A+E

Vegas Vampires


By William Hill, $15.95

1. She tried to scream. It came out a hoarse whisper of terror.

2. They kissed, and it reminded her of breathing again after holding her breath too long—fresh, wonderful and life-sustaining.

3. Unfortunately, she was still alive. Worse, she was staring up at Dirk DeVault. He smiled, gloating. He dropped from the helicopter to land lightly next to her, unharmed and bemused. Could it be? Vampires existed?

4. "Within a month, you will fly about Lost Wages at night with the other bats, seeking sustenance on the tourists, the drunks, and the sex peddlers." "Never," she whispered. "Open your eyes! Witness the glory that is Las Vegas."

WHAT WENT RIGHT: Some deserved if predictable wins, including Reese Witherspoon as Best Actress, Ang Lee as Best Director and Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit as Best Animated Feature. The Academy having the guts to award a song about pimping, which also happened to be the most deserving nominee. A long-overdue acknowledgement of Robert Altman's genius. Pretty much everything George Clooney did or said.

WHAT WENT HORRIBLY WRONG: Why, why, why did Crash, easily one of the worst films of 2005, end up as Best Picture? What was up with the music playing during the entirety of every acceptance speech, like they wanted to shoo people off before they even started? Was that song from Crash, with its oppressive, dirge-like quality and interpretive dance accompaniment, almost as bad as the movie itself? Anyone for a moratorium on pointless montages?

JON STEWART WAS: Restrained, but more hit than miss. His fake campaign commercials were one of the show's highlights, and he successfully walked the line between snark and sincerity. It'd be good to see him back next year, although we might suggest an alternative: Clooney.

Almond Zigmund's work is about reconfiguring space and our notions of it, including those that might be social. And so, while the print "Roseroad" has the cheery flair of 1960s kitchen design, and could be read either as an innocuous tribute or as an ironic comment, it plays with the traditional tools of landscape, horizon, sweeping lines, shallow orientation. Its swath of quilted material could be both paper towel, like the floral-print patch above it, and car seat, with an austere, high-horizoned view. And yet these elements constitute another topography altogether, Pop-ography, where product, desire and land intersect. Almond Zigmund's work will be displayed through March 25 at Dust Gallery, 1221 S. Main; 880-3878.

Jarhead: Collector's Edition (4 stars)


$29.98

On television, the first Gulf War was exciting to watch. That's not the war described by Sam Mendes in Jarhead. Adapted from a book written by a marine stationed in Saudi Arabia, Jarhead deftly illustrates what happened to one revved-up platoon of trained killers who were forced to twiddle their thumbs while the flyboys pounded the Revolutionary Guard. Instead of Iraqi troops, the marines' greatest enemy became time itself. Translating inactivity into entertainment isn't easy, and Jarhead often is only slightly more diverting than standing in line with a good book. But what Mendes accomplishes is worthwhile nonetheless. The bonus features focus on the art of changing actors into marines, and the experiences of actual jarheads. The deleted scenes suggest Mendes' could have made an even angrier movie if he had more closely followed the book.

1. That Peter Paul Rubens (at the Guggenheim) could whup LeRoy Neiman (at the Stardust) in a fair fight.

2. That Sheriff Bill Young's attempt to ban gangsta rap sounds like the setup for Footloose 2.

3. That pundits who say Frank Gehry's Alzheimer's center is too disruptive should band as Advocates for a Totally Boring Downtown; Jeff Burbank, president.