Light of Day
Light of Day 1987, PG-13, 107 min. Directed by Paul Schrader, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Michael J. Fox, Gena Rowlands, Joan Jett, Michael McKean, Thomas G. Waites, Cherry Jones, Michael Dolan, Jason Miller, Michael Rooker. Despite popular disregard for this Paul Schrader blend of family melodrama and rock & roll, some of…
Nuit Du Destin, La
Nuit Du Destin, La NR, 90 min. Directed by Abdelkrim Bahloul, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Philippe Volter, Boris Terral, Gamil Ratib, Sonia Mankaï, Marie-José Nat. Simultaneously a political thriller, a family drama, and a realistic portrait of race relations in northern Paris, this French film examines the social and ethical dilemmas of…
Pièces D’identité
Pièces D’identité NR, 97 min. Directed by Mweze Ngangura, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Jean-Louis Daulne, Gérard Essomba, Herbert Flack, Mwanza Goutier, Cecilia Kankonda, Thilombo Lubambu, Dominique Mesa, David Steegen. Set in the Zairean quarter of Brussels, this film addresses issues relating to the African diaspora. A Zairean king arrives in Brussels in…
Samurai X: Trust
Samurai X: Trust NR. Directed by Various, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring . ADV films, the Texas-based anime distributor, presents a video screening of one of their latest manga titles: a double feature of Samurai X films, for whom the Austin office provides the voice talent. The story centers around Rurouni Kenshin, a…
Samurai X: Betrayal
Samurai X: Betrayal NR. Directed by Various, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring . ADV films, the Texas-based anime distributor, presents a video screening of one of their latest manga titles: a double feature of Samurai X films, for whom the Austin office provides the voice talent. The story centers around Rurouni Kenshin, a…
Book Reviews
The Island of Lost Maps: A True Story of Cartographic Crime by Miles Harvey Random House, 405 pp., $24.95 In December 1995, Gilbert Bland Jr. was apprehended in Baltimore after stealing several maps from Johns Hopkins University’s George Peabody Library. This news item, in itself, seems unremarkable given the depth and breadth of crimes that…
Food-o-File
Four Austin restaurants are among the best in Texas, according to Gourmet magazine. Virginia B. Wood reveals which ones and updates readers on Austin’s culinary news.
Live Shots
16 HorsepowerStubb’s, September 30 If Jesus tools around heaven on a lawnmower like George Jones going to the neighborhood bar, 16 Horsepower is the CD in his Walkman. “It’s no sin to be forgiven,” professed lyricist, lead singer, guitarist, accordionist, and banjo-picker David Eugene Edwards about midway through his 80-minute sermon so late Saturday it…
Touched by a Charlie’s Angel
John August, screenwriter of Go and the upcoming Charlie’s Angels, on breaking into the biz and turning pop culture into mainstream cinema.
Book Reviews
The Devil’s Tiger by Robert Flynn and Dan Klepper TCU Press, 332 pp., $24.95 The subject is tigers. Siberian tigers (an endangered species), bound from Russia to American zoos. The first stop is a Texas zoo, and the airplane from Russia is due in Houston when the unthinkable happens: A storm causes a violent cargo…
Mini-Review
Barbecue! Bible: Sauces, Rubs and Marinades, Bastes, Butters & Glazes by Steven Raichlen Workman Publishing, 320 pp., $12.95 (paper) The guy who wrote the Bible — make that The Barbecue! Bible (1998) — has struck again. Steven Raichlen, the undisputed master guru of global grilling, has recently released Barbecue! Bible: Sauces, Rubs, and Marinades, Bastes,…
The Hightower Lowdown
Over the Counter Fraud; Shell Games
Strength of Character
Like John Irving, Peter Hedges can create characters with such depth and originality it�s as if you have spent a lifetime in search of their company.
Off the Bookshelf
The Greatest of Marlys by Lynda Barry Sasquatch Books, 224 pp., $15.95 (paper) She has bumps of a mysterious nature all over her body and her joints seem to be made of a bizarre, elastic-like material. She thinks gasoline has a “gorgeous” smell and she uses lard to shine her shoes. Dag, that Marlys is…
Liquid Assets
October is Texas Wine Month. Why not celebrate it by taking the Texas Wine Trail? Beautiful weather, a pretty drive, and some delicious wines await.
Rerun at the D.A. Corral
Republican Shane Phelps challenges Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle for a second time, and seems to be trailing.
A Night at the Opera
Jon Else’s Sing Faster, showing this Wednesday as part of the Texas Documentary Tour, shows us opera Like we’ve never seen it before from the stagehands’ perspective.
Off the Bookshelf
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami, translated by Jay Rubin Vintage, 293 pp., $13 (paper) When several of Toru Watanabe’s friends commit suicide, he feels as is their ghosts are haunting him and pulling his spirits down. He struggles to live beyond the grasp of death by retreating to nature and connecting to passionate women. His…
Poetry in Emotion
Katherine Catmull never intended to pursue a career in acting. In fact, she seriously avoided it for as long as she could, choosing instead to earn her degree in English literature. Why is revealed in this profile of one of Austin’s most sophisticated and literate performers.
