Maybe the real question should be: Why haven’t more reality show participants killed themselves? With this week’s apparent suicide by hanging of Russell Armstrong, the 47-year-old estranged spouse of one of Bravo’s Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, the death toll from reality TV increases by one. There have been other…
With this week bringing the release of not one but two ’80s remakes — the bloody double bill of Conan the Barbarian and Fright Night — the proverbial final nail will be driven into the coffin as we lay yet another cinematic summer** season to rest. But was it so…
Theater Caps are bite-sized punch-packing capsule reviews by resident theater critic Elaine Liner. Use them as a reminder — or a teaser, if you procrastinate — of her full-length reviews in The Mixmaster’s weekly sister. There is nothing on any local stage right now like Elvis August. Created and performed…
A cinematic reboot for the patron saint of 98-pound weaklings, Conan the Barbarian is both truer to the vision of its character’s creator, Robert E. Howard, and more satisfyingly pulpy than John Milius’ 1982 movie incarnation. Director Marcus Nispel, along with no fewer than three screenwriters, eschews the lugubrious mythmaking…
Directed by Danish filmmaker Lone Scherfig from a screenplay by David Nicholls, based on his novel, One Day stars Anne Hathaway as Emma, a too-serious would-be writer in Coke-bottle glasses and combat boots. She’s nursing a crush on Dexter (Jim Sturgess), her too-good-looking rich-boy college classmate. She’s earnest, tenacious and…
Good morning, Baltimore! And howdy-do again to Hairspray, the wholesome American musical comedy whose low-art origins as a non-musical 1988 film by gross-out king John Waters have almost been obliterated in its evolution into family-friendly entertainment. First there was the clean-up for its transition to the Broadway stage, then the…
This Sunday marks the 13th Annual Vibha Dream Mile, which is taking place along the lovely shores of White Rock Lake. In Vibha, which is hosting the fundraiser in other cities across America this weekend, you couldn’t ask for a more appealing non-profit: they’re just a bunch of non-political do-gooders…
When the American Film Institute originally compiled its list of the best movies in the first 100 years of American film (1896-1996), five of the top 10 movies chosen were shot in black and white and one film, The Wizard of Oz, was filmed in both black and white and…
What makes musical theater so enjoyable? Could it be the bright lights, the catchy tunes or the sparkly costumes? Well, sure it could be all these things, and in WaterTower Theatre’s Homemade Fusion, which features music by Christopher Dimond and Michael Kooman, all the elements of musical theater come together…
Belly dancing is a beautiful and challenging art form, but let’s face it — the name just ain’t right. All belly dance, from traditional family-friendly folk to nightclub incarnations, uses almost every part of the body. It’s demanding to say the least, and it’s coming to the Grapevine Convention Center…
Almost everyone has a friend that’s a book snob – someone who talks like they’re reciting the New York Review of Books, drinks obscure French wine and chuckles pretentiously when people speak well of Stephen King. Where book snobs find the free time to know intimate details about authors we…
You’d think a restaurant that has the word “Cowboy” in its name would serve cow. You’d be wrong. Thanks to Cowboy Chicken, for the last three decades, buckaroos have been able to enjoy the occasional break from steak on the trail (or Greenville Avenue). To celebrate its 30th anniversary, from…
Even before Twilight or True Blood, vampires were held up to high standards of bad-assery. Remember Interview with the Vampire? Before there were new-age bloodsuckers dry-humping each other, there were the vampires of killer terror hits such as The Lost Boys and Lifeforce. 1985’s Fright Night is pure horror at…
We’re an easily jaded culture. Things that were once heartbreaking and awful become overexposed and passé, and sadly we find ourselves caring less and less about the important stuff, tossing them out like yesterday’s news. That’s why Life, Above All, based on the award-winning young adult novel Chanda’s Secrets by…
Only in today’s world can a street artist like Banksy become a household name. What was once considered vandalism is now seen as priceless art, and a guy who would have been a criminal years ago is now an Academy Award-nominated artist and director. Yet with all of his fame…
Tuesday doesn’t seem quite so far away from the weekend when there’s wine to be had. Hotel ZaZa wraps up its summer wine series with an ode to Spanish vintages Tuesday evening. Modest pours of five boutique wines will tease the tongue, along with tasty tidbits from the kitchen. The…
We’re reluctant to share the bounty of Hatch peppers with our vegetarian and vegan friends, especially with this year’s crop delayed by drought. Why should a bunch of hippie weirdos get any when they clearly belong in a pot of meaty chili? But Ann Gentry, author of Vegan Family Meals:…
If you are a big fan of tennis, but lack the budget of other such fans who can afford courtside tickets to Wimbledon or the French Open, you are in luck. The Texas Tennis Open begins this weekend at the Hilton DFW Lakes, 1800 Highway 26 East in Grapevine. This…
The Old Red Museum is getting invaded by stormtroopers, safari hunters stalk the parks and Dallas is getting shrunk down to size at Dallas CityScape. The Museum of Natural and Science Nature plays host to massive LEGO replicas of major Dallas landmarks, from old standards like Reunion Tower to the…
Susan G. Komen was a major advocate for finding a cure for breast cancer. Why not eat in her honor and for a great cause? Mignon is offering a tasty three-course menu for $52 with 15 percent of the proceeds going to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. The Cuisine for…
Whether you’re in a great mood or having the worst day of all time, the unconditional love from your four-legged friend can’t be beat. If you’re looking to find a new companion, you can save money, as well as an animal’s life, by going by an animal shelter to adopt…
It’s hard to say that we as a nation take something for granted without sounding preachy or all Fox News-y, but after the year that American women have had, it makes you wonder if we’ve forgotten how hard we had to fight to make decisions for ourselves, get an education…
