SCATTERING JACK
In The Big Chill, a corpse provides the catalyst for reunion and revelation. Flashbacks to Kevin Costner still alive ended up on the cutting-room floor. In Last Orders, a corpse also functions as a magnet for camaraderie and reminiscence. But Michael Caine’s Jack Dodds is a domineering presence, both before his death and after. He…
New Reviews
Blade II “Goes for the jugular” Dir. Guillermo del Toro; writ. David S. Goyer; feat. Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristofferson, Ron Perlman, Leonor Varela, Luke Goss, Norman Reedus (R) Director Guillermo del Toro has made a name for himself with a couple of foreign-produced films (Cronos, The Devil’s Backbone) that infuse the art film with a…
Video & DVD
So, you’re disappointed by the Oscars. Of course you are — what kind of Academy wouldn’t even give Memento a nomination? Universal Home Entertainment would like to remind you of some of the Academy’s better choices. Although they may not be the best films of their respective years, all the titles in Universal’s new Best…
LOCAL FILM PREMIER
Ravenswan “Local film belongs on the stage” Writ. & dir. Ross Ruediger; feat. Bill Gundry, Martha Dickman, Guy Metzger, Joe Glenn Leard (no MPAA rating) Ravenswan, a local, low-budget production that receives its premiere, and a single screening, at the Embassy Theater on March 28, begins with an epigraph — Oscar Wilde on absinthe: “Finally…
THE THINKING PERSON’S TROUBADOUR
To pinch from a Roky Erickson song, Peter Case lives in a time of his own. On “Paradise, Etc.,” the lead-off track from Flying Saucer Blues, Case lurks in the stratosphere, in his personal twilight zone: “The blue serene, the hyaline, seventh heaven on cloud nine, the realm of light, the world above, milk and…
CD REVIEWS
The Extra Glenns Martial Arts Weekend (CD, Absolutely Kosher Records, www.absolutelykosher.com) “The Mountain Goats” is what songwriter John Darnielle calls his solo musical efforts. Usually recorded on an ancient Panasonic boom box, they’re the lowest of lo-fi, which suits the emotional immediacy of Darnielle’s songs, even if it scares newcomers. In a gentle, occasionally quavering…
KEEPING IT REAL
I spent the majority of my adolescence skateboarding, listening to straight-edge music, and dealing with ignorant people judging my friends and me by our baggy pants, skate shoes, and buzzed hair. Then time passed, commercialism stepped in, and made it fashionable to wear sagging jeans and skate shoes without ever stepping foot on a skateboard.…
WELFARE TO WEAPONS
At 50 years old, John has battled homelessness since 1986, and as a veteran of what he called “the homeless experience,” he is in touch with society’s most overlooked citizens. He also sees how the U.S. government, in emphasizing foreign policy over domestic issues, has abandoned society’s most marginalized citizens. “The powers that be have…
WELFARE TO WEAPONS
At 50 years old, John has battled homelessness since 1986, and as a veteran of what he called “the homeless experience,” he is in touch with society’s most overlooked citizens. He also sees how the U.S. government, in emphasizing foreign policy over domestic issues, has abandoned society’s most marginalized citizens. “The powers that be have…
INTO THE MORASS
In the U.S., working families are struggling to survive financially as the economy loses its heavy industry and offers only service jobs. Even those service jobs are at risk as thousands of more-desperate Mexican “guest workers” arrive every day and American workers are expected to compete with them. Underemployed and unemployed workers suffer hardships, and…
New Reviews
Blade II “Goes for the jugular” Dir. Guillermo del Toro; writ. David S. Goyer; feat. Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristofferson, Ron Perlman, Leonor Varela, Luke Goss, Norman Reedus (R) Director Guillermo del Toro has made a name for himself with a couple of foreign-produced films (Cronos, The Devil’s Backbone) that infuse the art film with a…
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.…
