There are two theories behind the Hollywood mistreatment of Julia Roberts’ latest vehicle, Mary Reilly: Either the studio, TriStar, shot several endings because the film sucked, or because its fitful, mischievous tone wouldn’t suit Julia Roberts fans. The movie was pulled from its original release date last summer and subjected…
thursday february 29 Ad-Libs Ninth Anniversary: Having any kind of business survive for nine years is an impressive accomplishment, but when you consider said enterprise is an improvisational comedy troupe, that’s an even bigger deal. When Phil Larsson and his buddies started Ad-Libs in 1987, the live-comedy performance field was…
I’m no fan of mob justice, but in the name of good filmmaking, I say American audiences should campaign to get the American citizenship of Barbet Schroeder revoked. The filmmaker began his career 27 years ago in France, making a series of deliberately obscure personal dramas–two of which featured soundtracks…
thursday february 22 Let’s Play School: With the explosion of high-quality children’s entertainment during the past decade, the consistent craftsmanship and wit that infuses the Children’s Television Workshop’s Sesame Street is a measure of the love behind it. Those of us who learned numbers, letters, and a fine satirical sense…
thursday february 15 Molka Alexandrova and Sasha Botcharova: Third Planet Theatre is a Dallas-based performing-arts company that specializes in importing Russian and other international talent as part of a post-communist, good-faith project. Its latest care package to the arts-loving Dallas population is a pair of singer-actor-dancer-comics who promise to deliver…
When somebody pays attention to filmmaker Abel Ferrara, it’s usually for something naughty he did–shooting Harvey Keitel on a date with Rosy Palm and her five sisters in Bad Lieutenant, or orchestrating the gang rape of a doe-eyed mute woman, only to have her launch a revenge killing spree in…
thursday february 8 Dance Consortium: If you check out a performance by the Richardson-based contemporary dance ensemble Dance Consortium and dance is not a form of entertainment with which you are familiar, here is a word of warning: Arrive early and read the program from cover to cover. Otherwise, you…
thursday february 1 Perspectives: A Concert of Electroacoustic Music: When Jerry Garcia died last year, critics across the country who had never said a kind word about the musical narcotic he and the Grateful Dead created struggled to be kind, or at least respectful. Usually, the memorials emphasized his worldwide…
thursday january 18 KNON Benefit: If you haven’t checked out the western swing stylings of Cowboys and Indians, investigate the Dallas Observer Scene, Heard compilation of local artists (next time, we won’t ask so nicely). You’ll find a jaunty little ditty about a happy fat boy called “Roly Poly.” It’s…
When critics talk about the great actors of American cinema, their opinions are often based on not upsetting the critical status quo–De Niro is a chameleon, Pacino a sizzling stick of dynamite, yadda yadda yadda. Forget what you’ve been told–compared to Sean Penn, De Niro is an anemic bore who’s…
There is a moment in the controversial new film, Georgia, which will pretty much decide what you think of the movie and its star, the ever courageous, enigmatic Jennifer Jason Leigh. Actually, there are nine of them. Legendary “actor’s director” Ulu Grosbard (The Subject Was Roses, Straight Time) lets the…
thursday january 11 Caroline Aiken: There are musical legends that you see on MTV and Grammy Awards broadcasts, and then there are musical legends you have to be turned on to by friends. Veteran singer-songwriter-instrumentalist Caroline Aiken falls into the latter category. She has performed her brand of smooth, supple,…
Jimmy Fowler In alphabetical order: Chicken Hawk. One of the much-lamented Major Theatre’s last screenings was this controversial documentary about NAMBLA, the North American Man Boy Love Association. A must-see for anyone who believes he or she understands the boundaries of contemporary American morality. Dead Man Walking. Released selectively in…
thursday january 4 10th Annual Southwest Boat and Tackle Show: The press material for the 10th Annual Southwest Boat and Tackle Show is rife with references to “the outdoorsman” and “serving the needs of the outdoorsman.” If, in the words of Fran Leibovitz, you believe The Great Outdoors is what…
Alan Paton’s classic 1948 novel Cry, The Beloved Country managed to be both political and literary in a century of world literature that often tried to achieve greatness through its politics alone. The French had their existentialists, the Germans their realists, but South Africa had scarcely registered as more than…
thursday december 28 Earthly Pleasures: By this time of year, our ears bleed spontaneously each time we hear a “fa-la-la-la-la,” so it’s easy to forget that the Christmas classics weren’t exactly fresh when December rolled around. It’s time for a new set of hard-candy favorites–or, in this case, a set…
thursday december 21 Winter Solstice Celebration: When Dallas Observer ran an item about the Summer Solstice drum celebration, we received angry calls from organizers because the term “pagan rituals” was used. Maybe we should have said “pagan-influenced,” or “paganish in a nice way” instead. Now the Winter Solstice Celebration is…
thursday december 14 The Littlest Angel: The Dance Consortium is a troupe for people who don’t like too much of any one dance style, but are turned on by a blend of the best of many kinds. The Consortium mixes classical ballet with modern choreography and, whenever it’s appropriate, tries…
thursday december 7 Malignant Redemption: Goethe’s Faust legend has for centuries now served as a neat microcosm of humanity’s search for experience beyond the physical realm. Its protagonist can be displayed as cocky or well-meaning, the antagonist as evil or fateful, but always, the action forces us to consider the…
The shadow of marital infidelity falls dark and heavy over the theater, perhaps because that subject is particularly suited to the claustrophobic confines of the stage. Audiences can sit close to actors who piece together the tortured mosaic of betrayal and be forced to question their own boundaries of love…
It’s impossible to review a film and not consider the political climate of the country in which it was produced, especially if the movie makes no bones about trying to piss off as many people as possible. This is clearly the mission of filmmaker Greg Araki’s fifth feature The Doom…
thursday november 30 Webb Gallery: For anyone who finds the New York-based visual art establishment something of a well-organized scam, the proliferation of institutions like Waxahachie’s Webb Gallery is not only a relief, but a rescue from artificial, trend-driven ideas of creativity. This weekend, the Webb Gallery hosts a pair…
