   | reviewV.22 No.19 | 5/9/2013  Film ReviewIron Man 3Robert Downey Jr. straps on the suit for one more super outingIf nothing else (and there’s plenty else), the record-breaking release of Iron Man 3 proves beyond a shadow of a doubt what last summer’s The Avengers already established: that Marvel has found a perfect way of translating its comic book universe to the big screen. While cross-town rival DC struggles to establish any movie franchise (other than Batman), Marvel has cranked out a string of films (Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, The Avengers) which exist in the same interconnected universe. The ties may be strong or light from one film to the next, but this new wave of Marvel films does what no other movie series has managed.
 Eric Williams ericwphoto.com Restaurant ReviewThe Case of the Disappearing TaqueriaRocka Taco demands to be seenGrass and bare feet. Firecrackers and accidents. Tacos and beer. Here is the short list of classic summer duos. It's not summer yet, but close enough … the heat’s a-coming. Time to pinch shut our eyes, pretend we aren't high desert dwellers and reacquaint ourselves with our favorite street food from balmy, beachy Mexico.
V.22 No.18 | 5/2/2013  Film ReviewRoom 237Movie-mad documentary turns theoretical critics into conspiracy theoristsRoom 237—the puckish, reflexive, Escher-like documentary by Rodney Ascher—interviews several assumedly learned people who have spent waaaay too much time watching Stanley Kubrick’s loose adaptation of Stephen King’s horror novel The Shining. These dedicated folks have developed various, often conflicting theories about the 1980 film and its hidden “meaning.” Some theories are perfectly plausible, ohers are far-fetched and some just plain looney.
 Eric Williams ericwphoto.com Restaurant ReviewWest African DelightsTalking Drums has got your goatWest African treasure serves up tastes of the mother continent, including intriguing items with names like “puff-puff” and “fufu.”
V.22 No.16 | 4/18/2013  Eric Williams ericwphoto.com Restaurant ReviewThe Way We WereSoup and nostalgia at Annie’s Soup KitchenDo you miss your grandma? Indiana? Iowa? Are you exhausted from the hip and trendy Albuquerque “scene”? Do you just want a homey nook where you can stare at some amateur paintings of geese or cats and slurp down a bowl of soup in peace? Welcome to Annie’s Soup Kitchen, your portal through time and space.
V.22 No.15 | 4/11/2013  Film ReviewTranceDanny Boyle’s twisty film noir tries to psych us out. Or does it? ... Yes, it does.High-concept, twist-filled setup requires lots of voice-overs, frequent flashbacks and plenty of explicatory scenes in order to keep viewers apprised of what the hell is going on.
V.22 No.14 | 4/4/2013  Film ReviewNOSouth of the border political drama sells audiences on the idea of revolutionYour knowledge of late-’80s Central American politics isn’t really an issue when it comes to the new political drama NO. In fact, the less you know about the rule of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, the more thrilling the film will be. If your closest connection to the material is Dennis Miller’s “Pinochet Countdown” contest from “Saturday Night Live,” then you’re primed and ready to watch NO spoiler free.
V.22 No.13 | 3/28/2013  Film ReviewLike Someone in LoveMinimalist drama finds Iranian master Abbas Kiarostami peeping on Tokyo trioWhen we first meet fresh-faced, girl-next-door type Akiko (actress Takanashi Rin, who played the “pink” team member in several “Power Rangers”-esque TV shows), she’s sitting in a Tokyo cafe arguing with someone on her cell phone. As mere observers, we aren’t privy to the other side of the conversation, but we eventually figure out that Akiko is verbally fencing with her overly jealous boyfriend. This one-sided, information-light style of storytelling is part-and-parcel to Like Someone in Love, the low-key new drama from award-winning Iranian auteur Abbas Kiarostami (Close-Up, Taste of Cherry, The Wind Will Carry Us, Certified Copy).
 Antonio Ramon antonioramonphotography.com Restaurant ReviewVietnam in the HeightsThe quirky charms of Huong ThaoIt was the best of spring rolls, it was the worst of spring rolls.
V.22 No.12 | 3/21/2013  Film ReviewStokerKorean filmmaker goes goth in beautiful, baffling psychothrillerThis hyper-gothic thriller is one ravishing and confusing chimera—as if Terrence Malick had directed an episode of “Dexter” written by Charlotte Brontë. It’s lurid, eerie and stylish as all get-out. And apt to drive mainstream audiences crazy.
V.22 No.11 | 3/14/2013  Film ReviewOz the Great and PowerfulJames Franco books a return trip to Oz in Sam Raimi’s fantasy prequelThe massive success of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland three years ago kicked off an at-times wearying string of fairy tale updates (Red Riding Hood, Snow White and the Huntsman, Mirror Mirror, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, Jack the Giant Slayer, ABC’s “Once Upon a Time”). That film’s $330 million domestic box office certainly incentivized Disney to come up with more family fantasy reboots. Oddly enough, instead of dipping into the deep well of already Disneyfied fairy tales, the company has decided to go with a story made famous by crosstown rivals at MGM.
 Restaurant ReviewA Taste of TurkiyeAnatolia Doner Kebab RestaurantDowntown joint serves up authentic Mediterranean cuisine with pride.
V.22 No.10 | 3/7/2013  Film ReviewDeconstructing Dad: The Music, Machines and Mystery of Raymond ScottIntimate biopic finds cinematic son hunting musical fatherDocumentary filmmaking has a certain reportorial air about it, and there’s an unspoken barrier that exists between documentarian and subject. Get too close and viewers might feel you’ve lost your objectivity. That’s not a problem that seems to concern filmmaker Stanley Warnow. After all, the subject of his film is his father.
 Eric Williams ericwphoto.com Restaurant ReviewVeggie MigrationThai Vegan dishes in a new locationDuring its short tenure on Central, east of Carlisle, the now defunct Filipino Kitchen was perhaps the town’s most carnivorous eatery. The restaurant space, which shares a plaza with the Route 66 Malt Shop, is now inhabited by a new outpost of Thai Vegan, the original being on Osuna near San Mateo.
V.22 No.9 | 2/28/2013  Film ReviewHarvest of EmpirePolarizing issue of immigration has its origins exposed in historical docNew, PBS-style documentary by Peter Getzels & Eduardo López, tries to tackle the issue of immigration from a fresh perspective. Based on the book by award-winning journalist Juan González (“Democracy Now!”), Harvest of Empire asks one very simple question: What are these people doing here in the first place? The knee-jerk, surface-layer answer is that people from poor countries emigrate to America to make more money. Simple, no? But why are so many Latin American countries riddled with civil war, organized crime and overwhelming poverty in the first place? The answer, as in so many cases, lies in America’s neo-colonial government policy.
| 
| |||||||||||||||
|
home | feature | news
| film
| music
| art
| food
| classifieds
| personals
| staff
| lo-fi
| search
© 1996-2013 Weekly Alibi webmaster@alibi.com Mobile version | |||||||||||||||||
