Joe Rogan, like many comedians, is a pretty strange cat. On the one hand, he’s publicly called out Carlos Mencia and Dane Cook for stealing jokes, which is awesome. On the other hand, he and Doug Stanhope drove The Man Show into the ground almost as soon as they took…
I say forget the Daniel Day-Lewis vanity project There Will Be Blood–that’s for Californians. The definitive movie about oil here in Texas will always be Giant. The George Stevens 1956 cinematic masterpiece should be required viewing for anyone living in the Lone Star State and for all who move here…
Master photographer and naturalist Frans Lanting amassed a collection of beautiful, vibrant photos from 20 years in the field, taken everywhere from the Congo lowlands to the cloud forests of the Andes. Personally, I’m excited to see that jungles still exist, as I was under the impression that they all…
When successful people socialize, there’s usually a crescendo of energy as they attempt to outwit each other. This ends either in an entertaining back-and-forth or terribly snarky dialogue. Either way, it’s usually a lot of fun to watch. That’s why Writers in the Round should be a hoot. Three writers…
Mix comedy, tragedy, romance, desire and honor and what do you get? No, not Jean-Claude Van Damme. You get Shakespeare, and those needing a fix of the Bard this summer can check out All’s Well That Ends Well, one of his deeper cuts. Presented by Shakespeare Dallas, it follows Helena,…
Once upon a time, chart-topping pop acts assembled themselves. No studio execs, no choreography lessons and no extreme makeovers. Likewise, in the heyday of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, big girls didn’t cry, guys walked like a man from bad relationships, and when folks got all that suppressed crying…
There’s Munich and various political boycotts. There have been various underdog medalists and the surefire champions and dopers. And there are particular years to apply to each circumstance and issue. David Maraniss felt 1960 was just as important in the history of the Olympic games. In his book Rome 1960:…
This weekend, if you haven’t “been around,” or if you don’t like bawdy sketches, waggish bits or silly things–nudge-nudge, wink-wink–then you’d better avoid Grapevine like the plague, because The British Emporium, 140 N. Main St., is unleashing a three-day Monty Python Madness festival and charity fund-raiser. Starting tonight and running…
At the top, let’s be clear about one thing: Journey to the Center of the Earth is more a demo reel than a narrative feature. It’s a decent, if overly familiar and yawningly obvious compendium of look-at-me moments intended to show off the latest and greatest in stereo 3-D filmmaking,…
Hollywood’s Endless Superhero Summer rolls on with the arrival of Hellboy II: The Golden Army from Pan’s Labyrinth director Guillermo del Toro, but before this review goes any further, I must confess—head hanging low in shame—that I haven’t read a comic book since I was 12 years old. That means…
Some say the world will end in fire, some—like Werner Herzog—say ice. Flying in the face of global warming, this profoundly idiosyncratic filmmaker leads an expedition, alternately comic and visionary, to the heart of coldness. Herzog’s Encounters at the End of the World chronicles his trip to Antarctica. The film…
With its Romeo and Juliet-inspired plotline about a troubled romance between teenagers from competing cliques, with its soaring love songs, its bold choreography evolving from the natural athleticism of the young cast and its timelessness as a piece of classic American musical theater, it’s a show every caring parent should…
I understand most phobias, like a nice rational fear of snakes or heights or pink-eyed, snow-white bunny rabbits. But I’ll never fathom lepidopterophobia — the fear of butterflies. It’s not that I don’t sympathize with lepidopterophobes like Nicole Kidman. I just don’t get it. For me, the thought of being…
No one said anything about grown-ups cornering the market on art. In fact, if there’s any group of people I know that truly have fun with a variety of artistic mediums, it’s those knee-high kiddos. Maybe they need to give us adults a little tutorial on finding our inner art…
Art museums must have done really well in kindergarten ’cause they totally know how to share. Take the sweet, generous Art Institute of Chicago for example — it’s agreed to loan Fort Worth’s Kimbell Art Museum (3333 Camp Bowie Blvd.) 92 awesome paintings by a veritable who’s who of Impressionist…
They’re fast, sleek and beautiful. And for one night at least, they pair perfectly with a good merlot. We coul be talking about the latest tabloid princesses, but instead, we’re talking about Greyhounds, the debutantes of the doggie world. The Greyhound Adoption League of Texas (GALT) and Premier Wines present…
Sure, I did it back in the day, and all my friends were doing it. In the early ’90s, it was as inescapable as Hypercolor and Hammertime. Weezing the juice was epidemic. Glassy-eyed teens would sit for hours eating Cheetos while watching Pauly Shore’s antics on MTV. Before long, we…
Since June 27, HCG Gallery has proudly displayed the work of Michael Ledoux and Shane Pennington (No relation to Chris or Chad…as far as we know, anyway. ) in an exhibit entitled 2 Nights, 2 Artists, 2 Openings, which we are henceforth retitling 1 Night, 2 Artists, 1 Opening, since…
Author Rhys Bowen’s A Royal Pain falls squarely in the comedy-of-errors tradition of classics like Mrs. Doubtfire, Dave, and uh, King Ralph. It’s a book, though. Gotta read it; can’t watch it. See, this chick Georgie is the cuz of King George V, slummin’ it undercover as a maid in…
It’s easy to be intrigued by a play by Sir Alan Ayckbourn and man, does he have a few under his belt, but Theatre Three nabbed my attention with House and Garden. The 1999 creation of Ayckbourn could tell a rather droll tale of an afternoon spent trying to get…
Even though the gays coined “fierce” back in the mid-90s, Project Runway gay and winner Christian Siriano made it mainstream, so now everybody uses the “f” word. Appropriately, the 14th Street Gallery thinks some local artists are f’d up enough that they went and named their next exhibit accordingly. J.R…
The best thing about Paul Varghese’s incendiary stand-up routines is that he dishes scorching commentary without leaving anyone feeling burnt. He lobs fiery jokes at audiences about religion, race and rending stereotypes — like joking about taking Salsa lessons ’cause he “wants to be the only Arabic looking guy who…
