God’s gift
Painter Ronald Warunek reimagines the whole of creation….
The real girl from 1984
This study of George Orwell’s widow takes its title from his masterpiece. In 1984, the unbearable isolation and despair of Winston Smith is briefly alleviated by the appearance (in both senses) of a ravishing and thoroughly amoral girl, Julia, whose job is to help turn out tripe novels for the proles. Their moment of shared…
Letters to the Editor
All about skills Jack Lessenberry in his column ("Gov’s race: home stretch," Metro Times, July 10-16) quoted Bill Ballenger’s assessment of Jennifer Granholm that "the great unanswered question is whether she possesses the political skills to survive in a difficult environment." He goes on to make it clear that he does not favor Granholm for…
Sons & lovers
Tadpole
takes a premise (younger man with older woman) that could be controversial and renders it as harmless as a TV movie of the week. Yet its direction, its script and Sigourney Weaver’s performance as a vaguely discontented woman of substance, make for a mildly entertaining 77 minutes.
Destiny’s child
With a lead in the polls and a huge war chest, the self-made Granholm is poised to transcend humble roots….
Eight Legged Freaks
Drive-in-flavored arachnid anarchy in a post-drive-in era, Freaks is funny, but keeps the action serious enough to make you jump and squirm as humans are swallowed up by trap-door spiders or web-mummified for a treat later on — with David Arquette.
Reinventing Jim
Ex-Gov. Blanchard — Michigan Democrats’ darling of the ’80s — says he’s older, wiser and re-energized….
K-19: The Widowmaker
Basing his script on actual catastrophic events, screenwriter Christopher Kyle distills them into a drama of true heroes. And director Kathryn Bigelow earns her stars and admittance into was has been almost exclusively a men’s club of major action filmmakers.
The Cream of the Scene
Don’t hate the Scene Creamers because they’re beautiful. Perhaps the group’s biggest claim to fame at this early stage is that it features the deliciously stylish former Make-Up-ers Ian Svenonius on vocals and Michelle Mae on bass. That band’s detailed visual presentation always helped to fuel the rousing gospel-psych-punk-funk shouts, wails and calls to arms.…
Cinema Paradiso: The New Version
The idea that cinema is life has always been the heart of Cinema Paradiso (1988). Director Giuseppe Tornatore has rescued 51 minutes of footage from the cutting room floor to create his truly Nuovo Cinema Paradiso. And the lengthy additions to the film’s final act ironically redeem its love plot.
July 24-30, 2002
24 WED • MUSIC Ursula Rucker — Maybe redefining the parameters of hip hop, spoken word and soul nouveau is easy. At least Philly singer/poet/visionary Ursula Rucker makes it sound effortless with her explorations that wind through soulful drum ’n’ bass, funk and spoken verse. Though most of her fame comes from her days with…
Stuart Little 2
The big-screen welcomes back Stuart Little, after his 1999 computerized debut that pleasantly surprised audiences with polite-mannered, pragmatic, homespun dilemmas triggered by a fantastic little man — or mouse. But the second time around, the littlest Little has lost some of his charm.
Congressional act
Bonior’s approach kept him in the House for a quarter century. Now he wants the mansion….
Windmills fear Al Fishman
Detroit resident feels that peace will prevail only when the Israeli occupation ends.
Tenants racket
The shopping center abutting Lafayette Towers is set to shut down to make way for parking…
Do-it-yourself help
Q: If a woman masturbates often, will her vagina loosen? I hear men telling each other that they like girls with tight vaginas. I am a virgin; if I spread it often, will it seem that I am not a virgin? Some people say that a tampon is for nonvirgins. I know this is false,…
Burn on
Michigan Department of Environmental Quality is poised to grant Detroit’s municipal incinerator a new operating permit…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): How frequently do I hand you a blank check for instant gratification? A free pass for unlimited partying? Poetic license to indulge in what might at any other time be an obscene abundance of luxurious sensation? Not often. Therefore, don’t sit a minute longer squandering your precious hedonistic opportunities. If this…
Bitch session
Downriver residents fume over proposal to inject hazardous waste into Romulus wells…
Decision 2002
Barring any last-minute technological glitches, Savage Love readers will be able to vote in the “My Man Sure Looks Hot in His Tighty-Whities Contest” when the polls open Friday, July 26, at 9 a.m. EDT. But before I reveal the address of the Web site where civic-minded readers can cast their ballots, a little history…
Brown rights
Blue Triangle Network formed to mobilize against the repression of Metro-area Muslims, Arabs and South Asians…
Stage for the soul
Pork chops, pistols, chitterlings and a drag queen might give playwright and producer Shelly Garrett’s I’m Doing the Right Thing … With the Wrong Man its campy flair. But it’s his lust for laughs and willingness to take chances that really captivate audiences. After many years as an actor playing a variety of roles in…
Movin’ on up
The Abandoned Shelter Squad (ASS) is broadening its horizons to include the very first Abandoned Building of the Week…
Documentary filmmaking 101
Ward Powers sits in his plush Northville office amid books, papers and plants. He has been a trial lawyer for 20 years, but he has always engaged in pursuits that belie the suburban existence he enjoys with his wife, Dianne, and their three daughters. He needs to express himself in ways that transcend legal briefs.…
Abandoned Shelter of the Week
The Abandoned Shelter Squad (ASS) is broadening its horizons to include the very first Abandoned Building of the Week. This decrepit joint sits at 9440 Woodward, near Arden Park, Northern High School and several churches. Neighboring structures range from solid to far from that. The featured edifice is guarded by several hard-working prostitutes. A woman…
Snap, crackle, prog-pop
Midwest Product milks the heartland’s organic teat….
Broadzilla
Trampling the Tramp-o-Lean and any other miscreants that get in their way, Broadzilla’s hard-rock pummel is flavored by enough pop-punk to make you really, really enjoy the clobbering. Powerful, visceral and catchy as you please.
The court and the council
The Michigan Supreme Court actually did something right last week. It ruled — unanimously, no less — that the City Council-altering referendum the Michigan Legislature shoved onto Detroit’s primary ballot at the last minute is unconstitutional. If voters had approved it, that measure would have replaced Detroit’s current system, under which all nine council members…
Road to Perdition
Director Sam Mendes’ follow-up to his acerbic debut, American Beauty, has been adapted by Daniel Self from a graphic novel (i.e. ambitious comic book) and this may account for the film’s curious shortcomings. Though visually it can’t be faulted, it’s not nearly as resonant as it could have been — with Tom Hanks and Paul…
