AltWeeklies Wire
From the Bamboo Grove to W(h)ine Countrynew
The best of 2004 came from all over the cinematic map: foreign films, American independents, and, yes, some big-budget mainstream efforts.
Boston Phoenix |
Peter Keough |
12-29-2004 |
Reviews
From the Political to the Personalnew
Politics and music mixed this year in a way that reviewer Matt Ashare hasn't seen since he bought Let Them Eat Jellybeans (Alternative Tentacles) during the Reagan presidency and sang along to "Jesus Entering from the Rear." And against his better judgment, it made him care about the world beyond his iPod headphones in a way that he hasn’t in some time.
Boston Phoenix |
Matt Ashare |
12-29-2004 |
Reviews
Shock Around the Clock: TV Highlights, January 6-13
In Bush's America, any movie that makes Texas look worse than France has got to be considered revolutionary. ABC Family TV Movie She Gets What She Wants delivers. Also reviewed are 24, Masterpiece Theatre's He Knew He Was Right, Unscripted, Crank Yankers and more.
Tags: TV
Music 2004
2004's music was about everything but singers and songs.
Life in Prison Can Be a Riotnew
Low pay and high staff turnover contributed to the problems at Crowley County Correctional Facility, a private prison in Colorado. An investigation found that a July 20 riot there may have been due to improper use of force by staff.
Westword |
Alan Prendergast |
12-29-2004 |
Crime & Justice
Shipping Inmates to Private Prisons Costs Colorado Plentynew
Colorado inmates exiled to a private Mississippi prison called Tallahatchie have staged protests against substandard conditions there.
Westword |
Alan Prendergast |
12-29-2004 |
Crime & Justice
A True Entertainment Bargainnew
Chicks on Speed kick out dizzy cheers and brittle beats, crafting a propulsive, surprisingly funky blend of '80s-flavored electropunk and experimental glitchcore. Also reviewed is Kimya Dawson's Hidden Vagenda.
Illinois Times |
Rene Spencer Saller |
12-29-2004 |
Reviews
Tags: 99 Cents, Chicks on Speed
The Latest from Hip-Hop's Sad Sisyphusnew
Only Eminem can make the subject of his own creative stagnation remotely interesting, although it's not always interesting enough. It helps that he's got Dr. Dre, whose grim and elegant string snippets invest even the weakest tracks with an apocalyptic gravitas.
Illinois Times |
Rene Spencer Saller |
12-29-2004 |
Reviews
Viva the Male Divanew
Drawing on the same smorgasbord of influences displayed on his magisterial debut -- show tunes, opera, cabaret, folk, jazz, SoCal pop, and art song -- Wainwright now seems more confident in exploring each genre's extreme, no longer compelled to disguise his highbrow proclivities with sticky hooks and sing-along choruses.
Illinois Times |
Rene Spencer Saller |
12-29-2004 |
Reviews
Tags: Rufus Wainwright, Want Two
Former Voice Columnist Jack Newfield, 1938-2004new
Jack Newfield, who wrote for the Village Voice from 1964 to 1989, pioneered a new genre of advocacy journalism.
The Village Voice |
Wayne Barrett |
12-29-2004 |
Media
A Tsunami of Greed on Wall Streetnew
American contributions of about $44 million to the tsunami recovery effort seem modest by any standard -- and especially when compared to an estimated $15.9 billion being paid out in year-end bonuses to security industry employees.
The Village Voice |
James Ridgeway and Nicole Duarte |
12-29-2004 |
International
Phantom Menacenew
Joel Schumacher's version of a theater classic gets a tragic ending of its own.
Cleveland Scene |
Bill Gallo |
12-29-2004 |
Reviews
Sea of Loathenew
Wes Anderson takes Bill Murray out to sea and strands him there.
Cleveland Scene |
Robert Wilonsky |
12-29-2004 |
Reviews
Bobby Darin's Show-Biz Race Against Timenew
More "Splish" than "Splash," this biopic about the life of pop crooner Bobby Darin is practically a one-man Kevin Spacey show.
Austin Chronicle |
Marjorie Baumgarten |
12-29-2004 |
Reviews
Tags: Kevin Spacey, beyond the sea
Haunted-House Movie Is Completely Vacantnew
Darkness is a godawful mess, a Eurotrash horror film for the new millennium.
Austin Chronicle |
Marc Savlov |
12-29-2004 |
Reviews
Tags: Darkness, Jaume Balagueró
