Polyester
Polyester 1981, R, 86 min. Directed by John Waters, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Divine, Tab Hunter, Mary Vivian Pearce, Mink Stole, Stiv Bators. John Waters’ first “mainstream” film stars Divine as a suburban housewife who is driven to the point of distraction by her family and her surroundings and is susceptible to…
To Catch a Thief
To Catch a Thief 1955, NR, 106 min. D: Alfred Hitchcock; with Cary Grant, Grace Kelly. Cary Grant plays a reformed cat burglar on the French Riviera who vindicates himself from new suspicions with the help of the beautifully bedecked Grace Kelly. Hitchcock tools this mistaken-identity tale as more of a romantic comedy than a…
E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial
E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial 1982, PG, 115 min. D: Steven Spielberg; with Henry Thomas. Sweet, heartwarming, adventuresome, and joyful, E.T. tugs at the believers inside each of us. And when those kids ride their bikes over the moon – well, my heart skips a beat every time.
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension
Wonderfully fun, albeit markedly chaotic and incoherent, Buckaroo Banzai is one of those movies that has earned a strong cult reputation on the basis of its mile-a-minute cross-cultural references and pseudoscientific mumbo jumbo.
Warren Miller’s Fifty
Warren Miller’s Fifty NR, 96 min. Directed by Warren Miller, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring . The master of cutting-edge skiing films, Warren Miller, commemorates a half-century of winter sports action. In honor of his 50th skiing and snowboarding film, Fifty presents a fusion of some of the greatest moments ever captured on…
The Pornographers
The Pornographers 1966, NR, 128 min. Directed by Shohei Imamura, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Shoichi Ozawa, Sumiko Sakamoto. The Austin Film Society series examines the films of Japanese director Shohei Imamura, one of the most important ñ and least internationally known ñ post-war filmmakers. The Pornographers tells the story of a “harried…
The Getaway
The story comes from Jim Thompson’s book, and the screenplay was written by Walter Hill. The star wattage is all McQueen and MacGraw, while the propulsion is all Peckinpah.
Bill and Karen: An American Love Story
Bill and Karen: An American Love Story 1999, NR, 108 min. Directed by Jennifer Fox, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring . American Love Story is a nine-part series of 54-minute episodes of director Fox’s intimate portrait of a marriage. The series focuses on Bill Sims and Karen Wilson, a black man and a…
Live Shots
George Jones Stubb’s, October 22 “If trouble don’t kill me, Lord, I’ll live a long time.” It seems so simple. But just ask George Jones — it’s anything but. Seeking to avoid even the slightest perception of “trouble,” Jones went out of his way to reassure the sellout crowd that the strongest thing passing his…
Naked City
The Hays County Commissioners Court set a final public hearing on its draft 2025 Multi-Corridor Transportation Plan for Monday, Nov. 8, at 2pm, although it’s still uncertain whether the final document will include the controversial roadway extension of MoPac south to San Marcos. The MoPac segment was the main target for opponents of the plan,…
Bill Minutaglio
When you are first to publish a biography about the man many believe will be our next president, you expect to get some attention. But the pace of life for Bill Minutaglio, author of First Son: George W. Bush and the Bush Family Dynasty, has been nothing short of frenetic lately: 15 interviews a day…
Day Trips
River Inn Resort near Hunt is a perfect fall getaway.
Live Shots
Wanda JacksonContinental Club, October 24 It’s not very often you get to see a rockabilly legend. We lost Carl Perkins last year, Jerry Lee Lewis is showing up less frequently, and a handful of long-in-the-tooth lesser lights still make the rounds now and then. Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, Elvis — they all became plant food…
Naked City
The Zilker Neighborhood Association will hold its first Fall Zestival, with entertainment, storytelling, arts and crafts, and music, from 10am-3pm on Saturday, Nov. 6 at the Kinney Ave. Baptist Church, 1801 Kinney. Mathews Elementary School, located at 906 West Lynn, will be officially designated as an Austin Historical Landmark on Friday, Nov. 5 at 8am.…
Michael Nesmith
Michael Nesmith may be a new name on the bookshelf with his recent novel The Long Sandy Hair of Neftoon Zamora, but he should be nonetheless familiar to most folks via his portrayal of Mike, the wool-capped member of the Monkees in the cult Sixties TV show, as well as for his accomplishments as a…
About AIDS
Disease prevention remains underfunded despite public opinion.
