STILL PLAYING
ABOUT SCHMIDT Dir. Alexander Payne; writ. Louis Begley (novel), Payne; feat. Jack Nicholson, Hope Davis, Dermot Mulroney, Kathy Bates (R) Schmidt is a road movie set on the other end of life’s cycle from Nicholson’s Easy Rider, as full of metaphoric ambition and as devoid of solid meaning. The actor is utterly convincing as a…
ELECTION: SARA 2003 / HIGH STAKES IN A LOW-KEY RACE
Incumbent Tom Weaver, 70, who serves District 4, was general manager of the Cibolo Creek Municipal Authority for 18 years, and favors the GBRA project. He is seeking a second term and faces opposition from Billie Zimmermann, 67, a San Antonio real estate broker, who opposes it. Weaver agreed that the GBRA agreement to divert…
‘HIT MAN’ AS A DOUBLE ENTENDRE
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind Dir. George Clooney; writ. Chuck Barris (book), Charlie Kaufman; feat. Sam Rockwell, George Clooney, Drew Barrymore, Julia Roberts, Rutger Hauer, Maggie Gyllenhaal (R) If the moviegoing public, by some strange chance, hasn’t heard enough about screenwriter Charlie Kaufman lately, they’re about to get another chance. The curious imaginative force behind…
Armchair Cinephile
BaadAsssss Cinema (Docurama) Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (Xenon) Undercover Brother (Universal) ‘R Xmas (Artisan) Lumumba (Zeitgeist) Serpico (Paramount) A short but sweet new doc called BaadAsssss Cinema (Docurama) makes no bones about the problems many NAACP types had with the very brief cinematic movement which brought us John Shaft, Superfly, and (thank you!) Pam Grier.…
NEW REVIEWS
A GUY THING Dir. Chris Koch; writ. Greg Glienna; feat. Jason Lee, Julia Stiles, Selma Blair, James Brolin, Shawn Hatosy, Julie Hagerty (PG-13) Please welcome Jason Lee’s second vehicle as a poor shmo who works for his fiancée’s macho father, and who, when circumstances/ desires/fears get the better of good judgment, puts his imminent marriage…
STILL PLAYING
ABOUT SCHMIDT Dir. Alexander Payne; writ. Louis Begley (novel), Payne; feat. Jack Nicholson, Hope Davis, Dermot Mulroney, Kathy Bates (R) Schmidt is a road movie set on the other end of life’s cycle from Nicholson’s Easy Rider, as full of metaphoric ambition and as devoid of solid meaning. The actor is utterly convincing as a…
THE VOICE OF EXPERIENCE
More than 35 years later, these three members of the local chapter of Vietnam Veterans Against the War gathered on a recent winter’s evening and talked about the impending war in Iraq: how their Vietnam experiences have shaped their views on war, the disintegration of Americans’ civil liberties, the portrayal of war as entertainment, the…
DIVIDED WE STAND
The January/February 2003 issue of Foreign Affairs magazine offers a practical reason to pause and reflect on the possible consequences: War would carry a real risk of devastating counterattacks on U.S. civilians. This is uncharted territory. The closest parallel would be the Cold War. For 46 years, starting in 1945, the United States and the…
MEN ARE DOGS AND POETS
More than a century after this great society died away, the name has been resurrected in San Antonio. Four musicians, each as restless as the heroes whose name they usurped, formed a band, the Dog Men Poets, and have been invading SA venues with their inspired blend of jazz, funk, blues, rock, poetry, and contagious…
A CLASSICAL GAS
Although it happens just every two years, the Southwest Guitar Festival is one of San Antonio’s most important and anticipated musical events, gathering the world’s finest classical guitarists in one place. In a confluence of Old and New World styles, the performers bring virtuousity, class, and style to the genre; some, such as the Los…
SMOOTH GROOVES
There is a tree on the street and in the forest. Lavender dream whispered a poet. Bright potpourri. The envy of orchids, When it’s dressed in a pink and fuchsia twine. Jacaranda tree and the Bougainvillea vine. Oh Mandela, that garden that you made, Is a vision of the prayer, you must’ve been prayin’ everyday.…
TAKING THE HEAT
Where they differ is that Cunniff – owner of the area’s newest bar, Heat – sees himself as part of the solution, while Thompson – an architect who lives in Tobin Hill – considers Cunniff a major part of the problem. Since Heat opened on December 28, 2001, Thompson has launched a full-scale assault on…
DIDGERIDOO-DA
The instrument – fabled into existence tens of thousands of years ago, but more familiar to Western ears in the last few decades – is made from the branches of the eucalyptus and gum trees. Hollowed out by hand or more traditionally by the white ants and termites that live in the wood, the unique…
ALL EARS
Mount Eerie is a concept album, one that claims to tell a story of “the self searching for identity within a universal context.” Reading the songwriter’s interpretation of what the record means may remind you of looking at certain abstract paintings: In both cases, it’s not entirely necessary for you to understand or believe that…
