January 6-12, 2005 movies Safe at Home Rising to the occasion: As Paul Rusesabagina, Don Cheadle (center) has a humble complexity Hotel Rwanda otherwise lacks. Hotel Rwanda‘s pat denunciations are more comforting than challenging. by Sam Adams There’s no way…

December 23-29, 2004 movies Found in Translation the sea inside: Bill Murray as Wes Anderson’s oceanic doppelganger. Wes Anderson defends the power of fakery. THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU by Sam Adams A closing title may disavow any connection…

November 18-24, 2004 cover story BQ Shorts – Nonfiction Road Work: Among Tyrants, Beasts, Heroes, and Rogues By Mark Bowden Atlantic Monthly Press, 288 pp., $24 Mark Bowden is that rare writer who can find the intrigue in cow bras.…

November 11-17, 2004 musicpicks Sally Timms Rock/pop Some artists set their sails to the prevailing winds, but on In the World of Him (Touch and Go), Sally Timms takes a deep breath and blows the other way. With the help…

November 11-17, 2004 musicpicks Chamber Music at Society Hill Synagogue Classical The most common venues for live classical music in Philadelphia, as in many other cities, are religious sanctuaries. Why not? The spaces are cheap, and the seating capacity is…

October 28-November 3, 2004 screen picks Screen Picks by Sam Adams Stolen Honor/Soldiers Pay ($19.99 DVD/Mon., Nov. 1, 9:35 p.m., IFC) After public outrage, threats of lawsuits and regulatory action, not to mention a precipitous slide in their stock price,…

October 21-27, 2004 art Rebecca Westcott Photo By: Adam Wallacavage by Shelley Spector In Memoriam Last week Becky Westcott and I dismantled “Homemade,” a solo show of her work which had just ended at my gallery, SPECTOR. A few weeks…

October 7-13, 2004 cover story Show and Tell Bookish musicians and melodic authors share stages once again for the 215 Festival. by Sam Adams, Lori Hill and Patrick Rapa Three years after Neal Pollack declared his intentions right here in…

September 30-October 6, 2004 screen picks Screen Picks by Sam Adams Tanner on Tanner (premieres Tue., Oct. 5, 9 p.m., Sundance Channel) No one likes to dwell on past failures, but it’s good to see Jack Tanner back again. As…