AltWeeklies Wire
'The Garden' is Another Eco-Borenew
This documentary fails to tease out the dirty particulars of how a city-owned lot in South Central L.A., bought to be a garbage incinerator site in the '80s, somehow reverted back to its owner, and at what price. It's more insinuation than journalism.
Seattle Weekly |
Brian Miller |
08-10-2009 |
Reviews
'Ex-Drummer': Battle of the Belgian Bar Bandsnew
This gutter-punk cult movie about an unlikely bar band's rise and fall might've been scripted during a drunken Russian-roulette session among Charles Bukowski, Lars von Trier, Harmony Korine, and Irvine Welsh.
Seattle Weekly |
Brian Miller |
08-10-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Ex-Drummer, Koen Mortier
The Blue Scholars are Turning the Artist-Label Relationship On its Headnew
Seattle hip-hop group Blue Scholars have brokered a deal in which New York hip-hop label Duck Down Records signed to them. Whether that's the most accurate way to put it is debatable, but the message is clear: things are changing.
Seattle Weekly |
Jonathan Cunningham |
08-10-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Is Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels a Chicago-Style Bully?new
The idea of Nickels as a Daley wannabe is one of those ideas that has filtered down from the rhetoric of political insiders into general popular perception, even conventional wisdom. Trouble is, it's almost impossible to get any of Nickels' accusers to provide details about the mayor's supposedly Daleyesque behavior.
Seattle Weekly |
Laura Onstot |
07-27-2009 |
Politics
Shawna Forde is Lethally Blondenew
How a former teen prostitute and beautician became an influential anti-immigrant crusader -- and alleged murderer.
Seattle Weekly |
Rick Anderson |
07-20-2009 |
Crime & Justice
'(500) Days of Summer': We Heart Zooey Deschanelnew
Can there be a thing as too much cute? This is the dilemma for Summer (also the name of Zooey Deschanel's scary-adorable character), which plunges us with twee abandon into a relationship gone bad.
Seattle Weekly |
Brian Miller |
07-20-2009 |
Reviews
The Stark Folk of Tiny Vipers is Not for Everyonenew
Jesy Fortino writes dark, contemplative songs that require serious focus from a listener. Actually, these songs (which she records under the moniker Tiny Vipers) don't require focus so much as they slowly entangle the listener like tentacles, pulling you in tight 'til you're left with no choice but to pay close attention.
Seattle Weekly |
Brian J. Barr |
07-20-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
'The Rough Guide' is a Simple Roadmap to Nirvananew
Veteran Seattle music scribe Gillian G. Gaar smartly resists sensationalism in a new book about the iconic local band.
Seattle Weekly |
Jonathan Cunningham |
07-20-2009 |
Nonfiction
'Humpday': Would-Be Pornographers Talk About Transgressive Artnew
Let's save the snickering bromance jokes for another day, another movie. Seattle director Lynn Shelton is no Judd Apatow, nor does she mean Humpday to be a raunch-com.
Seattle Weekly |
Brian Miller |
07-13-2009 |
Reviews
'The Hurt Locker': Kathryn Bigelow's Ticket to the Oscarsnew
This film is a career best for Bigelow: tense, compressed, and often wordless for page after page of action. With the field opened up for 10 nominees this year, this movie has a lock on an Oscar nom.
Seattle Weekly |
Brian Miller |
07-13-2009 |
Reviews
Developmentally Disabled, Unable to Speak ... Ready to Work?new
Washington state wants developmentally disabled people to learn real-world job skills. Some families think that's asking too much.
Seattle Weekly |
Nina Shapiro |
07-13-2009 |
Science
'Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone': C'mon, Dad, Give Me the Giant Battle-Bot!new
Evangelion 1.0 lacks the sophistication, darkness, and violence of Ghost in the Shell or Akira. It's a tamer work that may improve -- through releases 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0 -- as Shinji starts to shave and possibly acts upon his hormonal urges.
Seattle Weekly |
Brian Miller |
07-06-2009 |
Reviews
'The Last International Playboy': Peter Pan as Serial Daternew
Starting like Girls Gone Wild and finishing more like Jay McInerney, this indie tale of a rake's progress is considerably sweeter than the marketing and early scenes would indicate.
Seattle Weekly |
Brian Miller |
06-22-2009 |
Reviews
'Food, Inc.': Michael Pollan Tells Us How to Eatnew
Problem is, no matter how much many viewers will (inevitably) agree with all the eat-local, food-miles, and change-big-agribusiness arguments here, we've already had a stomachful from prior books and films. Who else is this movie trying to reach?
Seattle Weekly |
Brian Miller |
06-22-2009 |
Reviews
Shane Tutmarc Heads South to Search for His Soulnew
With his pencil-thin mustache and bowler hat, Tutmarc looks like he could be the star of a 1930s European film. But when he opens his mouth to sing, out comes a brass twang halfway between Dwight Yoakam and a young Steve Earle.
Seattle Weekly |
Brian J. Barr |
06-15-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
