‘The Simpsons” Rich Texan Is How the World Sees Us, for Better or Worse
The pistol-packing cartoon villain represents every ugly stereotype about our state, but there’s a strange power in embracing him.
Film & TV
April 26, 2022
Bill Paxton’s ‘Frailty’ Was Nervy, Blasphemous, and Just About Perfect
The storied actor and Fort Worth native always wanted to direct. His gripping debut, released twenty years ago, showed us why.
Film & TV
April 13, 2022
Barney Will Get His Revenge
For every toddler who loved Barney, there was an adult who wanted to punch him. Now the purple dinosaur is back to torment a new generation.
Film & TV
April 11, 2022
The Most Authentically Texan Movie You’ve Never Heard Of
Eagle Pennell’s ‘The Whole Shootin’ Match’ sets the standard for showing Texans who they are instead of who they’re supposed to be.
Music
March 16, 2022
How Austin Punk Band Trail of Dead Survived a “Perfect Album” and “Young Devilry”
Trail of Dead was “the band that trashes everything.” But on its eleventh album, ‘XI: Bleed Here Now,’ it’s finally grown into the classic rock group it always wanted to be.
Film & TV
February 18, 2022
The New ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’: They Came, They Sawed, They Didn’t Cut It
The sequel to Tobe Hooper’s slasher sucks all the fun out of psychotic cannibal killers—but it does have a message for Californians headed to Texas.
Film & TV
February 16, 2022
A Reconsideration of ‘SubUrbia,’ One of Richard Linklater’s Least-Loved Films
Richard Linklater’s ‘SubUrbia’ is ‘The Last Picture Show’ of the nineties.
Film & TV
February 2, 2022
‘9-1-1: Lone Star’ Turns the Texas Ice Storm Into Cold Exploitation
The Austin-set firefighter show devotes four episodes to the 2021 freeze while ignoring all of the real-life drama.
Film & TV
January 28, 2022
Robert Rodriguez Put His Mark on ‘The Book of Boba Fett.’ It Caused a Disturbance in the Force.
The Austin filmmaker’s episodes of ‘The Book of Boba Fett’ embody an existential crisis over the future of Star Wars.
Music
January 25, 2022
Eighty Years Later, We’re Still ‘Deep in the Heart of Texas’
How a simple, two-chord song written by an Iowan became (clap clap clap clap) our unofficial state anthem.
Film & TV
January 19, 2022
Edi Patterson Is the Holy Terror of ‘The Righteous Gemstones’
The Texas City native and star of the hit HBO comedy series talks Judy Gemstone, ham slices, and why there’s nothing worse than someone trying to be funny.
Film & TV
December 21, 2021
Ten Notable Performances From Texan Actors in 2021
From newcomers to reliable veterans to a pop star remaking her TV career, these were the actors worth watching this year.
Film & TV
December 17, 2021
‘The Tender Bar’ Pours Out a Warm, Flat Coming-of-age Drama
Texas actor Tye Sheridan stars alongside Ben Affleck in the sentimental yet skippable story of an aspiring writer, directed by George Clooney.
Film & TV
December 14, 2021
‘The Novice’ Puts a Nightmare Spin on the Traditional Sports Movie
The unnerving feature debut from Red Oak native Lauren Hadaway plumbs the gloomy depths beneath a college rower’s quest for greatness.
Film & TV
December 9, 2021
Texas Could Sure Use a Man Like Hank Hill, I Tell You What
Twenty-five years later, Mike Judge’s ‘King of the Hill’ still captures something essential about Texans and Texas life. But are there any Hank Hills left?
Film & TV
December 8, 2021
‘The Chosen’ Is Christian TV That Even Heretics Can Get Behind
The streaming phenomenon, produced just outside of Dallas, is winning converts with its ‘Friday Night Lights’ spin on faith.
