DARK DARK DARK. The poster art makes this movie look mainstream. It is not.
This film just grabbed me and shook baby shook!!! It worked. You can really tell that Werner Herzog and cast and crew had a great time putting this together. Cage is in top form here. He goes for broke being bad. The best work he has done in a long time.
And no, not everyone is going to get it. I lucked out and saw this in a full Alamo Drafthouse theater. The crowd was mostly cinephiles and movie geeks. AICN presented this event. So, it is safe to say that we got the gist of what was going on. This film was dark but the humor that flowed was golden. I rented “BAD LIEUTENANT” after the screening. There are many similarities, I wonder why nothing else I have read on this film mentions that.”BL:POCNO” seems to take these similar elements one step further and fleshes them out so to speak. The dialogue here is awesome. I must have said “TIL THE BREAK OF DAWN” a hundred or more times this past week and most folks around me have no idea why. This film walks a tightrope over having no clue. And therein lays the magic. I recommend this full on.
If you love films and can name another Herzog title off the top of your head or enjoy an occasional trip to the darkside, this film is for you. I will see this again. OPENS DEC 11TH.WATCH TRAILER HERE
“Rock and Roll will live forever-but can it float?”
If writer/director Richard Curtis has anything to say about it, the answer is a bursting, “Yes!” evidenced by his latest film, Pirate Radio. It’s an unapologetically uplifting comedy about a group of 1960s rogue deejays determined to deliver forbidden music to 25 million people. Listen to some of the last broadcasts of the ships for which the story was inspired and you might come to a different conclusion. Early critics of the film accuse it of being a “too sugary” and “too sweet” account of an event that in the words of Robert Daltrey of The Who, people were “a lot more pissed off” about. To say that Curtis delivers a staunchly sunnier version of the events than many remember it is an understatement. But sitting down with Curtis last week in New York I came to understand why it couldn’t possibly have been any other way.
I am out at Rice Fest in Fischer, TX this week. It’s an annual pilgrimage for me. The event spotlights Americana music with a bent for songwriters and bluegrass–this year’s line up includes Kevin Welch, the Band of Heathens, Darrell Scott, and the Hudsons..
Watched Hays County Burn Band last night. Billy Bright on mandolin, Matt Downing on banjo, Tom Ellis on bass, Elliot Rogers on guitar, and Mike Montgomery on fiddle. Everybody sings. They play into one mike, and it is magic to watch them weave in and out, so someone can come forward to sing or solo.
I was glad to be out in Fischer, but I was disappointed I had to miss Split Lip Rayfield’s show at the Continental. To atone for my inability to be in two places at one time, I met up with Jeff Eaton, Eric Mardis and Wayne Gottstine at 8:00 am this morning to talk for a few minutes and get some pics. SLR drove 12 hours yesterday to get to the Continental Club, and were up early to drive 8 hours up to Oklahoma for another gig tonight. They stayed at a hotel at South First and Barton Springs. In the early seventies the property along the south bank of Bouldin Creek was the dirt driveway providing access back to the Armadillo World Headquarters. Seemed appropriate, somehow, to be standing there talking to musicians. Read the rest of this entry »
My picks from the Austin Film Festival are four strong. I saw more but I liked these the best.
Three of which are gonna be Oscar contenders( or should be).
“The Road, The Messenger and Precious…..” all blew me away.
Now, the way I do this festival is to not do any research on the premise or the stories of the films. Sometimes I am tipped off by the buzz, sometimes not. And yes, sometimes I win and sometimes I see some bad stuff, but I never have any expectations. Surprise of greatness is an awesome experience in film watching.
First was “Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire.” This screened to a sold out Paramount audience. There is truly no better way to screen a film. I don’t believe there was a dry eye in the house when the credits rolled. God, it was brutal. This girl’s life was so sad and harsh but there was love that climbed out from the darkness. Truly inspiring. The writing and the cast were so tight that I felt like I was watching a documentary more than once. You will hear more about this in weeks to come
“Pocket Full of Soul” did it for me. It was a documentary on the harmonica. It was music to my ears. I learned more about a subject that I know a “little” about.Man I wish I could play that thing. I do love that sound.
