An American Werewolf in London
For its time, this movie was a radical melange of genuine horror and self-aware comic touches, not to mention the fabulous Rick Baker special effects.
Short Attention Span Festival
Short Attention Span Festival NR. Directed by Various, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring . A Collection of 60+ Films are featured in this ninth annual festival dedicated to short films under two minutes in length composed in a variety of genres. This year’s show features Michael Moore’s “Testify” ? a political statement on…
Modern Yakuza: Outlaw Killer
Modern Yakuza: Outlaw Killer 1972, NR, 90 min. Directed by Kinji Fukasaku, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Buntga Sugawara, Noboru Ando, Mayumi Nagisa. An arrogant wannabe yakuza storms his way out of the gutter and into the big-time. His lifestyle, however, proves to be his undoing
Yakuza Burial: Jasmine Flower
Yakuza Burial: Jasmine Flower 1976, NR, 96 min. Directed by Kinji Fukasaku, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Tetsuya Watari, Tatsuo Umemiya, Meiko Kaji. An introspective cop realizes he has more in common with his yakuza adversaries than he does with his hypocritical superiors.
Mac and Me
Mac and Me 1988, PG, 95 min. Directed by Stewart Raffill, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Christine Ebersole, Jonathan Ward, Tina Caspary. This shameless E.T. knockoff features a wrinkly alien and a kid in a wheelchair. It should provide plenty of fodder for the goofy humor of the Mr. Sinus gang. For more…
The Soviet New Wave: Films of the 60’s & 70’s: Nine Days of One Year
The Soviet New Wave: Films of the 60’s & 70’s: Nine Days of One Year 1961, NR, 110 min. Directed by , Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Aleksei Batalov, Innokenti Smoktunovsky, Tatyana Lavrova. Two nuclear physicists reveal their frank hopes and fears within the context of the new Krushchev era, a situation that…
Paris Vu Par …
Six French filmmakers make six films set in different sections of Paris.
You Can’t Go Home Again
Chronicle writer Jesse Sublett on why James Crumley, whose mystery The Final Country has recently been published, is the best writer from Texas to disown the state.
Upon the Desk
Pocket Fishrmen — Orgy of Rock and Roll Lucky 13 — Lucky Club Music Caroline Herring — Twilight Prima Donnas — Drugs, Sex & Discotheques Black Lipstick — 4 Kingdoms of Black Lipstick Bella — Until the Morning Darin Murphy — Haunted Gardenias United Space — Winter Holiday Greezy Wheels — Millennium Greezy Jennifer Koury…
It’s a Vision Thing
What’s up with regional planning?
“Can I Get a Side of Ribs With That?’
Massacre for two?
L.I.E.
L.I.E. 2001, NC-17, 108 min. Directed by Michael Cuesta, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Paul Franklin Dano, Brian Cox, Tony Michael Donnelly, James Costa, Billy Kay, Bruce Altman, Walter Masterson, Adam Lefevre. The drone of cars hurtling toward and from Long Island suffuses this extraordinarily confident debut of writer-director Cuesta and serves as…
Postscripts
Book news, signings, and author appearances this week
Back On (& In) the Air!
Things continue to return to normal post-9/11: Live music at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport has returned on Thursdays from 4-6pm at the live music stage by the Highlands Lake Bar, available to ticketed passengers only. Upcoming performances: Oct. 25 — Miss Lavelle White Nov. 1 — The Hackles Nov. 8 — Hard Quartet Nov. 15…
Naked City
Save Our Springs Alliance and the Austin-area community sponsor the “Soul of the City” concert featuring musicians Jimmy LaFave, Ray Wylie Hubbard, and Slaid Cleaves. The celebration begins at 7pm at the Backyard, Sunday, Oct. 28. Tickets are available online at www.sosalliance.org or by calling the SOSA office at 477-2320. Citing the new, Post-Attack American…
Lucio Fulci Memorial Splatterfest
If you’ve never seen a film by Italian horror maestro Lucio Fulci, then Stephen Romano, of Blackest Heart Media and the man behind the Alamo Drafthouse’s annual Lucio Fulci Memorial Splatterfest, wants to know what hell is wrong with you, pal. Fulci, the man behind such gut-bursting, viscera-vomiting, flesh-devouring classics as The Gates of Hell…
Bones
Bones 2001, R, 98 min. Directed by Ernest Dickerson, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Snoop Dogg, Pam Grier, Bianca Lawson, Ricky Harris, Clifton Powell, Michael T. Weiss, Khalil Kain, Merwin Mondesir. Papa’s got a brand new body bag. It’s been nine years since Dickerson teamed with former pal Spike Lee to shoot Malcolm…
Day Trips
Captain Day Trips scares us with spooky stories of Texas.
