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This Season's Funniest New Show, 'The League'
Mark Fagan
Thu Dec 3, 3:30pm
, 2009
Tags: NFL
I'll start by saying I haven't seen Glee and Modern Family, but it's safe to say this year's funniest new show is FX Networks' The League. Laugh-out-loud politically incorrect humor that pushes the bar of what's acceptable even in the murky waters of cable TV.
Fox Versus Grouch
Richard Whittaker
Tue Nov 10, 3:32pm
, 2009
Pity poor Fox News. Not only are those poor, defenseless wretches being bullied by those nasty White House socialists, but now Sesame Street is ganging up on them.
Longhorns, It's Time for Your Close-Up
Joe O'Connell
Fri Nov 6, 12:41pm
, 2009
A few days after the Texas Longhorns defense, if not its offense, manhandled Oklahoma State 41-14, I went to the set of the television show The Deep End, an ABC lawyer drama/comedy shooting in Dallas, and it clicked for me: it’s all about attitude from here on out.
Game On Austin Rock Band Tournament Rules!
Logan Youree
Tue Oct 13, 2:59pm
, 2009
The Game On Austin event this Thursday, Oct 15, is meant to be a friendly affair, but we just can't help ourselves and want to include a competitive element for a few select guests. We're signing up 16 competitors to test their metal in a head to head Rock Band tournament!
Longhorn Football Season Is a Sitcom in the Making
Joe O'Connell
Fri Oct 9, 1:14pm
, 2009
Tags: UT Football
Like coach Mack Brown, I spent the Longhorns’ bye week watching tape. My TiVo was chock-full of new sitcoms to evaluate. Let’s put them to the tape and see how the season, both football and funny, stacks up:
Spike and Kobe Team Up
Mark Fagan
Thu May 14, 3:19pm
, 2009
Tags: NBA
On April 13, 2008 the San Antonio Spurs and the Los Angeles Lakers played an important regular-season game at the Staples Center and Spike Lee was there with 30 cameras and multiple microphones to capture every move that Lakers' guard Kobe Bryant made before, after, and during the game. This unprecedented access allows basketball fans to get a feel for the game in a way they never have before unless they've shelled out thousands of dollars for courtside seats. Bryant supplies the voiceover for Kobe Doin' Work (with occasional comments from Lee), and his love for the game is obvious. For Kobe, it's all about "communication and execution" and it becomes apparent from the start of the game that he is the team's on-court coach (with all due respect for Phil Jackson). The cinematography is extremely impressive and it is fascinating to look at the current game of basketball through the eyes of one of the greatest players to ever lace 'em in the NBA. ESPN is airing Kobe Doin' Work without commercial interruption this Saturday, May 16, at 7pm. Make sure to set your DVRs now. This is must-see viewing for all hardcore ballers.
Express and Alamo Drafthouse to Screen Baseball Films
Mark Fagan
Thu Apr 23, 4:59pm
, 2009
Tags: Round Rock Express
In celebration of the Round Rock Express' 10th year of playing hard ball they are teaming up with the Alamo Drafthouse Lake Creek to offer special Sunday screenings of some classic baseball films. These screenings are special because players from the Express will be on hand to meet fans and sign autographs. The only catch is that tickets are available only at the Dell Diamond during home games. The tickets are free.
XXX Stars Jesse Jane and Stoya Do Austin
Mark Fagan
Wed Feb 25, 8:08pm
, 2009
Fans of pornography (I know you're out there) have a reason to get out of the house and off the computer this Friday as adult video superstars Stoya and Jesse Jane come to town to promote megabudgeted triple-Xer Pirates 2: Stagnetti's Revenge. Pirates demographic leans more toward the adventurous couple looking to spice things in the bedroom than the solo spanker searching for the ultra-hardcore stuff. With its big budget, A-list talent, special effects, and actual narrative, couples might find themselves fast-forwarding through the sex scenes to get to the next chapter in the story (or maybe not).
ESPN Goes Inaugural
Mark Fagan
Mon Jan 19, 11:17am
, 2009
Not to be left out of the inaugural fun (or ratings bonanza), ESPN Classic will be airing 10 hours of their Breaking Barriers program on Tuesday featuring groundbreaking African-American athletes such as Arthur Ashe, Jack Johnson, and Eddie Robinson. Today, MLK Day, they are airing seven hours of BB with programs devoted to Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron, and others.
