Chinese Drama About 1911 Minutes Too Long LIZ BRAUN a Huge Mess
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70 SHOWBIZ The Toronto Sun n FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2011 Miles would be proud Five Weeks pays tribute to legendary Davis with some jazz heavy hitters brownman It’s that time of year again. SCRATCH THIS! Trumpeter Brownman A monthly film series, returns to Trane Studio to Undercurrents at The Under- remind us of the genius who ERROL ground, kicks off tonight in NOW was Miles Davis and the leg- fine style with a documentary acy he left behind by playing NAZARETH about Lee (Scratch) Perry, the music from the mercurial leg- Rhythms N’ Rhymes eccentric and hugely influen- HEAR end’s various eras. tial reggae producer. Five Weeks for Miles began all of ourselves over to Miles’ The film begins in rural THIS! last Saturday, but you have music ... to try and do the man Jamaica, looking into Per- ERROL’S CAN’t mISS LIST the opportunity to swing by and his vision justice.” ry’s mysterious youth as well the spot to hear Brownman Here are the themes being as the notorious events of HarbourKIDS: fronting four all-star quintets explored in the series: his peak production years in Monster, a free three- who’ll do their damndest to Sat. Oct. 8: Birth of the Cool Kingston in which he men- 1 day festival “creatively do Davis proud. — Post-Bop Miles tored a young Bob Marley, cre- investigating the scary, “For those who appreciate Sat. Oct 15: Plugged Nickel ated the sound of reggae as we funny and exciting jazz as a true art form, Five — The Shorter Years now know it, pioneered a new potential of monsters” Weeks for Miles represents Sat. Oct 22: Bitches Brew to genre of music he called Dub, starts Saturday and a rare opportunity to under- Tutu — Electric Miles invented what was to become wraps up Monday. stand its greatest legend’s Sat., Oct 29: Doo-bop — the remix and produced inter- For details, visit career, where he could have Had He Lived. national hit songs for art- harbourfrontcentre. gone and a reminder of what $20. 8 p.m. 964 Bathurst St. ists from Junior Murvin to com/harbourkids or he might have meant to us 416-913-8197 The Congos to The Clash. He call 416-973-4000. today,” Brownman says. “I’m accomplished all of this while truly honoured to be fronting On the subject of Davis, working out of his infamous Pianist Robi Botos this tribute and performing check out the just-released Black Ark Studio, a shack he and his trio are at with such a monstrous cross- groundbreaking album, Miles built with his hands then later 2 Chalker’s Pub tonight section of players.” Espanol: New Sketches of burned to the ground in a fit and every Tuesday. $10. The series features Cana- Spain. It features a group of of drug-addled rage. 7:30 p.m. 247 Marlee dian jazz legends like Dave Davis alumni, some of New The Upsetter: The Life and Ave. 416-789-2531. Restivo and Ted Quinlan, York’s finest Latin Jazz musi- Music of Lee Scratch Perry, was Brownman’s contemporar- cians, and top-notch flamenco made by American filmmak- Bluesman Son ies Adrean Farrugia and Ross musicians exploring the influ- ers Ethan Higbee and Adam Roberts celebrates MacIntyre, and “the best of ence of Spanish music on the Bhala Lough and is narrated 3 the release of his CD, the new breed of jazz mod- trumpeter’s sound. by Benicio Del Toro. Tell That Story, at the ernists” like Morgan Childs Some of the heavy guests Undercurrents Productions Dominion on Queen and Ben Miller. — and there are 30 of them is promising more screenings Thursday. $10. 500 This year will also feature — include Chick Corea, Jack of “thought-provoking docu- Queen St. E. a few New Yorkers like rap- DeJohnette, John Scofield, mentaries, cultural dramas, per Mad Dukes and DJ Cut- Ron Carter, Alex Acuña, speaker Q&A’s and innovative ler, who works with Jeru The Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Chano presentations from the arts Damaja. Domínguez, Eddie Gomez, community” in the months to “Whatever age, whatever Jerry Gonzalez, Cristina Pato, come. We can’t wait. background, whatever colour Edmar Castañeda and Anto- $10. 8 p.m. 186 Spadina — we’re all going to be giving nio Sanchez. Ave. Chinese drama about 1911 minutes too long LIZ BRAUN a huge mess. You can see all the revolution unfolds, one is and his wife (Li Bingbing) — a What you bring with you to Toronto Sun the good intentions, wedged in the heat of the action while marriage that started as a fic- 1911 will likely be the deciding in there among the end- the other raises money for the tion to serve the rebellion. factor in how the movie plays. 1911 Jackie Chan’s 100th movie less, droning lists of histori- cause and waxes diplomatic. Here’s the Wuchang uprising, One assumes that a knowledge celebrates the 100th anni- cal facts, undeveloped char- You’re right in the centre of here’s the wild-eyed general of the era and the history could versary of the rebellion that acters, bizarre conversations the action for the Guangzhou Yuan Shikai (a scene-stealing make up for much of the inept changed China’s future. and confusing events. Uprising (of April 1911), and Sun Chun), here’s the carnage storytelling. And the editing. 2 HOURS, 5 MINUTES 1911 is an account of the This one is a noble failure. for the tragic sight of the dead at Hanyang. And the wooden acting. Xinhai Revolution which The focus of the movie is on rebels, Lin Juemin (Ge Hu) By the time there’s an elec- If you’re looking for the film StarrinG ended the Qing Dynasty and two men: Sun Yat Sen (Winston among them, in the aftermath. tion and the Qing dynasty that will quickly bring West- Jackie Chan, Li Bingbing, brought democracy to China Chao), who goes on to become Here’s Joan Chen chew- is finito, you’ll likely leave ern viewers up to speed on the Winston Chao, Joan Chen at the turn of the last cen- the first president of China, ing scenery as the Dowager the theatre feeling no better crucial events of a hundred DirEctor tury. The film has some epic and revolutionary leader Empress. Here’s a love affair informed about this period years ago in China, this isn’t it. Jackie Chan and Zhang Li battle scenes with impres- Huang Xing (Jackie Chan). The that seems to spring out of of Chinese history than you The film is in Cantonese, with sive action, but it’s otherwise two men are friends, and as nowhere between Huang Xing were when you walked in. English subtitles..