Chef Cortlandt Inge's little piece of Alabama in Fremont (actually in the nebulous "Fre-lard" region), The Bourbon & Barbeque Grill, is an intriguing work in progress. The barbecue may be second-billed, but it's clearly the top draw.
By Mark Shaffer | March 9, 2006
Late in the closing moments of ACT Theatre's solid staging of Martin McDonagh’s “The Pillowman,” Tupolski, the senior detective investigating a grisly series of child murders, decides he's had it with everyone blaming their lousy adulthoods on their lousy childhoods.
By Mark Shaffer | March 31, 2006
Shortly after the opening carnage of this Outback "Western," Ray Winstone's Capt. Stanley surveys the infinite desolation around him and mutters, "Ah, Australia. What fresh hell is this?"
By Mark Shaffer | May 25, 2006
Every once in a while I stumble into a bar that leaves me completely befuddled in either a good way … or not. I call them "go-figures."
By Mark Shaffer | June 6, 2006
The film reappears at an opportune time - it has a good chance of conjuring an audience that's weary of reptile-infested e-savers and lowbrow comedies. It's a lot like a magic act I once saw in Vegas - while most of it was pretty run-of-the-mill, there were some tricks so remarkable that I'm still mystified by them, years later. "The Illusionist" is far from perfect, but the film succeeds in more ways than it fails. In the end, it works as a fable steeped in our attraction to the intangible, darker parts of this and other worlds. That's what sticks with you after the lights go up.
By Mark Shaffer | August 24, 2006
I love the change of seasons, particularly the fall color in the city -- not so much the leaves on the trees as those bright splashes of concert promotions plastered on every square inch of available space ...
By Mark Shaffer | September 13, 2006