Live Shots
Les Savy FavEmo’s, October 27 “It’s gonna be a great night!” he said, over and over, from behind a bushy red beard and gold-toned, Seventies-era aviator shades. Dressed as a sensitive and sensible New Ager, Tim Harrington, lead singer of the Brooklyn quintet Les Savy Fav, misled the close-packed Emo’s crowd into thinking they were…
Choose Your Own Adventure
A short list of the most promising games slated to hit home systems before Christmas.
Daniel Stern
Daniel Stern doesn’t regret going not going to his high school graduation. “A friend of mine asked me if I wanted to make $75 a week, going on tour. Seventy-five dollars a week was good money back then,” he explains. So Stern went on tour with Charlie Parker, playing cello in the string section at…
King Ranch
Bring your appetite and a healthy Western palate to Ranch 616.
Live Shots
Christian McBride QuartetAntone’s, October 28 Sometimes they only show up for the openers. Often, they only show up for the headliners. Occasionally, the openers are headliners. Such was the case on what started out as a quiet, empty, smoke-free Thursday evening at Antone’s. When jazz bassist Christian McBride and his backing trio took the stage…
Game Over for Mac Gaming?
“To be a Mac gamer right now is to be hunted, cold, wet, and unsure of where your next fix is coming from.” These are the words of a local Mac salesman, a former Mac zealot, and a would-be PC defector. He is tired of waiting for last year’s popular PC games to be translated…
Texas Book Festival Schedule
All events take place on Capitol grounds and are free and open to the public. Check the information booth at 12th and Colorado for program directories and locations of specific panels and readings or access http://www.austin360.com/texasbookfestival. Saturday Time Panel/Reading Authors/Panelists 10:30-11:20am Stories From the Southwest Joe C. Hayes 10:30-11:30am Reading Horton Foote, Farewell 11am-Noon Food,…
Food-o-File
What to eat and who to see during the Texas Book Festival, November 6-7; how to procure the first certified organic beef in the state of Texas; and updates on local restaurant news.
Live Shots
Don Walser Grand Ole Opry, Nashville, Tennessee, October 30 Despite the fact that country music has taken a turn away from its roots and hit a slide in popularity, the Grand Ole Opry continues to hold the torch for the music’s tradition. In fact, the show is pretty much the same as it ever was.…
Short Cuts
Upcoming events and workshops of interest to the Austin film community.
Postscripts
How Texas playwright Horton Foote is being honored during this weekend’s Texas Book Festival; details on the O.Henry Museum’s designation as a National Literary Landmark; and this month’s Poetry on the Plaza at UT’s Humanities Research Center.
Saigon Kitchen
Mick Vann likes what he finds at Saigon Kitchen.
Drug Warriors
Hays County drug war is costing lives and money.
Video Reviews
(“Video Reviews” wishes to thank Encore Movies & Music, I Video, Vulcan Video, and Waterloo Video for their help in providing videos, laser discs, and DVDs.)Dangerous LiaisonsD: Stephen Frears (1988); with Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer, Swoosie Kurtz, Keanu Reeves, Uma Thurman.Jennifer EightD: Bruce Robinson (1992); with Andy Garcia, Lance Henriksen, Uma Thurman, Graham…
In Person
Last week Edmund Morris, the author of Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan, read from his controversial biography at BookPeople; Clay Smith reports from the scene.
Breakfast of Champions
Breakfast of Champions 1999, R, 114 min. Directed by Alan Rudolph, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Bruce Willis, Albert Finney, Nick Nolte, Barbara Hershey, Glenne Headly, Lukas Haas, Omar Epps, Buck Henry, Vicki Lewis. As failed screen adaptations of Kurt Vonnegut Jr. novels go, Breakfast of Champions fails in a pretty spectacular manner…
Business Isn�t Booming
Has Austin/Travis County won the drug war, or just given up on it? Clearly, most accounts indicate that “zero tolerance” doesn’t carry the same urgency here that it does in Hays County. Last year, for instance, the Austin Police Department ditched its $500,000 DARE program due to — the company line goes — resource problems.…
TV Eye
The world is not ending anytime soon — but neither are television specials about the twilight of the millennium.
