New York Times chief art critic Michael Kimmelman admits, “all art in some ways is a lie.” But is Marla Olmstead’s art the biggest lie of all?

In this riveting documentary we follow the life of Marla Olmstead, a then 4-year old abstract artist whose paintings sky rocket to fame after her story is picked up by the New York Times.

Director Amir Bar-Lev is invited into the Olmsteads‘ home to document the story of Marla’s first gallery show. But while filming footage in support of Marla’s work a 60 Minutes story airs hypothesizing that her father Mark, who is also a painter, coached Marla while creating the paintings then sold the art as Marla’s.

Once speculation from the 60 Minutes story spreads, as well as additional speculation that perhaps Mark created the paintings from start to finish himself and marketed them as child prodigy art, sales of Marla’s art dry up completely. Mark and his wife Laura begin to receive threatening letters that they are using their daughter to commit fraud. Amir is invited into the home to film one of Marla’s pieces from start to finish to put to rest the rumors that Marla is not the true artist, but Amir is left to wonder if the Olmsteads are being truthful.

Is the young child of a Frito-Lay factory manager and a dental assistant really a world renowned-worthy abstract artist? The Olmsteads look like the all-American family pursuing the American dream until we learn that gallery owner Anthony Brunelli, himself a hyper-realist artist, believes that abstract art is a sham. Was he in on a scheme with the Olmsteads to fool collectors into buying art under false pretenses?

Side-by-side comparisons of several of Marla’s previously created pieces to her Oceans piece which she creates start to finish in a 5-hour video filmed by Mark Olmstead are included in the film so viewers can decide for themselves if Marla’s works are truly her own.

This documentary’s haunting undertone of potential deceit is in itself a masterpiece. It starts off as an innocent film about the happy results of a child’s creative outlet, but is twisted into a dark tale of manipulating collectors with an eye for art out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Bar-Lev attempts to be objective about the news that Marla’s paintings are not completely her own, doing his best to disprove the 60 Minutes story with his own footage of Marla in her natural element. He does not compromise the story by blindly sticking to his original objective, but rather takes the time to delve into the truth behind Marla’s creative process.

Special features include art critic Michael Kimmelman’s overview of art and the artistic process, footage of Amir Bar-Lev making the trip to Binghamton and debuting the film at Sundance 2007, the continued blind support of local Binghamton reporter Elizabeth Cohen who wrote the original story which propelled Marla’s works into the mainstream art world, stories from local Binghamton residents who give their opinion on the Olmsteads‘ story, Mark’s showcase of Marla’s paper drawings at age 6 which are very intriguing, and Amir’s thoughts on what the truth is behind Marla’s paintings.

One bucket off for the bitter “something just isn’t right” taste left in my mouth after watching this film.

Buttery’s Rating:

Recommendation

Lots and lots of Utz Potato Chips add the perfect crunch to this biting documentary.

Some Absinthe to enjoy the ride this documentary takes you on may be in order.

The candy itself is a simple marshmallow shaped like a chick and coated with colored sugar. While the granular coating provides a course initial texture, beneath is the familiar soft white squishiness of marshmallow that reveals itself as the sugar dissolves on your tongue. The taste is not really original or spectacular. It is uber-sweet and squishy, and marshmallow fans will enjoy it, but in the end it is a sugar coated marshmallow.

However their celebrity as a candy has resulted in a number of uses besides consumption, including what is called Peep Jousting. The basic premise is to lick the right side of two Peeps and stick a toothpick “lance” to its side. Then place both Peeps into your microwave facing each other, turn it on, and the winner is the Peep who does not explode or become deflated. I can think of no other candy that has been forced to fight its own for consumption. Nor can I think of any candy whose fans are crazed enough to think of such a concept.

Hence, while the candy is simple and plain, it has had enough power to inspire a culture around it and therefore I’m giving it around 2 buckets more than I normally would.

Popcorn’s Rating:

The movie to watch while swallowing those little yellow chicks by the handful is Chicken Run! We can let the Peeps hope before placing them into the microwave arena of death… can’t we?

Steal the air. Talk hard. Keep the dream alive.

Through the invisible night time airwaves of Arizona, Mark Hunter (Christian Slater) allows his alter-ego pirate DJ Happy Harry Hardon to speak out on such items as girls, music, and the pressures of society on teenagers he cannot bring himself to speak out on during the day due to a severe infliction of shyness. Slowly his fan base builds up, and piques the interest of Nora Diniro (Samantha Mathis) who sets out to unmask Happy Harry Hardon’s real identity.

However, not everyone is a fan of the pirate DJ. Through access to school records he slowly uncovers corruption at the high school he himself attends, and by doing so antagonizes the guidance counselor David Deaver (Robert Shenkkan) and Principal Loretta Cresswood (Annie Ross) into action against his fellow students. Further notoriety and criticism befalls him when fellow student Malcolm Kaiser (Anthony Lucero) commits suicide after calling into the radio show.

