QTIII: No, it’s not a reference to that world-famous ocean liner. But it does signify that other world-famous land cruiser: Quentin Tarantino. He’s back — or will be back, to be more exact. From February 19-27, Tarantino will return to Austin for his third annual festival during which he will show 30 movies from his personal collection over a 10-day period at the Alamo Drafthouse. As they have in the past, the proceeds from the festival will benefit the Austin Film Society‘s free cinema series. This only-in-Austin event has a unique flavor as Tarantino presents his offbeat favorites with his inimitable enthusiasm and knowledge. The movies will screen on each of the weeknights, three on the two Friday nights and all night long on the Saturdays. Showtimes, film titles, and ticket prices will be announced as soon as the information is available. However, you can count on the fact that Film Society members will get first dibs on the tickets, so if you’re not presently a member, now might be a good time to consider joining up. Call 322-0145 for membership info… “Chemical Generation” is the title of a new rave culture narrative program directed by former Austinite Tara Veneruso (Janis Joplin Slept Here) that is available on the Web. Produced for the innovative local company, InterneTV, “Chemical Generation” joins the site’s other Internet-only programming, the slacker soap opera “Austin” and the rave culture documentary “PLUR.” The programs can be accessed using Real Video or Vivo streaming video plug-ins. See (http://www.internetv.com) to check it out…
This past holiday season certainly proved that online shopping is a growing enterprise. Now Unmall.com, a locally run Web site (http://www.unmall.com), has gathered more than 60 Austin businesses in a local virtual shopping mall. Over 60 small Austin businesses are presented on the site with photo galleries of their products and over half (at present) are able to sell their products online. It brings a new ease to window shopping and also offers giveaways and discounts not available anywhere else. It also helps keep our Austin dollars in Austin… Top Ten lists, Top Nine lists — it’s all so orderly, it’s all so arbitrary. Yes, it allows the best of the year to reveal itself with clarity, but the process always makes me feel so badly for the movies that have only mere brushes with greatness, the movies that I love for their ambitions, their quirks, their momentary triumphs, and their individuality. So here is my addendum to my Top Nine list, a rundown of the movies that are important to my appreciation of the year 1998: (in alphabetical order) American Job; Buffalo ’66; Bulworth; The Butcher Boy; Dancer, Texas Pop. 81; Deconstructing Harry; Deep Crimson; Ever After;Fallen Angels; Forgotten Silver; Funny Games; The Gingerbread Man; Fireworks; High Art; Illtown; The Inheritors; Junk Mail; Killer Condom;Life Is Beautiful; Love and Death on Long Island;Mary Jane’s Not a Virgin Anymore; Moon Over Broadway; Nights of Cabiria; One True Thing; Oscar and Lucinda; Pi (*); Safe Men; Sick: The Life and Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist;Slums of Beverly Hills; Smoke Signals; There’s Something About Mary; Touch of Evil; Underground; Wag the Dog; Wilde(which happens to be showing at the Paramount on Tuesday as part of the “Walk on the Wilde Side” Festival); Without Limits; and Zero Effect. All these movies have given me some reason or other to pause and I’m sure that there are others that I’ve neglected to include. The point is that there are lots of good movies out there waiting to be found. You just have to be willing to meet them halfway.
This article appears in 1998.
