lifestyle TUESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2014 Music & Movies Review ‘The Iron Ministry’ or those absolutely convinced of the types of Chinese train travel. genius of Lucien Castaing- Taylor and F Ethnic minorities Verena Paravel’s “Leviathan,” along comes J.P. Sniadecki (“People’s Park”) with The helmer alternates between these his sensory documentary “The Iron sorts of cramped, aging conveyances and Ministry.” Sniadecki, co-director with sleek, modern carriages-it’s difficult to tell Paravel on “Foreign Parts” and also a mem- whether he’s imposed an editing scheme, ber of Harvard’s Sensory Ethnography Lab, or if the documentary has been put togeth- spent three years shooting on trains in er more or less based on impressionistic China-old and new, congested and spa- sensations. Crowded, filthy train cars chock- cious. Designed as a broadly impressionis- a-block with people and possessions sud- tic vision of the ways the country’s vast rail- denly give way to clean, antiseptic ones road system is used, the pic is non-ideolog- where social contact is far more standoffish ical and intermittently engrossing, catering than it is among the communal, village-like to viewers especially drawn to this type of scrum on regional lines. Attention wanes non-narrative docu filmmaking. Fests will when Sniadecki spends too long trailing an naturally board. official snack-cart vendor-viewers may feel The helmer, fluent in Mandarin, alter- the urge to anticipate the employee’s nates between engaging with passengers responses with their own “No, instant noo- and shooting what he sees in a closely dles are sold out,” and others will be won- observational style. Nothing is directly dering, “Are we there yet?” identified, neither locale nor timeframe, Of greater interest are scenes in which and the editing has no geographic logic. Sniadecki observes interactions or Instead, Sniadecki offers a formally con- becomes an active participant in conversa- trolled look at the range of classes, the tions, as when a Hui Muslim heading for implied changes wrought by China’s eco- Shangrao chats with fellow passengers nomic boom, and the interactions particu- who sing the praises of China’s policies lar to train travel. Refreshingly, Sniadecki towards ethnic minorities (no, it’s not a Debbie Reynolds selected for allows the film-or rather, some passengers- joke). Elsewhere, a woman complains of to engage in politics, from the rights of low wages and long factory hours, while in minorities to economic pressures. While a train near or in Tibet, a political activist SAG Life Achievement Award cerebral in intent and planning, the pic talks about minor industrialists coming to doesn’t feel overly straitjacketed by theory Lhasa and making fortunes at the expense and offers unexpected moments of amuse- of locals. On yet another journey, young ebbie Reynolds has been named the 51st for her work in the eponymous NBC series “The ment. middle-class men express concern about recipient of the SAG Life Achievement Debbie Reynolds Show” and headlined ABC’s Sniadecki opens with shots of accor- the country’s environmental policies, and D dion-like connectors between train cars, discuss the possibility of emigrating. Award for her career and humanitarian “Aloha Paradise” in 1981. She joined with accomplishments. The award will be presented at Elizabeth Taylor, Shirley MacLaine and Joan lensed so closeup as to be abstract. The dis- Humor, often conspicuously absent in sen- the 21st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on Collins in the 2001 ABC telefilm “These Old orienting effect acts like the antithesis of sory ethnography docus, crops up occa- Jan 25. Reynolds has starred in more than 50 Broads,” co-written by Reynolds’ daughter, Carrie Soviet glorifications of machine energy, in sionally, especially when a young boy in movies, two Broadway shows, two TV series and Fisher. She debuted her first nightclub act at the which every movement is a vital celebra- one of the better sleeper cars runs through dozens of TV, cabaret and concert appearances. Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas in 1960. Reynolds has tion of progress: Here, there’s a sense of an invented, and very funny, litany of dos The 82-year-old Reynolds has been in show busi- been a headliner on the casino circuit and toured aging infrastructure and outmoded tech- and don’ts on trains. ness for 66 years. often on the average of 44 weeks a year. She nology, furthered by the next shot of a toi- Handheld visuals are fluid, almost Her first movie role came in the 1950 musical headlined her own showroom, the Star Theatre, let bowl full of cigarette butts (several of freeform, yet very much aware of what is “the Daughter of Rosie O’Grady” followed by a at the Debbie Reynolds Hotel & Casino in Las Sniadecki’s trains have since been taken being kept in and out of the frame; long role as “Boop-Boop-A-Doop” girl Helen Kane in Vegas, which she owned and operated from 1993 out of commission). Even more disconcert- passages without even a glimpse of a win- “Three Little Words,” for which she received an to 1998. ing is the image that follows, of raw calves’ dow provide a claustrophobic feeling suit- MGM contract and the first of five Golden Globe SAG-AFTRA President Ken Howard said, “I’m livers hanging from a hook in a dirty pas- able to the jammed cars. The sensation of nominations. She appeared in “Singin’ in the Rain” thrilled that SAG-AFTRA is presenting our Life sage by the car door. An expanded view of movement, and the jerky swaying of the opposite Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor; “The Achievement Award to Debbie Reynolds. She is a the compartment reveals a host of meats in trains, is also a constant, as is the noise of Unsinkable Molly Brown,” for which she was nom- tremendously talented performer with a diverse a makeshift onboard butcher stall, a sight the tracks-for some a lullaby, for others inated for an Oscar; “How the West Was Won,” “The body of screen and stage work, live performances guaranteed to put most viewers off certain inescapable clatter. —Reuters Tender Trap,” “Mary, Mary,” “Goodbye Charlie,” and several hit records. Her generous spirit and In this May 21, 2013 file photo, actress “Divorce American Style,” “How Sweet It Is,” “The unforgettable performances have entertained Debbie Reynolds poses for a portrait Catered Affair,” “In & Out” and “Mother,” for audiences across the globe, moving us all from in Beverly Hills, Calif. —AP which received a Golden Globe nomination. laughter to tears and back again. Congratulations, She received a 1970 Golden Globe nomination Debbie, on your life achievements.” —Reuters Review ‘Mad Men’ season 7: Moss has ‘grown and changed’ with Peggy ad Men” concludes its seventh and final “Mseason next spring, and its stars are now contemplating life beyond the hit AMC series. In a new interview with Gotham magazine, Jon Hamm interviews co-star Elisabeth Moss about her lat- est projects, including upcoming films “The One I Love” and “Listen Up Philip,” and how she’s preparing to say farewell to her Emmy-nominated role as Peggy Olson. In the Q&A, Hamm asks whether Moss can feel the difference between her “Mad Men” character and those ‘Turtles’outmuscle Stallone, she’s developing in other projects. “It’s a lot scarier,” Moss concedes. “We’ve had so much time to live with the characters on ‘Mad Men.’ We’ve grown and changed with them.” The actress also praises her “Mad Men” castmates and her career trajectory, Schwarzenegger at box office admitting, “work-ing really makes me happy. I have been lucky to work with really great people. I haven’t he “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” remained hearted action romp took just $16.2 million on its had many scarring experiences at work... I just haven’t. in top spot at the North American box office opening weekend to finish in fourth. I’ve had hard times; that’s for sure. Not everyone I’ve T this weekend, outmuscling the latest install- worked with has been a f-ing angel, but I am happiest ment of Sylvester Stallone’s geriatric “Expendables” Telekinetic powers when I’m at work. I know what I’m doing. Regardless of action-hero franchise, estimates showed Sunday. The first two films in “The Expendables” series ‘A Fuller Life’ what else is happening in my life, I can go to work and The famous pizza-munching turtles, on a mission had taken $34.8 million and $28.6 million in their things are okay.” to save New York from diabolical evil-doers plot- opening weekends, suggesting that interest in the “The One I Love” was shot in 17 days and had a 50- am Fuller’s daughter Samantha made a No Return”), as Fuller describes his experi- ting to unleash a virus across the city, raked in franchise, which groups together a galaxy of action page “scipt-ment” rather than a full script. “It was a com- wise decision to utilize passages from ences wandering across the US at the height $28.4 million in their second weekend in theaters, stars including Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, S pletely different experience from ‘Mad Men.’ We were box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations reported. Wesley Snipes, Jet Li, Mel Gibson and Harrison Ford, her father’s autobiography as the of the Depression and his first shocking soundtrack for her documentary “A Fuller encounter with the Ku Klux Klan. The chap- sort of flying by the seat of our pants,” Moss says. “But The turtles remained just ahead of Marvel’s is firmly on the wane.