Adopt a Minefield Film Festival
Adopt a Minefield Film Festival NR. Directed by Various, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring . The Austin Adopt-a-Minefield Film Festival features information on what is being done to eliminate the 60 million land mines that currently exist in 70 countries around the world and kill or maim 26,000 civilians every year. The films…
The Best of Atom Films
The Best of Atom Films NR. Directed by Various, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring . The Best of Atom Films is a presentation of award-winning films from around the globe, ranging from 30 seconds long to 30 minutes long. Atom Films is one of the top Internet purveyors of short independent films. In…
Death in Venice
Death in Venice 1971, NR, 130 min. Directed by Luchino Visconti, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Dirk Bogarde, Silvana Mangano, Björn Andrésen, Luigi Battaglia. What is beauty? Can it be created, out of nothing, in an extraordinary act of genius and will? Or is it pre-existing, all around us, just waiting to be…
The Decalogue: Vol. One (Parts Seven & Eight)
The Decalogue: Vol. One (Parts Seven & Eight) NR, 115 min. Directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Ana Polony, Maja Barelkowska, Maria Koscialkowska, Teresa Marczewska. Part 7: “Thou shalt not steal” tells the story of a woman who is tired of living falsely as the sister of a girl who…
The Gay Deceivers
The Gay Deceivers 1969, R, 97 min. Directed by Bruce Kessler, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Kevin Coughlin, Brooke Bundy, Lawrence P. Casey, Jo Ann Harris, Michael Greer, Jack Starrett. This little-seen gay-themed film from the Sixties stars two straight guys who play “sissy” to avoid the Vietnam draft. They move into a…
A Raisin in the Sun
A Raisin in the Sun 1961, NR, 128 min. Directed by Daniel Petrie, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Sidney Poitier, Claudia McNeil, Ruby Dee, Diana Sands, Ivan Dixon, John Fiedler, Louis Gossett. The last film in the Millennium’s monthlong festival is this intelligent screen adaptation of Lorraine Hansberry’s groundbreaking play. A superlative cast…
La Grande Vadrouille (Don’t Look Now, We’re Being Shot At)
La Grande Vadrouille (Don’t Look Now, We’re Being Shot At) 1966, G, 90 min. Directed by Gérard Oury, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Bourvil, Claudio Brook, Terry-Thomas, Louis De Funès, Andréa Parisy. Three of the top names in continental comedy star in this 1943-set story in which three Allied parachutists must escape from…
Masters of the Universe
He-Man and Skeletor (Lundgren and Langella) face off, while teens battle to save the universe.
The Garbage Pail Kids Movie
The Garbage Pail Kids Movie 1987, PG, 100 min. Directed by Rod Amateau, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Anthony Newley, Mackenzie Astin, Katie Barberi. Back in the day, everyone wanted to live in a yellow submarine. Not sure what’s up, though, with wanting to live in a garbage pail. This crude live-action takeoff…
The Neverending Story
In this inventive and inspiring fantasy, the book that’s read by the story’s hero actually comes to life
Postscripts
How to learn more about publishing, for free; and upcoming literary events in Austin.
Second Helpings
The Emerald Restaurant 13614 Hwy. 71 W., 263-2147 Mon-Sun, 5-11pm A short drive into the Texas Hill Country leads you to this cozy, candlelit cottage with Irish lace curtains, imported Irish bone china, and hosts with just a hint of an Irish brogue. For more than 20 years, the Emerald has been known for what…
Record Reviews
Mandy MercierWild Dreams of the Shy Boys (Wild Cantinas) Although not yet as prominent a figure around town as she deserves to be, Mandy Mercier’s significance to the local scene was perhaps best illustrated when a benefit concert was held on her behalf a few years back in the wake of having suffered a life-threatening…
Naked City
Bastrop ISD explains Confederate flag incident, Texas Civil Rights Project files suit against Taco Cabana, Young Conservatives of Texas oppose hate crimes legislation.
