Sneak "(Untitled)"

I caught a sneak of "(Untitled)" last night at the Edina. It's going to open Friday at the Uptown. It's a NY navel gazing movie about "art" -- or maybe that should be ART. At the first flush, I felt I'd seated myself too close to the center in the third row in a packed theater -- too many people to disturb if I beat a hasty path to the exit. It starts with two brothers looking at one of the brothers very successful, very commercial paintings, and then moves on to the other brother's evening music performance, which is very noncommercial, and very unsuccessful. The painter brother is there with his very soundful gallery owner who represents him. Complications ensue.

Movie Review
Untitled (2009)
October 23, 2009
The Question: Is It Art? The Answer: Ambiguous
By STEPHEN HOLDEN
Published: October 23, 2009

Jonathan Parker’s acutely witty art-world satire, “(Untitled),” carries off a tricky balancing act. It invites us to view the fictitious avant-garde musicians, visual artists, gallery owners, collectors and critics trooping across the screen as fraudulent, self-deluded buffoons. But at the same time it takes these visionary oddballs — and the art they make, buy and sell — seriously enough to force you to examine your own reflexive skepticism. More

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The AIG report

At one level, there’s not much news in the SIGTARP (YHTMAAAIYP) report on the AIG bailout: officials asked bankers to take a haircut, bankers said Ni!, and that was that. But the report has renewed the debate over whether officials could have extracted something. I say yes. More

Shamelessly Stolen from supergee