James Gray, Two Lovers

It’s 2007. I’m in France at the Cannes Film Festival, and one of the movies I make it my mission to see is We Own the Night, a James Gray film starring Oscar nominee Joaquin Phoenix. Despite the French audience reaction, I find the film to be one of the most generic, forgettable cop movies I’ve seen. It’s 2009. I recall those same feelings as I enter the Cine theatre for the presentation of Two Lovers. It’s the same director and the same leading man. The results are a little different, though. I kind of like this one. [read more...]

Hosting a Party: An Interview with Gretchen Phillips

Iconic Austin musician, Gretchen Phillips, talks to Athens Exchange about the past, present, and future of her career. You can see Gretchen Phillips live at the Mondohomo Festival on May 21st in Atlanta. [read more...]

Michael Jackson, In Memory of Human Nature

Remembering an icon who re-mapped America's musical landscape. [read more...]

McG, Terminator Salvation

Every once in a while, that rare summer blockbuster will come along that can both please its target audience and restrain critics from thinking up new ways of saying, “It sucked.” Most times, however, actions films released between the months of April and August are short on substance and, ultimately, quickly forgotten. Last year’s Christian Bale-starrer The Dark Knight definitely fell into the first category. This one, however, not so much. [read more...]

Vinyl: Ritual and Revolution

A look at vinyl records, not just as a medium or icon, but an approach to how we listen. [read more...]