Chunhyang
Chunhyang 2000, NR, 120 min. Directed by Im Kwon Taek, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Hong Kyung Yeun, Choi Jin Young, Lee Hae Eun, Kim Hak Yong, Lee Jung Hun, Kim Sung Nyu, Cho Seung Woo, Lee Hyo Jung. While on the outside this may appear to be the polar opposite of Sun-Woo…
Readings
Talk Stories by Jamaica Kincaid Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 224 pp., $23 A woman we know of has published a new book. The new book is full of something called Talk stories. The woman wrote them in the Seventies and Eighties when she would go around and tell people she was a writer. She wrote…
Second Helpings
Paggi House 200 Lee Barton Drive, 478-1121 Mon-Fri, 11:00am-2pm; 6-9:00pm; Sat, 6-9:30pm Nestled under sheltering oaks on a gentle rise overlooking the Colorado River, the Paggi House occupies one of the three oldest surviving homes in Travis County. The original structure was a pre-Civil War plantation house and later the home of a prominent 19th-century…
Record Reviews
Ginger MackenzieAll Too Human (Earthnoise) All Too Human sounds all too familiar — another kewpie-doll singer-songwriter who sings over atmospheric backgrounds. And they all seem to sing about the same four or five subjects. Austin’s Ginger Mackenzie fits this description to a T, and there’s apparently a healthy audience for what she does; she claims…
Naked City
Local news this week in Austin
Down to Earth
Down to Earth 2001, PG-13, 85 min. Directed by Paul Weitz, Chris Weitz, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Chris Rock, Regina King, Mark Addy, Frankie Faison, Eugene Levy, Greg Germann, Chazz Palminteri, Jennifer Coolidge. The Weitz brothers, who previously brought us American Pie, return with this update of Warren Beatty’s 1978 directorial debut…
Readings
Still Life With Oysters and Lemon by Mark Doty Beacon Press, 70 pp., $20 Young poets like to believe that prose is undeniably artless in comparison to their own work, and that a poet trying to write prose is far more interesting than, say, a novelist trying to string together a stanza. But Mark Doty,…
Second Helpings
Jean-Pierre’s Upstairs 3500 Jefferson, second level, 454-4811 Mon-Thu, 11:30am-2pm, 6-9pm; Fri, 11:30am-2pm, 6-10pm; Sat, 6-10pm Jean-Pierre’s is a restaurant of the old school that transcends culinary fashion frenzy, an attribute valued by its mature clientele. It’s a quiet, comfortable oasis where the service is professional and the dining experience consistently first-rate. The menu demonstrates the…
Record Reviews
BedbugHappiest of Hours (Two Sheds) If most alternative pop albums are garish halogen bulbs, or tacky frosted neon, Bedbug’s Happiest of Hours is a vintage hurricane lamp. Warm and flickering, seasoned with the pleasant aroma of kerosene, it casts its subtle glow across your room in muted waves. Ideal for snuggling up with a good…
Naked City
AISD hosts a conference of public and higher education leaders to determine and discuss priorities for public education in Texas.
Road to Redemption
Road to Redemption 2001, PG, 85 min. Directed by Robert Vernon, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Johnny Meyer, Jay Underwood, Wes Studi, Leo Rossi, Tony Longo, Pat Hingle, Julie Condra. Produced by Billy Graham’s World Wide Pictures, this breezy, earnest dramedy takes the old “on the run from the mob” storyline and adds…
Readings
Demonology Stories by Rick Moody Little Brown & Co., 288 pp., $24.95 If you find the following sentences brilliant, you will be among the many readers who think that Rick Moody is one of the most original and admired voices in a generation: “Late in every possible way. Late to engagements major and minor; late…
Second Helpings
Sardine Rouge 311 W. Sixth, 473-8642 Sun, 6-9pm, Mon, 6-9:30pm, Tue-Thu, 6-10:30pm; Fri-Sat, 6-11pm; bar opens at 5:30pm A stunning stained-glass window swirls sumptuously across the streetfront window of this continental dining establishment where customers are referred to as “sir” and “madam,” and the menu departs from the norm in both content and price. Delightful…
Record Reviews
God-Stripe Gum (Animatronic) Whaddya want for nothin’? If you answered, “a solid-state compilation CD of local pop-rock talent,” today is your lucky day. Acknowledging the faint odds of ever turning a profit on such a venture, Craig Montoro’s Animatronic label chose to release God-Stripe Gum on a strictly promotional basis. That means you can get…
Naked City
The council approves a requirement that all matters coming to a vote include a note detailing their financial impact; Austin Energy’s “competitive matters” resolution, which would keep some business matters secret, angers some local activists.