Phases and Stages
The Strokes @ Stubb’sOctober 23 Some shows are all about the music. There’s no pretense, and the people there are true fans, eager to listen, not talk. This was not one of those shows. Nope, this was a Scene with a capital “S.” We’re talking about a band who filled up Stubb’s outdoor stage nearly…
Naked City
L’État, C’est Rick Thought the issue of whether or not organized prayer is allowed in public schools was settled long ago? Not at the Governor’s Mansion. On Oct. 18, during an East Texas swing through the city of Palestine, Gov. Rick Perry Amen-ed along with second-period students at Palestine Middle School during an organized, Christian-centered…
Short Cuts
SXSW web competition entry rules and another Linklater premiere at the Paramount
Asoka
Asoka NR, 150 min. Directed by Santosh Sivan, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Danny Denzongpa, Hrishtaa Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor, Shah Rukh Khan. Not reviewed at press time. This two-and-a-half hour Indian epic is directed and shot by the maker of 1999’s highly acclaimed The Terrorist. Filmed on a grand pallette, the movie relates…
Mr. Smarty Pants
Come & get your Doctorate of Trivialogy.
Phases and Stages
Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobainby Charles R. Cross Hyperion, 381pp. $24.95 While tearfully reading Kurt Cobain’s suicide note on a tape played to mourning fans gathered at Seattle Center on April 10, 1994, Courtney Love exhorted the crowd to curse him as an “asshole” before saying they love him. These contradictory sentiments,…
Naked City
‘Raped Twice’ Deja Vu? Following the Chronicle publication of a story about the Austin Police Dept.’s investigation of Virginia Glore’s rape case (“Raped Twice?” Oct. 12), we received a phone call from Austin Police Association President Mike Sheffield, suggesting that the story contained an inaccuracy (provided by the APD): The APD, Sheffield said, does have…
TV Eye
The best of the new fall shows
The Iron Ladies
The Iron Ladies 2000, NR, 104 min. Directed by Yongyoot Thongkongtoon, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Chaichan Nimpoonsawas, Sahaparp Virakamin, Siridhana Hongsophon, Gorgio Maiocchi, Gokgorn Benjathikul, Jessdaporn Pholdee. The Iron Ladies, which recounts the unlikely true-life triumph of a Thai male volleyball team composed primarily of gay men and screaming queens, serves up…
After a Fashion
The Club DeVille Fall Fashion Extravaganza leads this week’s list of what’s hot.
Phases and Stages
DerailersHere Come the Derailers (Lucky Dog) Fans of Austin’s Derailers might approach their fifth full-length with some trepidation. It’s their first with Lucky Dog, Sony’s Nashville imprint, which Charlie Robison and Jack Ingram also call home, and the first time they’ve recorded without Dave Alvin in the producer’s seat. Well, put your fears aside. It’s…
Naked City
‘Sorry, Bob.’ That’s what state Rep. Tony Goolsby, R-Dallas, said as he voted, with his colleagues on the State Preservation Board, to put Woodlawn, aka the Pease Mansion, up for sale. (The SPB is the state agency that owns and manages the state’s historic properties, including the Capitol and Governor’s Mansion as well as Woodlawn.)…
Video Reviews
By far the best of Roger Corman’s Poe-inspired films, The Fall of the House of Usher takes the author’s gloriously claustrophobic tale of mad Roderick Usher and his undead sister Madeline and fleshes it out into some sort of minor drive-in masterpiece.
Waking Life
This animated journey through one character’s dreams is a stirring, motivational, and metaphysical head trip.
About AIDS
Give what you can because it ain’t over yet.
Phases and Stages
Beachwood SparksOnce We Were Trees (Sub Pop) Imagine four small town buddies hopping a Greyhound for L.A. in the late Sixties. They’ve known each other since they sang in choir together. Between them, they’ve got one comb and a deep passion for Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde and the Flying Burrito Brothers’ Gilded Palace of…
Naked City
Bigger Than Snacks It appears that city-led efforts to bring a 900 MHz trunked radio system to Austin is squarely on schedule to be completed and online by early 2003. The project — which has nearly a dozen partners, including the Austin Police Department and the Travis Co. Sheriff’s Office — will finally make it…
Video Reviews
George Romero’s latest, long-anticipated offering — the straight-to-video Bruiser — sorely tests the loyalty of his fans.
To Your Health
I have been taking methotrexate for rheumatoid arthritis for more than two years with good results, but now my doctor is advising me to discontinue it because he says my liver enzymes are becoming elevated. Is there a way to avoid this side effect?