MLB Network on the Air
Mark Fagan
Fri Jan 2, 3:11pm
, 2009
Tags: MLB
It's only the second day of the year and 2009 is already looking better than '08. On January 1, 2009, the MLB Network began airing on Time Warner Cable Ch. 423 and DirecTV Ch. 213 – available at no extra charge to TWC digital-cable subscribers, unlike the NFL Network which is only available by subscription through DirecTV. I tuned in a couple hours ago and haven't changed the channel since. Lou Gehrig's courageous speech (baseball's Gettysburg Address), Roberto Clemente's tragic flight, Jackie Robinson's heroic debut as the first African-American player in the league, and Cal Ripken's epic consecutive-games-played streak are just a few of the stories I've seen today on the MLB Network. Happy New Year, baseball fans!
'NBA 2K9' Looks Fabulous
Mark Fagan
Thu Oct 30, 5:32pm
, 2008
Tags: Basketball
2K Sports has really done it this time. Their newest NBA sim re-creates the look of televised broadcast so accurately that my girlfriend was utterly shocked when I told her it was a video game on the screen, and not an actual TV broadcast. If this game continues to improve visually at this rate, it's gonna be hard for fans to turn off their Xbox 360s and flip over to TNT for the real deal. In my opinion, this is the real deal. Accurate facial details, signature moves, awesome arenas, realistic lighting, etc. 2K Sports has truly won me over with this game and I'll be wearing it out now through the playoffs.
Feds Insert Film 'Pork"; Louisiana Pushes Pricey Incentives 'Button'
Joe O'Connell
Mon Oct 13, 5:30pm
, 2008
Film incentives are rightfully the buzz around Texas right now with the next session of the Legislature just around the corner. But they're also getting some national attention, including as a "pork" addition to the government bailout of the mortgage biz.
Shortcake and the Big Ragu Invade Lakeway!
Joe O'Connell
Mon Oct 13, 3:46pm
, 2008
It's a Seventies/Eighties flashback in Lakeway where the independent comedy Code Enforcer is in the middle of a 21-day shoot with Erin Moran and Eddie Mekka starring. You remember Joanie "Shortcake" Cunningham, Ritchie's lil sis on Happy Days, but may have a harder time recalling Mekka, who was Carmine "The Big Ragu" Ragusa, the singer/dancer on Laverne & Shirley.
'Hell on Wheels' Gets Two-Disc DVD Release
Mark Fagan
Thu Sep 25, 2:15pm
, 2008
Click here for Richard Whittaker's short piece in this week's Screens section on Bob Ray and Werner Campbell's Roller Derby documentary Hell on Wheels getting a nifty two-disc DVD release from IndiePix. It hits the shelves Tuesday, Sept. 30 with a DVD release party to be held Thursday, Oct. 2 at the South Lamar Alamo Drafthouse. Producer Campbell and director Ray will be in attendance and I'm sure more than happy to answer any questions your inquiring mind may have for these two young filmmakers and Roller Derby lovers.
'Kicking It' for the Homeless; Cheers for the Home Teams
Nick Barbaro
Thu Aug 28, 4:50pm
, 2008
The Texas Homeless Network presents the Face the Homeless Film Fest, Tuesday, Sept. 2, at the Alamo Ritz, 320 E. Sixth. The program includes the Texas premiere of Kicking It, a documentary about the 2006 Homeless World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa. That film is 3-5pm ($25); the full event is 8:30am-5pm ($75). Among those in attendance: a player with the Entourage Austin Street Soccer team who's been selected for the national team that's going to Australia for the 2008 HWC in December.
For full event info, download this PDF; see also www.kickingitthefilm.com, www.streetsocceraustin.org, and www.homelessworldcup.org.
For full event info, download this PDF; see also www.kickingitthefilm.com, www.streetsocceraustin.org, and www.homelessworldcup.org.
Little League World Series on TV and on the Wii
Mark Fagan
Fri Aug 22, 4:11pm
, 2008
Tags: Baseball
The 2008 Little League World Series has narrowed the pool down to four teams and four final games to be held this weekend. It's Japan versus Mexico in the International Championship game (11:30am, Saturday, ABC) and Hawaii and Louisiana playing to see who's best in the U.S. (2:30pm, Saturday, ABC). The Championship Game will take place Sunday at 2:30pm with the Consolation Game being played at 11am (both on ABC). For more on LLWS schedules and scores click here.
Danes Coming to Austin for Biopic?
Joe O'Connell
Mon Aug 18, 11:23am
, 2008
It's been in the works for a solid nine years, with frequent rumors it would shoot in Austin. Now an HBO film about Temple Grandin, who found success despite suffering from autism, is slated for an October shoot at Austin Studios. Claire Danes is in talk to star as Grandin, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Grandin suffered abuse in high school for the outward symptoms of her autism, but went on to earn several college degrees and to become an influential writer and speaker on both autism and the humane treatment of livestock. These days she is a professor of animal science at Colorado State University. She has compared her mind to a computer search engine that only brings up visual images.