Recess: School’s Out
Recess: School’s Out 2001, G, 84 min. Directed by Chuck Sheetz, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Allyce Beasley, Dabney Coleman, Andrew Lawrence. Ah, summer. A time for skipping rocks, sing-alongs with the gang, and thwarting the insidious plots of nefarious villains with plutonium turbines and electron pulse generators. So sayeth Recess: School’s Out,…
Local Bestsellers
Local bestsellers are based on recent sales at Austin bookstores selected to reflect varied reading interests.
Second Helpings
Jean-Luc’s French Bistro 705 Colorado, 494-0033 Mon-Fri, 11:30am-2pm; Tue-Thu, 5:30-10pm; Fri-Sat, 5:30-11pm; full bar opens at 4:30pm Jean-Luc’s is a fresh, warm French bistro named for its Gallic owner Jean-Luc Salles, who also works magic in the kitchen. The restaurant boasts the city’s most interesting list of lesser-known French wines and turns out sumptuous creations…
Record Reviews
Please Rewind and Play Again IV (WE) It’s good to hear Bliss Blood’s haunting voice again. Seems like the former Pain Teens vocalist had vanished into the ether along with the handful of other Trance Syndicate bands, but the fact that she’s turned up doing vocal chores on a skittery drum ‘n’ bass track from…
Naked City
The James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Act makes a comeback in the 77th legislative session.
Sweet November
Sweet November 2001, PG-13, 114 min. Directed by Pat O’Connor, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Laurne Graham, Tom Bullock, Joe Bellan, Liam Aiken, Brian Leonard, Greg Germann, Jason Issacs, Charlize Theron, Keanu Reeves. Get out your handkerchiefs. No, scratch that — get out a pair of windshield wipers and staple them to your…
Page Two
Good cops, bad cops, in the booming city.
Second Helpings
Chez Nous 510 Neches, 473-2413 Tue-Fri, 11:45am-2pm; Tue-Sun, 6-10:30pm Tiny and intimate, this granddaddy of Austin’s French restaurants serves classic bistro fare such as homemade pate, croque monsieur, escargots, poisson meuniere (fish of the day in butter, parsley, and lemon juice), and steak frites to a dedicated downtown lunch crowd. Dinner customers love the restaurant’s…
Record Reviews
Stinky del Negro The Soft Favorites Former Solid Gold 40 guitarist Stinky del Negro’s solo tunes are not unlike what you might expect from the long lost fourth-grade buddy who invited you over to his house after school to look at dad’s porno mags while listening to Blowfly records. The relish with which del Negro…
Naked City
The Austin Police Department approves a $40 million pay raise for officers as part of its meet and confer contract negotiations; more contentious, however, is a police oversight provision that activists say was “gutted” in the process.
One Day in September
Recipient of the 2000 Oscar for Best Documentary, this film unfolds the gripping drama that occurred on September 5, 1972, during the Munich Olympics, when eight armed Palestinian terrorists took 11 members of the Israeli delegation hostage.
Public Notice
This week, “Public Notice” revels in the unconditional luv that is kids and pets … but mostly kids.
Second Helpings
The Belgian Restaurant 3520 Bee Caves Road, 328-0580 Mon-Fri, 11:30am-2pm; Sun-Sat, 6-10pm; Champagne brunch: Sun, 11am-2pm This veteran Austin restaurant still serves French and French-inspired fare in a setting renowned locally for its romance. Cream sauces, butter, and demi-glace add richness to most every dish, among them the Waterzooi fish selection (fish of the day,…
Record Reviews
We Talked About Murder (Has Anyone Ever Told You?) When “Race Car,” the third song on We Talked About Murder’s self-titled debut, reaches its screaming chorus (“You’re scarred for life!”), you’d swear these four kids from Austin had somehow finagled Guy Piccioto of Fugazi into the studio for a day. But then it passes. And…
Naked City
Contrary to what the Chronicle reported in “Off the Desk” last week, no business interest other than Longhorn Pipeline has applied for a permit to move gasoline from Houston to El Paso. It was therefore incorrect to say that “one of the groups opposing Longhorn’s permit accepted contributions from business interests attempting to get a…
Letters at 3AM
Actions are our only true belongings.
