The big fat Greek home-cooked meal
John the Greek electra-fying
RESURRECTION OF A BEAUTIFUL LOSER
An inveterate gambler, good luck has been a stranger to Bob for years – but he accepts his lot with grace and a freshly pressed suit. He’s a beautiful loser, as Leonard Cohen would put it, and director Neil Jordan evokes Bob’s first incarnation by slipping Cohen onto his remake’s soundtrack not once but twice.…
NEW REVIEWS
BETTER LUCK TOMORROW Dir. Justin Lin; writ. Ernesto Foronda; feat. Parry Shen, Jason Tobin, Roger Fan (R) For some college-conscious high-school seniors, there is no present tense. Everything is preparation for the future, and whatever the here-and-now has to offer becomes peripheral. Too often, it takes a crisis to recognize the importance of living in…
Armchair Cinephile
HOPE, GRANTED Bob Hope: The Tribute Collection (Universal) The Truth About Charlie/Charade (Universal) The Awful Truth (Columbia) Talk of the Town (Columbia) Yet Hope, who recently celebrated his 100th birthday, was one sly character in his heyday – and thanks to some recent reissues, you don’t have to be a senior citizen to be acquainted…
STILL PLAYING
A MAN APART Dir. F. Gary Gray; writ. Christian Gudegast; feat. Vin Diesel, Larenz Tate, Timothy Olyphant (R) A Man Apart is derivative, mindless, and nauseatingly nonchalant in its depiction of violence, but perhaps most grating is the dialogue. A film this stupid shouldn’t be confusing, but what to make of the slang? To paraphrase:…
WE ARE LIVING IN A DIGITAL WORLD
DJ Ernest Gonzales can create a two-hour soundscape with the flick of his fingers – without ever touching a piece of vinyl “I see it as cultural recycling,” says Gonzales. “I guess it is stealing. Legally stealing music. My personal take on it is that I’m sharing it. I don’t feel it’s necessary to name…
SOL MEN
On its debut CD, Sexto Sol defines itself as a rock band that lets its Latin roots show What caused the big holdup? Well, the band’s project benefited from one of the city’s finest engineer/producers, Joe Treviño, who took an interest in the group and wanted to record them at Blue Cat Studios. The downside,…
SOUND AND THE FURY
a week on the scene “Poppy punk ‘n’ roll” rockers the Rummies will provide the cacophony, you bring the angry body. The Rummies have a show on Thursday, April 24 at Sin 13, with Cruiserweight, Amazing Transparent Man, and the Hypnotix. The following night, Friday, April 25, the Rummies will play Sam’s Burger Joint with…
ALL EARS
SUNDAY MORNING AROUND THE WORLD Sunday morning – which, depending what Saturday night was like, can stretch nearly to sundown – is a good time for music at my house. Given the day’s inherent laziness, it’s especially good for relaxed instrumental records like Bill Frisell’s new The Intercontinentals (Nonesuch). As the name implies, this disc…
DISTRICT 2: COUNCIL MEMBERS’ CARELESSNESS ILLUSTRATES EAST SIDE NEGLECT
And the April 17 vote might have gone onto the books, except that District 2 Councilman John Sanders had voted no. “I wanted a chance to be involved in the selection process for this committee. It does not represent all elements of the city’s watershed,” Sanders said. “I know what it’s like to be excluded.…
RETROGRADE WITH STYLE
The Derailers yearn for simpler times – and do it up right When the Derailers decide to yearn for simpler times, on the other hand, at least they do it up right. No strangers to the past (with their flat tops, Western suits, and Buck Owens harmonies), the boys have finally recorded songs that might…
DISTRICT 3: CONTENDERS PROMISE TO LISTEN TO THE RESIDENTS – AND BLAME THE INCUMBENT FOR IGNORING THE PEOPLE
In neighborhood meetings and informal get-togethers, some District 3 residents have long contended that Moorhouse listens to developers while suddenly going deaf when her constituents speak. It’s hard to argue against the perception that Moorhouse lives in developer and lobbyists’ pockets. Her critics say the majority of District 3 opposed the PGA Village project; yet,…
INTELLECTUAL INQUIRIES AS ART
Performance artist S.T. Shimi values the dangerous necessity of artistic expression BO-ring! But wait. The small college was Dartmouth. And the big city is San Antonio. For most of the theater world, San Antonio is the place you leave, even if the career you have in mind is fairly conventional. Light-opera S.T. Shimi in…
NOSTALGIA WITH A BITE
Sculptor Robbie Barber’s shabby structures are drawn from the agricultural landscape of his North Carolina childhood At first glance, Robbie Barber’s hand-crafted sculpture seems related to Winter’s corporate collectibles. Barber’s tiny houses are detail-oriented, with ship-lap siding and careful Red Rider, wood, paint, found objects, 2003. patinas; like Winter, he focuses on imperfect, sagging…
ARTIFACTS
News and notes from the San Antonio art scene Should you be conscious at the crack of dawn on Saturday, April 24, head down to the King William Parade to get a gander at this year’s “Hee Haw”-themed Miss Southtown float. The float is usually constructed the night before the event by mosaic tile artist/Miss…
OVER 1,000 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
She was suffering from anxiety, tension, and headaches. Just thinking about being onstage made her stress level shoot up. She was no longer confident of her ability to memorize her lines. Put in a position agonizingly familiar to other older actors, Denman had to weigh her increasing discomfort, and her concern for the well-being of…
