Screeing of Faith Pennick’s Silent Choices to be held in Pittsburgh
Filmmaker explores experiences of black women and abortion
The Lives of Others
With a few deft strokes, von Donnersmarck conveys the joyless claustrophobia of living in a socialist paradise turned police state; even the prostitutes run on an ordered schedule.
Local clergy, KDKA have meeting of the minds — sort of
A deceased pastor’s behavior “was outside what the Christian church expects of him,” says a clergyman who met with KDKA. “We were not happy with the way the story was pursued but the behavior was a matter of serious concern.”
Acclaimed avant-garde filmmaker Peter Tscherkassky visits Pittsburgh.
In reminding viewers of the artificiality of conventional film narrative, Tscherkassky manages to at once distance us from and more deeply immerse us in the experience.
P-G unions ratify new three-year deal
Mike Bucsko, president of the Newspaper Guild, called the deal “concessionary” and said all involved were just glad the negotiation process was over.
Black Snake Moan
If you’re gonna make a hootin’-and-hollerin’ sex- and race-tinged exploitation feature, just go for it: Save the lessons for church. (Capsule review.)
Darfur activist: Ongoing campaign still not enough
he most important thing Americans can do, activists say, is financial divesture — not buying from companies that in any way do business with Sudan.
Breaking And Entering
It’s sudsy entertainment for a while, but Anthony Minghella’s drama quickly devolves into a muddle of predictable musings. (Capsule review).
On the ground at Harrisburg’s Millennium Music Conference
Squabbling bands, self-promoting musicians, suits, svengalis and hustlers. Ah, the drama.
The Number 23
In Joel Schumacher’s murder-mystery thriller, everything, it seems, is made of 2s and 3s. (Capsule review.)
The vanishing ecosystem of the Arctic National Widlife Refuge is beautifully documented in Subhankar Banerjee’s Terra Incognita.
The trails left by the caribou on the snow, and the linear patterns that their progression forms, are undermined by a sinister grey crack in their icy path, intensifying our concern for the conservation of this area.
Johnstown’s Mike Miller takes a personal journey with The Beagle Club
Perhaps Miller speaks for a generation that aspires to greater tasks than just serving lattes to the boomers.
Reno 911!: Miami
The film transplants the Reno Sheriff’s Department’s hi-jinks to more exotic locales, such as Topless Beach. (Capsule review.)
In Space gallery’s Home/Away, artists stake a generation claim to the idea of “home.”
To the 18 artists and groups who’ve contributed works, concepts of home seem rooted as much in generational time as in place.
More-is-more on School of Athens
Surely, My Chemical Romance doesn’t have that one sewn up yet.
Wild Hogs
Four middle-aged dullards hit the blacktop on their weekend hogs for some open-road excitement in this tepid comedy. (Capsule review.)
I’m not from around here, but from what I hear, H.C. Frick oppressed a lot of Pittsburghers. Yet I live by this big beautiful park named after him. Why keep these names if Frick was such a bad guy?
We’ll use Frick Park on account of our kids … but we’ll decry Frick himself, on behalf of our parents.
The legendary Joffrey Ballet visits with a program of classics.
The three-movement tour-de-force set to the music of Prince is a shining example of the mathematically minded Dean’s fascination with geometric pattern and repetition.
Orchids International Vegetarian Restaurant
We quickly concluded that the real meat of the menu — if you’ll pardon the phrase — is in the two pages of Indian selections, dense with dosas, uttapams and curries.
Party Time in Race for Pittsburgh Mayor
The good news for Mr. Peduto-head is, if he loses the endorsement, it’s no surprise … and if he wins, it’ll be an amazing victory.
Pittsburgh n’@
From: http://pittsburghdish.typepad.com/pittsburgh_dish/2007/02/garden_goes_dar.html Moving vans were spotted clearing out the infamous and historic Garden Theater on the North Side yesterday. Which is good. But here’s hoping former patrons have purchased a DVD player and television in anticipation of the shutdown. Now, guys, as any cinephile knows, it’s always better on the big screen, but you’ll just…
Letters to the Editor: Feb. 28 – March 7
Breaking faith Thank you for “Crisis of Faith” [Feb. 14], an informative article about an event that happened three months ago but will not go away — as well it shouldn’t. I have seen this story still circulating across the country in various media sources. I have two comments: First, I think it’s total BS that…
One of These Days, We Should Give Her a Medal
A woman who has turned gray in the air — the airline stewardess down the aisles, fitting her new body between tight rows that weren’t meant for her. After nine eleven, they went back into the years for those who know the air — those who once breathed in the sky through thin nostril passages…
Footloose: The Musical
Considering how forgettable the music is, that the Footloose cast could get through it without having the lyrics written on their shirtsleeves is a small miracle.
Sick Transit
Here we go again: The Port Authority of Allegheny County has proposed yet another round of service cuts. This time, though, the agency is serious. In recent years the show(down) went like this: Officials threatened to cut routes and raise fares unless the state provided more money. Riders on affected routes hollered until the white…
Penguins Hope the Kids Are Alright
The youth that makes the Pens so bewitching can cut both ways, particularly in the net.
Imagining Bubbe
What gives this play its dramatic weight is the manner in which the grandmothers are presented as women first, rather than iconic dispensers of wisdom and love trotted out on the holidays.
Savage Love
Serious question: I have always had a thing for Anna Nicole Smith and frequently masturbated to her Playboy photos. I’ve always felt some guilt about masturbation to begin with, but since her death, I now feel a little creepy doing it. Do you think it’s OK to continue now that she has passed away? Missing…
Asparagus
Drennan’s done a remarkable job of using just about every theatrical device there is to obscure the fact that the actual focus of her play is an inert stack of paper.
This Just In
Highlights from local TV coverage.
I, Hustlebot
“I like the fact that it’s a group mentality, we’re creating something that didn’t exist before, and tomorrow it’ll be gone.”
Michael Pollan parses The Omnivore‘s Dilemma
Our collective eating disorder, Pollan says, stems from too many options too far from their roots: What the hell is a Twinkie, anyway?
Local music-scene vets unite in Hi-Watt Hex
“It’s an exercise in bridging the gap between the power of our youth and the reality of our adulthood.”
Linda Pastan explores the spectre of death stalking home and hearth.
“My main subject [has been] the possibility of loss that’s always lurking,” Pastan says. Wryly, she adds, “Not just the possibility, but in my case the expectation.”
Irish trio Buílle blends the contemporary and the traditional
The concertina isn’t the most graceful instrument in the world.
A Conversation with Matt Mihalcin
Check out the brain on Matt. For Matt Mihalcin, 31, ultrasonic engineering and married life go hand-in-hand with playing drums in a punk-rock band. And not just any band: For 10 years, the Monroeville native has dished out the primal thunder for area vets The Human Brains. You could probably see him as symbolic of…
Zodiac
Fincher needed to make a slower, denser, psychological drama that lasted for three hours or so. Nobody would go see it, of course, but at least those few who did might leave feeling satisfied.
