Video & DVD
A respected family man vanishes, and the police have only one lead: obscene letters found in his desk, addressed to an NYC call girl named Bree (Jane Fonda). A straight-laced friend of the family, policeman John Klute (a young Donald Sutherland) follows this lead obsessively, getting drawn into Bree’s life as he dredges up uncomfortable…
New Reviews
‘STORYTELLING’ “Pulls no punches” Dir. and writ. Todd Solondz; feat. Selma Blair, Leo Fitzpatrick, Robert Wisdom, John Goodman, Julie Hagerty, Paul Giamatti, Mark Webber (R) In his own oft-repeated words (see “Talking About ‘Storytelling'” interview in Screens), director Todd Solondz’ films are “not for everyone.” It’s his habit to put the viewer in the most…
Still Playing
A Beautiful Mind “Pity, fear, and cognitive reverie” Dir. Ron Howard; writ. Akiva Goldsman, based on biography by Sylvia Nasar; feat. Russell Crowe, Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly, Paul Bettany, Vivien Cardone, Adam Goldberg, Judd Hirsch, Christopher Plummer (PG-13) Black Hawk Down “Crash landing in confused territory” Dir. Ridley Scott; writ. Mark Bowden, Ken Nolan; feat.…
Jim Hightower
‘Patriotism’ of Drug Corporations Even by Wall Street’s corrupt standards, the lobbying assault that the big drug companies launched shortly after September 11 is hamfisted, selfish, and sleazy. The New York Times reports that the pharmaceutical barons are the most powerful lobby in Washington. They spend about $200 million a year on lobbyists and campaign…
Grand Theft: Table
It was a Tuesday night in late December. Chris Klassen, better known in these parts as wax wunderkind DJ Klassen, had finished an evening’s toil as hip-hop buyer and clerk for Hogwild Records and Tapes, and was headed to his weekly resident deejay gig for puro ¡SLAM! “I went into my truck and I noticed…
CD Reviews
Occasionally, a soundtrack is a great record in its own right. I have no idea what kind of movie Big Bad Love is, or whether it’ll ever open in a theater near me. But this atmospheric collection has its own stories to tell. If it were nothing else, this would be a fabulous introduction to…
CD Reviews
The Man in Black just celebrated his 70th birthday (February 26), and rather than inviting everybody over to his house for cake, Cash’s long-time record company is taking the opportunity to do a year-long series of reissues. Mid-March brings five albums that have never been on CD in America, including this one, with bonus tracks…
New Reviews
‘STORYTELLING’ “Pulls no punches” Dir. and writ. Todd Solondz; feat. Selma Blair, Leo Fitzpatrick, Robert Wisdom, John Goodman, Julie Hagerty, Paul Giamatti, Mark Webber (R) In his own oft-repeated words (see “Talking About ‘Storytelling'” interview in Screens), director Todd Solondz’ films are “not for everyone.” It’s his habit to put the viewer in the most…
A HOUSE UNITED
Four days and seven years ago, San Antonio College radio station KSYM gave rise to the underground sound of soul and dance. With a 2 am time slot on Saturdays, many didn’t hear it, but quite a few felt it: the living, pulsing rhythm of a beat delving deep into the tempo of the soul.…
A HOUSE UNITED
Four days and seven years ago, San Antonio College radio station KSYM gave rise to the underground sound of soul and dance. With a 2am time slot on Saturdays, many didn’t hear it, but quite a few felt it: the living, pulsing rhythm of a beat delving deep into the tempo of the soul. It…
Sunny Days Are Here Again
Wendi Kimura Cookie Monster wouldn’t stand a chance against the sophisticated gimmickry and gadgetry of digital and pocket monsters – and it is this lack of paraphernalia and pyrotechnics that wins him big points in the preschool set. A thoroughly uncomplicated character, he speaks in short sentences, sings songs, and simply can’t suppress his love…
A Human Dynamo:Inventor Nikola Tesla’s futuristic vision
Rarely, very rarely, humanity produces an intellect whose vision and grasp of the tangible universe is so advanced that only future generations are able to properly acknowledge it. Aristotle, da Vinci, and Newton come to mind, as well as the enigmatic Nikola Tesla. Tesla: Man Out of Time by Margaret Cheney, is an engrossing biography…
A Land Where Girls Wear Veils of Tears
When Kandahar was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 2001, a few months before 9-11, the title must have seemed obscure to many in the audience. While Afghanistan’s second largest city is unlikely to supplant Hollywood or even Toronto as a movie set, it now rivals even America’s second largest city as a familiar…
Talking About ‘Storytelling’
At the Sundance Film Festival, director Todd Solondz proved far more likable than some viewers of his films might expect. I got a chance to ask him a few burning questions about his latest film, Storytelling. JD: There have been many rumors about how much footage you cut from the film, and why. TS: The…
A Deal for Drips: SAWS continues its pattern of back-door negotiations
Harlan McVea and Steve Badrich It happened. The SAWS Board of Trustees unanimously passed one of the biggest water deals in the history of the San Antonio Water System – a water sharing agreement with the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) estimated at $1 billion. The vote was 6-0, but Mayor Ed Garza, ex officio…
The good, the bad, and the drooly
Ruler: A tip of the crown to Blake Peery, the new manager at San Antonio’s historic Fairmount Hotel. Peery has entered into a partnership with Finesilver Gallery to fill the walls of the Fairmount with actual art – not the usual visual apologies that hotels are famous for. Peery assures us the project will feature…
City could go to court over Canadians’ case
The City has about three weeks to settle out of court with two Canadian tourists who allege two San Antonio Park Rangers called them “fags” before roughing them up on the River Walk last summer. If the City doesn’t settle, said attorney Ed Piña, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Canadians, then the…
Time to badger Congress
Space is not the place: House Resolution 3616, also referred to as the Space Preservation Act of 2002, would ban research and development of space-based weapons. If passed by Congress and signed by President George W. Bush, the bill would also work toward a global ban on stratospheric warfare. The bill has been referred to…
Lisa Sorg
City could go to court over Canadians’ case The City has about three weeks to settle out of court with two Canadian tourists who allege two San Antonio Park Rangers called them “fags” before roughing them up on the River Walk last summer. If the City doesn’t settle, said attorney Ed Piña, who filed the…
