At the corner of Madison Avenue and 76th Street in Manhattan’s Upper East Side sits an exquisite and beautiful Rosewood hotel called The Carlyle, which has been described as the very definition of class. It’s a 35-story, 190 room hotel that has been there since 1930, complete with galleries, boutiques, and a famous Café’. The Carlyle has housed many of the most famous and well-off clientele from around the world who feel comfortable there, knowing that what goes on in the hotel stays at the hotel. In this documentary, director Matthew Miele does his best to get some private information out of people and though he has a hard time getting staff and other guests to give anything up, the goal he does achieve is letting us know of the existence of this distinguished landmark. While many of us can’t afford thousands of dollars to reserve a room at the elegant Carlyle, after watching this documentary I wish I could and you will, too.

I feel compelled to tell you that watching this on the big screen would be ideal for it may be the best way to appropriately appreciate its grandeur. If you can’t be there, this is the next best thing. Through watching ‘Always at the Carlyle’ you’ll be totally awestruck by what an exceptional experience staying there would be without stepping one foot inside its lobby.

Miele interviewed entertainers about the hotel who’ve stayed within its walls, as well as other ‘Loyal Guests’ and peppers their comments throughout the film. Some speak so highly of it and spend enough time there that it’s considered their second home. All throughout the hotel are magical reasons to stay, from dining to the personal touches they give each guest. Then there are the paintings that hang on the walls and the nostalgia one has for who stayed there previously such as Princess Diana, Paul Newman, Elizabeth Taylor and more. Some mention the energy each guest has left behind in their wake. The Carlyle is popular with famous guests of all types; Royals, those involved in the film industry, politicians, and sports figures, because most important to the guests is that whatever is said or done there stays there. JFK often stayed, and it’s rumored that Marilyn Monroe had a special way in. True or not true… what’s your opinion?

The Elevator Operator is said to have the best stories as they see everything going on, but they also have the ‘tightest lips,’ so you won’t learn anything from them! This is a key argument for paying such high prices, not to mention the luxurious surroundings you’re bathed in. Regardless of who’s on duty when someone checks in, the staff will not divulge their presence to anyone, not even their own spouse. With so many famous people walking through their doors, the staff does get blown away, they are human after all, but they don’t show it outwardly. They do seem to have some fun getting to talk about who they’ve seen for the documentary, however. They reveal very little but what is said is both fascinating and provocative.

Several staff members have become somewhat famous themselves. Dwight, a departing concierge at the time this was filmed, is one such example, very well known. Another is pianist and cabaret singer, Bobby Short, who played at the Café Carlyle for over thirty-five years. Bobby Short not only had an appearance in Woody Allen’s ‘Hannah and Her Sisters’ in 1986, but Allen used Short’s version of the song ‘I Happen to Like New York,’ which is excellent by the way, for the opening to his film ‘Manhattan Murder Mystery’ in 1993. Several talented musicians speak of how much they adored his music stylings, some of whom play there now. Lenny Kravitz tells of how much he was influenced by the man.

Possibly not surprisingly, Donald Trump says the Carlyle is a joke. This is a comment Bill Murray has a little fun with as he happens to love the place and feels obliged to protect it. Others, and there are many, have only positive things to say. Vera Wang mentions how unique it is, George Clooney can’t help but go on and on about how much he loves it there and why wouldn’t he? He is a staff favorite and knows it. He and Anthony Bourdain talk about the rooms breathtaking views but one of it’s biggest compliments comes from Jon Hamm who says when you’re there it, ‘feels like you made it.’ Piers Morgan covers the monarchy and fills us in on how loved it is by the palace, calling it a royal place which makes sense as the builder of the hotel built it to rival the glorious, stately hotels of Europe.

This is a special documentary. I recommend it because it’s not often you get to see celebrities talk about something other than their latest projects. Here we also have, before she died, Elaine Stritch, a legend, talking about how wonderful it was to stay there. Watch for a special scene during the credits regarding what the hotel did for her. The examples of extraordinary service this establishment delivers that are shown in this film, are enchanting. Shots of the building in the gorgeous New York Skyline will make you wish upon a star that you could be whisked away to a room there during any time period and get a chance to experience just a hint of what the well to do have… if even for a moment. Wes Anderson describes being at the Carlyle as though you’re, ‘Stepping back in time.’ One guest has had over 11,000 overnight stays, a record for which he carries as a ‘Badge of Honor.’ See the film at a theatre near you today to see what they’re all talking about.

