the return of bad lighting

Sometimes, it takes a catastrophic event to bring about something good. When Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark was shut down due to a nasty fall by stunt man/Spidey double, Chris Tierney (get well soon!), it raised a lot of questions about safety in the theatre and what the heck is going on with that show in general. 


But on a happier note, the event prompted what appears to be an revival in blogging from one of my favorite all time people, Jon, and his blog, Bad Lighting. He'd been on some kind of hiatus while climbing the corporate ladder, but after being in the audience to witness the historic fall, he's back and blogging with a vengeance. (He even did an interview on NY1 with my homey, Frank DiLella.)


Jon is perhaps the most elitist art person I know (myself being a pretty big populist-- I think I knew of maybe 2 items on his best-of 2010 music list). And while I essentially moved away from NYC to ditch the Bravo Channel run clever/meanness that's consumed America, I can't help but love Jon's brand of snark. This is largely because he's an excellent and witty writer. I mean, he may have insulted my adored Keats biopic, Bright Star, by calling it a "coffee table book of a  movie," but even I had to agree he was right. (It just so happens I'm a big fan of coffee table books.)


And while I'll probably NEVER tire of stuffy British dramas, I laughed out loud when I read this about The King's Speech. 

Tis the season for self-serious historical biopics, and that's just what this one is. Deliberately paced (read: slow), handsomely photographed, and screaming it's importance at the top of it's lungs, one senses that the real climax the filmmakers are aiming for will occur on Oscar night. That might be a tad harsh, as the film does this brand of film as well as any other ... I'm just a bit sick of the stuffy British dramas.

Maybe it's just nice to check out a blog that isn't entirely stylish girls who post daily pictures of themselves in their outfits. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.) Read my Schu Schu and fall in love with snark all over again.