In Defense of White Movie Critics

In which Mark Asch, a white movie critic, raises objections to Armond White's review of the reviews of Precious.

By Mark Asch

R. Kelly Pushes the Button

The Donnie Darko and Southland Tales director tries to make a studio movie, but instead turns in the gratifyingly weird, unresolved The Box.

By Nicolas Rapold

Misunderstanding The Misunderstanding

A new production of Albert Camus' torturous family tragedy can't grasp its destructive energy.

By Benjamin Sutton

Douglas Martin Is Like Gertrude Stein, with One Crucial Difference

This week, The L Mag Questionnaire for Writer Types parses the finer points of anatomy and influence.

Going On Today...

in Art

in Talks & Readings

in Music

With their pages-long titles and exquisitely detailed rendering, the sculptors unsettling marble and onyx creations — heads fused to each other, talismans of some mysterious cult shining under elaborately rigged lighting — give the impression of having stumbled into a forbidden temple.

Salon 94 Freemans, 1 Freeman Alley, between Chrystie and Bowery, Lower East Side

Music

Standing on a Beach

Ben Gibbard and Jay Farrar set Jack Kerouac to music... the wrong type of music but music nonetheless.

By Mike Conklin

Fuck Buttons

The UK duo releases an album of seven wordless, pulsing electronic music. And they're still called Fuck Buttons.

By Jeff Klingman

Grooms

Local noise-rockers release their debut full-length, prove once and for all that patience is a virtue.

By Jeff Klingman

BOAT

We just realized there hasn't been any good indie-pop records released this year. Until now.

By Lauren Beck

Film

R. Kelly Pushes the Button

The Donnie Darko and Southland Tales director tries to make a studio movie, but instead turns in the gratifyingly weird, unresolved The Box.

By Nicolas Rapold

[Many Reviews of This Movie Will Be Titled] Bah, Humbug [Because It's Not Very Good]

Seriously, this new Christmas Carol is really, really meh. (Also, it's the first weekend in November).

By Simon Abrams

Deep Throat, Shallow Movie

Weathered patriarch Hal Halbrook makes the rest of That Evening Sun look even worse than it is.

By Henry Stewart

The Feel-Good-About-How-Bad-You-Feel Movie of the Year

Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire will uplift you even if it has to smash your head with a skillet to do it.

By Benjamin Mercer

Food & Drink

From Guerilla War to a Scorsese Movie to a Tibetan Restaurant in Queens

In the first of a series, Katie Robbins profiles the people behind New York's great ethnic restaurants.

By Katie Robbins

Not My Casa

Wow, this bar really sucks. Just to be clear.

By Mary Block

Sep 30, 2009

Columns

Art Fag City

Brainy Art Is Not For Everyone

By Paddy Johnson

Two new shows rely a little too much on the head and not enough on that other, bloodier part of the body.

Fashionville

The World's Gone Mad

By Laurel Pinson

What Sex and the City was to the late 90s, Mad Men is for the late 00s.

Sex With the Natural Redhead

My Ex-Girlfriend is a Porn Star

By Audrey Ference

If you have to ask if it's ok to watch your ex-girlfriend in a three-way...

The Conscientious Objector

For the Love of Dog

By Amanda Park Taylor

If you've ever considered adopting a rescue pet, now's the time. The furs need you.

The Power of My Proven System

Music Legend Steve Wynn Loves the Yankees

By Timothy Bracy

Yes, people honestly do love the big, rich Yankees.

Fare is Fair

Should We Steal Water from the Moon?

By Marian Lorraine

Leave the poor Moon alone. Don't we have enough trouble occupying other countries, let alone other planetoids?

Reviews

Album

Grooms

Local noise-rockers release their debut full-length, prove once and for all that patience is a virtue.

By Jeff Klingman

Theater

Richard Foreman's Truly Brilliant Idiot

Idiot Savant is experimental theater bliss, especially thanks to Willem Dafoe's spectacular performance(s).

By Robert Tumas

Bar

What's That Noise on the Roof?

Berry Park puts a biergarten in a loft... and it works.