Earle v. Phelps
Comparing the candidates
Short Cuts
Mad Scramble Dept.: Both the seventh annual Austin Film Festival and Heart of Film Screenwriters Conference and the Cinematexas 2000 Short Film + Video Festival are approaching at roughly the speed of some Michael Bay-esque, space-borne monstrosity (somewhere around 24fps, we’ll assume), both promising to swamp local theatres with frenzied moviegoers, tipsy screenwriters, and wary…
Off the Bookshelf
The Happy Bottom Riding Club The Life and Times of Pancho Barnes by Lauren Kessler Random House, 305 pp., $24.95 A writer prays to be graced with a subject like Florence “Pancho” Barnes. Born into privilege and wealth, Florence Mae Dobbins managed at an early age to set herself apart from other girls with her…
Articulations
The Blanton Museum of Art gets an architect (for the second time), and the Paramount and State theatres move a step closer to partnership.
Capital Convictions
The death penalty in Travis County
Video Reviews
Blue Collar D: Paul Schrader (1978); with Richard Pryor, Yaphet Kotto, Harvey Keitel, Ed Begley Jr., Borah Silver. Paul Schrader’s directorial debut is an unexpectedly gritty working-class melodrama set in Detroit. Zeke (Pryor), Smokey (Kotto), and Jerry (Keitel) are three best buddies who toil away on the Checker Cab production line in the Motor City.…
Off the Bookshelf
Véra (Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov) by Stacy Schiff Modern Library, 456 pp., $14.95 (paper) When Vladimir Nabokov was once asked by a fatuous interviewer if he could say how important his wife had been as a collaborator in his work, he replied, “No, I could not.” He spoke no lie; it would have been impossible for…
Exhibitionism
The performers in Austin Musical Theatre�s revival of A Chorus Line dance and sing and act, well, like they have been doing this on Broadway stages all their careers. But poor tech and dated writing make this once-groundbreaking musical appear to be languishing in its former glory.
Juvenile Justice?
The fate of Lacresha Murray remains in a holding pattern as D.A. Ronnie Earle ponders how to proceed on a case that has brought him national criticism.
Video Reviews
Soul Vengeanceaka Welcome Home Brother Charles D: Jamaa Fanaka (1975); with Marlo Monte, Reatha Grey, Stan Kamber. This strange film is worth a peek considering its sick yet very original plot. Also known as Welcome Home Brother Charles (a much better title), it’s not the usual Brother-Getting-Revenge-on-The-Man story. The opening credits indicate that. No wah-wah…
Local Bestsellers
Local bestsellers are based on recent sales at Austin bookstores selected to reflect varied reading interests.
Out of Left Field
Tim Walker looks at this abysmal year in Texas baseball.
Death Row by the Numbers
Current Inmates on Death Row Convicted in Major Urban Counties
TV Eye
For working-class people who didn’t get a college education handed to them, CBS’ That’s Life rings true. Also, reports on the loss of UPN in Austin, the upcoming Larry David series, and Buffy & Angel season premieres.
In Person
508 Center Street in Kyle, Texas, was Katherine Anne Porter’s home from 1892 to 1902. But last Wednesday, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie Proulx was on hand to officially open it to the public.
Field of Dreams
One summer, some time ago when I lived in New York City, I walked with a friend through Central Park. We passed by a ballfield filled with players in crisp green uniforms. A baseball game was in progress. My friend mentioned how he’d like to join in. As he lamented over his missed opportunity to…
Totally PC
When it comes to city planning, nothing’s constant but change.
Dancer in the Dark
Björk goes goes to the death chamber in musical interludes.
Page Two
It’s time to start thinking of the upcoming election’s other candidates and issues.
Radio, Radio
Satellite radio, the burgeoning technology that may ultimately shake up the broadcast world the most, is right around the corner.
Naked City
S.O.S vows to fight Stratus deal on Edwards Aquifer land, TARAL supports pro-choice candidates and raises money.
Meet the Parents
Meet the Parents 2000, PG-13, 107 min. Directed by Jay Roach, Starring Phyllis George, Owen Wilson, Jon Abrahams, James Rebhorn, Teri Polo, Blythe Danner, Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro. When it is good, it is very, very good — and funny. But when it is not, Meet the Parents just feels like one long joke…
Second Helpings: Coffeehouses
Where to get coffee that is “really more like Al Green than coffee” and other mysteries of Austin coffeehouses.
Public Notice
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, among other things, and “Public Notice” wants you to feel the love.
Trio 2000
Q&A with one of jazz’s premier guitarists.
Naked City
In the contest for 390th District Judge, both Karrie Key and Julie Kocurek have big-name support.
Human Resources
Human Resources 2000, NR, 100 min. Directed by Laurent Cantet, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Chantal Barre, Jean-Claude Vallod, Jalil Lespert. How you respond to Human Resources will have much to do with how fascinating you find the intricate ballet between workers and management. Set in a small, French, industrial town during that…
Exhibitionism
In its new staging of Samuel Beckett’s signature play Waiting for Godot, the Gate Theatre Company of Dublin has succeeded in creating a definitive production of a major theatrical work.
