Braindance Thurs May 30 Blackbird You know when you stay at Grandma’s, and she buys those variety packs of cereal, and you want to eat all of the flavors (Apple Jacks, Corn Pops, Cocoa Krispies), but you have to choose one or two? In the case of this show, you can have the Sugar Smacks, […]
Katie Shimer
Posted inMovies & TV
No Laughing Here
The Psychology of the Sociopath
The Way We Laughed dir. Amelio Opens Fri May 24 Hollywood Theater While at first The Way We Laughed seems slow and benign, as the movie explores the relationship between two brothers, a twisted, parasitic, psychological relationship unravels. Filmed dark and languid, we watch an uneducated older brother, Giovanni, leave his hometown of Sicily for […]
Posted inMusic
Triathlete
Bukue One Boasts Skills Aplenty
Bukue One Fri May 17 Berbati’s Bukue One has three obvious passions: Emceeing, skateboarding, and graffiti writing. The three combine together to make up the Oakland emcee’s persona: “You could be tight but I’m tighter, best believe me/I’ll paint the whole city a done deal in graffiti/You don’t really want to raise the stakes/let’s put […]
Posted inGeneral
blackjack or bust
Katie Shimer’s Clip-n-Save Guide to Staying Afloat at the BJ Tables
Pullout: Gambling
Posted inMovies & TV
More Sex, Less Drama
I Should Have Directed This Movie
Unfaithful dir. Lyne Opens Fri May 10 Various Theaters A huge reason we go to movies or read books: escapism. We may spend our days placing dollar bills into hundred-dollar stacks all day at the bank, listening to our friends talk about their chronic fatigue syndrome, or picking up piles of dog shit in the […]
Posted inMusic
My Spidey-Sense Says’
The Soundtrack is a Wash
Various Artists Spider-Man: Music from and Inspired By (Columbia/Roadrunner/Island Def Jam/Sony Music Soundtrax) Let me first say that I am a sucker for the variety that movie soundtracks provide. I purchased the Escape from LA. soundtrack the day after I saw the film, because I was into the adrenaline rush of the driving techno and […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Repression and Obsession
S & M is Less Than Orgasmic
The Piano Teacher dir. Haneke Opens Fri April 26 Cinema 21 What happens when you lose sight of your own priorities? In the case of The Piano Teacher (played by Isabelle Huppert), you forget who you are. Instead of looking inward, this piano teacher projects her pain and vengeance on others to make her feel […]
Posted inNews
You’re You, But Not You
How One Desperate Woman Subjected Herself to the Most Desperate Act of All: Online Dating
Everyone’s had that unbearable dry spell in his or her sex life. The times when you go out to bars, to the grocery store, to the park, and not one human being looks attractive, or if they do, they’re nuzzling some other gorgeous person and you want to throw rocks at their mini-SUV. I’ve recently […]
Posted inMusic
Primal Scream?
The Apes Explore the Subconscious
The Apes Mon April 22 Blackbird Hi. I’m Katie Shimer. As you begin reading this article, maybe you’re thinking, “Can this dumbass writer make it through one stinking Apes piece without making a completely obvious evolution analogy?” Or maybe you’re thinking, “Wow! An evolution analogy would be wise and appropriate in an article about the […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Hollywood is Lazy
And Panic Room is Proof
Panic Room dir. Fincher Opens Fri March 29 Various Theaters If there is one thing I cannot overlook in a film, it’s a plot hole. Or even worse, an implausible story supposedly based in reality. If either of these two fatalities occur, I can still like the film–but will not take it seriously. It’s kind […]
Posted inMusic
The Future of What
Dude! It’s (Maybe) Unwound’s Last Show
Unwound Thurs March 28 Blackbird Unwound have toured Europe and Japan, released six albums, an equal number of retrospectives, EPs and limited releases, and a shitload of seven-inches. If this is the end of the band, as the rumors have stated, they’ll at least have the past ten years of work under their belts. Formed […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Mercury Video Picks
True Stories: Family Members Gone Mad With that Christian Longo guy killing and dumping his wife and kids in the ocean, I’ve been wondering: Is there any advanced indication that your loved one is capable of murder? Do you find your hubby standing over you in the middle of the night with a pick ax? […]