Opens in Phoenix this weekend at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre and the Harkins / Shea.

Social Media for the film:#AlwaysAtTheCarlyle

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For more information please visit the Carlyle’s website or follow the hotel’s social media channels

@TheCarlyleHotel – Instagram,Twitter and Facebook

“Trophy” is a study of balance. It is the balance of nature vs. man. Is it the balance of conversation vs. natural resource usage. It is the balance of animal rights vs. the ability to hunt big game. It is a question asked, and the answer is elusive. Many endangered species may be lost forever, but large funds are collected by groups to allow hunters the permits they want. These funds are used to protect the animals in their habitat, while only allowing a few to be hunted.

The documentary focuses on several groups of people. There is a big game hunter from Texas who wants the ability to hunt in Africa. And he is willing to pay top dollar for that privilege. There is a South African rhino breeder who has many hundreds of the animals. His groups will go out and regularly saw off the horns of the rhino, to prevent the animal from being poached and killed only for the horn. There is a wildlife officer in Africa who wants to prevent illegal trade in rhino horn and ivory. But many people in his back country can only exist of what they take from the land, including some endangered animals.

The film-makers travel to various parts of the world to explore themes in different places. There is the rhino farm in South Africa. There is a guided hunting safari in Namibia. There is a crocodile farm in Africa, and a Las Vegas convention that brings in all the major players in the big-game hunting industry. There is a lot of details to catch during the documentary. Sometimes a brief rundown is put up on the screen, a contrast of the number of animals in this year to another year. It is quick, but it is a fascinating way to see how the process of the endangered species came about.

The photography was very beautiful, since much of it was in the outbacks of Africa. There were a few very well-composed shots taken from overhead (from an airborne drone?). These shots are like viewing the landscape from God’s perspective, and they quite amazing. There are the normal ‘day in a life’ segments and the ‘sit down for an interview’ segments, and these are good. There is a couple of times where it looks like two opposite sides are going to have a loud confrontation, but these never do pan out to anything. One of the Wildlife officer guys starts talking with some animal right activists, and it gets a little heated.

Occasionally, the ‘pay for play’ hunters are shown to be a little too goofball. A little too much of a ‘hold my beer while I shoot this elephant’ type of thing. There probably are some who do behave that way, but it seems that all of them have spent quite a bunch of money to do just that. Also, that money then provides conservation methods and helps the local impoverished economy. The hunters are the not the bad guys in this picture, or at least, they shouldn’t be only bad.

This situation is a matter of life or death, to the animals that might become extinct. But man does have a role to play. By keeping the poachers at bay, and by bringing as much cash into the conservation of the animals – the right balance might be reached. “Trophy” does not say exactly where that balance lies. It lets the viewer think about what is best for the planet.

In this beautiful Disneynature documentary, we find ourselves in China.  We meet a female Snow Leopard named Dewa, alone with her babies, an over-protective Giant Panda named Ya Ya and her cub Mei Mei, a Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey by the name of Tao Tao, who has anxiety over his new sister and chiru the Tibetan Antelope.  The gorgeous land they live in is an untouched region of China, away from the influence of the human race where animals are left to their own devices where their biggest worries are the elements and sets of teeth or claws belonging to their natural predators, not guns and man.

The film cycles through the four seasons with these four sets of animals.  A bit of a warning, Born in China even touches on the subject of death.  However, to help with what may hurt a little during this time, director Chuan Lu, known as one of the best young directors in China at the moment, reminds us of something the Chinese have always believed in… reincarnation.  This is where the bird the Crane comes in.  They claim the Crane, which he shoots beautifully, carries the soul from this life to the next.  Subscribing to this point of view will help take out the sting a little bit.

What the film seems to be doing is pointing out to us and even educating our kids about the fact that animals aren’t that different from us.  They feel as we do, they love like we do and they have a right to exist, as do we all.  Sometimes people need to be reminded that ours is not the only lives that matter.  Leave it to Disneynature to find an exquisite and entertaining way to send us that message and at what seems to be the perfect time.

The footage took four years for the film crew, living through the difficulties in climate and terrain, to capture these amazing moments for us to witness.  Some images have been captured for the first time which is mindblowing in and of itself.  You’ll enjoy Krasinski narration, often throwing in some of the animals attitudes.  Tao Tao would prefer to hang out with his friends, The Lost Boys than with family when his horrible sister, who steals all of his love, is born.  This is particularly adorable but he learns a hard lesson about his decision.  Ya Ya’s cub rolling down a hill after its first attempt at climbing is too cute but also heartbreaking because you know the anguish Ya Ya is experiencing.  Dawa trying to fight off hunger for her and her cubs is painful to watch as an injury makes the quest for food nearly impossible.

