Saint Ralph
Saint Ralph Studio: Samuel Goldwyn Films Rated: PG-13 Website: http://www.saintralphmovie.com/ Release Date: 2005-08-05 Cast: Adam Butcher, Campbell Scott, Shauna MacDonald, Gordon Pinsent, Michael Kanev Director: Michael McGowan Screenwriter: Michael McGowan WorkNameSort: Saint Ralph Our Rating: 3.00 Introduced to local audiences via the 2005 Florida Film Festival, this coming-of-age- comedy/period piece hits every clichéd note in…
Sky High
Sky High Studio: Walt Disney Pictures Rated: PG Website: http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/skyhigh/ Release Date: 2005-08-05 Cast: Michael Angarano, Kurt Russell, Kelly Preston, Lynda Carter, Danielle Panabaker Director: Mike Mitchell Screenwriter: Paul Hernandez, Bob Schooley, Mark McCorkle Music Score: Michael Giacchino WorkNameSort: Sky High Our Rating: 3.00 Finally, a summer family film that can (and did) hold the…
INTERPRETIVE HINTS
One Way, It’s Every Way Label: Mush Rated: NONE WorkNameSort: One Way, It’s Every Way In a melting pot of influences that appear to range from late ’60s folk-rock (British and Californian) to the acid-hoarding Technicolor laptop twiddlers of 2005, Australia’s Mark Mitchell fumbles through darling crowded melodies and private, first-person lyrics, with nothing more…
Honeycomb
Honeycomb Label: Back Porch Rated: NONE WorkNameSort: Honeycomb It’s a slightly surreal experience hearing Frank Black take on the soul classic “The Dark End of the Street” on his new album, Honeycomb. You don’t for a minute believe you’re listening to the tortured James Carr, but you’re willing to accept that Black knows something about…
The Bethlehem Years
The Bethlehem Years Label: Bethlehem/Shout Factory Rated: NONE WorkNameSort: Bethlehem Years, The It’s nearly impossible not to notice that the press release accompanying this first batch of Shout Factory’s Bethlehem jazz reissues goes on about how this fine jazz catalog has never been properly reissued – an observation made ironic when you consider that Rhino,…
DIVE RIGHT IN
I don’t know why, but I was expecting a dive. Maybe it was the fact that R.J. Gator’s seemed to be named after somebody’s uncle. Maybe because it was called a “Florida sea grill.” Maybe just because it was founded 20 years ago. But R.J. Gator’s was far from being a dive. It was more…
OLD DOG, NEW TRICKS
On a particularly sweltering day in late July, I ventured over to Pup’s to get my summer hot dog fill. I kept hearing rave reviews about their steamed all-beef koshers and decided it was time to try one (or two or three) for myself. Certainly, the hot dog is one of the simplest American foods,…
SHOT IN THE DARKO
Chumscrubber Studio: Newmarket FIlms Rated: R Website: http://www.chumscrubber.com/ Release Date: 2005-08-05 Cast: Jamie Bell, Camilla Belle, Justin Chatwin, Glenn Close, Rory Culkin Director: Arie Posin Screenwriter: Zac Stanford Music Score: James Horner WorkNameSort: Chumscrubber Our Rating: 3.00 How soon you need to see The Chumscrubber has less to do with the film’s genuine merits than…
SUBWAY DIET
Kontroll Studio: ThinkFilm Rated: R Website: http://www.kontrollfilm.hu/ Release Date: 2005-08-05 Cast: Sándor Csányi, Zoltan Mucsi, Csaba Pindroch, Eszter Balla, Sandor Badar Director: Nimród Antal Screenwriter: Nimród Antal, Jim Adler Music Score: NEO WorkNameSort: Kontroll Our Rating: 4.00 Spokespeople for Kontroll say the London bombings have had nothing to do with the repeated postponement of their…
CHOPPILY EVER AFTER
Happy Endings Studio: Lions Gate Films Rated: R Website: http://www.happyendingsthemovie.com/ Release Date: 2005-08-05 Cast: Lisa Kudrow, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Steve Coogan, Laura Dern, Jesse Bradford Director: Don Roos Screenwriter: Don Roos Music Score: Calexico, Kid Loco WorkNameSort: Happy Endings Thought of fondly for 1998’s The Opposite of Sex, writer/director Don Roos charts similar terrain of emotional…
INFILTRATING THE SOUTH
Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus Studio: Shadow Distribution Rated: NOT RATED Website: http://www.searchingforthewrongeyedjesus.com/ Release Date: 2005-08-05 Cast: Jim White, The Handsome Family , Johnny Dowd, 16 Horsepower , David Johansen Director: Andrew Douglas Screenwriter: Steve Haisman WorkNameSort: Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus If you’ve never fallen under the spell of alt-country singer/songwriter Jim White, then…
INTO THE WOODS
I am convinced, both by faith and experience, that to maintain one’s self on this earth is not a hardship but a pastime, if we will live simply and wisely … . — Henry David Thoreau, Walden It’s another typical day in Orlando. The thermometer is inching toward 100 degrees, but the heat index is…
Happytown
The on-again, off-again saga of whether or not Cameron Kuhn will demolish the entire block west of Orange Avenue between Jefferson and Washington streets, including – sniff – Scruffy Murphy’s, seems to be back on. Late last year Kuhn announced his intentions to the Orlando Business Journal, saying this development would be even bigger than…
IT’S THE GENES
I found myself in a haze on a recent Saturday morning – go figure – and, very much to my surprise, watching C-Span. I’m admittedly a political junkie, but I make it a point to avoid the monotone babblefest that C-Span offers out of consideration for my own sanity. The show was Washington Journal, which…
HOW’D THAT HAPPEN?
