- Widescreen
Broke and desperate, the twice-divorced single mom Erin bosses her way into a clerical job with attorney Ed Masry (Albert Finney), who's indebted to Erin after failing to win her traffic-injury case. Erin is soon focused on suspicious connections between a mighty power company, its abuse of toxic chromium, and the poisoned water supply of Hinkley, California, where locals have suffered a legacy of death and disease. Matching the dramatic potency! of Norma Rae and Silkwood, Erin Brockovich! I> filte rs cold facts through warm humanity, especially in Erin's rapport with dying victims and her relationship with George (superbly played by Aaron Eckhart), a Harley-riding neighbor who offers more devotion than Erin's ever known. Surely some of these details have been embellished for dramatic effect, but the factual basis of Erin Brockovich adds a boost of satisfaction, proving that greed, neglect, and corporate arrogance are no match against a passionate crusader. (Trivia note: The real Erin Brockovich appears briefly as a diner waitress.) --Jeff Shannon
The writing-directing debut of another offbeat actress, Joey Lauren Adams (Chasing Amy), this is a beautifully observed film, free of condescension toward its Arkansas folk, with an appreciative eye for the plain beauties of small-town life and semi-rural roads, and a sharp ear for three-cushion dialogue. "Did I miss Easter?" Lucy's housemate quietly cracks when she finds Lucy dressed for Sunday-go-to-meetin'; Lucy's trying to reconnect with her estranged dad (a magical, almost wordless performance by the wonderful Scott Wilson), who's started attendi! ng "a new holy-roller church." She also meets a newcomer (Jeff! rey Dono van, excellent) who ought to be Mr. Right ... but nothing quite plays out according to formulaic expectation in this movie--among the most satisfying of 2006, which most people are going to have to discover on DVD. --Richard T. Jameson
Grateful Dawg
Jerry Garcia was famous as the visionary behind the Grateful Dead, but his musical tastes were broad, and he found a rewarding partnership with mandolinist David G! risman, whose distinctive "Dawg" style fused jazz with bluegrass. At its best, Grateful Dawg celebrates the easy friendship and truly inspired musicianship of Garcia and Grisman through grainy home-movie footage with surprisingly crisp sound. As one of the film's commentators says, Grisman made Garcia tighter as a musician, while Garcia made Grisman looser, and where they met they created an infectious, rootsy style they called Grateful Dawg. The film's many highlights include instrumental versions of "Dawg Waltz," "Shady Grove," and "Arabia," as well as splendid footage from Garcia and Grisman's days in Old & in the Way. The talking heads inserted ham-handedly between and over performances, unfortunately, become repetitious and, finally, downright annoying. But Garcia and Grisman fans will still enjoy the glimpse at a rare musical alchemy. --Anne HurleyIn the early 1970s, a group of young surfers from a tough neighborhood south of Santa Monica took up skatebo! ards and offhandedly changed the world. At least it appears so! after w atching Dogtown and Z-Boys, a documentary about how twelve "Z-Boys" (including one girl) resuscitated a dead sport and created a lifestyle that spread infectiously to become a worldwide counterculture phenomenon, namely high-flying "vert" (i.e. vertical) skateboarding and punk rock abandon. Director Stacy Peralta, one of the original Z-Boys, and Craig Steyck, the photographer whose publicity first made them famous, would have you believe that with empty pools as their springboard, the clan single-handedly carved a niche that grew into what is now referred to as "extreme sports" (snowboarding seems particularly implicated). Degrees of accuracy aside, the hoard of original footage Peralta and Steyck have access to makes for an engaging portrait of "accidental revolutionaries" whose mythology as expressed by themselves (all but one of the original crew give extensive interviews) and those they influenced (including Henry Rollins, Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam, and Sean Penn, w! ho narrates) is far more entertaining than any evenhanded version could ever hope to be. --Fionn MeadeIn the early 1970s, the sport of skateboarding had so waned from its popularity in the 1960s that it was virtually non-existent. In the Dogtown area of west Los Angeles, a group of young surfers known as the Zephyr Team (Z-Boys) was experimenting with new and radical moves and styles in the water which they translated to the street. When competition skateboarding returned in 1975, the Z-Boys turned the skating world on its head. . Dogtown The Legend of the Z-Boys is a truly fascinating case study of just how an underground sport ascended on the world. These are the stories and images of a time that not only inspired a generation but changed the face of sport forever. The Legend of the Z-Boys has been described as "The Dogtown text book" and an insightful companion piece to the movie: "DogTown and Z-Boys". . Spanning 1975 â" 1985, the first section of the 240 page bo! ok includes the best of the "DogTown" articles written by C.R.! Stecyk III as they originally appeared in SkateBoarder Magazine. The second half compiles 100âs of never before seen skate images from the archive of Glen E. Friedman - many of which appear in the movie. Both Stecyk and Friedman acted as executive producers and advisors for the award winning film, Dogtown and Z-Boys to be released nationwide simultaneously by Sony Picture Classics in April 2002.In the early 1970s, a group of young surfers from a tough neighborhood south of Santa Monica took up skateboards and offhandedly changed the world. At least it appears so after watching Dogtown and Z-Boys, a documentary about how twelve "Z-Boys" (including one girl) resuscitated a dead sport and created a lifestyle that spread infectiously to become a worldwide counterculture phenomenon, namely high-flying "vert" (i.e. vertical) skateboarding and punk rock abandon. Director Stacy Peralta, one of the original Z-Boys, and Craig Steyck, the photographer whose publicity first made them ! famous, would have you believe that with empty pools as their springboard, the clan single-handedly carved a niche that grew into what is now referred to as "extreme sports" (snowboarding seems particularly implicated). Degrees of accuracy aside, the hoard of original footage Peralta and Steyck have access to makes for an engaging portrait of "accidental revolutionaries" whose mythology as expressed by themselves (all but one of the original crew give extensive interviews) and those they influenced (including Henry Rollins, Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam, and Sean Penn, who narrates) is far more entertaining than any evenhanded version could ever hope to be. --Fionn Meade
Q: It's been a decade since the last Baby-sitters Club books came out, and 24 years since the first book was published. What was it like to come back to the BSC after so many years away?