The movie is glorious.  It’s touching and you have to see it on the big screen.  Every moment that the filmmakers spent, waiting through a climate that changed every thirty minutes, is well worth your time seeing, to be a part of and to experience.  Stay during the closing credits.  Here they shared some moments they went through to make this film for you.  Gems await you that are almost as fun as any moment in the film itself.

David Lynch, in case you didn’t know, (and it would be a shame if you didn’t because he’s one of the most important artists of our time), is an American director, screenwriter and producer.  He’s a musician, sculptor and a painter; the former is broadly noted in this film.  Looking him up, one will find that he’s labeled a Surrealist.  Surrealists perceive their work as expressions of the philosophical, abstract and even metaphysical points of view.  If you’d like to know more about him, this Documentary will enlighten you and then stimulate you into wanting to see everything he has ever had a hand in creating.   

We open on a long shot of Lynch sitting in a chair smoking… contemplating life.  He then talks about his childhood, moving from Montana to Idaho to Washington.  His mother, seeing his drawings as a boy, supported his young imagination by not allowing him to use coloring books as they might stifle his creativity.  There’s joy in his voice as he examines the early memories of his family and friends until he reaches his move to West Virginia when he was in high school.  It’s here where he is ridiculed and his life changes.  He sees everything around him as cloudy and muted, often stormy whereas before there was always sun and happiness.  The good boy turns bad when he starts to hang out with the wrong crowd and this time in his life, as well as a bit later when he visits a morgue, that you can see his style of provocative art and filmmaking start to take shape.  The drawings that Director Jon Nguyen and his co-directors Rick Barnes and Olivia Neergaard-Holm choose for the words that Lynch now speaks set the tone beautifully.  The art displayed at this time is intense; one is of a giant face screaming, ‘Help me!’ as he spoke of pure hatred for where he moved to, was shocking. 

Soon after, the atmosphere changes and the camera catches him talking about Bushnell Keeler, the artist and person who is most responsible for encouraging his painting (and who got him to attend art school), more than anyone else.  It’s seeing Keeler’s studio that cemented his love of the craft… this is when he knew what his future held.  He gave him the book The Art Spirit by Robert Henri and Lynch loved it so much that he carried it everywhere with him.  What made his spirit live by this time in his life was drinking coffee, smoking and painting.  A few minutes later, into the microphone, he recants how his parents allow him to blossom and before you know it he’s going to school, has his first child and begins to try film on for size.  Why not?  He has done everything else?  Pieces of his first films The Alphabet and The Grandmother are shown and we are taken down memory lane into how Eraserhead came to be.               

You learn so much about him in this short amount of time that you may feel as if you know him intimately.  This documentary is so well done that you’re grateful for the filmmakers having decided to capture him at this stage in life.  Lynch is so open to the filmmakers that we even get to watch him interact with his baby daughter Lula as she plays inside of his studio.  You can’t help but wonder what she has in store for us.  All throughout the film his art dances across the screen such as, ‘Angel of Totality,’ a disturbing piece that gets you thinking about man’s ability to create life and destroy all other living things simultaneously… or at least that’s what I saw in it.  Every bit of this art got me looking for more, which luckily isn’t hard to find.  I suggest you do the same.  He’s made comics, during angry stages of his life, and is proficient in still photography which is used all over the film to set a certain mood.  It seems Nguyen and co. learned a lot from their subject and joined the dark side so to speak.  The Late David Foster Wallace best described Lynch’s work as ‘Lynchian’ explaining that meant ‘a particular kind of irony where the very macabre and the very mundane combine in such a way as to reveal the former’s perpetual containment within the latter.’ This is something that Nguyen clearly understood and wanted his audience to explore. 

Each pencil drawing or morbid morsel that you set your eyes on seems to outdo the other which is unfortunate if you’re watching in the theatre because you want and need to pause to take it all in.   You must see it at the theatre but then it’s one to buy, as well, so you can PAUSE to absorb the film in its totality.  It doesn’t matter what kind of art you like best or what kind of films you most enjoy, this movie is one to see.  It’s deeply contemplative while being absorbing, haunting and insightful at the same time. 

In Phoenix, see it at the FILM BAR tonight.