Film & TV
December 3, 2021
Filmed During Lockdown, ‘Red Stone’ Is a Return to Normal, Mediocre Thrillers
Fort Worth writer-director Derek Presley overcame unprecedented odds to make his otherwise unremarkable thriller about a tormented hit man.
Film & TV
December 1, 2021
Sean Baker’s Provocative ‘Red Rocket’ Gets Down and Dirty in Texas City
The latest from the director of ‘The Florida Project’ sees a scheming former porn star wash up along Texas’s Gulf Coast.
Books
November 19, 2021
How the Alamo Drafthouse Turned Trash Cinema into a Cultural Institution
A new book tells the sweeping tale of the Alamo’s Weird Wednesday series, the American Genre Film Archive, and Austin’s custodians of cult.
Film & TV
November 19, 2021
Mckenna Grace Is the Only Thing Alive About the New ‘Ghostbusters’
The rising Grapevine star brings fresh spirit to a movie that’s fatally preoccupied with reviving the dead.
Film & TV
November 16, 2021
The Legendary Flop of ‘The Legend of the Lone Ranger’
How an Amarillo oilman stole the mask right off the Lone Ranger’s face, and made one of film’s most infamous failures in the process.
Film & TV
October 28, 2021
‘Student Bodies’ Remains Texas’s Strangest Contribution to Horror Movie History
The 1981 slasher spoof prominently features Houston and a future Texas politician, but that’s not all that’s notable about it.
Film & TV
October 21, 2021
‘The French Dispatch’ Is Wes Anderson at His Most Self-indulgent
The Houston filmmaker’s latest is a valentine to defiantly idiosyncratic storytellers like Wes Anderson.
Film & TV
October 15, 2021
‘Halloween Kills’ Time and Patience
The sequel to David Gordon Green’s franchise reboot is all filler, same old killer.
Film & TV
October 12, 2021
‘Hard Luck Love Song’ Is A Tune You’ve Heard Before, But It Hits All the Right Notes
Austin-raised writer-director Justin Corsbie’s debut about a down-on-his-luck troubadour feels as warmly familiar as the Americana songs that inspired it.
Film & TV
October 7, 2021
Apple’s ‘Foundation’ Is Dull, but Lee Pace Is Our Intergalactic Emperor Daddy
The Houston-raised actor shines as a pompous space tyrant in the otherwise dreary Isaac Asimov adaptation.
Film & TV
September 28, 2021
NBC’s ‘La Brea’ Is Silly, but It Gives Natalie Zea an Overdue Spotlight
The Monahans-bred actor elevates this loopy, Lost-like sci-fi drama about a mom fighting her way out of a mysterious primeval world.
Film & TV
September 24, 2021
Dale Brisby’s Netflix Show Teaches Viewers How to Be Cowboys for the Instagram Age
The rancher and self-proclaimed rodeo legend has an ego the size of Texas, and he uses it for the good of the “cowboy cause.”
Music
September 21, 2021
Hayden Pedigo Moves On With ‘Letting Go,’ But His Heart Is Still in Amarillo
The multifaceted musician, former city-council candidate, and documentary star returns with an album of pristine guitar and gentle self-reflection.
Music
September 16, 2021
‘The Nowhere Inn’ Delves Into St. Vincent but Leaves Plenty of Vacancies
Dallas’s mercurial pop phenom writes and stars in this loosely autobiographical satire that raises questions it doesn’t deign to answer.
Film & TV
September 14, 2021
‘Necessary Roughness’ Made Texas Football Into a Joke. But It Also Moved the Chains.
Kick off the football season with this underappreciated, Denton-filmed comedy, which captured some truths about Texas football that later, more-serious movies would expand on.
Music
September 9, 2021
A Vain Attempt to Justify Selena Gomez’s $30 Ice Cream Sundae
Does simply putting the Grand Prairie star’s name on some ice cream inherently raise its value? An investigation.
Music
September 3, 2021
When Texas Punk Band Butthole Surfers Finally Scored a Hit, Their Fans Never Forgave Them
Twenty-five years ago, fans accused the band of selling out. The group’s reply still stands: “Yeah, but who cares?”
