The winter solstice, which astronomically stands for the moment when the earth’s axial tilt is farthest from the sun, also stands as the most ancient midwinter celebration and the source of many holiday traditions now associated with Christmas. Unlike Christmas or Hanukkah or Kwanza, observance of the solstice does not…
There’s a certain charm to movies that are so bad they’re almost good. That’s true of Ed Wood’s Plan 9 From Outer Space, dubbed the “Worst Movie of All Time.” The 1959 sci-fi/horror flick is, as a guy dressed in a tux dramatically intones before the opening credits, based on…
Every year I make a list of things I want to do, and every year drinking tea at the Dallas Arboretum never gets crossed off the list. Things are about to change. From now until December 30, the Dallas Arboretum (8525 Garland Road) will be offering their 2009 Holiday Tea…
He always says, “Bah, humbug,” but wouldn’t it be something if Scrooge decided to spice things up by saying, “Don’t hug me.” Well, he’s about to. All Tiny Tims beware. In a unique version of A Christmas Carol, Gunner Johnson is the Scrooge of Bunyan Bay, Minnesota. Owner of the…
I think States of Exception–a collaborative exhibit between a Rotterdam design firm, an Amsterdam think tank and Denton artist Angel Cabrales depicting a prison cell, slaughterhouses, HAZMAT suits and torture sessions–is supposed to be some kind of political commentary. But with its bunk beds, outhouse and picnic tables, it makes…
Top three Christmas movies of all time: National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, A Christmas Story and Elf. The first two are classics, of course, and the third, Elf, is on its way to being a classic holiday film. There is just something about Will Ferrell dressing up as an oversized wannabe…
Don’t lie to yourself. You know you aren’t paying attention to the tree or the presents. Yes, they are exciting, but they aren’t what you’re really craving. The holidays are all about the sweet stuff. Smell the aroma. The pumpkin pie, the chocolate souffle and the cheesecake are all baking…
While everyone else is taking in saccharine Christmas tales and catching their fourth viewing of that Twilight movie, might I suggest something a little more challenging? I know that this time of year, most people like films that evoke a certain coziness and ramp up the sentimentality. But some of…
The themes of sacrifice and escape pulse through the heart of the classic of all classic films: Casablanca. The romanticism of sacrificing for love in the midst of war is narcotic, as is the tantalizing promise of escaping the ties that bind. There’s a whisper of everyone’s life in Casablanca…
One time when a bunch of ragtag children got together, they decided to march off to the Crusades. They marched onto a ship while singing, and from there things didn’t go so well–most of them were sold into slavery. But I’m pretty sure that’s not how things are going to…
On paper, the Portland Trailblazers are potentially one of the best teams in the NBA. Unfortunately, they can’t seem to keep big man Greg Oden healthy (he recently went down with another season-ending injury), and the rest of the team’s been pretty banged up too. All-Star stud Brandon Roy always…
Jo Koy is one of the few comedians to ever receive a standing ovation after performing on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno. Which is understandable, considering the sleep-inducing effect Jay Leno has on most people with brains. Still, Koy’s an up-and-comer with an impressive resume: He won Showtime at…
Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol for quick cash. Dallas Theater Center stages it every December for the same reason. Lots of theaters depend on this family-friendly chestnut to subsidize their seasons. It’s that dependable a moneymaker. Moving permanently in 2010 to the Wyly Theatre on Flora Street downtown, DTC…
Six decades after unleashing persistent NAACP bugaboo Song of the South (1946), and two after firmly suppressing it, that peculiar cultural institution known as the Walt Disney Co. has made a symbolic reparation by creating its first black princess—and plunking her down in the middle of Jim Crow-era Louisiana! A…
Aside from Morgan Freeman, who makes a fabulous Nelson Mandela, there’s this to savor about Invictus, a rosy tale of racial reconciliation neatly wrapped in a triumphalist sports movie: The film is blessedly free of Obama parallels. Also, we could use a happy global moment, and Eastwood picks one out…
The most significant American artist before Andy Warhol to take “the media” as his medium, Orson Welles lives on not only in posthumously restored director’s cuts of his re-released movies but as a character in other people’s novels, plays and movies—notably Richard Linklater’s deft, affectionate and unexpectedly enjoyable Me and…
There is something oddly familiar about Jason Reitman’s Up in the Air, in which George Clooney plays a commitment-phobic business traveler with no use for meaningful human interaction. Could have sworn we’ve been here before. When was it? Oh, yes, of course: Joel and Ethan Coen’s Intolerable Cruelty, released in…
Many wishes are granted in Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s much-loved musical Into the Woods, now playing at Richardson Theatre Centre. Prince Charming finds Cinderella’s foot. Rapunzel’s haircut frees her from a witch’s spell. Jack becomes a killer of giants and procurer of golden eggs. The nicest wish fulfilled, however,…
We’ve heard the nativity story all of our lives. And while the tale is interesting–shepherds, wise men and a virgin birth in one story is pretty darn exciting to us–we have to admit that it can get repetitive. But the sameness of the story’s telling doesn’t negate the fact that…
Remember Duck Hunt? Most of you probably played it at some point in the ’80s. So, let’s say you’re playing Duck Hunt and, between flocks of ducks, a celestial being wings its way across the screen, at which point you pump it full of infrared lead. Would you feel bad?…
What is it about a 15-foot-tall menorah that a 15-foot-tall Douglas fir just can’t do for me anymore? Maybe it’s the miracle of the Maccabees’ victory remembered through the candles of the Hannukah Menorah. Maybe scraping wax buildup once a year is easier than sweeping fir needles for a month…
Entertaining people over the holidays really just creates an opportunity for disaster. Someone could get drunk and naked, the decorations could catch on fire or, worst of all, your souffle could go flat. So, why not ease some of the stress that goes along with planning a holiday meal by…
