Former associate editor about town, periodic film critic.
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Brighton Beach 1980
Essential for NYC history wonks.
"The documentary is not just a peek at the neighborhood during that time — its inclusion of archival footage and photographs from throughout the 1900s renders it a 20th-century retrospective. Brighton Beach neighbors Coney Island, which for decades was New Yorkers’ epicenter of summertime recreation. Footage spanning every era depicts different generations of beachgoers, bygone rides like the Parachute Jump or Human Pool Table in action, performers like the Barry Sisters at the Amphitheater, or…
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Not a Pretty Picture 1976
"There’s constant friction between the staged and the real — Coolidge’s attempt to grapple not just with her assault but also with cinema’s capacity for such an interrogation. On the one hand, she’s able to use the medium to bridge her experience with those of others. Michele Manenti, the actress who portrays the younger Coolidge, opens up about her own sexual assault. Coolidge casts her real-life friend who was her roommate in school to play herself,…