Off the Bookshelf
Ethel & Ernest: A True Story by Raymond Briggs Knopf, 104 pp., $21 The 30 minutes it takes to read this graphic novel, a recollection of the author’s parents’ working-class marriage, seem like many more. Ethel & Ernest is far from dense and never drags, but Briggs’ eye for detail is so fine and elusive…
The Insider
The Insider 1999, R, 157 min. Directed by Michael Mann, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Al Pacino, Russell Crowe, Christopher Plummer, Philip Baker Hall, Diane Venora, Debi Mazar, Colm Feore, Rip Torn. Walking out of The Insider the other day, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d just sat through an awfully long,…
Drug Arrests 1980-95
These skyrocketing arrest figures would seem to reflect a national increase in drug use. But in fact, standard drug surveys indicate that between 1979 and 1990, the percentage of the population that reported “using drugs in the past month” dropped from 14.1% to 6.7%, falling to 6.1% by 1995, according to the Substance Abuse and…
Dreaming ART
This year in Austin, autumn brings a Spring Storm, and with it Actors Repertory of Texas, the realization of the city’s long-cherished dream of a locally based professional theatre company.
Off the Bookshelf
How the Heather Looks: A Joyous Journey to the British Sources of Children’s Books by Joan Bodger McClelland & Stewart, 304 pp. $23.95 Originally published in 1965 and recently reprinted, Joan Bodger’s charming How the Heather Looks recounts the pilgrimage Bodger took with her family across Britain (from Cornwall to Nottingham to Scotland) in hopes…
Being John Malkovich
Being John Malkovich 1999, R, 112 min. D: Spike Jonze; with John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, John Malkovich, Catherine Keener. Rarely is there a movie about which you can honestly say that it’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before. Being John Malkovich is one such movie — a wildly inventive, unrelenting thrill that amazes us with…
Million-Dollar Man
AG press spokesman Ted Delisi also works as a campaign consultant to George Bush.
Articulations
Remembering Esther’s Follies comedienne Margaret Wiley, who died November 2.
Off the Bookshelf
England, England by Julian Barnes Knopf, 275 pp., $23 The British empire is fading, and patriotic entrepreneur Jack Pitman can’t stand to see it go. His last great project, he vows, will restore England’s international prominence, and make him some serious money in the process. The project? A miniature recreation of England as a tourist…
The Omega Code
The Omega Code 1999, PG-13, 99 min. Directed by Robert Marcarelli, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Catherine Oxenberg, Michael Ironside, Michael York, Casper Van Dien. The irony here is that even if Hollywood learns a marketing lesson from Gener8Xion Entertainment’s startling grassroots hit it may not matter. Assuming that The Omega Code’s basic…
Second Helpings: American Cafes
Tasty, bite-sized restaurant listings compiled from new and previous reviews, guides, and poll results. This week’s entries were compiled by Barbara Chisholm. When you need quick, reliable information about Austin eateries, check here. 34th Street Cafe 1005 W. 34th, 371-3400 Mon-Fri, 11am-6pm; Sat, 11am-4pm 34th Street Cafe is the perfect setting for a quick, informal…
Council Watch
Council hears light rail report, questions legal fees on LCRA water deal and snorts at proposal to have new car displays in baggage claim area of airport.
Exhibitionism
Ada Calhoun examines the Alley Theatre’s touring production of A View From the Bridge.
Off the Bookshelf
Best of the Britcoms: From Fawlty Towers to Absolutely Fabulous by Garry Berman Taylor Publishing, 140 pp., $18.95 (paper) The Britcom has an edge, a fearlessness; unlike its American cousins (with the exception of Married With Children) it’s not afraid to show people as they really are — flawed, ugly, fat — and to wring…
House on Haunted Hill
House on Haunted Hill 1999, R, 96 min. Directed by William Malone, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Geoffrey Rush, Famke Janssen, Taye Diggs, Peter Gallagher, Bridgette Wilson, Ali Larter, Chris Kattan, Jeffrey Combs, Lisa Loeb. The nicest thing I can say about this remake of William Castle’s 1958 shocker is that Geoffrey Rush,…
The Coffeehouse Chronicles
Intrepid coffeehouse chronicler Pableaux Johnson provides the lowdown on Flipnotics Coffeespace Cafe.
Naked City
The Austin Peace and Justice Coalition is coordinating the bus trip to Georgia for the mass demonstration calling for the closure of the School of the Americas, TxDOT’s Web site gets hundreds of new visitors curious about I-35 improvement projects, and the Austin Design Commission completes its proposed set of downtown design guidelines.
