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Uttama Villain

Uttama Villain 2015, NR, 171 min. Directed by Ramesh Aravind, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Kamal Haasan, Pooja Kumar, Andrea Jeremiah. Not reviewed at press time. Tamil drama.

by Marjorie Baumgarten

The Luv Doc: Marriage

Dear Luv Doc, Should people even get married anymore? – Ricky Absolutely not, Ricky, marriage is for spineless paranoiacs with low self-esteem. It’s a bullshit gender dominance mind-fuck dreamed up by the patriarchy. I want to believe, Ricky, that you are too smart and self-assured to buy into an ancient institution created by a bunch…

by The Luv Doc

Eat Your Heart Out

Gelateria Gemelli 1009 E. Sixth, 512/535-2170; Sun.-Thu., noon-10pm; Fri.-Sat., noon-12mid www.gelateriagemelli.com This cozy spot evokes a sense of urban Italian chic with closely packed black tables, gleaming mirrors, and sleek metal accents. The enticing flavors of gelati and sorbetti are determined by the inspiration of the gelatieri (gelato makers) and the seasonal availability of organic…

by Chronicle Staff

Eat Your Heart Out

Maggie Louise Confections 1017 E. Sixth 512/840-0233 Tue.-Sat., 10am-7pm; Sun., noon-5pm www.maggielouiseconfections.com Chocolatier Maggie Louise Callahan was the first tenant to open in the Corazon building in January of this year, realizing her dream of having a storefront where she could welcome customers. Her well-established online business already boasted a devoted clientele, and the move…

by Chronicle Staff

All the Way

In Zach Theatre’s staging of this epic political drama about LBJ, the fight for civil rights feels particularly urgent

by Robert Faires

Q&A With Jill Alexander Essbaum

This spring, local poet Jill Alexander Essbaum published her first novel: Hausfrau, a beautifully haunting work of fiction that explores the desperation of a depressed expat housewife in Switzerland. We caught up with Essbaum via phone to ask about main character Anna Benz’s terrible decisions. For more of the interview, visit austinchronicle.com/daily/books. Austin Chronicle: There…

by Jessi Cape

The Graduate

It isn’t exactly like the movie, but City Theatre’s stage adaptation is well-acted and provocative

by Elissa Russell

Phases & Stages

When the Sonics last cut an LP, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Rolling Stones were redefining popular music, and the Vietnam War continued escalating. Saxophonist Rob Lind, one of three original Sonics in the current lineup, eventually shipped out to southeast Asia as a fighter pilot. Fifty years later, the Tacoma proto-punks are still recording…

by Tim Stegall

Quote of the Week

“You don’t have to be as smart as a fifth-grader to know that what causes the climate is the sun – the sun. People tell me carbon diox­ide warms the Earth. No, it doesn’t. The sun warms the Earth.” – Council Member Don Zimmerman responds to a presentation by scientist Katharine Hayhoe on how climate…

by Chronicle Staff

Phases & Stages

The 2012 divorce of Ben Gibbard and She & Him’s Zooey Deschanel, plus the late-game departure of band lieutenant Chris Walla makes Kintsugi a breakup album. The Washington Staters’ eighth LP delivers, too, even if it isn’t 2003’s weeping Transatlanticism or the barbed repression of 2000’s We Have the Facts and We’re Voting Yes. Shellacked,…

by Abby Johnston

Headlines

No regular City Council meeting this week (next is May 7), but the budget cycle has begun – staffers presented the financial and budget forecast April 22, and Council digs into the details on May 6. See “City Budget: First Forecast” and “Council: Meet Denialism Don,” May 1. The Parks & Rec Department announced this…

by Chronicle Staff

Phases & Stages

After a painful divorce, Björk Guðmundsdóttir invites us to dig through the pieces of her broken heart before choosing sides. The Icelandic wonder always demonstrates exceptional taste in collaborators, here aligning herself with space-pop producer Arca (FKA Twigs, Kanye West), and dark ambient auteur the Haxan Cloak. Though she still struggles to deliver lyrics melodically,…

by Rob Cohen

Soccer Watch

The Austin Aztex started off a four-game home­ stand Saturday with an early goal by Kris Tyrpak, and made it stand up for a 1-0 win over Colorado Springs. This Friday the Aztex kick off what should be a good new rivalry: their first of three matches this season against the Oklahoma City Energy, with…

by Nick Barbaro

Phases & Stages

Spawned by a poet/activist and a civil rights-minded law professor, and mentored by riot-inciting Tyler, the Creator, Earl Sweatshirt finally reconciles those influences and the voices inside his own head on sophomore effort I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside. At peak high and mid-puff, “Huey” sparks a mad stream of consciousness. “I’m toasted…

by Nina Hernandez

Joe Pug Review

Joe Pug Windfall (Lightning Rod) Joe Pug nearly walked away from music following 2012’s sophomore LP The Great Despiser, so the local songwriter’s new effort comes as both a welcome return and deliberate evolution. His familiar personal poignancy and darker hues still drive the songs, but Windfall achieves a more polished sense of melody from…

by Doug Freeman

Lege Goes to School: Education Bills

Taxes, finance, vouchers, graduation paths, “parent triggers,” and community schools: Lawmakers have filed a broad slate of education bills, some of which fix what they’ve earlier broken, some of which make meaningful reforms, and some of which will just cause more damage to be fixed later. Here’s a sample platter of what’s in progress in…

by Richard Whittaker

School Finance: A Timeline

1854: Texas lawmakers establish system of free (“adequate” and “equitable”) Texas public schools, under state constitution. 1973: The U.S. Supreme Court rules (San Antonio ISD v. Rodriguez) that education is not a Constitutionally protected right, meaning that school finance is an issue for states, not federal courts. 1984: The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational…

by Chronicle Staff

Eat Your Heart Out

The Bee Grocery 1001 E. Sixth, 512/861-5022 Daily, 6:30am-12mid www.thebeegrocery.com This friendly, upscale neighborhood convenience store occupies a sunny corner spot on the west end of Corazon. Proprietor Brenda Le has a background in accounting and finance, but this is her first food service venture with partner Albert Pham. The partners are still getting to…

by Chronicle Staff

Mr. Smarty Pants Knows

Submarine crewmen may develop temporarily crossed eyes on long submarine trips. A second is the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the cesium 133 atom. The citizens of Tisdale, Saskatchewan, are rethinking the town slogan, which is “Land of Rape…

by Mr. Smarty Pants

The Big Numbers (FY 2016 Forecast)

General Fund revenue/expenses: $903.6 million (+ $49.5 million over 2015) Median home value: $221,086 (FY 2015: $202,254) Property tax rate: 47.59 cents per $100 value (- 0.5 cents from FY 2015) Tax bill increase: + $6.63/month (median value home) Misc. fees (electric, water, trash, etc.): + $11.48/month Combined property tax/fee increase: + $18.11/month ($217.32/year) Budget…

by Chronicle Staff

Eat Your Heart Out

Spartan Pizza 1007 E. Sixth, 512/484-0798 Mon.-Thu., 11am-10pm; Fri.-Sat., 11am-3am; Sun., 11am-9pm www.spartanpizzaaustin.com Jeremy and Nicole Portwood are another hardworking, local entrepreneurial couple who have parlayed a food trailer success story into their first brick-and-mortar operation. Their new place is a snug spot a couple of blocks west of their former trailer location. It features…

by Chronicle Staff

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