The ongoing liquor-fueled legend of the Hickoids, Neil Diamond's people make the Diamond Smugglers' life hell, and Pete Townshend will be at SXSW anyway, anyhow, anywhere

BY CHRISTOPHER GRAY

Phases and Stages

The Pogues

Red Roses for Me, Rum, Sodomy & the Lash, If I should Fall From Grace With God, Peace and Love, Hell's Ditch

Mutantes

Os Mutantes, Mutantes, A Divinia Comedia (Ou Ando Meio Desligado), Technicolor

Doug Sahm, the Sir Douglas Band

Doug Sahm & Band, Texas Tornado

Lucinda Williams

Car Wheels on a Gravel Road (Deluxe Edition)

Dwight Yoakam

Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. (Deluxe Edition)

Roy Orbison

Sings Lonely and Blue, Crying, In Dreams

Sonic Youth

The Destroyed Room: B-Sides and Rarities

Depeche Mode

A Broken Frame, Some Great Reward, Songs of Faith and Devotion

screens

DVD Watch: Potential-Gift Edition

'SNL,' 'Robin Hood,' 'Symbiopsychotaxiplasm,' and more

J.L. Aronson on 'Danielson: A Family Movie (or, Make a Joyful Noise Here)'

On Danielson: A Family Movie (or, Make a Joyful Noise Here)

BY MARC SAVLOV

Adrift in the Ether

New consumer advocacy project keeps online customers plugged in

BY KATE X MESSER

Film News

Poyser to take control; plus, remembering Gary Graver

BY JOE O'CONNELL

Film Reviews

The Bridesmaid

Claude Chabrol's latest film is based on a Ruth Rendell novel and, though not one of his best films, is still a good reminder of the madness that sometimes lurks in plain sight.

Candy

Despite sporting Heath Ledger and Abbie Cornish as a pair of Australian junkies increasingly on the outs with family, reality, and rent, Candy is a washout.

Charlotte's Web

E.B. White's sweet, simple, and timeless story about the power of friendship and the acceptance of loss is a story that’s faithfully told here with all the sentiment and only slight updating.

Dear George Lucas … It's bad enough that you've cloaked your true identity behind that of the 15-year-old bestselling novelist Christopher Paolini, but did you have to remake Episode IV all over again? With friggin' dragons?!

Guadalupe

Guadalupe is amateur hour dressed up in ecclesiastical purple: a poorly drawn, poorly directed, and poorly acted attempt to film something of weight and religious significance.

The Pursuit of Happyness

Will Smith plays a self-made success who trains as a stockbroker even though he is homeless and raising a young son on the streets of San Francisco in this movie based on the true-life story of Chris Gardner.

arts & culture

Rob Nash: Bedford Falls, by way of Television City

Austin solo performer Rob Nash is moving to Los Angeles, and as a parting Christmas gift, he's created a holiday special that never was:It's a Wonderful Life, 70s Christmas Special, Starring the Fonz

BY BARRY PINEO

Edmond Bulldogs: MTV Sends Comedy Troupe Into Overdrive

Fresh from being featured on MTVOverdrive.com's the Stew, comedy troupe the Edmond Bulldogs is back in town to whip its local fans into a frenzy

BY WAYNE ALAN BRENNER

365 Days/365 Plays: Week 6

The yearlong festival of plays by Suzan-Lori Parks continues with seven short plays presented by Hands On in Week Six

Culture Flash!

Grammy recognition for Conspirare, an encore and more NEA support for Tapestry's The Souls of Our Feet, and giant sunflowers for the Mueller redevelopment

BY ROBERT FAIRES

Arts Reviews

Reckless

Throughout the City Theatre Company production of Reckless, a Christmas tree remains stationary center stage, but that's about all that's still in this flighty black comedy

The Nutcracker

Everything about Ballet Austin's 44th annual production of The Nutcracker breathes artistry, with numerous disparate elements coming together seamlessly, thanks to choreographer Stephen Mills

'Beverly Penn: Weeds'

Beverly Penn's sculptures of weeds in bronze, brass, steel, and nickel are not only stunningly beautiful, they also help us redefine the nature vs. technology dichotomy

columns