Exhibitionism
Barbejoy A. Polnzio explores time, motion, and sound through the Ariel Dance Theatre production of Red Light / Green Light and the Walter Thompson Orchestra’s Sound Painting
Local Bestsellers
Local bestsellers are based on recent sales at Austin bookstores selected to reflect varied reading interests. This week’s list of bestsellers is from Adventures in Crime and Space Books, 609-A W. Sixth.
The Bone Collector
The Bone Collector 1999, R, 118 min. Directed by Philip Noyce, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Ed O’Neill, Leland Orser, Luis Guzman, Mike Mcglone, Michael Rooker, Queen Latifah, Angelina Jolie, Denzel Washington. What if Alfred Hitchcock and David Fincher gave a party and nobody came? They’d probably be stuck bandying about script ideas…
Say Hello to Kitty
Join Austin writer Anna Hanks in her desperate search for the “Hello Kitty” hotline.
Naked City
Your daughter sits at a table of laughing children, shaving cream slathered on her cheeks and chin like a spongy white beard. This morning was one of those days (temper tantrums, tearful goodbyes), but for her, that fiasco is ancient history. This makes you smile. You watch a few more minutes, breathe deeply, and log…
A World of Texas
Profiles of seven writers attending this year’s Texas Book Festival
Page Two
Ooooh, politics.
Poké Who?
Despite my Hello Kitty fixation (Did you know that Hello Kitty lives in London?), even I am forced to admit that there are other inhabitants in the Sanrio Universe. Designed to appeal to Sanrio’s core 9-13 year old customers, each of these characters created by the Japanese toy giant are just as important in their…
Naked City
Austin-area voters, stung by a 12 cent property tax increase imposed by the Austin Independent School District just six weeks ago, rejected a proposed five-cent tax hike that Austin Community College board members said would have allowed the school to expand its course offerings, build badly needed facilities, and increase financial aid to some of…
Kathleen Peirce
Kathleen Peirce didn’t always have the power to see and say everything. As a little girl, she even had some trouble learning to read time. One day, her mother brought home a wooden clock that housed a pink ballerina in a pretty glass case. Like a music box, the clock chimed away tunes while the…
Public Notice
This week’s breast cancer benefits sing the body electric; mother’s help others; pixie dust, and more.
Complete Freedom
A profile of Bad Livers banjo player Danny Barnes
Naked City
Flinging algae might get you arrested on the University of Texas campus, but it doesn’t carry much weight in court. At least that appears to be the lesson from two arrests made by the UT Police Dept. last Friday — of two Austin men who were protesting on campus against New Orleans-based Freeport-McMoRan Copper &…
Peter Matthiessen
Peter Matthiessen’s obsessions continue. Though the Sagaponack, New York-based writer this year published Bone by Bone, the third in a trilogy of novels exploring the life and death of legendary Florida badman E. J. Watson, he confessed recently that he is still not quite finished with the story — and the man — he has…
After a Fashion
Crusading for better customer service
Against the Grain
A profile of Bad Livers bassist Mark Rubin
Naked City
Hanging with George W. Bush can be dangerous. On Monday, while Bush was running around Austin’s Town Lake, a trailer loaded with construction debris lost control and tipped right in front of him, sending debris onto the jogging path. Bush suffered minor bruises and cuts to his right leg and hip. However, his bodyguard, Roscoe…
James Carlos Blake
James Carlos Blake writes novels about violent men living in violent times. His stories take the reader into a whirlwind of war, revolution, crime, and dark mayhem in an environment where civilization is either absent or fighting a losing battle with the wilderness and the men who thrive in such places. The violence is sudden…
Coach’s Corner
No sympathy for Pete Rose
Dancing About Architecture
The Butthole Surfers find themselves uncovered, Don Walser takes a dive, and time and music march on.
Naked City
The KOOP radio controversy took another twist last Friday, Oct. 29, when station founder Jim Ellinger — who was recently barred from entering the station after being suspended from his program by the station’s trustees — was arrested on a charge of harassment, a class B misdemeanor. Austin Police Dept. officials would not describe the…
Annette Sanford
“She will tell you that she is not a prolific writer,” Kathryn Lang, Annette Sanford’s editor at Southern Methodist University Press in Dallas, told me when I called to ask her about this unassuming, purposeful writer. “I think I look at life in the small picture,” is how Sanford puts it, but either way, this…
Mr. Smarty Pants
I’ve never met Willie Nelson either.