Next up was“The Messenger.” The buzz about this was huge. It was co-written and directed by the screenwriter of “I’m Not There,” the Bob Dylan film. It starred Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster as” death notice officers” for the Army. The folks that deliver the bad news. Both of these guys were great. Ben Foster just shined. I’m gonna say best actor but who knows we have a few months. The pace was slow. The acting was the gift here. “The Road” played to a full house at the Paramount.I liked this the best. It was bleak but very fine tuned. I found out that night that it was from a novel. Post apocalyptic wandering father and son, Viggo Mortenson and Kodi Smit Mcphee dodge cannabals and search for food on the never ending path to a warmer place. I normally avoid films with kids as main actors, expecially these type of films. I had no problem here. Everything worked. This was well done . This film is sure to garner some awards. Bring a sweater when you see this one.
That was my Austin Film Fest 09 see yall next …………………….
Hello Darlings….
Fun Fun Fun Fest 2009 is off to an absolutely fantastic, funtastic start.
With seemingly more people than ever this year, this growing festival is still a great experience, still with plenty of room and without people fighting for their turf up front.
After catching early shows from Sugar and Gold and the mega-funky Foot Patrol (music for those with a foot fetish), I caught Shonen Knife’s set. This all female trio from Osaka, Japan showed us what women can do with guitars and choreographed stage moves. They wowed an exuberant crowd with their poppy songs and eye-popping fluorescent dresses.
I next heard Vega, a disco rock dance that put on an exciting performance with their combination of synthesizer, bass and drums. Keep your ears out for this outfit in the future.
Then came the highlight of the day for many, including me – The Sword. Playing with purpose and enthusiasm, they blew away the audience with their combination of killer tone and incredible riffs. It got me to thinking that great riffs are one of the things that are sadly lacking from rock n roll today. Thanks to The Sword for bringing them back!
Athens, Georgia’s Dead Confederate rocked me with their reverb and delay drenched sounds. Their dynamic music was both atmospheric and driving, and the members were completely absorbed in their performance, drawing you in along with them.
The much anticipated group Death started their set as night began fall, and were mightily impressive. They were nearly unheard of before their recently discovered 1974 demo was found in an attic and released by Drag City records. Proving themselves way, way, way ahead of their time, this Detroit trio played garage rock that would have sounded progressive even if it had been written ten years later.
Day 2 of Fun Fun Fun Fest promises to deliver many more thrills. Be sure to stop by Waterloo Park and catch it if you can. My picks for the day include Street Dogs, Lucero and Mission of Burma. Look out for me at those stages Darlings, and keep an eye on the Daze website for photos, interviews and more reviews.
Rick Poss & Folk Medicine—From Greenville to Clarksville: Born in Greenville, TX and raised in Bryan, Poss cut his teeth listening to Texas Blues legends Mance Lipscomb, Lightin’ Hopkins, Freddie King, Albert Collins, “Gatemouth” Brown and others. He says, “I used to sneak in Liberty Hall in Houston and check out every blues-slinger that came through there—Learned an awful lot from them all.” He became a regular visitor to the Mance Lipscomb home after catching a monthly coffeehouse gig that Lipscomb did in Bryan. He recorded from FromGreenville to Clarksville at Allan Gill’s East Studio in Austin. The players are all good friends and longtime music associates including Rick Richards, David Carroll, Alan Reizner, Glover Gill, Mike Reynolds and Allan Gills. The recording has a live feel and almost all the songs are inspired by novels and movies from Depression-era America. www.rickposs.com. 5.0 McRiprock’s.