Film & TV
September 1, 2021
Was ‘Star Trek’ Creator Gene Roddenberry Really a Texan?
Roddenberry may have eschewed identifying with the state, but the stories he told carry a Texan DNA.
Film & TV
September 1, 2021
Your Comprehensive Fall 2021 Texas Film Guide
Cowboys, ghostbusters, and aliens, oh my! The autumn months are abloom with Texas actors, filmmakers, and locales on the big (and small) screen.
Film & TV
August 21, 2021
Dennis Quaid Is the True King of the Sports Movie
Forget Kevin Costner. The Houston native best captures the complex glory of American sports.
Texas History
August 6, 2021
In Memoriam: On MTV’s Fortieth Anniversary, Don’t Forget to Thank Michael Nesmith
The Texas native helped make the music video into an art form, and was instrumental in creating the network that defined a generation.
Film & TV
August 5, 2021
‘Playing God’ Captures a Houston Rarely Seen on Screen
The debut feature from Scott Brignac, starring Alan Tudyk and Michael McKean, argues for Houston's place among film’s default “big cities."
Film & TV
August 3, 2021
David Gordon Green Is Rebooting ‘The Exorcist.’ But Has He Really Lost His Soul to Hollywood?
The Richardson-raised filmmaker has traded arthouse dramas for horror remakes, but that’s always been part of the plan.
Film & TV
July 29, 2021
Austin’s Lukas Haas Brings Menace to the Otherwise-Dismal ‘Midnight in the Switchgrass’
Megan Fox and Bruce Willis star in the thriller, which is very loosely based on an infamous Texas serial killer.
Music
July 22, 2021
On the ‘Geto Boys Reloaded’ Podcast, It’s the Message, Not the Music
Pioneering Houston rappers Willie D and Scarface reunite for a show that’s all about their community, not about them.
Film & TV
July 20, 2021
Thirty Years After ‘Slacker,’ the Film Is an Austin Time Capsule—And a Hopeful Tribute to Its Spirit
Richard Linklater’s film belongs in the canon of great Texas cinema.
Film & TV
July 14, 2021
Everything We Know So Far About Wes Anderson’s ‘The French Dispatch’
At Cannes, the Houston native’s latest inspired a nine-minute standing ovation and equally fawning reviews.
Film & TV
July 3, 2021
‘The Harder They Fall’ Is About to Bring New Excitement to the Old-school Western
Starring North Texas's Jonathan Majors and featuring folk hero Bass Reeves, the film promises to let Black cowboys have fun for once.
Music
June 30, 2021
Skid Row Front Man Johnny Solinger Was Rock and Roll Personified
The Dallas singer never quite became a huge star in his own right, but that didn't seem to bother him.
Film & TV
June 28, 2021
Is the World Finally Ready to See Selena Gomez as an Actor?
As the Grand Prairie native readies Hulu’s ‘Only Murders in the Building,’ her acting career seems primed for rebirth.
Film & TV
June 24, 2021
The Year Woody Harrelson Finally Became a Movie Star
Early in his career, Woody Harrelson couldn’t shake his reputation as the country rube from ‘Cheers.’ Here’s how that changed, starting 25 years ago.
Film & TV
June 22, 2021
Hollywood Honors Texas’s Biggest Movie Star: The Chevy Suburban
The SUV will get a star in Arlington commemorating its thousands of movie and TV appearances.
Film & TV
June 16, 2021
Unsung Music Legend Tom Wilson Is Finally Getting His Own Movie
The Waco-born producer, instrumental to the careers of Bob Dylan, The Velvet Underground, and Frank Zappa, is the subject of an upcoming biopic.
Film & TV
June 14, 2021
Donny Cates’s ‘God Country’ Movie Will Bring Superheroes to Texas
The Austin-based artist is adapting his West Texas–set tale for the screen.