The Phoenix Network:
 
 
About  |  Advertise
Adult  |  Moonsigns  |  Band Guide  |  Blogs  |  In Pictures
 
Features  |  Reviews

Review: Heaven + Earth + Joe Davis

Cambridge’s own eccentric trash-spelunker
By CHRIS FARAONE  |  April 28, 2011
3.5 3.5 Stars

Joe Davis is the type of character who begs to be profiled. So director Peter Sasowsky answered the call, and for years he followed Cambridge's own eccentric trash-spelunking bacteria whisperer around Greater Boston and the world, probing his chronically misunderstood imagination. Although at moments the film hints that the peg-legged Davis is a crackpot, it's ultimately clear that the former MIT and current Harvard lecturer is hardly a mad scientist. Davis is sometimes called the "Grandfather of Genetic Art," and now his work connecting natural curiosities with established scientific tenets is finally earning some acclaim, thanks to a surge in the popularity of biological art. Heaven + Earth + Joe Davis describes such a convincing arc that you almost wonder whether Sasowsky didn't know how the story would unfold from the beginning. Perhaps you can ask Davis at the Plough and Stars, where he's known to hug the bar and even does the dishes every Sunday night.

READ: "The IFFBoston trends to greatness" by Peter Keough for more reviews and trailers for movies playing at the Independent Film Festival Boston.

Related: Review: Ninja Assassin, Review: Red Cliff, Review: Up In the Air, More more >
  Topics: Reviews , Boston, Cambridge, Movies,  More more >
| More
Add Comment
HTML Prohibited

 Friends' Activity   Popular   Most Viewed 
[ 04/30 ]   Boston Comic Con  @ Hynes Convention Center
ARTICLES BY CHRIS FARAONE
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   HOMEBOY SANDMAN RISES THROUGH THE HIP-HOP RANKS  |  April 28, 2011
    I knew within one minute of watching Homeboy Sandman that he would eventually command a top spot in hip-hop. It was about three years ago at the Bowery Poetry Club, and I was riding out my annual pre-Christmas mushroom bender and hip-hop scouting trip to New York City.
  •   AN ALL-SEEING EYE FOR THE FBI?  |  April 27, 2011
    The latest Boston Phoenix is spread across your steering wheel. You're reading this article. In a legal parking spot. With the engine off. A transportation cop zaps your license plate with a computerized scanner, cycles your registration through the system, and records the time and position of your car.
  •   REVIEW: HEAVEN + EARTH + JOE DAVIS  |  April 28, 2011
    Joe Davis is the type of character who begs to be profiled.
  •   REVIEW: BETTER THIS WORLD  |  April 28, 2011
    Young activists sometimes do stupid things.
  •   A LESSON FROM THE GHOSTS OF HIP-HOP PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE  |  April 22, 2011
    This past March, Hub peace advocate and longtime hip-hop supporter Cindy Diggs called on the local rap community to unify and help calm Boston's most tumultuous streets.

 See all articles by: CHRIS FARAONE

MOST POPULAR
RSS Feed of for the most popular articles
 Most Viewed   Most Emailed 



  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
thePhoenix.com:
Phoenix Media/Communications Group:
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
Copyright © 2011 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group