The star of the story of how humans first domesticated dogs is a Czech Wolfhound named Chuck, who dominates the screen with a Lassie-level performance. Chuck and his co-star, Kodi Smit-McPhee, spend large parts of the movie silently navigating the hazards of Paleolithic Eurasia, and the dog nails both stunts and the occasional comedy bits. Chuck is a movie star.

KiKi Layne and Stephan James in If Beale Street Could Talk

Best Scene: The Family Meeting, If Beale Street Could Talk

Most of Barry Jenkins’ adaptation of James Baldwin’s novel is an intimate, tragic love story between Tish Rivers (KiKi Layne) and Fonny Hunt (Stephan James). But for about 10 minutes, it becomes an ensemble dramedy, when Tish has to tell, first, her parents that she’s pregnant out of wedlock with a man who has just been arrested for a crime he didn’t commit, then his parents. If you pulled this scene out of the film, it would be the best short of 2018.

Rukus

Best Memphis Movie: Rukus

Brett Hanover’s documentary hybrid had been in production for more than a decade by the time it made its Mid South debut at Indie Memphis 2018. What started as a tribute to a friend who had committed suicide slowly evolved into a mystery story, an exploration into a secretive subculture, and a diary of growing up and accepting yourself.

Ethan Hawk stars as a priest in existential crisis in First Reformed.

Best Screenplay: First Reformed

Taxi Driver screenwriter Paul Schrader penned and directed this piercing drama about a small town priest, played by Ethan Hawk, who undergoes a crisis of faith when a man he is counseling commits suicide. 72-year-old Schrader is unafraid to ask the big questions: Why are we here? Is it all worth it? His elegantly constructed story ultimately looks to love for the answers, but the journey there is harrowing.

Michael B. Jordan as Killmonger in Black Panther

MVP: Michael B. Jordan

Michael B. Jordan played a book-burning fireman with a conscience in HBO’s Fahrenheit 451 adaptation and the heavyweight champion of the world in Creed II. But it was his turn as Killmonger in Black Panther that elevated the year’s biggest hit film to the realm of greatness. Director Ryan Coogler knew what he was doing when he put his frequent collaborator in the the villain slot opposite Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa, making their personal rivalry into a battle for the soul of Wakanda.

Regina Hall in Support The Girls

Best Performance: (tie) Regina Hall, Support the Girls and Elsie Fisher, Eighth Grade

In a year full of great performances, two really stood out. In Support the Girls, Regina Hall plays Lisa, a breastaurant manager having the worst day of her life, with a breathtaking combination of technique and empathy. We agonize with her over every difficult decision she has to make just to get through the day.

Elsie Fisher as Kayla in Eighth Grade

Elsie Fisher started work on Eighth Grade the week after the 13-year-old actually finished eighth grade. She carries the movie with one of the most raw, unaffected comic performances you will ever see.

Emma Stone takes aim in The Favourite.

Best Director: Yorgos Lanthimos, The Favourite

Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos’ previous efforts has been bracing, self-written satires, but he really came into his own with this kinda true story written by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara. Everything clicks neatly into place in The Favourite. The central troika of Olivia Coleman as Queen Anne and Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz as backstabbing cousins vying for her favor are all stunning. The editing, sound mix, and costume design are superb, and I’ve been thinking about the meaning of a particular lens choice for weeks.

Daniel Tiger (left) and Fred Rogers, star of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood

Best Documentary: Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

Once in a while, a movie comes along that fills a hole in your heart you didn’t know you had. Morgan Neville’s biography of Fred Rogers appears as effortlessly pure as the man himself. Mr. Rogers’ radical compassion is the exact opposite of Donald Trump’s performative cruelty, and Neville frames his subject as a kind of national surrogate father figure, urging us to remember the better angels of our nature.

Sorry To Bother You

Best Picture: Sorry to Bother You

Boots Riley’s debut film is something of a bookend to my best picture choice from last year, Jordan Peele’s Get Out. They’re both absurdist social satires aimed at American racism set in a slightly skewed version of the real word. But where Get Out is a finely tuned scare machine, Sorry to Bother You is a street riot of ideas and images. When his vision occasionally outruns his reach, Riley pulls it off through sheer audacity. No one better captured the Kafkaesque chaos, anger, and confusion of living in 2018.

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

Food News 2018

CREDIT: Photographs by Justin Fox Burks

Well, 2018 can go ahead and take a flying leap. It was sort of a grim year in general and for the Memphis food scene particularly.

We’ll start with the bad news.

RIP

Bud Chittom died in September. He was eulogized as a legend, the force behind some 50 area restaurants — Blues City Cafe and Earnestine & Hazel’s among them. Gary Williams, chef/owner of the Creole restaurant DeJaVu, passed away in early December. He was remembered for his kindness and sense of community and was sent out in style with a second line parade in front of his restaurant.

