Three Imaginary DVDs to see: a sweet mockumentary, all things Jeff Smith, and a disastrous 1969 concert on Blu-ray
Paper Heart: Y’all are probably sick of me trying to cram this down your throat, but I swear to you: this is a GREAT film. Sweet, nerdy, awkward, charming and guaranteed to make you tear up. Comedian and performance artist Charlyne Yi doesn’t believe in “love” and thus goes on a quest across America to find out the true meaning of the word – meeting Michael Cera along the way, which puts a slight hitch in her plans. I have no idea how Yi and Cera pulled off making this seem so real when the entire thing is an act, but they do. Love, love, love and love.
[Video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZbqQ-aeXO0]
The Cartoonist: Jeff Smith, Bone and the Changing Face of Comics: If you’ve never read the graphic novel “Bone”, this is a good primer (but I also heartily recommend you read it). Learn all things about Bone creator Jeff Smith, and get your geek on through interviews with other alt-comic greats Paul Pope (“Batman: Year 100”), Terry Moore (“Strangers in Paradise”) and Harvey Pekar (“American Splendor”).
[Video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDtetkEnYMA]
Blu-ray release: Gimme Shelter (Criterion Collection): FINALLY. This Maysles Brothers masterpiece about the Altamont Speedway Free Festival gets released in Hi-Def Criterion. In addition to capturing mind-blowing performances from Jefferson Airplane, Ike & Tina Turner, and of course, The Rolling Stones, the Maysles’ cameras captured the nightmare violence that ensued between the crowds and the hired-for-beer Hells Angels “security”. Warning: the actual stabbing of victim Meredith Hunter is shown on film, so this definitely isn’t for the faint of heart – but I still count it as a must-see.
[Video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPNeh4d9guk]