Second Helpings
La Madeleine 3418 N. Lamar, 302-1486 701 Capital of Texas Hwy. S., 306-1998 9828 Great Hills Trail, 502-2474 Sun-Thu, 7am-10pm; Fri-Sat, 7am-11pm This now-vast Texas-born bakery/cafe chain does a mean weekday lunch business and draws a thick Sunday-after-church crowd. Folks slide their trays down the cafeteria-style line to order quiches, salads, soups (among them an…
Record Reviews
Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer w/ Brave Combo All Wound Up: A Family Music Party (Rounder) The Combo continue their second career as backup band for various party, eccentric, and/or kiddie acts. This disc fits both the first and last categories, with the band supporting the Grammy-nominated Fink and Marxer on a dozen young’un-friendly tunes…
The Hightower Lowdown
The “Prosperity Dividend,” Bush’s Energy Fraud, and the War on Colombia
Mr. Smarty Pants
A few Snausages for your dogs of thought.
Second Helpings
Aquarelle 606 Rio Grande, 479-8117 Mon-Thu, 6-10pm; Fri-Sat, 6-10:30pm Details such as elegant painted china, replacement of the cutlery with every course, and dainty amuse-bouche served between each course give the meals at Aquarelle an air of refinement. The restaurant’s menu bespeaks a studied mastery of French haute cuisine, and unlike many restaurants today, Aquarelle…
Record Reviews
Steven Fromholz A Guest in Your Heart (Felicity) You gotta love a line like, “I gave her the ring, she gave me the finger.” Longtime Austinite Steven Fromholz has made a career of mixing wry humor with sentiment in his songs, and A Guest in Your Heart is no exception. What Fromholz may lack in…
Something Weird
How Tim League discovered 110 drive-in films in an East Prairie warehouse and other stories of disappearing celluloid.
Sin Fronteras
Most observers would agree that Austin has a Latino visual arts community, but within that community are many voices, many points of view, many styles — and no borders.
After a Fashion
This week, join the Style Avatar for the second installment in a series about local fashion photographers.
Mini-Review
Writing at the Kitchen Table: The Authorized Biography of Elizabeth David by Artemis Cooper Ecco Press 384 pp., $27.50 In this enlightened era of the culinary global village, when we take utterly for granted the widespread availability of and common interest in pan-Mediterranean food (not to mention the use and desirability of fresh, seasonal, and…
Record Reviews
Geronimo Treviño III Trying to Break the Honky Tonk Fever (Half Breed) If Geronimo Treviño were a high school football player, he wouldn’t be your star quarterback. But dammit, you just couldn’t cut him either, because he tries so damn hard. Enthusiasm and hard work ought to at least get him out there on the…
Something Weird Wednesdays
All screenings are at midnight at the Alamo Drafthouse, 409 Colorado. Admission is free. Feb. 21 SHOCK WAVES (1978) Soggy underwater Nazis surface from a forgotten shipwreck and join John Carradine for some good old-fashioned non-gore horror movie fun. Creepy and effective. Feb. 28 THE GARBAGE PAIL KIDS MOVIE (1987) Oh, weren’t the Eighties glorious?…
Articulations
A weekly rundown of the latest news in Austin’s visual and performing arts scene.
Day Trips
Dry Comal Creek Vineyards and their user-friendly wines.
Rockin’ the Roadshow
Forget Pokémon and Britney Spears, Rosalind digs the Antiques Roadshow and got to meet her heroes in person when the show rolled through town.
Record Reviews
The HeymakersMakin’ Hey (Haystack) Too bad that the Eagles forever stigmatized the term “country rock,” because the Heymakers are definitely country rock, emphasis on “country.” This would be just the band to see after a hard shift at the auto plant, if we had one in Austin. Carl Cooley’s voice is workmanlike and unpretentious, and…
Flies on the Wall With Attitude
Cinéma vérité pioneer Robert Drew, coming to town this Wednesday for the Texas Documentary Tour, speaks about the films he has made and the film style he helped create.
Exhibitionism
The Zachary Scott Theatre Center’s new staging of Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire attempts to jazz up the classic, but its intentional anachronisms, jarring musical score, and robotic Stanley result in a production that is painfully off-key.
