Author: rakemag

Fans of Nick Cave and his band, the Bad Seeds, recognize that Cave has something of an obsession with murder and the torment that so often leads to it. So it’s not so surprising that, with his first screenwriting effort, the Aussie rock icon should focus on some other bad seeds—the gunslingers and thugs who ran rough-shod through the Australian Outback in the 1880s. Cave was originally tapped to write the score for this Australian Western, but director John Hillcoat ended up asking him also to pen the script, given the narrative gifts that come through in his songs. The proposition of the title is this: Three brutish brothers stand accused of a bloody crime. One of them—played by Guy Pearce—is ordered to hunt down the brother regarded as the greatest threat, in order to save the life of the third. Gun fights, jail busts, and bloody scraps with Aborigines thereby ensue, in what is being hailed as a gorgeous and original film. www.landmarktheatres.com

Al Gore’s book Earth in the Balance was a relatively early, mostly ignored, and extremely prescient look at global warming and the fate of our planet. Thirteen years after its publication, we’re still waiting to see the kind of widespread social and political awareness that could bring about change and slow the planet’s demise. So is Gore; since his defeat in the 2000 election, he has ramped up his efforts to pull people’s heads out of the sand, and this documentary could do what his book couldn’t—it’s surprisingly engrossing. It catches him at work, trying to convince those in power to make a difference before it’s too late. We applaud these efforts, but can’t help but get exercised at Gore himself. Where was all that passion during his campaign? Winning the election surely would have been a more effective way to help avert environmental disasters yet to come—which are presented here intelligently, rather than sensationally. 612-825-6006; www.landmarktheatres.com

Spawned by the success of Brooklyn Noir, Akashic Books, the tiny New York City publishing house, launched a series of noir anthologies, each pegged to individual cities and their neighborhoods, and featuring all-new stories by local writers. With seventeen titles either in print or in the works, stories from the series are racking up a passel of literary awards. The brand-new Twin Cities franchise includes hard-boiled tales—some of them tongue-in-cheek—set in locales ranging from Uptown Minneapolis to Duluth. The Rake’s own Brad Zellar contributes a story set in Columbia Heights, David Housewright goes in for Frogtown, and even Kenwood and Linden Hills get the treatment from Mary Logue and Pete Hautman, respectively. 604 26th St. W., Minneapolis; 612-870-3785; www.onceuponacrimebooks.com

The sins of the father are visited upon just about everyone when a disturbed young man, recently discharged from the military, tracks down his birth father. However, Dad (played by William Hurt) wants nothing to do with his half-Mexican love child (Gael García Bernal, best known to Americans for his roles in The Motorcycle Diaries and Y tu mamá también). It would only ruin his high-profile career as a Corpus Christi Baptist pastor, not to mention tear apart his new, church-sanctioned family, which includes a comely teenage daughter. Naturally, an incestuous Romeo-and-Juliet plot unfolds, including a twisted revenge scheme, in which a son named Elvis attempts to claim his place as heir. 612-825-6006; www.landmarktheatres.com

The upside of a miserable school experience: It might help you become a great artist. Take French director Jean Vigo. His traumatic years in a substandard boarding school helped turn him to a life in art; in his 1933 film Zero for Conduct, he draws upon those years for inspiration. In the film, the students stage a rebellion to protest the conditions in which they are forced to live and learn. The grand-scale pillow and food fights are quaint by modern American standards, but this comic drama, which was banned for twelve years in France, has fantastical special effects and surrealistic interludes that made it far ahead of its time. 612-375-7622; www.walkerart.org

Andy Garcia was five years old when his family moved from Cuba to Florida, but the memories of his birthplace left an indelible impression on the actor, who makes his directorial debut with this film. Equal parts love song to Cuban culture and critique of the political events that ended Havana’s brief reign as the “Paris of the Caribbean,” The Lost City captures the last days of an elegant nightclub that is deemed “incompatible with revolutionary ideals.” Garcia, who is also an accomplished musician, hand selected nearly forty songs for the film’s amazing soundtrack. 3911 50th St. W., Edina, 651-649-4416; www.landmarktheatres.com

Clock-watchers in the St. Louis Park area can’t wait to get over to Best of India’s stellar lunch buffet. There’s a palpable feeling of escape, as diners sample a spread that encompasses more than twenty items. The non-buffet menu is also stacked with winners, including nine different kinds of buttery tandoori breads. The beef vindaloo and lamb biryani are perfectly spiced, and the chicken palak, with fresh herbs and spinach, is simply vibrant. In the expanding local Indian restaurant scene, Best of India is a veteran: Its owners already have many fans with their Chapati restaurant in Northfield, and Best of India brings that same fine cooking to the Twin Cities. 8120 Minnetonka Blvd. (TexaTonka Mall); St. Louis Park; 952-935-2320; www.bestofindiausa.com

Pondering the beauty of Minnehaha Falls is so much sweeter when munching on a fish taco. Before Sea Salt Eatery set up shop in the park, a trip to the falls was like, “OK, pretty. Let’s go.” Now, with a crab cake sandwich or oyster po’ boy in hand, visitors can slow down to appreciate the scenery. And, just as the Minnehaha Falls is more than a mere waterfall, the Sea Salt is no run-of-the-mill concession stand; it’s a cool, modern eatery that kicks out freshly prepared seafood dishes, ranging from crispy fried clams to calamari, during a season when the Falls flow freely. Plus, there’s beer! 4825 Minnehaha Ave., Minneapolis; 612-721-8990; www.seasalteatery.com

She’s extracted feminist themes from Wagner babes and Grand Ole Opry theatrics; and now Shawn McConneloug enters the world of peg legs, planks, and swashbucklers, injecting some of her own pistol-slinging flair. In 2003, this ultra-modern local choreographer immortalized Tammy Wynette in Stand On Your Man, a yodel-heavy piece incorporating dance, music, film, and rhinestone cowgirls. Now she’s reviving the tale of Grace O’Malley, the legendary sixteenth-century Irish pirate queen, in another multimedia piece set to Irish music—from traditional Celtic fare to the Pogues and Flogging Molly. Thorpe Building 1620 Central Ave. N.E., Minneapolis; 612-340-1725; www.southerntheater.org

Summertime is getting to be synonymous with outdoor, site-specific performance pieces—and we’re not talking music in the park here. Last August we witnessed the monumental LANDMARK: 24 Hours at the Stone Arch Bridge, which rolled music, dance, theater, and literature together into one colossal, daylong experience that nudged onlookers to remember how beautiful that historic structure really is. This year, it’s “One River Mississippi,” a dance piece inspired by the river waters. The brainchild of local choreographer Marylee Hardenbergh, “One River” is actually seven different performances, scattered along the length of the Mississippi River, from its source at Itasca State Park all the way down to Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. Of the other five pieces, one is right here in downtown Minneapolis, at the Stone Arch Bridge—a favorite site of Hardenbergh’s. From there, through audio-visual hookups, you’ll get a prime view of—and become a part of—the goings-on at all the other sites. www.onerivermississippi.org