Mano a Mano

Local college instructor Manomano Mukungurutse is on a quest for ultimate truth. That's no way to get tenure.

• by Chris Young

Image Problem

Were cops targeting, destroying cameras during G-20? 

• by Marty Levine

Food for Thought

"It's a little deluded to think that simply by shopping we can change the world."

• by Bill O'Driscoll

Luke Ravenstahl: First Amendment Advocate

Mayor exercises free speech by tossing f-bomb at ACLU head

• by Marty Levine

Waiting at the Checkout

Deal is ready to go, but grocer still hasn't signed lease for Hill store

• by Chris Young

Easy Street

A relaxing Downtown venue succeeds with inventive bar fare

• by Angelique Bamberg and Jason Roth

Real McCoy Sandwich Shop

This South Side institution has been serving up meaty hoagies for five decades.

• by Chris Young

Pittsburgh acts converge on New York City for this year's CMJ Music Marathon

Best of luck to all concerned -- have a great time while the rest of us burn with envy.

• by Aaron Jentzen

Singer-songwriter Emily Rodgers releases the atmospheric Bright Day on Misra Records

"I don't want to compromise and create a sound that I think people will like. I've tried to be authentic, and I'm pleasantly surprised when people respond to that."

• by Manny Theiner

With French death-metal pioneers Gojira, the lyrics matter as much as the blastbeats

Blending elements of technical death metal, prog and thrash, Gojira has created a unique, instantly recognizable sound.

• by Lissa Brennan

Ocote Soul Sounds brings political Latin and Afrobeat grooves to Thunderbird Café

The funk backbeat makes movement seductive regardless of your take on contested lands.

• by Andy Mulkerin

The Pittsburgh International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival

The 24th annual festival returns with entertaining and provocative feature films, documentaries and shorts highlighting gay, lesbian and transgendered experiences.

• by Al Hoff

Couples Retreat

Four couples -- all friends -- endure the comic indignities of beach-resort relationship counseling. Mostly, this lazy, predictable comedy just made me angry, and seemed to last for hours. First, let's stipulate that we're out of fresh jokes about churlish man-boys and the women who put up with them, but this film doesn't even try. It's true that the scenery is lovely -- "like a screen saver," says the most boorish of the men (Jon Favreau) -- but the lovely backdrop of French Polynesia just made me more irate. Watching this crew, which also includes Vince Vaughn, Faizon Love and Jason Bateman, barely try to make a funny, I grew increasingly convinced that the whole film was just a lame excuse to party (and get paid) while soaking up rays in Boro Boro. (What a coincidence: Vaughn, Favreau and director Peter Billingsley are buds from way back.) Toss in a couple of blatant product placements for Budweiser and Guitar Hero, and my disgust was complete. The audience laughed hardest at the jokes about men in tiny bathing suits, so you could probably get the same giggles and save the $10 by hitting a few Web sites. (AH) [1.5 out of 4 stars]

• by Al Hoff

$9.99

The title of this feature from Tatia Rosenthal, adapted from the short stories of Etgar Keret, refers to the price of a mail-order book purporting to explain life that one character orders.  Needless to say, the slim volume is something of a bust, and viewers shouldn't expect much more fresh illumination despite the film's eagerness to help. But while the take-away messages are familiar (embrace life, be true to yourself, grow up, etc.), $9.99 is entertaining. The lives of 12 residents of an apartment building are interwoven, with the narrative seamlessly flitting from the unemployed cook to the lonely little boy to the sad widower to the visiting cranky angel and so on. The story is set in an unnamed Australian city, and Geoffrey Rush and Anthony LaPaglia are among the well-known natives who lend their voices. The pace is brisk – the film is only 78 minutes -- and there's enough wry humor and slightly surreal moments to keep the viewer engaged. The claymation is purposefully rough-edged, but in this age of digital animation, a feature-length, stop-motion work is a labor of love. Starts Fri., Oct. 16. Harris (AH) [2.5 out of 4 stars]

• by Al Hoff

The Other Man

A man (Liam Neeson), happily married for more than 20 years, is stunned to discover that his shoe-designer wife (Laura Linney) has been having an affair. Enraged, he tracks down the Milan-based lover (Antonio Banderas) through trickery and stalking, before befriending him -- the better to learn more about the secret side of his spouse. If you've seen your fair share of domestic melodramas, even the few twists in Richard Eyre's film won't be that much of a surprise. (And I don't need to tell you that digging into secrets of the past is never a good idea.) What will keep a viewer engaged are the performances of these three reliable actors, who must be commended, along with Eyre, for underplaying potentially histrionic material. The conclusion is a bit of a stretch, but you'll likely not mind. Squirrel Hill (AH) [2.5 out of 4 stars] 

• by Al Hoff

For Shepard Fairey, it's a long road from "Obey Giant" to "Obama Hope."

Finding a balance between high-profile gallery exhibitions and his continued street campaign has proven difficult.

• by Matthew Newton

This Just In: October 15 - 22

Highlights from the local TV news: Rubbed the Wrong Way

• by Frances Sansig Monahan

Read 'Em and Weep

Library closings are the same old story

• by Chris Potter

Ode to the Cow

A poem by Dorothy Holley

Author and political commentator Andrew Sullivan speaks at Carnegie Mellon.

"I think the Nobel Prize is absolutely deserved, and it's kind of brilliant."

• by Chris Potter

Pittsburgh Ballet opens its 40^th season with The Sleeping Beauty.

"She is a fairy like the others in the ballet, it is just her heart has become a little bit perverted."

• by Steve Sucato

Ella

Tina Fabrique sings the living daylights out of the role.

• by Ted Hoover

Drum Talk 09 is a global summit you can dance to.

"It allows you to express music from the deepest part of you, not just from your head."

• by Steve Sucato

Wait Until Dark

It's how Knott gets us to that point that I find amazing.

• by Ted Hoover

Short List: Week of October 15 - 22