Zane Williams–The Right Place: A self-described “late bloomer,” Williams admits, that after moving to Nashville in 1999 it took him nine years to find his musical soul and sound. And it sounded a whole lot like Texas. Williams honed his songwriting and performing skills on the road at over 500 colleges nationwide and claimed top honors from the John Lennon and Nashville Songwriter’s Association song contests. Now residing in McKinney, TX, he brought on board writer/producer Radney Foster to record this album. www.myspace.com/zanewillaims
I’ll be the first to admit there have been times in my life where I’ve bordered on obsession in my demand for purity of essence and perfection in craft. The way I see it, if you’re gonna do something, be the best, or let someone else take the reins and get the hell out of the way! This article chronicles one of those times…
It was with this singular raison de etre I went on a quest recently to find the ultimate apple fritter in Austin. A ridiculous, Quixotic quest, some might say, but ever since having my first bite of a truly great apple fritter in the mid 60’s @ Shipley’s Donuts in Alexandria, Louisiana (1801 Lee St., (318) 443-9543), I’ve tried many along my highway of life, and none have ever come close to that delicacy, the exception being Big O’s Donuts in Cookeville, Tennessee (209 N Jefferson Ave (931) 528-2120), and a close runner up, Yum Yum Donuts in North Hollywood, California (11699 Magnolia Blvd. (818) 760-9054). Having grown weary of hoping against hope that the ones I’ve chosen along the way would match the taste, texture and aesthetic quality of that first great fritter (except for the above, they all failed… miserably), it became clear such a quest would quantifiably render moot being dissatisfied with yet another cheap imitation in this, my recent city of choice, Austin, Texas.
The apple fritter is a rather unique looking critter. Some mistakenly call it a bear claw. They might look like cousins but that is where the similarities end. After repeated encounters, you, too, will not make the mistake of wondering, “bear claw?” or “apple fritter?” ever again. But for now, like a primer of sorts, out of all the photos I scoured on the Net this pic retains all the visual aesthetics of what a great fritter should resemble: (http://www.gwiv.com/GNROldFashioned2.jpg) Hold that image.
A great fritter should barely fit in the palm of your hand, be fried to a turn, a bit crunchy around the edges, a moist cake filled with chunks and flavor of real apple, slathered in melted butter and creamy sugar. When you finally have that great one, there aren’t any substitutes. EVER! And that is why I’m here, today, dear reader, saving you years of fruitless search and countless dollars wasted, your taste buds angry at your endless misinformed choices.
For three months I would hit about 2 places a week, as making a daily diet of these would be a tragic mistake in culinary intake. Those on a diet or have clogged artery issues can stop reading NOW.
Many were just poor excuses in execution, showing me the cook really didn’t give two shits about the whole shebang; punching the clock, collecting a paycheck only. Or there were the industrialized machine made horrors scattered about, slightly looking the part, but woefully lacking in delivery. And then there were some who tried to add their touch on the classic apple fritter, all with interesting but mostly disastrous results. In particular, a local establishment -who shall remain nameless- tried to “bake” the fritter, which only turned it into a gooey mess that fell further apart with each bite. Oh my my…
But, when all was said and done, having eaten enough apple fritters in a three month period to bring down a decent sized humanus walkus erectus, we definitely found ourselves a hands down winner, with only one in the runner up category. And I mean hands down!!
The envelope please (insert drum roll….. brrrrrrrrr) and the winner is…
River City Donuts
1945 W William Cannon Dr.
(512) 445-5779
This shop is run by some Indonesian women whom have the art of apple fritter frying down to a proverbial science. Each bite a work of culinary nirvana! Me and Bela, my four-legged companion (RIP), became regulars in due course and every time I hit the drive-in window those women already had a fritter and several donut holes bagged for us, a smile on their faces, happy days are here again! Not sure where they got the recipe, but these ladies are firmly on top of their game in the apple fritter department. Sweet, sweet people, too.
(Note: don’t make the mistake of substituting River City Donuts on Research. I did. That location is owned and operated by someone who has no affiliation whatsoever with the William Cannon location. Word to the wise.)
Runner up is…
Mrs. Johnson’s Donuts
(www.mjbakery.com)
4909 Airport Blvd.
(512) 452-4750
Even though tasty, this long standing donut institution has several aesthetic twists that deviate from the classic style (point deduction). Kudos though to their great hours of operation and a very friendly Indian staff. Don’t miss the blueberry old-fashioned!
So there you have it, folks. Never had an apple fritter? Do yourself a favor, do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars, go straight to River City. If you have sampled a so-so one and wondered what all the fuss is about? Again… River City. If you are like me, and are driven to find the bestest and yummiest of the most righteous and get down? …River City.
Hunker down. Get you one. Oh yeah, snag a carton of milk while you’re at it. You’ll thank me for that, a more perfect combo yet to be invented.
DARK DARK DARK. The poster art makes this movie look mainstream. It is not.
“Rock and Roll will live forever-but can it float?”
