Looking back over last year’s reviews, I see that I watched about 160 movies in 2003 — that is, not counting special titles for the Asheville Film Festival, the Cinema in the Park series, and library screenings. Now, that’s a lot of time sitting in the dark by anyone’s standards. As usual, I spent the … Read more
Last year was indeed a terrific one for films, making it a merciless assignment to limit my best-of-2003 choices to only 10. But here goes: So good! 1) The Dancer Upstairs. This Latin-paced political thriller/romance is an astonishing directorial debut from actor John Malkovich, and stars heart-melting Spanish actor Javier Bardem. Repeated viewings only enhance … Read more
Here are the Southeastern Film Critics Association’s picks for the best film work of 2003. This year, 45 SEFCA members representing nine states — Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia — voted on the awards. Our own Ken Hanke was among the voters. Top 10 1) The Lord of … Read more
David Copperfield doesn’t have anything to prove. Millions of people watched him on TV as he made the Statue of Liberty disappear, walked through the Great Wall of China, escaped from Alcatraz, and vanished from an imploding building. He’s a household name in America, easily the most successful magician of all time. So why on … Read more
When they’re runnin’ down my country, hossThey’re walkin’ on the fightin’ side of me. … Those scrappy lines socked their way into the Great American Songbook years ago. They’re part of the chorus to a country-music chart-topper that’s as emblematic of a tumultuous time — the tail end of the 1960s, when the Vietnam War … Read more
The Asheville Art Museum’s current show commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers’ flight at Kitty Hawk is a respectful bow to North Carolina history. But the works that most do justice to the exhibit’s title evince a childlike simplicity. Most of Dream or Nightmare: Images of Air and Space in Contemporary Art takes … Read more
Among the offerings they’ll present at the upcoming Asheville Fringe Festival, The Future of Tradition Center for Folkloric Arts will give audiences a modern gypsy cabaret and the piece “Panty Raid Burlesque” — which is just what it sounds like. “What would be really fringy would be to combine them,” muses Susan Collard, artistic director … Read more
Of note After the fall: Beyond-country twang aces Sugar & The Plums plan on releasing their sex-and-booze-soaked first studio recording — a 10-song-er — in late March on local Manimal Records. No title has yet been determined. Top open-mic addicts move on up The first thing you notice about Matt Lambert is his smile. It’s … Read more
According to horticultural tomes, there’s a member of the wide-ranging fig family for just about every conceivable purpose. There are figs for food, figs for fodder, figs that produce natural rubber, and figs whose bark is made into cloth. Banyan trees send down aerial roots that eventually form trunks to help support the enormous canopy, … Read more