Phases and Stages
Buddy & Julie Miller (Hightone) Buddy and Julie Miller have a lot going for them. Together, the two of them sound nearly perfect, a country duo that compares more with Emmylou Harris and Gram Parsons than with George Jones and Tammy Wynette. Buddy Miller’s guitar playing is stinging yet earthy at the same time. They…
Naked City
Labor Film Strikes a Chord A diverse group of 50 people showed up at Martin Junior High School last Saturday morning to watch Los Trabajadores, local filmmaker Heather Courtney’s documentary on Austin’s immigrant day labor community. Co-sponsored by East Cesar Chavez Neighborhood Association, the Arts Commission, and the Texas Council for the Humanities, the screening…
Video Reviews
Far more readable than the majority of critical studies of pop-culture grue, David Skal’s The Monster Show is a landmark work and nearly as entertaining as that dead clown underneath your bed.
Coach’s Corner
UTmay finish in the Top Ten for the first time in 17 years — but it won’t be enough for Longhorn Fan, the nation’s most spoiled and delusional sportsfan. Part two of a two-part series.
Endorsements
Mayor of Austin: Gus Garcia We believe Gus Garcia is more than just the best person in this race; he may indeed be the one person on the political scene best suited to be mayor at this historical juncture. The last thing we need is a polarizing figure by whose ideas many Austinites can’t abide,…
Naked City
Lose It or Leave, Says Reliant A move by Houston-based power producers Reliant/HL&P to enforce weight restriction guidelines on its employees has drawn much heat from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (Local 66), the union representing workers affected by the deal. IBEW Business Representative Rick Childers says Reliant has offered a pretty icky ultimatum…
K-PAX
K-PAX 2001, PG-13, 124 min. Directed by Iain Softley, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges, Ajay Naidu, Peter Gerety, Alfre Woodard, Mary McCormack, Conchata Ferrell, Saul Williams. Based on the novel by Gene Brewer, K-PAX is the story of Prot (Spacey), a man who claims to have traveled to Earth…
Unwrapping the Package
Beneath all the glitter and glamour at Kenichi lies a restaurant of authentic substance, Chronicle Food writer Rachel Feit observes. Kenichi’s executive chef Shane Stark knows more than the fine art of raw fish and rice.
Nov. 6 Election: Ballot Summary
Mayor of AustinRay Blanchette David “Breadman” Blakeley Leslie Cochran Jennifer Gale Gus Garcia Greg Gordon Eric Mitchell Allen PhillipsTravis CountyAbolishing the office of county surveyor Prop. 1: Authorizing $57.43 million in road bonds. Prop. 2: Authorizing $28.6 million in park bonds. Prop. 3: Authorizing $32.725 million in ROW acquisition bonds for FM 1826 and SH…
Naked City
HazMat Matters The Texas Dept. of Public Safety, along with the federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (an arm of the federal Department of Transportation), is stepping up efforts to ensure that truckers carrying hazardous materials on Texas’ roadways are following sound security procedures. “This shouldn’t be anything they don’t already know,” said DPS spokeswoman Tela…
Second Helpings: Sushi – Part One
Wes Marshall surveys some of Austin’s sushi restaurants in this week’s “Second Helpings.”
Spicy Tandoor Restaurant
Chronicle Food writer Mick Vann writes that Spicy Tandoor is Austin’s latest Indo-Paki-Bangladeshi restaurant, the most fun and flavorful combination of foods to be found in town.
Rev. Frank Does It His Way
Campaign foolishness aficionados had their hopes raised when Eric Mitchell declared for mayor, but were disappointed when Mitchell informed the world (via a press release) that he would not be appearing at public forums. The candidate recently made liars of his campaign supporters — who said at Mitchell’s Oct. 16 city hall press conference that…
Naked City
Lawyers and Lawlessness Yet another Georgetown resident has been rebuked for challenging city government authority, but this shouldn’t surprise regular “Naked City” readers. Last week, we reported that Georgetown attorney West Short — who is a member of the political action committee Citizens for Georgetown (a small group of citizens concerned about open government issues)…
Playwright as Architect
In a conversation on art and craft, playwrights Dan Dietz and Wayne Alan Brenner discuss making the blueprints for and building a drama.
Food-o-File
Food Editor Virginia B. Wood gets ready to attend the Southern Foodways Symposium.
