Men of Honor

"...and the details. There's a gung-ho, Audie Murphy, do-or-die spirit to the film that overrides reality. Every scene is..."

Nov. 10, 2000 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Fastpitch

"...players' heartland camaraderie, shotgunned cans of Genessee, and indomitable spirit: “A purity,” the narration declares, “that's hard to find..."

Oct. 13, 2000 Movie Review by Marrit Ingman

Life Is Beautiful

Life Is Beautiful is the drama every comic probably wishes he had made. In this life-affirming Italian "concentration-camp comedy," Benigni uses the Holocaust as a backdrop for telling a heartfelt story about a father who protects his son from the gas chambers by the use of the only weapons at his command: his quick imagination, outlandish buffoonery, and scrappy determination.

"...but a testament to the magnitude of the human spirit. In so doing, Benigni obscures most of the harsh..."

Nov. 6, 1998 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Hands on a Hard Body

Unpretentious insight into the nature of human aspiration can be found in Bindler's documentary about the yearly contest in which Jack Long Nissan of Longview, Texas, gives a new hard body pickup to whomever can keep his or her hands on it the longest.

"...just now seeing theatrical release. (The movie launches its world theatrical premiere in Austin this Friday.) Hands documents the..."

July 10, 1998 Movie Review by Russell Smith

Traveller

"...(Askew), who tends the homefront. Seeking admittance into this world is the young outsider Pat (Wahlberg), whom Bokky --..."

April 18, 1997 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

"...is the only thing of his kind in the world. Writers Steph Lady and Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption)..."

Nov. 11, 1994 Movie Review by Robert Faires

Jurassic Park

It's every species for themselves in this Spielberg dinosaur blockbuster now out in 3-D.

"...the beasts into the greatest amusement park in the world, he invites a team of dino experts (Neill and..."

June 11, 1993 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

A Cookbook a Day Keeps the Munchies at Bay

Texas Book Festival showcases seven food books from around the world

"...of Franklin's favorite places to eat steak around the world scattered throughout the book. He doesn't even begin to..."

Oct. 25, 2019 Food Feature by Emily Beyda

Drinking Local: A Cocktail’s Footprint

Where in the world are these cocktail ingredients from?

"...around town to find out from where in the world they're sourcing their ingredients. Small Victory: Singapore Sling..."

July 13, 2018 Food Feature by R.T. Frank

Big Stone Gap

An Appalachian "spinster" learns the truth about her past

"...Ave thought she knew about her place in the world...."

Oct. 16, 2015 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

How to Lose Friends & Alienate People

This comedy starring Simon Pegg is based on Toby Young's memoir about working at Vanity Fair.

"...as a snarky, pitch-perfect, borderline insufferable tonic for a world gone mad on celebrity addiction. It was full of..."

Oct. 10, 2008 Movie Review by Josh Rosenblatt

Deck the Halls

It's like Neighbors, except with more Christmas lights and Danny DeVito.

"...movies is that regardless of how crass, vulgar, or mean-spirited they may be, by the last scene they will..."

Dec. 1, 2006 Movie Review by Josh Rosenblatt

Spy Kids

The first entry in Rodriguez's kids action movie remains the best in the series.

"...bar for what's cool and acceptable in the all-too-placid world of the kids film market...."

March 30, 2001 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

This Is Who We Are #1: Rude Mechs' Big Love

A daily affirmation of Austin's creativity from the Chronicle archive

"...sharing art online – which speaks to Austin's driving spirit of creativity. In tribute to that spirit, this series..."

May 4, 2020 Arts Post by Robert Faires

The Lone Ranger

The Lone Ranger is a Western without a compass.

"...the end of the line where he encounters a world both comic and violent, guided into the spirit world..."

July 5, 2013 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Texas Gets Spirited Away

Taste-testing Texas liquors against the world

"...all available now, and shortly we'll be seeing cask-aged spirits, boozed Popsicles, and gin. We're always happy to see..."

