Tag Archives: Music

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Artie Shaw: Time Is All You’ve Got (1985)

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When Brigitte Berman’s “Artie Shaw: Time Is All You’ve Got” won the Academy Award as Best Documentary Feature Film for 1986, the Canadian production had yet to secure a theatrical release. Unfortunately for Berman, the film’s subject – clarinetist and band leader Artie Shaw – sued her to secure a greater share of potential box office profits. Due to the litigation, the film never played theatrically after its Oscar win – Shaw died in December 2024 and Berman’s production didn’t have its theatrical premiere until January 2024.
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Every Bugs Bunny Ever: What’s Up, Doc? (1950)

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What’s Up Doc? (1950)
Directed by Bob McKimson
Written by William Foster
Animation by JC Melendez
Music by Carl Stalling 

And so it was: the birth of “What’s up, Doc?”

At least that’s how Bugs Bunny sees it. Although we know better, the big star known as Bugs prefers to think of it as a fluke that turned in to a successful shtick for a young Bugs Bunny. “What’s up, Doc?” is a pretty important short in the Bugs Bunny library even though pretty much all of his are just self contained stories with loose continuity. For example, the set up here is similar to “A Hare Grows in Manhattan” where Bugs even tells a different story of how he grew up and became a performer. Like Vaudeville, they all work within the confines of their frame work, and they’re just there as a reason to tell jokes and deliver some great gags.

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The Serena Variations (2024)

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Selected to run at the 2024 Raindance Film Festival, director Warren Fischer’s “The Serena Variations” is a very powerful and dynamic look at music and the artists pursuit of perfection. Even if the perfection is personal, director Fischer peeks in to how much an artist is willing to sacrifice, even if it’s their own soul. Although a lot of the film’s setting and aesthetics are meant mainly for symbolism, the special effects and sound design still allow for an uneasy and unnerving experience.

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Gaga Chromatica Ball (2024)

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Now Streaming Exclusively on MAX. “Chromatica” is now Available.

After the successful push of the Eras tour with Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga followed in kind with her own pretty raucous concert film. Titled “Chromatica Ball,” Gaga, the jack of many trades, wows with two hours of some of her biggest hits, while also delivering on a very entertaining visual show filled with excellent set design and some fun costumes (including custom pieces from Gareth Pugh, Alexander McQueen, and Vex Latex). While I wouldn’t consider myself a hardcore fan of Lady Gaga per se, I do admire her talents, and think she’s a very entertaining singer and artist altogether.

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