Thursday, December 23 In Christmas movies, the redeeming ending is the big gift. The rest of the plot is just stocking filler. Take It’s a Wonderful Life, for example: While being Christmas’ most hackneyed film, it is also perhaps the saddest–until the joyful conclusion. Then there’s A Christmas Story, a…
Take a moment, cop a squat on a shag rug, pop a Sunkist open and remember that awesomely on-the-edge Canadian teen drama series Degrassi Junior High (aka Degrassi High). Remember feeling completely lucky that you caught that episode when Spike got pregnant while your parents weren’t home. Maybe it’s those…
12/26 When it comes to holiday greetings and salutations there’s always been “Merry Christmas!” for Christians, “Happy Hanukkah!” for your Jewish pals and “I hope you enjoy your extended weekend!” for any Jehovah’s Witness acquaintances you may have. But ever since Kwanzaa became all the rage in the mid-’90s, the…
12/27 At first, the idea of playing poker for no money struck me as a lousy idea–what is the point of gambling when nothing’s at stake?–but around the time I lost my first $100, I came around. Mind you, this happened the very first time I played some years back,…
12/28 We all make jokes that our houses are in disarray, that we live in garbage dumps if everything isn’t picked up and spotless. It’s that whole “My house is a total heap right now, pardon the mess!” thing. But as the Duncanville Church of Christ Mission Team discovered in…
12/29 Harry Houdini lent a degree of legitimacy to the magic arts early in the 20th century, performing illusions in public venues, lecturing and appearing in the movies until his death in 1926 on Halloween. Contemporary magicians Jonathan and Charlotte Pendragon re-create two of Houdini’s illusions, besting the best in…
In Spanglish, which is less a story than a snapshot of a crumbling marriage populated by sitcom characters, Adam Sandler plays John Clasky, an average man with an average name and an above-average life. With his burgeoning double chin always covered in a slight shadow of stubble, he’s a celebrated…
This much can be said for the movie version of Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events: Its villain, Count Olaf, just might be Jim Carrey’s finest screen role. A bitter, would-be master thespian who delights in donning ridiculous disguises and adopting funny accents, he doesn’t seem that far removed…
A Very Long Engagement, the new film by French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet (most famously of Amélie), will have its fans. For one thing, there’s no denying its beauty, an onslaught of gorgeous tableaux, painstakingly arranged and shot through filters to exclude colors that don’t suit (i.e., anything other than sepia…
Can Snoopy be due for a comeback? Back in the 1960s and ’70s, the black and white beagle and his pie-faced little pals from Charles M. Schulz’s cartoon strip Peanuts reigned as beloved pop-culture icons, up there with rock stars and astronauts. Even during the flower power years, more than…
A Closer Walk With Patsy Cline Nobody can sing Patsy Cline the way Jenny Thurman can, and she gets to do it again in this two-hour musical tribute. All the hit songs are here: “Crazy,” “Walkin’ After Midnight,” “Leavin’ on Your Mind,” “Back in Baby’s Arms.” It’s like a living…
Constructions & Architecture This show makes what might otherwise seem like the incongruent forces of art and architecture seamless and fluid. This gathering of things, sounds and interactive sculpture reinforces the turn toward media contamination and full-body sensuality in the art world over the last 30 years. John Frost’s walk-through…
If painter George Stubbs had lived in the era of the Trapper Keeper (instead of the 18th century when there was just drab old paper in sheets), Stubbs would have a horse-covered binder, possibly with “George + Bandit = BFF” scratched in the margin in ball point pen. He loved…
Thursday 16 Maybe this is just another of our obsessive-compulsive thoughts, but we hope not too many hands have touched our sushi. Is that wrong? We don’t think so. In whichever sushi establishment we happen into, we like to think that we have an assigned professional that is the only…
You read it here first. The flood of American liberals sneaking across the border into Canada has intensified in the past few weeks, sparking calls for increased patrols to stop the illegal immigration. The re-election of President Bush has prompted the exodus among left-leaning citizens who fear they’ll soon be…
12/18 If anybody in this city knows how to work a theme, it’s those feisty fund-raisers at the Resource Center of Dallas. Whether it’s superheroes or movie stars, their monthly GayBINGO parties are lavishly decorated with hosts and participants in elaborate costumes or otherwise decked out to the nines. It’s…
12/19 Hmm, let’s see. He has longish hair and a full beard. He wears black leather boots and a distinctive jacket. He hangs around with a posse of like-minded individuals. How about that? Give him a few tattoos and Santa could easily pass for a biker. So it’s only fair…
12/17 While you’re buying a leaf blower for your brother and an iPod for Sis, drop by the toy aisle for something to brighten a kid’s stay at Children’s Medical Center of Dallas. The Toys for Tots Soiree, an annual charity event, is the perfect opportunity to make a difference…
Ongoing Once upon a time, Charles Dickens wrote a little gem called A Christmas Carol. Maybe you’ve heard of it. Remakes and variations of this touted Christmas classic spanning all mediums have been done up and dumbed down. Actors ranging from Shakespearean graduates to Muppets (not quite a mop, not…
If you’ve already decided to see Ocean’s Twelve, it’s probably best not to read much about it. Unlike its predecessor, a remake that clung to a hoary heist formula, the sequel contains ample pleasures, most of which amuse as the result of surprises both great and small. There’s no one…
They walk among us. They resemble people, approximate our words and actions, present themselves more or less as human. And yet they are more–a different species, with their own dark legends, their own clandestine meeting places. They are dorks, and they are going to be pretty OK with Blade: Trinity…
To bastardize something is not usually a good thing. Bastardization–or crossbreeding, as one might have it–signals the trivializing or making hackneyed of an idea or object once thought awesome, taken seriously or held in esteem. To bastardize is to make something impure–to contaminate or pollute that which is otherwise pristine…