Martin: I had a great time re-visiting the characters. It was fun to explore their lives in the prequel, â"The Summer Before," and to figure out what led the girls to form The Baby-sitters Club, something that would eventually change their lives. It was like a reunion with friends--friends who havenât changed a bit.
Q: Kristy, Claudia, Mary Anne, and Stacey are very different characters, which is in part why the series was and is still so popular. Every reader can relate to at least one of the characters. So, we have to ask you--which character are you most like?
Martin: I am most like Mary Anne who is the shy and quiet one. Like me, Mary An! ne enjoys more solitary pursuits such as reading and needlewor! k. My fa vorite character, however, is Kristy. I think she's my alter ego.
Q: Were you allowed to baby-sit when you were twelve? If so, were they any funny or awful stories you'd like to share?
Martin: Yes, I did a lot of baby-sitting when I was twelve. One of the worst and also funniest things that ever happened was when I was baby-sitting for our neighbors and the kids wanted to wash their parents' car. They started the job with much enthusiasm--using Brillo pads.
Q: More than 200 BSC books were published in the eighties and nineties. Are there any that you are particularly fond of and why?
Martin: My favorite Baby-sitters Club book is "Kristy's Great Idea," which is the first book and sets the series in motion. I also like the more serious books such as "Claudia and the Sad Good-bye," which deals with the death of Claudiaâs grandmother. This book was written sh! ortly after my own grandmother died. My other favorite BSC books include âKristy and the Secret of Susan,â in which the members of the BSC baby-sit for a child with autism, and "Jessi's Secret Language" in which the girls learn American Sign Language in order to communicate with a sitting charge with profound hearing impairment.
Q: Why do you think that the series is so well-loved and has endured over so many years?
Martin: I think the characters in the BSC books are easily relatable. The books deal with timeless topics including friendship, family, and school. Also, the books tackle serious issues including racism, bullying, kids with disabilities (physical and mental), and death of a loved one. These issues were relevant to kids in the 1980s and 1990s, and are still relevant to kids today. In addition to being relatable, these are characters readers can aspire to. The kids run a business--in this case, a baby! -sitting business. They are entrepreneurial, independent, crea! tive, an d confident. And at the heart of the series is the friendship--the "glue" that binds these characters. Sure, they have fights, but they're loyal and they support one another. I think a lot of us--even adults--can relate to that.
Q: "The Summer Before" takes place during the summer before the girls enter the seventh grade--where suddenly there's a ton of pressure to fit in. The months leading up to it can be filled with anxiety, excitement, and anticipation. Do you remember how you spent the summer before seventh grade?
Martin: I was nervous that summer because in the fall I would be going to a new school â" the junior high (this was in the time before middle schools). Even the words "junior high" seemed terribly grown-up. My friends and I would be attending school with eighth-graders, who were one step away from high school. I spent that summer reading, going to the community pool, taking a family trip to Cape May! , New Jersey, doing some baby-sitting, and also recovering from surgery. But the knowledge that I would soon be in junior high school colored every day and every activity and did lend the summer an air of both anxiety and anticipation.
Q: Despite the fun the girls have together in "The Summer Before," they're all dealing with pretty tough problemsâ"moving away, an absentee father, a first crush. How did you choose the issues you wanted to focus on?
Martin:Â One of my favorite things about writing a series was that the characters themselves generated plot ideas for later books. One of the themes that developed as the series progressed was that of Kristy's relationship with her father. It was an idea I enjoyed exploring, and when I had the opportunity to write the prequel I realized that this summer would be a charged time for Kristy, and that I could introduce the issues she had with her father here; then they could! unfold in the later books. The same applied to Stacey. Her re! asons fo r moving to Stoneybrook had been revealed in later books, but I realized that during this particular summer the reader could actually watch the events take place. The other issues â" a first crush, wanting more independence yet still feeling like a kid--are themes that I felt would resonate with most "tween" readers.
Q: Even though the books have been out of print for ten years there are still some very devoted fans. Surely you must have received a ton of letters about the series over the years. Are there any that stick out in your mind?
Martin: The most memorable are stories of girls who have written to me and told me that Iâve made an impact on their lives, that The Baby-sitters Club books have turned them into readers. Some have also said that the BSC books made them aspire to become writers. Iâve also heard from a lot of the original fans who grew up to become teachers, librarians, editors, journalists, entre! preneurs, etc. To know that this series inspired a generation of readers and writers is very humbling.
Q: Thereâs been a lot of speculation in the blogosphere about where Claudia, Kristy, Mary Ann, and Stacey would be now, in 2010, had they grown up. Do you have any thoughts on what path each would have taken?
Martin:Â I understand the fascination of the older BSC fans who would like to know what happened with the characters when they got older. Itâs thrilling to realize that after all these years the fans remain passionate about the books and the characters in The Baby-sitters Club. I can see Kristy running a business--I can also see her being in politics. I think Mary Anne became a teacher. I imagine Stacey went into fashion--not as a designer, but maybe on the business side. And Claudia became an artist. I think fans can fill in for the rest of the characters!