After a Fashion
A recent gala IDoL-ized Austin fashionistas.
Leaving Town
On the verge of their hard-earned future, Dexter Freebish contemplates a life of Saturdays.
Naked City
Austin’s modern history of crimes against trees wends its way through the Treaty Oak arborcide of the late Eighties back to the mass murder of the late Sixties, when UT Regent Chair Frank Erwin routed a group of students out of a grove of oaks and cypresses he wanted bulldozed to make room for the…
Time Regained
Time Regained 1999, NR, 165 min. Directed by Raoul Ruiz, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Pascal Greggory, Vincent Perez, John Malkovich, Catherine Deneuve, Chiara Mastroianni, Emmanuelle Beart, Marcello Mazzarella. Now here’s one with box-office dynamite written all over it. A subtitled, two-hour-and-40-minute French adaptation of an eight-novel series so legendarily hard to wade…
Exhibitionism
There was so much to enjoy in the Gate Theatre of Dublin’s production of Samuel Beckett’s play Krapp’s Last Tape, most particularly David Kelly’s poignant, honest, simple, straightforward, performance as Krapp, but understanding the tape itself was so difficult that it almost destroyed the experience.
Mr. Smarty Pants
Alert Jerry Falwell! More Teletubbies debauchery!
Dancing About Architecture
Austin’s live music scene turns up missing.
Naked City
Williamson County and Travis County’s bond proposals deal almost exclusively with building more lanes for car traffic.
With Style
“As corny as it sounds, I have to say that my life changed 14 years ago,” Anne S. Lewis writes, “the day my bike tire blew out — the second time in one week — right in front of John Trimble’s house. I’d never heard of the author of the venerable Writing With Style book…
Day Trips
A heroic swimmer falls from grace and becomes addicted to dope. A story ripped from the Olympic headlines? Why no, it’s the strange tale of Priscilla the Pig, whose memory is enshrined in a Houston home.
Live Shots
Chuck ProphetCactus Cafe, September 26 Chuck Prophet has quite a few friends among the musicians of Austin. How else does one explain the large turnout of locals like Alejandro Escovedo, Beaver Nelson, Ethan Azarian, the Derailers’ Mark Horn, Lisa Mednick, and Kevin Carroll among others, when the Cactus was less than half full. Perhaps the…
Naked City
Gary Bradley fires back in the ongoing battle over who will control ranchland claimed by Hatsy Heep Shaffer, but it will be a while, if ever, before the Circle C developer can implement his development plans for the land.
Postscripts
Upcoming literary events in Austin.
About AIDS
Then along comes the right wing in South Carolina and bingo!, one step backward.
Live Shots
TravisStubb’s, September 27 How do you not adore Travis? The lead singer Franny, an elfin boy with a funny haircut, dimples undaunted by weeks of road scruff, and baby, baby, baby blues, is a pop boy toting a rock yowl. The bassist — Dougie! — is the bouncy sort whose smile engulfs his entire face,…
Naked City
Three bonds proposals up on the city ballot Nov. 7 may strike a sense of deja vu in longtime Austinites.
Book Reviews
The Night Listener by Armistead Maupin HarperCollins, 352 pp., $26 Armistead Maupin’s novels have always gone down smooth, easy, and fast. His latest, only the second novel he has written that is not a part of the beloved Tales of the City saga, is no exception. The book’s narrator is Gabriel Noone, a successful, middle-aged…
Coach’s Corner
Ratings, schmatings! Why the big obsession about how many people are watching which sporting events on TV?
Live Shots
BT, HooverphonicLa Zona Rosa, September 28 There comes a time when what was born underground slowly slips out of our collective, so-cool grasp and warps into a more palatable, facile format. Whether you want to admit it or not, Elvis begat Fabian as sure as the Sex Pistols’ sonic jizz-stream stank its way downward to…
Naked City
After months of litigation over who owns what portion of the Sand Beach Reserve on Town Lake, Lumbermen’s Development Corp. has offered the city a deal. Also: the council discusses a settlement with Stratus properties over development on their land over the aquifer, and the city amends the camping ordinance.
Book Reviews
The Schools Our Children Deserve: Moving Beyond Traditional Classrooms and “Tougher Standards” by Alfie Kohn Mariner Books, 288 pp., $14 (paper) In Texas — and indeed, in the U.S. — our public education system is killing our kids’ ability and interest in learning. In fact, just stroll into the school of your choice and you’d…
Operatic Success
La Traviata, a new Italian Trattoria in downton Austin, is a smashing new eatery which hopefully has many years of innovation and success ahead.
Live Shots
Yo La Tengo La Zona Rosa, September 29 Love was in the air, even as the freaks came marching down. Near the conclusion of a wildly uneven opening set, quixotic New Zealander Chris Knox of the Tall Dwarfs recruited a random guitarist (he introduced himself as Sean), quickly taught him a song, hand-picked some girl…
Altman Speaks!
The ultimate indie director shoots straight about breaking into the business, staying there, and loving it.
