On the first day (of opening weekend), the lord said, “Let there be, like, this year’s Evolution or sumpin’, only with more hope for significant box-office returns,” and there is, and it is called Eight Legged Freaks, and it is good. The silly title needs a hyphen in the compound…
Of all the A-list men playing dedicated authority figures, Star Wars alums Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson remain among the most amusing and pleasing, which is why K-19: The Widowmaker glides along engagingly rather than sinking. In many ways it’s just another cramped, dank submarine movie–bells, whistles, leaks, danger-danger!–but well-established…
It took the creative giants behind MIIB (a.k.a. Men in Black II) five years to come up with a disappointingly flat and uninspired sequel that not only treads familiar ground but does so with far less pizzazz than the original. It took the forces behind Stuart Little 2 a mere…
At this very moment, members of the Television Critics Association are gathered at the Ritz-Carlton in Pasadena, California, to preview this fall’s new series, interview those responsible for them and, finally, gorge themselves silly and drink themselves stupid on the networks’ dwindling dime. This event, the so-called “press tour,” takes…
Every woman knows a “Mr. Love.” He’s the too-handsome roué who dabs too much Aramis on his neck and darts his eyes at his reflection in every shiny surface. In Karoline Leach’s 1995 play The Mysterious Mr. Love, now onstage at the Trinity River Arts Center, the title character carries…
Forget sex and eating. As anyone who ever stared down a deadline can tell you, the strongest human drive is the urge to plagiarize. If you’re honest, you limit the lifting to ideas, motifs, the occasional metaphor or turn of phrase. To borrowing from yourself and, on occasion, your dreams…
Celtic music, food, fire-eating warriors, handmade wares and endangered birds are only some of the ingredients of the third annual Celtic Festival Benefit, which takes place Saturday at Betwixt & Between Community Center. Originally scheduled to happen in March, when the festival benefit was rained out, the all-day, indoor event…
Isn’t art supposed to be a reflection of society? Despite a swelling Latino population in North Texas, theater catering to this segment of the community, not to mention mirroring it, is difficult to find. Theaters produce non-Anglo writers’ works infrequently. Bilingual or strictly Spanish performances are even more rare. The…
Joe Versus the Volcano ran on cable last week, and contained within that misguided, unmemorable film was a small scene that only now resonates. Tom Hanks, who believes he has not long to live, emerges from a doctor’s office wearing a fedora too small for his head and a trench…
If there’s any truth to reincarnation, the spirit of Napoleon may walk among us today. It’s not unreasonable to conjecture that he has taken up residence in Bill Gates or Joel Silver, but–perhaps more likely–the little conqueror with the big hat has fragmented and landed in the bodies of countless…
For centuries, Western philosophies have interpreted the dragon as a symbol of explosive violence, and, frankly, that’s rather one-sided. By (Saint) George, there has existed a notion that the basilisk is always bad, born to be slain. However, there’s a wide spectrum between Sirrush and Smaug, representing everything from our…
It’s daunting to hear that John Sayles’ new film, Sunshine State, is almost two and a half hours long and mostly consists of calm conversations. Don’t be deterred or you’ll miss out on a study of character, class and changing times that puts Robert Altman’s stodgy Gosford Park to shame…
Nobody dozes off during Blast! Several times during the high-concept marching-band event now playing at the Fair Park Music Hall, the blare of dozens of horns and the pounding of a hundred drums large and small get so loud you can feel your bones vibrating. At top volume, the noise…
It seems odd to call Pillsbury and Peters Fine Art’s new show of Leon Kossoff’s work “timely.” But it is, even though the London-based painter remains, at 75, what he has always been: a throwback. A member of the so-called London school, Kossoff is a figurative painter, an expressionist who…
A pal asked last week, “Who you writing about?” Told him, “Art Linson,” which screwed his face into a big ol’ question mark. “He’s a movie producer. He made Heat, Fight Club, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, The Untouchables, Car Wash…” Said said friend upon hearing that last one, “Dude…
It may seem like we just got the neon revolution terminated and the spiral perms grown out, but already the ’80s are back. Bands are being influenced by ’80s music, parties are being thrown with ’80s themes and more and more people are wearing skinny ties. OK, so maybe people…
Comedian Neil Hamburger evokes a sort of sympathy as he slouches about the stage mumbling anti-jokes. Much like Charlie Brown he gives off a sad-sack vibe that makes one root for him, perhaps even want to hug him. That is, of course, unless you are one of those who don’t…
Like a jawbreaker that changes color every few seconds you suck it, MIIB: Men in Black II delivers a quick buzz, lots of stuff to look at and a totally non-nutritious joy that can only be attained with the aid of artificial flavorings and Yellow #5. It’s the perfect summer…
In her recent book, Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls, journalist Rachel Simmons hits a very topical nail squarely on its very sore head. Coining the term “relational aggression,” she employs several case studies to buttress the obvious but significant theory that modern girls are extremely…
It has been 80 years since the adventurous son of a Michigan iron miner trained a silent-movie camera on the everyday life of an “Eskimo” family in the Canadian Arctic and virtually invented documentary filmmaking. Through the decades, Robert Flaherty’s Nanook of the North has attracted its share of criticism–Flaherty…
They stream in and out, all day and all night, one after the other: band members, producers, business associates, friends, family, strangers, hangers-on who stare at the familiar face made infamous long ago. The tour bus, this parked sanctuary where he can roll his joints and drink his bottled Starbucks…
Maybe we ought to rethink this outdoor Shakespeare thing. It was 40 years ago this summer that Public Theatre founder Joseph Papp moved his New York Shakespeare Festival into the just-built, open-air Delacorte Theatre in Central Park and made watching the works of the Bard a must-do event for Manhattan…
