God is in the details no matter what you believe, but Jesus Camp is content to introduce its appalled exposé of Christian youth indoctrination with shots of a fast-food- and flag-lined highway and the words “Missouri, USA.” Welcome to hell, kids. Missouri–yikes!–is among the holy lands of traveling Pentecostal minister…
With Paul Rudnick’s Valhalla, the Uptown Players plunge right into the sticky-sweet center of a gooey comic confection. This company specializes in gay-themed shows, and if this one were any gayer, Elton John could wear it, Tom Cruise could sue it and Liza Minnelli could marry it. Playwright Rudnick is…
Like a souped-up, tricked-out rocker’s van, Ryan Humphrey’s work jumbles the signs of clashing cultures: It’s Pimp My Ride meets Van Halen. References to Eddie Van Halen’s red-, white- and black-striped Kramer 5150 guitar sit opposite an homage to the flame-painted van of Jeff Spicoli slackerdom. And then there are…
Lewis Black: Red, White & Screwed (HBO) Like many other Daily Show success stories, Lewis Black is a comedian made for these times; his facial contortions and verbal tics are expressions of the Bush-era phrase “outrage overload.” But unlike other big names in political stand-up right now (David Cross, Bill…
Let’s not beat around the bush: Saints Row is creatively bankrupt. The latest in a long list of Grand Theft Auto imitators, this clone replicates Rockstar’s controversial games so closely that the uneducated eye could mistake it for the real deal. But unlike past rip-offs, Saints Row is actually a…
Avenger (Warner Bros.) Calvaire: The Ordeal (Palm) Cedric the Entertainer: Taking You Higher (HBO) Changing Times (Koch Lorber) Confidence (Lionsgate) Deadfall (Lionsgate) Edmond (First Independent) The Greatest American Hero: The Complete Series (Anchor Bay) Harvey Toons: The Complete Collection (Sony Wonder) Humphrey Bogart: The Signature Collection, Volumes 1 & 2…
I’m a Yankee born in New Jersey, and perhaps the devil himself according to many of you, but even I can recognize the Dallas Stars have become an essential part of this town’s legacy of sports, entertainment and violence. It is odd pulling for a hockey team this far south,…
Why should London get all the good werewolf cred? Who’s to say there aren’t any hiding in a Park Cities mansion or in an Oak Cliff hipster enclave? Just in time for Halloween, the Belmont Hotel hosts an outdoor screening of Dog Soldiers, an action-horror flick centered on a military…
Haven’t been able to make it to New York to catch a Broadway musical? Well, you’re in luck. You can catch just about all of them in Fort Worth. At 8 p.m. Wednesday, Bass Performance Hall presents 100 Years of Broadway. Composer/lyricist/producer Neil Berg has arranged Broadway classics (as well…
With the nightmarishly blistering heat of this cruel Dallas summer seemingly behind us, the last thing on your mind is surfing, right? Well, Saturday you’d better wax down your board and shine up your spurs because the kings of the feel-good summer hit, The Beach Boys, are coming to Billy…
Five Easy Pieces is one of those polarizing films that cinephiles love to discuss while regular moviegoers are left wondering why they wasted an hour and a half of their lives watching the damn thing (if they even bother to finish it at all). Jack Nicholson plays an oil rig…
Every Wednesday night, DJ Johnny Murder spins an eclectic mix at Fallout Lounge. Expect everything from Supertramp to Super Furry Animals. His spinning shenanigans will be augmented this Wednesday by a live performance from the legendary Dutch Treats. In honor of Luke Perry’s 39th birthday, the Treats will tease and…
Whoever named Dallas Heritage Village’s “Nip and Tuck’s Barnyard Buddies Storytime for Preschoolers” obviously didn’t grow up with a bunch of farm boys. I did, and believe me, you wouldn’t want your preschooler to hear some of the tales those guys told about their barnyard “buddies.” Let’s just say this:…
John Ashcroft just won’t go away. When a man loses an election to a dead guy, you’d think he would take a vacation or something. But not the former attorney general: He’s back, and this time it’s personal. His new book, Never Again: Securing America and Restoring Justice, claims to…
Move over Trinity, there’s a new river in town! Big River, the classic Roger Miller musical based on Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, rolls in this weekend courtesy of Garland Civic Theatre. There are no fancy bridges to cross (or debate!), but Huck’s adventure with a runaway slave on the Mighty…
I’m not much of a wine drinker, but in efforts to improve my epicurean palate and social standing, I feel compelled to learn more about the Jesus juice. Oops, maybe not a good start. At the very least, I just want to stick my nose in a glass. The Dallas…
Just to name a few, there’s Spike Lee’s Original Kings of Comedy (not to be confused with Paul Rodriguez’s Original Latin Kings of Comedy), Jeff Foxworthy’s Blue Collar Comedy, Patton Oswalt’s Comedians of Comedy and, of course, Professor Hendricus Stoof’s wildly popular Dutch Physicists of Comedy. Now there’s finally a…
Over 78 million American “boomers” were born after World War II. In their parents’ generation, age 50 meant retirement was around the corner, along with a gold watch, Social Security payouts and a comfortable chair on the porch. Now 50-year-olds are merely entering the second half of an average lifespan…
What with the carnage in Iraq, Hugo Chavez declaring President Bush the devil and drug thugs rolling severed heads onto dance floors in Mexico, harmony seems to be in short supply these days. Leave it to artists—in this case, dancers—to provide whatever may be missing in the world. The Bruce…
Who sings “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” better than Gene Autry? Nobody. He made that song one of the best-selling singles of all time. I think he might have even been the mastermind behind the “Like a light bulb!” backup. During his career, the Singing Cowboy appeared in 94 feature films…
There are so many beautiful things in this world we may look to for inspiration in our own lives and creative endeavors. Sunrises and sunsets. Kittens. Nature. Bjork. I know if I were going to write a symphony—been meaning to get around to it on a rainy day, you know—she’d…
Valhalla is a lot to handle. You got your mad king who builds castles based on operas, as well as your frolicking country boy in hip-baring dungarees. And of course, there’s a moral to the story, but honestly, we try to steer clear of those. Audiences follow the lives of…