'Hard Knocks' Follows Cowboys' Training Camp
Mark Fagan
Thu Aug 7, 4:10pm
, 2008
Tags: NFL
HBO's Hard Knocks series did something last year that I thought would never happen, it made me interested in the Kansas City Chiefs. While that feeling didn't last long, this year's installment follows media darlings the Dallas Cowboys as they prepare for their 2008-09 campaign and should entertain their fans and detractors equally. The first episode aired Wednesday night at 9pm (its standard time slot) and is being rebroadcast during the week leading up to episode two. Hard Knocks lives up to the high standard viewers expect from HBO and should be added to any NFL fan's TV schedule posthaste.
'TopSpin 3' for the Xbox 360
Mark Fagan
Fri Aug 1, 4:26pm
, 2008
Tags: Tennis
I enjoy tennis. I enjoy playing tennis. I enjoy watching tennis on TV. I even enjoy play tennis video games (VituaTennis anyone?). That said, 2K Sports' TopSpin 3 is a whole 'nother story.
Ebert & Roeper is History
Joe O'Connell
Mon Jul 21, 11:16am
, 2008
Richard Roeper has made it official: He's leaving At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper after eight years.
Soul No Longer for Sale on eBay?
Joe O'Connell
Mon Jul 7, 1:49pm
, 2008
Screenwriter Carrie Crain knows how to promote her work. The Austin scribe recently finished her screenplay Souled about a woman who sells her soul on eBay. Naturally, Crain is now selling her own soul on eBay, and the publicity stunt seems to be working. Today it quickly shot onto CNN's radar.
Paula Nelson Kicks Butt on Film
Joe O'Connell
Thu Jul 3, 12:46pm
, 2008
She's become a YouTube celeb for the kick-ass kick she planted on an overzealous and probably over-served fan at the Saxon Pub. Now Paula Nelson is kicking it up as Michael Madsen's mistress in the political thriller Conflict of Interest. Even more interesting and synchronistic, Saxon Pub owner Joe Ables plays the role of
a judge in the film, which recently shot hereabouts. Paula's mother Connie Nelson is also in the film, as is rocker George Devore, who portrays a bartender.
'Inning by Inning' Debuts Sunday on ESPN2
Mark Fagan
Thu Jun 12, 2:39pm
, 2008
Tags: UT Baseball
Richard Linklater's loving doc of UT baseball coach Augie Garrido, Inning by Inning: A Portrait of a Coach, will make its nationally televised debut Sunday night, June 15, on ESPN2 at 9pm. Austinites were treated to its regional premiere and a Q&A with Linklater and Garrido at the Paramount Theatre Tuesday, June 3. Garrido sports the most wins of any NCAA baseball coach ever and has won five championships over four decades at two schools (Cal State Fullerton and UT). Our own Ashley Moreno interviewed Richard Linklater about his doc and her piece “Zen and the Art of Winning Championships” (Screens, May 30) can be found here. Not to be missed are Augie's locker-room “talks” with his players following disappointing (in his opinion, regardless of the numbers on the scoreboard) outings. I recommend programming your DVRs now before you forget.
'Major League Baseball 2K8' Strikes Out Looking
Mark Fagan
Tue May 13, 6:03pm
, 2008
Tags: Baseball
My apologies to the fine folks at 2K Sports in taking so long to post my review of their baseball sim MLB 2K8, but honestly it has taken me this long to try and figure out their new pitching mechanism. This glitch-ridden and almost unusable new mechanic makes playing this game as frustrating as your worst workday of the year. After a month or so of trying to get this new technique down and throwing countless "meatballs" I simply gave up and reverted to last year's pitching scheme. The new system is supposed to mimic how the actual pitch is thrown but has a serious learning curve and flat out doesn't work most of the time. Unless I am a complete idiot (which is debatable), I would have to imagine that most other gamers have had the same experience with this piece of crap "improvement." The new fielding mechanism isn't much better and the new batting system only works on the power swing and doesn't even respond to the contact swing. Lame!
'Quantum Hoops' at Alamo Lake Creek
Mark Fagan
Fri Apr 18, 3:49pm
, 2008
Tags: NCAA Basketball
With no athletic scholarships to offer and extremely stringent academic requirements for admittance, there really isn't much room for recruiting when it comes to fielding a basketball team at egghead central, aka the California Institute of Technology. If you are the coach of the Caltech Beavers (nature's engineers), your team consists of those who show up for the first practice and dedicate themselves to the team. This is not a minor issue considering the daunting amount of classwork these student/athletes take on.