By speaking forth words that incite the establishment into interdiction, inspire his generation into united action, and may bring him the girl of his dreams, Happy Harry Hardon has everything to gain… but Mark Hunter has everything to lose.

Pump Up The Volume is a classic story that validates teen angst in a way never before shown, and never since having been repeated. While the movie suffers from a low production budget that included obvious gaffs (a teacher pushing the play button on a radio to stop a cassette, and pushing the pause button to play it; audio/visual not on sync towards the end), some hokey acting by under talented adults, and a lack of stunning visuals… the theme of anonymous voices “crying out in the wilderness” with a message is even more relevant today with the evolution of the internet blog as it was then.

Popcorn’s Rating:

To be like Happy Harry Hardon you need to be both happy and hard. The CANDY CIGARETTES should be able to make you happy and make people think your hardcore without exposing yourself to the possibilities of lung cancer.

Asteroids are actually crunchier than regular cheese balls, presumably because less oil is used to make the product which results in a drier snack. Also, the snack is fairly salty tasting so it’s definitely a good idea to have a beverage handy while eating them.

If you like Cheetos crunchy snacks you’re pretty much guaranteed to love Asteroids just as much. As with regular Cheetos, your fingers will definitely be coated with yummy cheesy goodness when you’re done eating them — a snack for later!

There’s never enough in only one package so save yourself the worry and indulge.

Buttery’s Rating:

Recommendations:

How about a nice Sunkist? Nice and sweet to counter that salty.

And to continue the orange theme I recommend A Clockwork Orange (Two-Disc Special Edition). Nothing wrong with a truly bizarre dystopia film to go with your cheesy treat.

A classic movie treat, the roasted peanuts hold up especially well beneath the chocolate layer due to their natural oils. The fact that peanuts and chocolate appear in many forms together along numerous product lines helps keep Goobers a popular choice wherever concession stand registers may ring.

Popcorn’s Rating:

While Goobers is a snack that is practically edible with almost all movies/dvds out there, I have to recommend the classic Peanuts - A Boy Named Charlie Brown to be eaten with a classic snack.

From there, the answer to the iconic question of “Is the juice worth the squeeze?” must be answered.

Special Features

One of the best things about Special Features is the inclusion of deleted clips. Unfortunately, because this is the Unrated version, most of the clips are in the movie. Although the “original” ending is included, it became obviously apparent to me that the theatrical ending is in fact the better concluding scene for the film.

There is, however, a hidden gem in the form of The Eli Experience. This is a short film featuring Chris Marquette in his role as Matthew’s best friend Eli Brooks, who aspires to be a film director. The short takes Eli to the REAL Adult Film Convention, where he considers himself a star, and with the help of WWE Wrestler Matthew “Horshu” Wiese (Mule in the film) and Mora Dominguez, stages The Eli Experience with real life convention goers. So what exactly is it? Three words: bait and switch.

While the movie itself would normally garner a full fiver for its superior storyline in being both a drama and comedy… the emptiness of this DVD’s Special Features is hugely distressing.

Popcorn’s Rating:

To show just how far love can launch you to new heights, we recommend Orbit-Jumbo Variety Pack as the craziest snack you can have while watching this movie.

For a movie that continually asks if the juice is worth the squeeze, the obvious recommended beverage is Tropicana Orange Juice.

Pieces don’t have quite enough peanut buttery goodness inside to counteract the domination of the hard candy shell. Each Pieces should be twice as filled, or I should be more patient and let the outer shell dissolve on my tongue first. Also, for some reason it never seems like there’s quite enough Pieces in the single serving bag — better get two bags!

No mess, unless it’s a really hot summer day and you leave them in your hand for several minutes. But, who does that? Put them in your mouth, silly!

Buttery’s Rating:

Recommendations:

I have two favorite beverages I enjoy with this delicious candy: Ice-cold milk and Coca-Cola. Both merry perfectly with the peanut butter to hit that refreshing spot. Besides, double-fisting your beverages is fun!

Of course the perfect film for these candies is E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial (Widescreen Edition). Gertie bets her hamburger on it!

When will the bad guys learn that John McClane just won’t die?

In this quadquel to the original Die Hard, John McClane (Bruce Willis) is a detective for the NYPD and things with his family are not great, particularly with his daughter Lucy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) who is not speaking to him and is going by her mother’s maiden name. McClane is called in to pick up Matt Farrell (Justin Long), a bumbling kid who helped an unknown group to hack into the FBI (using a Mac, of course!) for some quick cash. McClane is instructed to bring Farrell from New Jersey to FBI headquarters in Washington D.C. but while at Farrell’s apartment they encounter French terrorists who are trying to kill Farrell. McClane and Farrell narrowly escape despite an explosion inside Farrell’s apartment set off by his computer. They arrive to FBI headquarters where Farrell learns that many other hackers in the country have been killed in explosions set off by their computers (watch out for that Delete key!).