By Mary Block

Books

God Says No

The trials and tribulations of a gay Christian are the subject of this anguished novel.

By Eleanor J. Bader

Film

Normal Activity

Everything we've read about digital technology and studio greed suggests we should greet any movie proclaiming to be “real” with disbelief. And yet, The Fourth Kind...

By Stephen Snart

Restaurant

Saltie of the Earth

Fast food done nearly perfectly at Williamsburg snack counter, Saltie.

By Keith Wagstaff

The Measure

Do You Know How Angry We Are That the Yankees Ruined the Best Song of the Year?

Jay-Z performs "Empire State of Mind" at the Yankee parade earlier today.

Posted by Mike Conklin at 4:43 PM

Method Man Starring in 3D Movie About Life in the 'Hood

Promises to blow 3D weed smoke at the camera every two minutes.

Posted by Benjamin Sutton at 3:32 PM

FREE BOOZE! Art Events Tonight

It's mostly about North Brooklyn tonight, with a few interesting things goin' on in Chelsea.

Posted by Benjamin Sutton at 2:55 PM

The Measure cont'd

Dog of the Day: Licky Ricky

It's been clinically proven that dog owners have more sex.

Posted by Amanda Park Taylor at 2:23 PM

Paris' Pompidou Center Plans Traveling Art Circus

Free big top show of modern art headed to the poor urban and rural parts of France in late 2010.

Posted by Benjamin Sutton at 1:57 PM

U2 and Jay-Z Perform Together in Berlin

And really, we wish they hadn't.

Posted by Mike Conklin at 1:25 PM

Listicles

10 Times Animals Have Interrupted Sporting Events

By Ben

No doubt you heard about how Manu Ginobili of the San Antonio Spurs picked a bothersome bat right out of the air during a basketball game last week, but mental_floss...

12 Movies Set on Military Bases

By Ben

No doubt you've heard the tragic news of the events that unfolded at Fort Hood yesterday, a place so remote and different from our daily lives that we struggled to...

10 Hip-Hop Album Cover Cliches

By Ben

We really love a spectacularly ridiculous hip hop album cover. You know, one that deploys all the common cliches with copious jewelry, fancy cars, naked women, suits, cigars, a lurking...

Classified Directory

CLASSIFIED DIRECTORY Cobble Hill, Brooklyn

D.U.B. Pies

NIGHTLIFE Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Iona

One of the oldest bars in Williamsburg, this Irish/Scottish pub has 22 drafts on tap, wines, whiskeys and other fine liquors. Beer garden with table tennis and open fireplaces. Check http://myspace.com/ionasports for soccer times and http://ionabrooklyn.com for weekly DJs and a live music calendar.

CLASSIFIED DIRECTORY Park Slope, Brooklyn

Ocean's 8

CLASSIFIED DIRECTORY Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Boro Park OB/GYN

The doctors and midwives at our beautiful new Williamsburg office are committed to providing individualized care in a comfortable and welcoming environment. Boasting 20-plus years experience.

NIGHTLIFE Clinton Hill, Brooklyn

Rustik Tavern

Cozy and inviting neighborhood tavern detailed with brick walls, beautiful wood, comfy seating, fireplace and amazing garden. Large selection of beers and delicious bar favorites. Live music weekly and DJs on Friday nights.

RESTAURANTS Dumbo, Brooklyn

Superfine

Seasonal, organic, locally farmed, grass feed beefiest, freshest fishiest, Mediterranean menu with a great happy hour, live bluegrass Sunday brunch, really nice customers and a local art gallery wall. Lunch & dinner Tue-Fri, dinner Sat & Sun, closed Mon.

CLASSIFIED DIRECTORY Greenpoint, Brooklyn

Brooklyn Label

The best coffee and espresso drinks - from Stumptown Roasters - plus comfort food that has the neighborhood buzzing. Fresh ingredients, dishes made from scratch -- plus the friendliest servers and baristas. For dinner, great fish, ribs, etc. and a my-t fine vegan/vegetarian menu.

DirectoryM Guides