Yes, No, Maybe
Several local organizations have taken positions on the Nov. 6 Travis County bond election, with the largest share of opposition growing against Prop. 3, the $32.7 million bond measure for right-of-way purchases to round out the construction of SH 45 North and the expansion of FM 1826. Here’s how the votes shake out from business…
Naked City
CATA’s Top-Seeded Plan Austin’s ball-whacking, racket-packing set will be happy to know that the Capital Area Tennis Association is courting the Parks and Recreation Dept. to get a tournament-sized tennis facility built in Austin. The idea originated about four or five years ago, when CATA leaders realized city courts couldn’t handle Austin’s growing tennis-playing population.…
Invasion of the Amazing Colossal Artists
In the final days of October, Central Texas plays host to the winner of the 1992 Nobel Prize in Literature, Derek Walcott; winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize in Music, John Corigliano; and two-time finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the PEN / Faulkner award, Russell Banks.
Will Travel for Food
How Chronicle Food writer Rebecca Chastenet de Géry’s Oklahoma parents found flaming mussels in a French seaside town.
Gus Fires Again
Last week mayoral candidate Gus Garcia blasted AISD in “Naked City,” saying district schools are badly serving poor children. Specifically, he said five district high schools — which he named as Lanier, Reagan, LBJ, Johnston, and Travis — are “low-performing” schools by state standards. AISD spokesman Andy Welch responded quickly (see this week’s “Postmarks”) that…
Amend This!
Political commentary on the constitutional amendment process
Articulations
Memorializing The Public Domain Theatre Company, 1993-2001
Dead Man Blues
7-CD box set contains all anyone could ever want to know about Charley Patton.
Rio Grande No Longer?
An overview of the ecological crisis along the Rio Grande
Austin @ Large: Love Children
Political commentary on the minor candidates for mayor
Exhibitionism
In the State Theater Company’s new staging of The Tempest, director Scott Kanoff offers a carefully considered, vividly imagined, and vividly theatrical exploration of Shakespeare’s text, sounding its themes of family, aging, freedom, justice, and mercy.
Charley Patton Reviewed
Charley Patton (et al.)Screamin’ & Hollerin’ the Blues — The Worlds of Charley Patton (Revenant) It’s more than chance, but not much more. There are a number of reasons why a prewar Delta bluesman like Robert Johnson found posthumous fame while Charley Patton’s celebrity was all but buried with him. Johnson spread his music well…
The Last Texas Ranger
If you’ve never seen a real Texas Ranger, your first glimpse might be surprising. Not long ago a Ranger sergeant bumped into me in a hallway in downtown Austin. The middle-aged lawman didn’t at all fit the Western ideal. Short, round at the edges, eyeglasses, a sales clerk’s manner: He could just as easily have…
Austin @ Large: Kirk Watch
What did we tell you? Two weeks ago, the ongoing showdown of Hyde Park vs. the Baptists got stopped with a penalty flag thrown by Council Member Raul Alvarez, who got his colleagues to send the matter back to city legal staff. It’s back on the agenda this week, but curiously, while the Hyde Park…
Exhibitionism
From the first stomach-turning minute, audiences for the Vortex Repertory Company production of Shopping and Fucking are in for a rough ride; they’re witness to the horrible depths to which its characters have sunk and the desperation with which they try to claw their way out.
Revenant Records Discography
Revenant Records Discography Material newly recorded by Revenant is in the 100 series, archival material in the 200 series. Jim O’Rourke Happy Days Revenant Records No. 101, 1997 “It sounds like a close-miked hornets’ nest,” Dean Blackwood says. For fans of early minimalists like Tony Conrad, La Monte Young, and Steve Reich. Sir Richard Bishop…
Brackenridge Choice Still Pending
The city is still weighing options on how to provide reproductive services at Brackenridge.
The Hightower Lowdown
Our friends look a lot like our enemies; the Charleston Five; and burning your feet for Burger King!
On the Line
On the Line 2001, PG, 86 min. Directed by Eric Bross, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Al Green, Jerry Stiller, Dave Foley, Tamal Jones, James Bulliard, Gq, Joey Fatone, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Lance Bass. Apparently looking to extend his 15 minutes, ‘N Sync crooner Lance Bass stars in his feature-film debut as Kevin, a…
Exhibitionism
José Rivera’s References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot is a magical love story in which nature reflects human relationships, and this Refraction Arts Project production is beautiful to look at with several stand-out performances.
Dancing About Architecture
That was the week that was in the Live Music Capital…
The Other Kirk Watch
Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk returns home to Austin to pitch his senate bid … and inadvertently “retires” Glen Maxey.
The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of
A Dream Collaboration: Richard Linklater and 30 animators team up to produce a startling, surreal new film.
My First Mister
My First Mister 2001, R, 109 min. Directed by Christine Lahti, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Carol Kane, Albert Brooks, Leelee Sobieski. With critics and audiences still a-thrum over Terry Zwigoff’s mesmerizing Ghost World this is perhaps not the best time to be rolling out another quirky little tale of transgenerational love –…
