For all the think pieces, for all the open letters from pop-music doyennes, for all the twerk-induced pearl-clutching she’s inspired, the latest, brazen incarnation of Miley Cyrus isn’t all that different from her G-rated predecessor. In days of yore—or 2006, which is basically antiquity in zeitgeist terms—the cherished spawn of Billy Ray Cyrus found fame as a plucky character named Hannah Montana, whose popularity had more than a little to do with her built-in frisson of autobiography. Like Miley herself, Hannah was a regular girl by day, pop singer by night.
All these years later, Cyrus has reinvented her persona, but she’s still playing a role—that of molly-popping, grill-sporting, sex-having renegade. Her staged rebellion has commanded the attention not only of fans, but of previously indifferent mass media outlets, in part because we’re consumed with the ex-Disney princess’s personal transformation. Bangerz reaffirms that it’s all an act, albeit an effective one. Brimming with high-impact power ballads and uptempo, er, bangers that match laser-cat synths with jittery beats mimicking ecstasy-tweaked heart palpitations, it’s a collection of reverse-engineered radio hits.
Atop these well-calibrated canvases, Cyrus recites her lines in equally well-calibrated dialects: There’s the mushmouthed wheedling of “My Darlin’,” which retools Ben E. King’s timeless “Stand By Me” as a pallid Weeknd-style dirge, and the stuttering, over-enunciated rhymes on “SMS (Bangerz),” a track that aptly reflects a generation raised on both Britney Spears (who cameos) and Eminem. In every instance, Cyrus is doing shtick, and she only really sounds at home when she lets loose with her country-girl vocals, as on “4X4,” a big dumb bounce-lite tune about how much she loves, y’know, truckin’ (and things that rhyme with it), produced by Pharrell and featuring Nelly.
This is pop in its most distilled form, a paean to brainless sex and fun. She can’t stop—no, she won’t stop. Our collective anxiety may stem from our fear that Cyrus is singing the anthem of an entire generation, but she’s operating in the realm of fantasy. It’s only a matter of time until she gets bored with this part and re-emerges in a new form.
Florrie - Shot You Down
Voted Boston's best film festival by The Phoenix in 2011 and 2012, the 11th annual Independent Film Festival of Boston (IFFBoston) returns April 24-30 to the Somerville Theatre in Davis Square. Films will also be screened at the Brattle Theatre, Coolidge Corner Theatre and new venues at UMass Boston and Theatre 1 at Revere Hotel. With an impressive lineup of over 100 films, question-and-answer sessions and discussion panels, local cinephiles won't have to travel too far to catch some of the best in independent and documentary cinema. At IFFBoston you'll have a chance to interact with industry professionals, attend world premieres and see films before they hit theatres.
The festival opens at the Somerville Theatre April 24 with "The Spectacular Now,"(2013), a coming-of-age romantic drama adapted by screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, the duo best known for penning IFFBoston alum and sleeper-hit "(500) Days of Summer" (2009). "The Spectacular Now" premiered to positive reviews at this year's Sundance Film Festival, where actors Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley won the US Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting. Director James Ponsoldt will be in attendance on opening night alongside actor and Massachusetts native Casey Affleck, IFFBoston's new Creative Advisor.
"In a World?" (2013) will close this year's festival on April 30 at the Coolidge Corner Theatre. Writer, actor and director Lake Bell will be present for a Q&A following the screening of her comedic chronicle of a woman's journey into the male-dominated voice-over industry. Funnymen Rob Corddry, Demetri Martin and Nick Offerman co-star.
Festival highlights also include "Prince Avalanche," (2013) David Gordon Green's remake of the 2011 Icelandic film "Either Way." "Prince" stars Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch as two road maintenance workers who form an unlikely friendship while spending a summer painting traffic lines together in the Texas countryside. Academy Award winner Jim Rash, perhaps better known as "Community's" drag-wearing dean, makes his directorial debut with "The Way, Way Back," a tale of adolescence that already has reviewers drawing comparisons to movies such as "Adventureland" (2009). The festival will also provide audiences a sneak peak of Zal Batmanglij's "The East," which stars Alexander Skarsgard and Ellen Page as members of an anti-corporate anarchist group. Meanwhile, Joss Whedon of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (1997-2003) and "Firefly" (2002-2003) fame will offer a contemporary take on Shakespeare's classic comedy in "Much Ado About Nothing" (2012). This year's IFFBoston also welcomes back festival veteran Lynn Shelton, one of the directors at the forefront of the mumblecore genre. Shelton returns with "Touchy Feely," the story of a massage therapist who develops an aversion to touch. Fans of foreign cinema should also take note of Thomas Vinterberg's critically acclaimed "The Hunt" (2012) or "Jagten". This unsettling Danish drama features Mads Mikkelsen as a small-town kindergarten teacher wrongly accused of sexual abuse, a role for which Mikkelsen was awarded the Best Actor prize at last year's Cannes.
Aside from narrative films, the IFFBoston hosts a wide selection of documentary features, ranging from "12 O'Clock Boys," a film about a 13-year-old's involvement in a notorious dirt-bike gang, to "The Elders" (2012), a documentary portrait series of a group of senior citizens. Local director Nathaniel Hansen will be present for the world premiere of "The Elders." Director Mary Jane Doherty will also be in attendance for the premiere of "Secundaria," which follows students at Cuba's world-famous National Ballet School. Likewise, Director Samantha Buck will hold a Q&A at the premiere of "Best Kept Secret" (2013), a moving picture about a teacher's struggles to prepare her autistic students for the world that awaits them upon graduating. Sarah Polley, writer and director of 2011's "Take This Waltz", takes her first steps in documentary-filmmaking with the autobiographical "Stories We Tell"(2013). Other notable documentaries include "99%: the Occupy Wall Street Collaborate Film" and "The Act of Killing" (2012).
Rounding out the 11th Annual IFFBoston are a multitude of short films, a handful of parties where you can mingle with filmmakers and free panels on film distribution, documentary editing and the art and politics of end credits. For a complete list of films and more, visit www.iffboston.org. Tickets and festival passes are now on sale.
