Nobody Walks
Starring Olivia Thirlby as a New York video artist being mentored by an “edgy” LA director, Nobody Walks depicts an almost farfetched tangle of emotions and hormones in a superficially casual environment where selfishness is the guiding principle, everyone gets hurt and double standards are rampant. The indie film by Ry Russo-Young includes many small moments of good, understated acting in situations of anger, jealousy and intimacy.
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
Sigmund Freud dabbled with cocaine and his fictional contemporary, Sherlock Holmes, was a user. The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976) playfully brings the Viennese psychoanalyst and the Baker Street sleuth together (“Elementary, my dear Freud”) in a slightly bonkers “Me Generation” mix of comedy and mystery. The cast is A-List, with Robert Duvall as Dr. Watson, Laurence Olivier as Prof. Moriarty, Vanessa Redgrave as Lola Devereaux and, best of all, Alan Arkin in a great performance as Dr. Freud.
Yelling to the Sky
Sweetness is an African-American girl going from bad to worse, from victim to victimizer, as she deals with survival in her rough neighborhood and her troubled family. Zoë Kravitz (yes, Lenny’s daughter) gives a brilliantly nuanced, mercurial and unaffected performance as Sweetness. Gabourey Sidibe (Precious) plays her bully antagonist in this elliptical story set in a fully developed slice of urban America.
Stories About African American Heritage featuring March On!
Released for Black History Month by Scholastic Storybook Treasures, this three-disc set collects 13 true stories and fables for children ages 4-10. With drawings, archival photos and narration, March On! tells of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s childhood and strolls through Duke Ellington’s elegantly swinging life. “Listen to your parents” is the message. After all, Ellington’s folks forced piano lessons on him when what he really wanted to do was play baseball with his friends.
