Every year, I threaten to attend the All Texas All Garden Show with Neil Sperry to learn once and for all if it is really possible to grow a tasty Texas homegrown tomato. Then I look at my shameful yard and realize that the last thing I need is more…
It’s a real shame that movie theaters don’t show more shorts, especially considering all the lame trivia questions and banal commercials moviegoers have to sit through before your average Hollywood flick. About the only time you ever see shorts these days is before Pixar movies, or when they show short…
You remember Andrew Ridgeley, don’t you? He was the other guy in Wham!, the one who found himself stranded in 1986 after George Michael had faith enough in his own talents to break up the act. Ridgeley went on to record one solo record before CBS Records decided, yeah, no…
In December 2002, ABC’s 20/20 ran a story on Eric O’Neill, an undercover surveillance specialist for the FBI. The piece was titled “Spycatcher,” because it was O’Neill who, at a mere 27 years old, helped bring down Robert Hanssen, an FBI agent who, for more than two decades, sold thousands…
The box of Kleenex on each table is the tip-off. Shadowlands, the latest production at Contemporary Theatre of Dallas, is a four-tissue romance about an unlikely couple and the deep love they share only when one of them is dying. The story’s a heartbreaker to the end, so why is…
Marie Antoinette (Sony) Sofia Coppola’s third feature grabs you by your frilly lapels from the jump, with Gang of Four’s “Natural’s Not in It” showering guitar chords all over the credits as Kirsten Dunst nods to the audience, as if to say, Hang tight–this thing’s gonna be a gas. Only…
Lately, the Nintendo DS has become a virtual Monster.com. You can play a defense attorney (Phoenix Wright), surgeon (Trauma Center), and even a cook (Cooking Mama). Now, thanks to Hotel Dusk: Room 215, you can add private eye to that list. But don’t expect the sexy detective work of Chinatown…
Bicycle Thieves: The Criterion Collection (Criterion) The Boy From Lebanon (Picture This) The Butcher Boy (Warner Bros.) The Cave of the Yellow Dog (Tartan) The Departed (Warner Bros.) Devil’s Den (Starz) F**K (ThinkFilm) Green for Danger: The Criterion Collection (Criterion) The Hills: The Complete First Season (Paramount) Hustle: Complete Season…
Having endured civil war, separation from their families, hunger and dehydration during a thousand-mile trek through sub-Saharan Africa, and 10 years in a U.N. refugee camp while awaiting myriad challenges of resettlement in the United States, the three “lost boys of Sudan” in God Grew Tired of Us can certainly…
For some, the title of the musical comedy I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change is callous or mean. But not to this girl. I’m of the mind that change is a good thing. Lots of things are better off changed: diapers, dollars, lead singers for hair metal bands. I…
Image makeovers are all the rage. These days, Barbie’s got a cell phone, and some stores are even carrying Baby Daddy Ken this spring. Years ago, Little Richard jumped the shark for a soul version of “Itsy Bitsy Spider” that made even 10-year-old skin crawl. Now, it seems the itsy…
There are tons of stories about Jesus in the Bible. Yeah, I read it. What? But one thing Matty, Mark, Luke and John left out was how at the end of every school year Jesus’ dad and his virginal mom drove him to Jesus Camp. There was Jesus horse riding,…
While ostensibly a tale of triumph set in America’s top jet-pilot training school, Top Gun is, in reality, the greatest big-budget, homoerotic thrill ride ever spewed forth. Released in 1986, this high-octane, sweat-drenched masterpiece redefined the way blockbusters were made. Take an adrenaline-pumping soundtrack by the king of motivational film…
How can we mention the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders without mentioning the classic 1979 made-for-TV classic called, uh, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders? Starring Bert Convy(!), Jane Seymour(!!) and Bucky “Red Sox Killer” Dent (!!!), the show had it all: giggling, booby-jiggling ladies clad in those iconic blue and white bra-and-panties sets–oops, I…
Nashville, Tennessee, has been known as Music City, U.S.A. for years now; with its rich musical heritage and position at the epicenter of country and gospel music, it’s a fitting moniker. The nickname first caught on after repeated use by radio announcer David Cobb in the 1950s, but interestingly enough,…
Sometimes simple ideas have astonishing power. In 1990, students at a high school in Michigan were trying to find a way to raise money for a food drive. Their art teacher gave them an idea for a class project. The students made ceramic bowls, invited paying guests for a simple…
Nothing beats a big-money, widow-making scheme…especially when it also involves the most far-fetched character names (Grubby Shurtz, Golda Miner, Forrest Green, Big Harry Deal and others), numerous costume changes and a mine shaft. Right. A mine shaft. A lumberjack, a guy named Lucky Betts, a “hilarious climax” and a mine…
With riots and freedom marches protesting the vulgar imbalance of rights between the bejeweled and the sweaty, the 1789 French Revolution turned some heads (into baskets). The strength in numbers and shared pain spoke to German playwright, scientist and wanted agitator, George Buchner. His 1836 play Woyzeck became an underground…
Our liberal, hippie-cum-yuppie parents exposed us to a lot of French films at a relatively young age. We learned three valuable life lessons. We learned that your life might suck, but it would suck a lot more if you were a lesbian silversmith trying to find yourself in the middle…
One of the first albums I ever knew by heart was Joe Ely’s Love and Danger. My parents used to play the cassette in the car nonstop, and the whole family loved it. As a seasoned Ely fan, it was a treat when I recently saw the documentary Lubbock Lights,…
Girl, I am soooo proud of you! Remember back in the day, when everyone was dissin’ you, saying you were never gonna last, and how Britney had so much more substance? Well look at that backwoods bitch now! Madonna so totally made the wrong choice. I mean, look how you’ve…
I must say, after seeing the lineup for the Lone Star Film Society’s Classics at the Modern, I had to give a standing ovation—a Hitchcock showing that’s not Vertigo, The Graduate back on the big screen and Willy Wonka in full-color glory—what’s not to love? I wish the Inwood would…