The most important plot device in this film is technology in the hands of The Bad Guy. The mastermind behind the French terrorists, Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant), who himself is not French, uses the fire sale technique to create nationwide panic: transportation, finances, telecommunications, and major utilities are taken offline so that people are basically disconnected from each other, left without basic necessities to live, and are sent into fear for their safety. McClane and Farrell work with Deputy Director Miguel Bowman (Cliff Curtis) of the FBI to try to solve the mystery of who is behind the fire sale and why he is intentionally causing this widespread panic.

McClane and Farrell have great chemistry together, but Justin Long (Farrell) does tend to overact his part. Also, the plot of this entire movie is completely reminiscent of the original Die Hard, right down to the key characters. The only major differences are that the movie takes place in more locations than just inside of a skyscraper and there is more sophisticated technology involved to take down an entire nation rather than just a building.

The action sequences are amazing, the gun fights are spectacular, and McClane’s monologues are hysterical. You may see the ending coming from a mile away, but it’s worth the ride. One pet peeve I personally have is when movies show technology as eye candy, as if doing mundane tasks like transferring funds from one bank account to another is somehow exciting and intriguing to watch, but if you can get past that one little detail this movie is totally worth your time.

Buttery’s Rating:

Recommendations

A good nail biter movie deserves to be enjoyed with Newman’s Own popcorn — with extra butter, of course!

Buttery’s Rating:

Recommendations:

A nice glass of ice cold milk washes this snack down perfectly.

Best eaten while watching Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil so you can secretly pretend you’re doing something evil while you feed your body something good.

This is not your typical gangster movie.

American Gangster stars Denzel Washington as 1970s New York mobster-driver-turned-drug-lord Frank Lucas who learns all his tricks from his boss Bumpy Johnson (Clarence Williams III, uncredited) before Bumpy dies of a heart attack. Wanting his cut of the drug action dominated by Italian mob families, Lucas devises a scheme to have very pure heroin sent by US military planes from Asia to the United States during the Vietnam War. He markets his product under the name Blue Magic and sells it on the streets for half the price of product that is half as pure. Lucas gives each of his brothers front businesses in Harlem so that they can distribute the drug.

It does not take long for Blue Magic to fall into the hands of Detective Javier Rivera (John Ortiz) who overdoses on the drug. His partner, Detective Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe), decides to avenge his partner’s death by figuring out who is the mastermind behind Blue Magic. The trouble is getting anyone legitimate to believe that a black man no one has really heard of, rather than the typical Italian mob boss, could be the kingpin of such an innovative and wide-spread drug trafficking project. In order to protect his business investments and his family Lucas will do anything, including murder other mob members. It’s amazing how absolutely humble but evil Frank Lucas can be — a true Jekyll and Hyde.

Both Washington and Crowe deliver outstanding performances as antagonists who don’t actually know they are antagonists. Washington is convincing in his role as a man from the streets who wants better for his family. He does not overact as a street thug, and does not overact as a drug lord. He portrays the character in a way that makes the audience empathize with his situation, which would be impossible for most actors to do. Crowe does the same, portraying the street smart detective who tries to play by all the rules and keeps feeling the hardships that result when no one else around him is playing by those same rules. The equally incredible performances make it difficult for an audience member to decide which character to root for, so I ended up rooting for both of them.

The cinematography of this movie is what I would consider spectacular. The raw, grainy footage of the street shots matches the seedy subject matter, while the richly colorful and crystal clear “glamorous life” footage almost make you forget that many lives were ruined in order for Lucas to acquire and maintain that lifestyle. The music stays true to the period, a mix of blues, R&B, and soul tracks, with a little insertion of rap and hip-hop to relate the film to the 21st century audience.

The movie did have its slow moments, but they fit into the story line appropriately. My biggest complaint is the rushing of the ending. To tie up all the loose ends of many story lines the last 15 minutes of the film seem accelerated, hurried, and could be a bit confusing if you’re not used to watching a lot of gangster movies. I have a slight bias of loving movies about the 1970s, perhaps because that’s the decade I was born in, and despite its questionable historical accuracies/inaccuracies I still give this film a high mark for a fantastic cast, intriguing plot development, and perfect balance of brutality and humanity. The strangest part about this movie is that if I didn’t know it was based upon a true story I would have thought it completely unbelievable, which is actually one of the points of the film — no one expects some no name from the South to show up in Harlem and take over the drug scene.

It should be noted that many of the details in the movie were changed for the Hollywood effect. There is a great deal of debate regarding the “facts” of Lucas’s role in the trafficking of heroin from Asia to the United States. For more information about Frank Lucas watch the documentary SUPERFLY The True Untold Story of Frank Lucas The American Gangster and read New Criminology’s article Frank Lucas, “American Gangster,” and the Truth Behind the Asian Connection.

Buttery’s Rating:

Recommendations:

Best enjoyed with Nestlé Giant Pixy Stix — particularly the blue variety.