I’ve never really sat through a stand-up comedian and thought to myself, “Man, this routine would be so much funnier if the jokes were set to some Indigo Girls-style acoustic balladry.” I would hope for the sake of humankind that most people haven’t. Comedian Kristin Key, on the other hand,…
Michael Mann’s Miami Vice is like a car that’s been stripped of everything but its two bucket seats and rebuilt from the ground up. The protagonists are a pair of detectives named Sonny Crockett (Colin Farrell) and Ricardo Tubbs (Jamie Foxx) and a cover of Phil Collins’ “In the Air…
The Ant Bully is based upon a very short children’s book by John Nickle, who wrote and illustrated the 1999 work all by his lonesome after years of providing illustrations for The Wall Street Journal and Sports Illustrated, not to mention other works of kiddie lit. The book, as most…
For 35 years, Woody Allen was a long shot to stray into the Bronx or Staten Island, much less the alien reaches of London. The creator of Manhattan has always been joined to his chosen borough like pastrami on rye, so when he ventured abroad last year to direct the…
It is a dark, warm night. A hot breeze blows across the top of the Oak Cliff hill where you sit, gazing at the glittering Dallas skyline in the distance. Out here, it is quiet. Maybe too quiet. And then—behind you! Something stirs, and it comes closer and closer…and then…
For hundreds of years the French have been good for only three things: cheese, champagne and the phrase “Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?” Aside from those gems, Napoleon’s country has had very little to show for itself, but when filmmaking spread its way across its borders, France found one…
At this point, just about all of the life has been sucked out of the term diva. Everyone from Barbra Streisand to Little Richard to Tyra Banks has held the title. I’ve been thinking maybe the designation has totally lost its luster. We use the term so loosely now—there are…
In the upper echelon of finely coiffed, candy-throated troubadours there are but a few true legends who continue to foster rabid and loyal fan bases. Neil Diamond was able to elude being pigeonholed as a Fat Elvis apostle, winning over scores of fans by mixing a little bit of singer-songwriter…
It must suck to be Justin Guarini these days. It’s one thing to have Kelly Clarkson’s shadow looming over you in all directions. But even William Hung has experienced a level of notoriety Guarini’s best publicist couldn’t pay for (Hung’s first album reached number 3 on Amazon.com’s sales rankings and…
Dazed and Confused is widely regarded as one of the classic stoner films, but that description sells short the wistfully earnest heart of Richard Linklater’s 1993 film about the travails of high school juniors on the last day of school as they experience their first bout of “senioritis.” Dazed and…
The artistic worth of tattoos has always been up for debate. While there are some people who don’t even consider it a form of art, others think of it as the ultimate form of self-expression, both for the artist and the human canvas. There used to be a time when…
Our training regimen for the Summer Sizzler is intense. We start with two plates at the Sizzler salad bar to prime our stomach, and then we hit the buffet to pile on steak and shrimp. Our current max is four full buffet plates in one night, which might not seem…
Just think about all the reasons you deserve to be polished and pampered and treated like a queen (or king): You unloaded the dishwasher, you listen to your kids shriek daily without killing them, you finished your thesis and even bought a few early Christmas presents. You’ve been good. So…
Being the movie nerd I am, I am always stung by the fact I have yet to see the 1927 film Wings. It’s the bane of my film buff existence that the first movie to win the Best Picture Oscar has escaped my viewing pleasure, with no thanks to my…
Are you tired of watching your Days of Thunder laserdisc, wondering when you’ll get your chance to drive recklessly fast and loose? When you fly, do you often feel the need, the need for speed? Have you been doing “The Hippy Hippy Shake” when you make your Cocktails? Has your…
It’s already time for another dreaded school supply shopping spree. Your kids will beg for crap like a One Tree Hill binder and lunchbox kit, and your stomach will turn when you wonder how you’ll afford so many supplies. Luckily, this year’s Kids Fest helps underprivileged kids and parents with…
This weekend’s Body, Mind & Spirit Expo appears harmless enough, but make no mistake—this is no NBC-5/Telemundo Health Fit Expo. Despite being billed as focusing on “natural health, personal growth, [and] metaphysics,” a closer examination of the event and its exhibitors reveals a deeper, darker truth. Vibrational medicine? Past-life readings?…
Judging by the amount of people that take pictures of themselves with cell phones or cameras trained on their reflection in a mirror, the self-portrait is more popular than ever. Started in Northern Europe as a genre born of convenience, finance and ego, it has become a staple in art,…
Twenty years ago, the AIDS epidemic was just beginning to capture the attention of the American public, some five years after the first reported U.S. cases. It was around this time that playwright Larry Kramer premiered The Normal Heart, one of the first theatrical productions to tackle the issue. The…
Every time I go to the circus I think, “Damn, this dancing elephant would be a lot more entertaining if someone was playing some top-40 hip-hop and rowdy gentlemen were throwing dollar bills at the pachyderm.” Meeting me halfway is the UniverSoul Circus, an Atlanta-based all-minority circus that adds a…
You don’t need Lindsay Wagner telling you that getting enough good, restful sleep is important. Duh, Sleep Number Queen, we know that. We know that to rejuvenate the cells, the mind and spirit, a person needs a certain amount of sleep. And comfortable, uninterrupted sleep is best, of course. Now,…
The Creative Arts Theatre & School is warming up a chestnut with The Emperor’s Invisible Clothes, a lighthearted take on the Hans Christian Andersen tale of an emperor conned by swindlers into buying a nonexistent suit of clothes that are “invisible” only to the stupid. It’s a nice cautionary tale…
