AltWeeklies Wire
Spike Jonze Sincerely Adapts 'Where the Wild Things Are'

Jonze's no-nonsense movie expands gently on Maurice Sendak's elegant 20-page kids' book to address children, acknowledging their primal impulses -- which they must eventually control.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
10-12-2009 |
Reviews
Wallowing in Pessimismnew
Sometimes I feel as if we are starting to relive the narrative told in the pages of William Shirer's, The Rise and Fall of the The Third Reich.
Random Lengths News |
Lionel Rolfe |
10-09-2009 |
Commentary
Is the Madonna on 'Celebration' Compilation a Material Girl, or a Beautiful Stranger?new
Oh, remember when Madonna promised to lead us through the wilderness with a witty, ambitious combination of disco sex appeal, businesswoman savvy and cardinal danger? Remember when she had her own cheekbones?
C-Ville Weekly |
Cathy Harding |
10-09-2009 |
Reviews
1960s Period Piece 'An Education' Gets Good Marks, as Does Star Carey Mulligannew
Danish director Lone Scherfig's movie is something of a deceptively packaged Oscar-season bonbon -- a seemingly benign, classily directed year-I-became-a-woman nostalgia trip that conceals a surprisingly tart, morally ambiguous center.
L.A. Weekly |
Scott Foundas |
10-09-2009 |
Reviews
The New Vegas Identity: Unemployednew

Unemployment isn't just a noun anymore. In Las Vegas, it's a perpetual state of being. I should know: I was laid off from my Las Vegas newspaper job while I was writing a series about unemployed Nevadans. The irony is so sick it's funny -- even six months later.
Las Vegas Weekly |
Becky Bosshart |
10-09-2009 |
Economy
Small Is The New Big: Will Americans Have to be Shoehorned into Their Cars?new
As the world gets figuratively smaller, so too are cars getting smaller. Literally. And I don't imagine the average American (read: large) is going to like it.
The Secret Lives of Queer Leading Mennew

How Howard Bragman, Hollywood's coming-out guru, helps gay actors tell the truth. Bragman's parents were "tolerant and accepting" when he came out in his 20s; Proposition 8 was "extremely painful"; gays and lesbians need to "call people on their shit."
L.A. Weekly |
Patrick Range McDonald |
10-09-2009 |
Movies
Romani Music and Punk Rock? Together? Yup. Meet Gogol Bordellonew
Under the balls-out direction of the band's founder, Eugene Hütz, Gogol Bordello has redefined punk rock ethics and brought traditional Romanian music to the headphones of popular music fans around the globe.
The Inlander |
Leah Sottile |
10-08-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Gogol Bordello
Sunny Day Real Estate's Dan Hoerner Leaves a Quiet Life to Play Rock Star Againnew
For Hoerner, a Spokane resident and native, this isn't just a reunion tour. It's a visit to a past life -- a life buried under births and deaths, under 9-to-5 jobs, long-gone fame and quiet anonymity.
The Inlander |
Leah Sottile |
10-08-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Nick Cave's New Novel is All Sex, Drugs and Hand Creamnew
When I interviewed Nick Cave for the Phoenix three years ago and he told me -- drolly, languidly, literarily -- that his next writing project was about "a sexually incontinent hand-cream salesman" on the south coast of England, I assumed he was taking the piss.
Boston Phoenix |
James Parker |
10-08-2009 |
Fiction
Lying Liars, and the End of Accountabilitynew
When up is down, and down is out, who even knows what to believe anymore? The Zeitgeist is now cloudy with the din of dishonesty that it is difficult to determine what is truth and what is fiction. In other words, a perfect time for the new film The Invention of Lying.
Boston Phoenix |
Mike Miliard |
10-08-2009 |
Commentary
Fetish Fun: Kinky Out of the Closetnew

They might spank; they might wear black masks, be turned on by vinyl clothes or think guys in gas masks are way hot. But all of them would like you to know that it's OK to be kinky.
Eugene Weekly |
Camilla Mortensen |
10-08-2009 |
Culture
In Step with New Model Armynew

Justin Sullivan explains why he and his band will not go gently into anyone's good night.
Colorado Springs Independent |
Bill Forman |
10-08-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Matt Wilson Throws Some Left Hooks into the Rite of Swingnew

"The reason jazz is such a great music is that everybody is enjoying it in the moment, and it's never gonna happen the same way again."
Colorado Springs Independent |
Bill Forman |
10-08-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Pakistani Cartoonist Nigar Nazar Spreads a Female-Focused Messagenew

Nazar's cartoons focus on women's and children's rights, but are heavy on humor, which makes them approachable. Much like her protagonist, Gogi, a perky 20-something.
Colorado Springs Independent |
Kirsten Akens |
10-08-2009 |
Cartoons