MURKY MYSTERIES
Sean Penn plays Jimmy Markum, a grieving father, in director Clint Eastwood’s film (courtesy photo) Eastwood moves East for a New England tragedy By the time Jimmy Markum’s wife, Annabeth (Linney), tells him: “You are the King,” we know we have been witnessing something that aspires to Sophoclean tragedy. Based on a novel by…
A CLASSIC REMAKE
Good ol’ Leatherface wields his mighty weapon in Marcus Nispel’s remake (courtesy photo) ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ is rank with blood, brains, and vomit Letting Michael Bay produce a remake of 1974’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is like casting Jim Carrey as the lead in a new The Big Sleep – the original’s sensibilities…
BEATING UP BABY
Director John Sayles explores adoption abroad In John Sayles’ 1997 Hombres Armados/Men With Guns, a beloved old physician journeys through the mountains of his unnamed Latin American country. Of all the characters he encounters along the way, two minor ones stick out like bad pesetas – tourists, played by Mandy Patinkin and Kathryn Grody, who…
NEW REVIEWS
The Battle of Shaker Heights Dir. Efram Potelle & Kyle Rankin; writ. Erica Beeney; feat. Shia LaBeouf, Elden Henson, Amy Smart, Billy Kay, Kathleen Quinlan, Shiri Appleby (PG-13) Shia LaBeouf in The Battle of Shaker Heights (courtesy photo) The Battle of Shaker Heights begins with a trompe l’oeil illusion – fierce combat between German…
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
John Carlos Frey Returns to San Antonio When John Carlos Frey speaks at St. Mary’s University on Sunday, October 26, it will be his second stop in San Antonio since July. Frey, who produced, directed, wrote, and starred in The Gatekeeper, his debut feature, which launched its brief theatrical run on August 1. St. Mary’s…
RECENT REVIEWS
The Holy Land Dir. & writ. Eitan Gorlin; feat. Oren Rehany, Tchelet Semel, Sual Stein, Albert Illuz, Aryeh Moskona (NR) In his first feature film, writer-director Eitan Gorlin, an Orthodox American Jew who lost his faith while living in Israel, explores the struggle within the soul of a 20-year-old Jew who is torn between the…
DAMN THE POLLS, FULL SPEED AHEAD
Democratic presidential aspirant Dennis Kucinich visited Austin on October 14 and discussed his opposition to the war in Iraq. About 300 people attended the rally, which raised about $3,300 for the candidate. (Photo by Jana Birchum) There’s no need to fear! Dennis Kucinich is here! When Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich swept through the…
CANADIAN KOALA
Fist of fury: SA’s own Filipino touring machine, DJ Jester (Photo by Mark Greenberg) SA scratchmeister joins star DJ for Austin tour stop “It’s not just wicka wicky wicka all night.” That’s San Antonio vinyl junkie DJ Jester – a.k.a. the Filipino Fist, born Mike Pendon – allaying fears that having three DJs on…
THE HOLY GRAIL
San Antonio Mayor Ed Garza is seen next to a reflection of Toyota Motor Corp. honorary chairman Shoichiro Toyoda – the son of Toyota’s founder. Both men were featured speakers during the groundbreaking ceremony in south Bexar County for the Japanese automaker’s newest plant. (Photo by Mark Greenberg) Will Toyota finally pull SA out…
INDIE DIEHARDS
Lazy Cowgirls: increasingly addicted to the open road. (courtesy photo) SoCal punk veterans the Lazy Cowgirls make Texas their adopted home The Lazy Cowgirls are a Los Angeles-based anomaly – a band with no need for convenient music industry labels. Even as an emerging act (way back in the cooler-than-thou early ’80s), the band…
TRUE IDENTITY
It’s unlikely that anyone has ever looked more pissed-off about winning a “Best New Artist” Grammy than Shelby Lynne did three years ago. But if the Alabama-born singer-songwriter showed none of the “Oh my God, you guys!” giddiness of a Christina Aguilera, it might be because Lynne was not really a new artist when…
TOWNSHIP JIVE TALKING
Ladysmith Black Mambazo When Paul Simon first heard the a cappella harmonies of South Africa’s Ladysmith Black Mambazo, he experienced a flashback to his own musical youth. The group’s sophisticated vocal blend, while new and exotic to Simon’s ears, also reminded him of the streetcorner, New York doo-wop he had cut his teeth on…
SOUND AND THE FURY
a week on the scene VIDEO FEEDBACK Not content with the concept of simply playing pop songs for a group of passive listeners, Buttercup flirts with performance-art tomfoolery at its weekly GRAcKLE mUNdY shows. There is a spinning wheel that determines your cover charge (from zero to $5), a raffle, and a designated song request…
THE DITZ AND GLAMOUR OF STARDUST
Several pieces from the exhibit “Ditzy Stardust” by Faith Gay. The works in plastic and ink are currently showing at the Cactus Bra gallery in the Blue Star Arts Complex. (Photo by Mark Greenberg) Faith Gay wouldn’t know how to paint between the lines Anyone who has had a good dose of psychedelic mushrooms…
ARTIFACTS
News and notes from the San Antonio art scene As the seventh installment in the ongoing Duplex Series conceived by artist/curator Hills Snyder, Sala Diaz (517 Stieren, 695-5132) presents new work by Los Angeles-based artist Todd Hebert and Austin-based Brad Tucker. The show opens Friday, October 24, with a reception from 7-11 p.m. Hebert’s small-format,…
ALL EARS
TRYING TO FILL THEIR OWN SHOES Whatever you do, don’t ask Van Morrison when he’s going to write another Astral Weeks. As much as he sings about hype, his legend, the press and expectations these days, he’s liable to blow a gasket. The singer’s jazzy new Blue Note release, What’s Wrong With This Picture? is…
LIFE AFTER DEATH
José Rubén De Léon (courtesy photo) Writer/performer José Rubén De León pens a play about Federico García Lorca “I was auditioning for a play at Incarnate Word College, and when I was on the stage, my Spanish accent came out. I pronounced the word ‘bean’ instead of ‘been.’ And my fellow students laughed, and…
‘LIFE IS HELL!’ PUTS THE MUSIC IN MUSICAL
John Brand (center) as Mephistopheles sits surrounded by the seven deadly sins. From left: Mary Lou Hymel (Envy); Kathy Feinstein (Pride); Joe Libby (Sloth); Travis McElroy (Anger); Sharon Beales (Gluttony); Joe Morgan (Greed); and Louisette Zurita (Lust) (Photo by Mark Greenberg) Acerbic theater critic Dorothy Parker was famous for asking “What fresh hell is…