Dec. 28, 2007 Food Feature by Wes Marshall

Halfway Home

The Los Angeles County of Art's exhibition "The Road to Aztlan, Art From a Mythic Homeland" includes a wondrous survey of pre-conquest Mesoamerican art, but when it comes to contemporary Chicano works, the "road" doesn't take us all the way home.

"...rich history of their indigenous roots, and postulated a world composed of "the definitive race ... built out of..."

Nov. 23, 2001 Arts Feature by Belinda Acosta

This Is Who We Are #10: Austin Lyric Opera's Candide

A daily affirmation of Austin's creativity from the Chronicle archive

"...sharing art online – which speaks to Austin's driving spirit of creativity. In tribute to that spirit, this series..."

May 19, 2020 Arts Post by Robert Faires

Hellboy

Hellboy is back, and this time he's R-rated

"...to this version, which feels closer in detail and spirit to the comics. Director Neil Marshall (The Descent and..."

April 19, 2019 Movie Review by Richard Whittaker

Celebrate Bastille Day in Austin

Parlez-vous français?

"...folks, it’s Bastille Day – a celebration of the world’s most famous jailbreak, your yearly chance to eat some..."

July 13, 2018 Food Post by Emily Beyda

Chicken With Plums

From the makers of the animated Persepolis comes this modern-day, live-action Arabian tale.

"...is the multifaceted performance of Mathieu Amalric as the world-renowned Iranian violinist Nasser-Ali, who one day decides to quit..."

Sept. 21, 2012 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

The Mighty Macs

This film tells the story of rookie basketball coach and future Hall of Famer Cathy Rush who led the women of Immaculata College to three consecutive national championships from 1972 to 1974.

"...conclusion, there are only the performances and the sisters-doing-it-for-themselves spirit to bolster The Mighty Macs. As the abbess of..."

Oct. 21, 2011 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Women Without Men

Although this film set in 1953 Iran is visually compelling, its story about four different women is slight and emblematic.

"...who has trouble finding her own path in the world. Zarin (Toth) is a prostitute who impulsively flees her..."

Oct. 8, 2010 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

The Last Sin Eater

Jesus Christ, the original sin eater, has his hands full with a bunch of superstitious Appalachian immigrants from Wales in the 1850s.

"...living in the American Appalachians during the 1850s. Old World customs and superstitions still govern their rural lives, and..."

Feb. 9, 2007 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Flicka

Girls and their horses. They're grist for this new update of Mary O'Hara's beloved novel My Friend Flicka.

"...Ryan Kwanten, Daniel Pino and Dallas Roberts. Does the world need another movie about a girl and her horse?..."

Oct. 27, 2006 Movie Review by Toddy Burton

United 93

United 93 is a sober, humanistic portrait of America’s literal “first responders,” who in an instant were forced to wrap their heads around a new, unfathomable reality.

"...them into heroes in the service of rousing national spirit in the manner of many of our politicians, who..."

April 28, 2006 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

The Notorious Bettie Page

Gretchen Mol dazzles as the titular pinup girl, but the film raises many more questions about the enigmatic icon than it answers.

"...Kefauver's Subcommittee and her eventual exit from the pinup world. Like Page, Mol is clearly, delightfully unashamed of her..."

April 21, 2006 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

A Good Woman

Oscar Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan is here set among Jazz Age expatriates cold-chillin' on the Italian coast, and the result is not quite as dishy as one might hope.

"...sincerity but also evinces the kind of loopy, what-the-hell spirit every eccentric millionaire should possess. Hunt is no more..."

Feb. 3, 2006 Movie Review by Marrit Ingman

Mambo's Mojo

"...than ever. On that song, "Just a Dream" [from Spirit World], the last verse is about Mambo. I wrote..."

Feb. 22, 2002 Music Feature by Margaret Moser

Thomas and the Magic Railroad

"...for help in solving the many mysteries of Thomas' world while standing in a flower pot. I'd have offered..."

July 28, 2000 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

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