Is anybody home?
Christian Bale dropped 60 pounds to play insomniac Trevor Reznick in Brad Anderson’s convoluted, clever mystery. ‘The Machinist’ is consumed by existential questions Though he suffered serious injury during the filming of The Passion of the Christ, James Caviezel did not allow himself to be actually crucified. But Robert De Niro deliberately gained more than…
Too cool to rule
Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, and George Clooney reprise their stylish and stylized roles for Ocean’s Twelve, which takes their act to Europe. ‘Ocean’s Twelve’ makes this critic long for the substantive Soderbergh of old Remember the brainy kid in high school who, for a time, became one of the cool kids? Maybe he was doing…
Going along to get the laughs
Luis Guzmán says following Jim Carrey’s lead in ‘Lemony Snicket’ was a comedic pleasure Whether as a wannabe ’70s porn star in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights or a homosexual deviant in Steven Soderbergh’s Out of Sight, Luis Guzmán – though his name may not quickly be attributed to Hollywood – is a man whose…
Armchair Cinephile
Dazed and … pissed People who care about these things (that’s you, right?) were disappointed to hear that director Richard Linklater wasn’t going ahead with his planned commentary on Universal’s new Dazed and Confused “Flashback Edition.” Reportedly, he withdrew because he was unhappy that some good supplemental material – a feature-length doc on the production,…
Recent reviews
Alexander Dir. Oliver Stone; writ. Stone, Christopher Kyle, Laeta Kalogridis; feat. Anthony Hopkins, Val Kilmer, Angelina Jolie, Colin Farrell, Christopher Plummer, Jared Leto (R) Though not the Thanksgiving turkey forecast by some critics, Oliver Stone’s Alexander is nevertheless far, far from great. The film never manages to manhandle a sprawling, epic story into proper cinematic…
New reviews and special screenings
Jim Carrey as the conniving Count Olaf in Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events New reviews Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events Dir. Brad Silberling; writ. Robert Gordon; feat. Jim Carrey, Meryl Streep, Jude Law, Bill Connolly, Emily Browning, Liam Aiken (PG) Based on three children’s books, The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room,…
Vampire blues
Among the pleasures to be had at the Padre Island National Seashore is watching flocks of seagulls and pelicans search for their meal as the tide goes out, but new gas drilling could threaten their habitat as well as that of the Kemp’s ridley sea turtle, which mates in the spring. Concerns loom over gas…
Close to the bone
Wayne Dow pulls the backstrap from a white tail deer he and Martha Barth killed on their recent hunting trip. In the background, Barth places freshly butchered meat in a cooler while Chavela the dog struggles to make sense of it all. (Photos by Mark Greenberg) Wayne Dow and Martha Barth take hunting to its…
Environmental textbooks censored
Once again, the State Board of Education puts values before curriculum The great Texas textbook debacle continues: Last month high school students and textbook author Daniel Chiras took the State Board of Education to the federal district court in Dallas for rejecting the Chiras’ environmental science textbook on the basis of values rather than curriculum.…
As time goes buy the carnitas
El Chilaquil has expanded its space and menu, but its carnitas are as delicious as ever. (Photo by Mark Greenberg) A lot has changed at El Chilaquil, but the house special is as tender as ever Close your eyes for a couple of years and a lot happens. In the case of El Chilaquil, a…
Sleeping in the big house
Bexar County’s old, old jail, built in 1878 and remodeled in 1911, originally housed 86 inmates. Today, the structure has been transformed into the Comfort Inn Alamo/Riverwalk, with 82 beds. The original building cost a little over $34,000, and the new owners have spent approximately $6 million to convert it into an attractive hotel in…
All You Can Eat
News and notes from the San Antonio food scene The Southtown grocery store vacuum finally has been filled. With its hardwood floors, exposed brick, and large front windows, Delivery Market, 709 S. Alamo, has the trappings of an old-time grocery store. And most importantly, it has beer and wine. Yes, there are other goods, including…
Rocket man
Ron Hernandez stands in front of his Dodge Neon beat-mobile. (Photo by Mark Greenberg) Ron Hernandez’s video show built the hip-hop radio stars “Of everything that has affected the evolution of hip hop — cash, corporations, crack, sampling, crime, violence — nothing is more important than music video.” — Nelson George, Hip Hop America Growing…
Damage done
Darrell Abbott: a fleet-fingered guitarist who merged blues and hard-rock sensibilities ‘Dimebag’ Darrell Abbott was a fun-loving Texas goofball who made scary, aggressive music Two desperate phone calls awoke me on the morning of Thursday, December 9. One of our own, they said, had been killed. Refusing to believe what I was hearing, I spent…
Sound and the Fury
A week on the scene Holiday fare Buttercup’s two-year run of weekly gRacKle mUndY shows will come to an end on Monday, December 20 with a special Christmas gig that also features Chicago instrumental band the Dirty Rugs (including ex-Swindle John Aselin). Beginning in January, the Cup will scale back to monthly gRacKle shows in…
Mysterious ways
Elevating the pleasant holding pattern U2’s 2000 album All That You Can’t Leave Behind was a return to artistic grace that served the opposite purpose of the landmark Achtung Baby nearly a decade earlier. Achtung Baby brought playfulness and sonic experimentation into the mix after U2’s youthful idealism had congealed into political pomposity and rootsy…
Big picture people
Mayoral candidates (top to bottom) Julián Castro, Phil Hardberger, and Carroll Schubert are vying to replace Ed Garza in next spring’s election. Local artists are placing their bets for the best man to support arts and culture in the Alamo City. (courtesy photos) Artists start to line up behind mayoral candidates they hope will support…
Red Stick Ramblers
Red Stick Ramblers Sturdy enough to survive When it comes to real-deal Cajun music, Linda Ronstadt is generally not the first name that comes to mind. But it either speaks to the eclecticism of Ronstadt’s tastes or the universality of the Red Stick Ramblers’ music that she felt compelled to contribute this gushing testimonial to…
Artifacts
“Hole in leaves sinking” by nature scultor Andy Goldsworthy, will be on view at the Austin Museum of Art through February 20. (courtesy photo) News and notes from the San Antonio art scene Here today British sculptor Andy Goldsworthy has had a high profile lately. There was Rivers and Tides: Working With Time, the four-star…
The sexual revolution’s Robespierre
Liam Neeson portrays Alfred C. Kinsey, the controversial entomologist and chronicler of America’s sexuality, in Bill Condon’s sympathetic film. Alfred C. Kinsey pried open Pandora’s Box and we are still feeling the repercussions In 1948, publication of Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, a sober study of American erotic practices, brought instant infamy to its…