About AIDS
The OZ Parties Dinner for HIV+ Singles.
Make Your Mama Proud
In many respects, gospel music has twice the burden to bear as its musical cousins who sleep in on Sunday mornings. It must evolve while conveying a steadfast message. It must uphold sacred traditions in a world of the here and now. It must translate the idea of eternity to an audience groomed for three-and-a-half…
Record Reviews
Bobby Earl SmithRear View Mirror (Muleshoe) In the early/mid Seventies, Freda & the Firedogs’ brand of local country-rock attracted the attention of über-producer Jerry Wexler, who came to Austin to sign the band, but wound up signing Willie Nelson and producing the watershed twofer of Shotgun Willie and Phases and Stages instead. Freda & the…
Short Cuts
Mike Judge receives the Ernie Kovacs Award from the Dallas Video Festival and other news and events of interest to area filmmakers.
Exhibitionism
Pro Arts Collective’s new production of A Raisin in the Sun does credit to Lorraine Hansberry’s powerful script. Even though it runs for three hours, the show is gripping to the very end.
Coach’s Corner
In a very boring weekend, the very lowest point is watching the UT men’s basketball team get thumped.
Sister in the Spirit
Praising the Lord with one of Austin’s most talented sisters
Bad Blood
Did the Austin Police Department Shut Down an Investigation of Its Own Cops?
Video Reviews
This Whit Stillman movie perfectly illustrates how white the disco fad became, but at times, the audience has to wonder if Stillman has any idea about the era that he’s trying to capture.
Laying It All Out
Novelist Shelby Hearon has made an art of the little white lie.
Tandoori Junkie
Over the years Austin has absorbed (and discarded) several new Indian restaurants, most in the mode of the classic Americanized Indian dining establishment. But within the past few years, we have been fortunate enough to attract a new class of Indian restaurants. Mick Vann has compiled a guide to them.
Dancing About Architecture
South by Southwest draws closer — lots of news from SXSW 2001
The Mala Sangre Summary of Allegations
Allegations drawn from the Mala Sangre Investigation Summary
Video Reviews
Tor Johnson in a Forties noir? Directed by Budd Boetticher, the director of Westerns like The Cimarron Kid and The Tall T? Believe it.
Shelby Hearon Reviewed
Ella in BloomA Novel by Shelby Hearon Knopf, 259 pp., $23 Adults whose families of origin are still extant know the afternoon daydream of being born an orphan and, then, marrying an equally hot and sexually depraved orphan. It is a lovely pastime, especially during the holidays, when intergenerational contact is more frequent and of…
Food-o-File
Who Wants to Eat Like a Millionaire? and more from Cuisines Editor Virginia B. Wood.
Record Reviews
SpoonGirls Can Tell (Merge) The best thing about Spoon is that you always know it’s Spoon. Girls Can Tell. Beginning with 1994’s Nefarious EP, and continuing through several other extended-plays, singles, and full-lengths (often interchangeable in Spoon’s catalog), the little old alt.trio from Austin has marched to the beat of its own drummer — Jim…
Spinning the Story
The APD and U.S. Attorney’s official position on Mala Sangre
Video Reviews
The Halston clothes, as beautiful relics of that era, are the best thing about this movie.
Ella in Bloom Excerpt
From Ella in Bloom When I was in school, it seemed a big, somewhat daring deal to eat at Cisco’s and watch all the Anglo politicians who came to press the flesh of their Spanish-speaking compadres. On a Saturday or Sunday morning, we’d crowd at a table in the back room, pigging out on huevos…
Second Helpings: Continental
Rebecca Chastenet de Géry samples Austin’s Continental restaurants in this week’s “Second Helpings.”
Record Reviews
Pat MacDonaldBegging Her Graces (Ulftone Music) It always seems as if Pat MacDonald isn’t quite telling us the whole story — that the ex-Timbuk 3 principal is holding something back, a bit of information that gives him the advantage. His songs shudder with a dark intensity, sung by a knowing voice fronting a formidable wit.…
The History of an Investigation
A History of the Mala Sangre OCDETF Investigation
TV Eye
Just in time for Valentine’s Day — or to celebrate it being over — Belinda Acosta offers her take on a few modern-day dating games.
