America loves a good subplot. How else, besides the porn thing, could a guy like Dustin Diamond get famous? If you’re looking for football with a side story, then today’s game between the Arizona Cardinals and the St. Louis Rams is right up your alley. The main draw will be…
Does Nancy Meyers hate women? The thought ran through my head not very long into It’s Complicated, Meyers’ biennial stocking-stuffer about the romantic trials and tribulations of obscenely privileged and narcissistic Southern Californians. Once more into the breach goes Meyers to show us what women really want, this time with…
Yesterday’s honky-tonk hero, Bad Blake, arrives at a Clovis, New Mexico bowling alley. It’s another in a string of low-pay, low-turnout gigs with pickup bands half his age, grinding the Greatest Hits out of an old Fender Tremolux, including his breakout — with the chorus, “Funny how falling feels like…
Tom Ford’s A Single Man: It’s better to look good than be good. Too much is never enough for fashion designer turned filmmaker Tom Ford, whose debut feature flaunts its capital-A artiness the way some Napoleonic gym rats flaunt their overdeveloped musculature. Unlike his fellow art-house Michael Bays — Julie…
Pedro Almodóvar still believes in Pedro Almodóvar. “Everything’s already happened to me,” admits Harry Caine, the blind, middle-aged filmmaker in Broken Embraces. “All that’s left is to enjoy life.” ¡Sí! His own sights set low these days in his latest movie, reformed bad boy Pedro Almodóvar has at least hit…
My spouse and I recently invited 2,000 strangers into our home. Friends roll their eyes when I admit this, but for me, the only weird part about throwing open our home to thousands of visitors was that so many of them felt compelled to peek inside our clothes closet. Our…
Only a handful of days remain until the end of the Naughties, which means it’s time to look back on this massively madcap decade. And, frankly, it’s been something of a downer. While sci-fi flicks promised rocket-powered cars and orgasmatrons by now, the past 10 years have wrought the quagmire…
Since we’ve thrown Art One a Best of Phoenix Award and we’ve written articles like these, it’s really no secret that our editorial staff is totally rooting for Art One to pull through this recession.And why wouldn’t we? Owner Kraig Foote has an incredible eye for potential. And with his…
For 18 years, my own holiday traditions with respect to Actors Theatre’s well-regarded annual production of A Christmas Carol are that I have assiduously avoided giving the company the opportunity to decide whether to cast me (because if I perform that hard around Christmas, I always get rip-roaringly ill); a grip of my personal actor…
The owner of UFO (Universal Furnishings and Offerings) did a very smart thing a couple weeks ago.He called me to tell me about this other smart thing he did at the beginning of the month: he put together an art show. A really good one…
It’s always a heartwarming surprise to see a play by a non-famous local writer — a student, recent grad, or someone just relatively new to writing for the stage — and have it turn out to be well-crafted and entertaining. I love new artists, and I love the companies who…
It’s no secret that in our modern lives, friendships help us thriveThat’s why I’m happy to learn that Bentley Gallery in Scottsdale and eye lounge in Phoenix have kicked up a little relationship.You can see the results of this friendly collaboration tonight, at eye lounge where “Works from Bentley Gallery”…
Sick of eating dry cereal out of boxes while lounging around the bachelor pad in your boxers? Cadillac Ranch at Tempe Marketplace, 2000 East Rio Salado Parkway, has the answer for discriminating pigskin lovers: the Cadillac Ranch Football Brunch. From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday during…
The Valley’s longtime dog-racing track is closing but not before one last night of fun. Sat., Dec. 19, 6 p.m., 2009…
Times are dark, people. An old Chinese proverb advises that it’s better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. So quit cursing and see a wee, warm exhibition on Roosevelt Row called “Soot: Handmade Candle Caddies.” Alex Ozers, who has a piece in the show, says his riveted…
Unless you’re talking about the Biltmore and Esplanade areas, Phoenix has this reputation of being the pits for more upscale nightlife. Though it’s true that places like downtown like it rough and raw, the distinction is totally bogus. Just check out spots like The Vig, located catawampus to the Arcadia…
If you really want to feel a connection to the mafia, ditch the season whatever of The Sopranos and head to your closest neighborhood payphone. Local artist Aaron Abbott – who spent more than a year capturing every payphone in the grid from 16th to 24th streets and from Thomas…
Winter solstice – commonly known as the shortest day of the year – just can’t be fully appreciated in an urban environment. So despite the chill in the air, celebrate the day in nature during the Winter Solstice Hike at White Tank Mountains Regional Park. The two-hour, ranger-led jaunt will…
The last couple half-marathons we ran, all we could think about at the finish line was this: Must. Take. Shoes. Off. Hop. In. Shower. Runner’s high? Yeah, right. Turns out, a lot of people actually enjoy running long distances, so much so that there’s an Arizona Road Racers Desert Classic…
Looking for a relief from politically correct holiday cheer and sappy family fun? Look no further than the [Sic] Sense Holiday Show. The [Sic] Sense Comedy Troupe will be doing what they do best on stage, which is singing warped and disgruntled carols while performing original skits like “You Ruined…
Christmas carols are cheeseball-a-rific, but not when a young and hip New York City-based composer of Norwegian descent is rearranging the holiday hits for a Grammy Award-winning group. Beginning Saturday, December 19, the Phoenix Chorale will perform its “Home for the Holidays” program that will feature the group blowing your…
Christmas carols are cheeseball-a-rific, but not when a young and hip New York City-based composer of Norwegian descent is rearranging the holiday hits for a Grammy Award-winning group. Beginning Saturday, December 19, the Phoenix Chorale will perform its “Home for the Holidays” program that will feature the group blowing your…