I’m still on vacation. Here’s another column from the Savage Love archives. One day scholars of human sexuality will pore over old Savage Loves, pondering archaic sexual practices like solo piss play and ancient slang terms like “wack.” My girlfriend and I only see each other on weekends. To overcome the overwhelming desire to jerk…
RAMMING AND OTHER MAYHEM
JULY 22, 5 P.M.: Probably because there was nothing better to do, an unknown suspect or suspects sneaked into a miniscule mailroom office found on the ground level of a downtown building’s parking garage in the 400 block of South Orange Avenue. Entry was quite simple: The suspect(s) slid open a window on the office’s…
CAREER SUICIDE
Just when you think you know this journalism game inside and out, somebody moves the goalposts. According to an article in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, former Miami commissioner Arthur Teele last week walked into the offices of the Miami Herald and asked to speak to columnist Jim DeFede. Teele, who had been facing state and…
Letters
Scandalous! Kudos for your recent Parramore scandal report. Super job! Thank you for bringing all that out into public view. — William Gray, via the Internet We achieve perfection The article “Where have all the women artists gone?” [July 21] was absolute brilliance! It seemed obvious that a bit of research went into this article,…
Rob Brezny’s Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19) The Drama Queen or Drama King within you is secretly plotting to raise the emotional stakes to record levels. For that inner extremist, mere adventure might not be enough; thunderous histrionics and romantic excess may be considered essential. While I have no problem with you enjoying a fevered fling, I don’t…
REACH THE BLEACH
I need a fix. Like Diana Ross singing the blues, I’m dangerously devoid of both heroin and sense, so heading to the Velvet Sessions at the Hard Rock Hotel all typical pleasantries are out the window, along with last night’s drunk arm bracelets and two or three cigarettes. There’s a nominally resurrected pop/rock career to…
News of the Weird
DOESN’T TASTE LIKE CHICKEN Mark Nuckols, a business student at Dartmouth, has begun selling a tofu-like food, Hufu, that is flavored to resemble what he believes is the taste of human flesh. His target audience is those who already enjoy cooking with tofu, as well as any actual cannibals who might settle for artificiality in…
Notable Noise
On Aug. 1, I had the honor of judging a battle of the bands at The Social. Well, I was honored to be asked; personally, I think band-battles are super-lame for two reasons. First, most bands that want to play them suck (otherwise, they’d just be playing shows and making fans the old-fashioned way). Second,…
NOTES BY THE POUND
Gigantour, the Dave Mustaine-curated prog-metal festival, boasts more squealing solos than Ozzfest, more anti-government conspiracy theories than Warped and more virtuosity than defunct jamathons such as H.O.R.D.E. and Furthur. Its main-stage headliners have released indisputable classics, bastions of instrumental intelligence and lyrical eloquence. However, even longhaired luminaries have their off days, or decades. Let’s see…
THE 15-MINUTE EXTENSION
You know, it’s really annoying when a basic law of nature is repeatedly broken. And by this I mean the immutable “LAW OF FAME.” I can’t remember who came up with it – probably Einstein – but it goes something like this: “Everyone is famous for 15 minutes … after that we beat the shit…
PRO-CHOICE MOVEMENT
On a balmy recent Saturday evening, a roomful of celebrants in fancy dress gathered at an opulent family home in east Orlando. They were there to salute Martin Chase, a web-portal designer whose work had earned him the “Man of the Year” award from an organization named Wirthy Causes International. Well-wishers milled about, talking up…