Photographs by Justin Fox Burks

Gary Williams

A number of restaurant breathed their last breath or were on life support as of press time. Places that closed include: LYFE Kitchen, The Kitchen, Fino’s on the Hill, Old Zinnie’s, and Fuel.

Ripped

It makes you want some booze, doesn’t it? You’re in luck as a new law passed last spring allowing wine and liquor to be sold in liquor stores on Sunday. Wine will be sold on Sundays in grocery stores starting in January.

Crosstown Brewing, selling their signature beers Siren and Traffic, opened in February at the Crosstown Concourse campus. Originally, they had planned to be inside the concourse, but logistics and those huge pillars made constructing a separate building to the west of the concourse a necessity.

Big River Distilling introduced its Blue Note Bourbon earlier this year. It’s from the folks behind Pyramid Vodka.

Media

Last spring, rumblings of a new media venture grew louder and louder. Details about the online-only nonprofit Daily Memphian came out slowly, as it was revealed that three big-name Commercial Appeal writers were jumping ship. Among them was the food writer Jennifer Biggs.

Jennifer Chandler, well-known in Memphis food circles, took over for Biggs at The Commercial Appeal.

Edible Memphis

Also last spring came the news that the food-centric journal Edible Memphis was being revived by Bill Ganus. Ganus assembled a crack team, with Brian Halweil as editor in chief and Stacey Greenberg as managing editor. The first order of business was to create a social media presence for Edible Memphis. Its Instagram is newsy and has broken a number of stories. The first issue of the new Edible Memphis is set to hit the stands in January.

New Tunes

The Vault announced its new branding as a “gastropub.” With the new moniker comes new hours and new menus. Sleep Out Louie‘s is back. The bar, known for its laid-back Sleep Out Louie character and its cast-off ties, opened in Peabody Place last spring. Caritas Village reopened with a new executive director Mac Edwards, formerly of the Farmer. Like a phoenix, Pete & Sam’s emerged from a devastating fire, with a classy new look and a full bar. Judd Grisanti paid tribute to his late father by reopening Ronnie Grisanti’s in the fall. Restaurant Iris unveiled its new look and new menu in August. Old Venice morphed into Venice Kitchen earlier this fall. The new name came with an updated look and a new menu. Strano ditched its spot in Cooper-Young for the old Jim’s Place East site in East Memphis.

P.O. Press

‘Burbs

Collierville had its restaurant game upped with the addition of P.O. Press Public House and Provisions and Raven & Lily. P.O. Press is in the former site of the Collierville Herald and before that a post office. It serves upscale Southern food. At Raven & Lily, they serve what the owner describes as “modern Southern comfort” food.

Mac Edwards

And, finally — finally! — Trader Joe’s opened in Germantown after some doubt that it ever would. Its opening wasn’t wrinkle-free, however. There was some tiny hoopla about the store handing out reusable bags printed with “Nashville.”

Hot Mess

There was a bit of an uproar when Gibson’s Donuts opened its doors to and provided one of its precious donuts to the horrible Marsha Blackburn. The owners countered that they weren’t hosting Blackburn per se, and, in any case, Blackburn was treated like any other customer.

Racks, a Hooters-like barbecue restaurant, opened in Southaven.

From Scratch

The Crosstown Concourse has been the source of a lot of food news over the past year. Opened this year were Elemento Pizza, which adheres to Neapolitan standards, and Global Cafe, which serves a delightful selection of foods from Nepal, Syria, Sudan, under the supervision of refugees from those countries. Lucy J’s Bakery also opened. All its workers earn a living wage. Saucy Chicken took over the space once occupied by the all-organic, vegetarian restaurant Mama Gaia.

Also opened this fall is Today and Always, a plant-based cafe which feeds participants of Crosstown Arts’ resident program for free. Chef Raymond Jackson has noted that working under the no-meat edict has stimulated his creativity, which shows in such dishes as its vegan pimento cheese dip and the chicken fried tofu. Bart Mallard is in charge of Crosstown’s Art Bar, which serves creative drinks, such as the Meditation of the Copulating Lizards, in the loungiest of lounge spaces.

Milk Dessert Bar serves over-the-top desserts as well as sentimental favorites. Featured on the menu is a cookie dough flight. Fam, a casual noodle restaurant, opened Downtown recently, and Mahogany, an upscale Southern restaurant with a movie theme opened in East Memphis in November.

Gray Canary, the latest from Michael Hudman and Andy Ticer, opened in January in the same building as Old Dominick Distillery. Its m.o. is that everything is cooked over an open fire. The setting, with a river view, is smokin’ hot, too.