It was the best of movies. It was the worst of movies. Which is to say: There’s half of a great movie in Julie & Julia — but since Meryl Streep has already starred in one titled Julia, perhaps it was merely necessary to tack on the “Julie” half to…
“When you bad,” boasts the young and beautiful, piss-and-vinegar-filled Muhammad Ali early in the documentary Soul Power, “you can do what you wanna do.” The film, which takes too long to get to the meat of its matter — but captivates once it does — is an addendum to Leon…
Lynn Shelton’s Humpday, a sexual sitcom, opens with a pair of breeders in bed. A youngish married couple, Ben (Mark Duplass) and Anna (Alycia Delmore), confess that they’re too tired to procreate that night and then confess their mutual relief. As if in response, the doorbell rings at 2 a.m…
Even if the largely teenage cast of bare: A Musical hadn’t succeeded in really selling this rather stunning story of naughty Catholic school kids, it would have appeared that they had. That’s because the audience for Aperio Productions’ loud, rowdy show screamed with joy after every number, as if they…
Well, we’re coming in at mid-week here and I say it’s time to start talking about all the shows that will open this Friday.Wait, is that sentence grammatically correct? I’m unsure. Where’s that Grammar101 guy? I could really use another five paragraphs in the comments that explain my writing mistakes…
Citing the recession and financial hardships, officials for the Heard Museum West location in Surprise announced today that the museum will close by the end of the year. Like the other Heard Museum locations in Phoenix and Scottsdale, the Heard Museum West housed Native American exhibits and artifacts. It opened…
Since the release of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra was announced, geeks everywhere have been gearing up for the movie with previews, Comic-Con spoilers and of course toys. Not to say that G.I. Joe is a nerd-only endeavor — every self-respecting American kid in the decades between 1960-1990 had at least one…
I’ve always prided myself on, well, not being a hippie. Recently, however, I’m finding I’m doing more and more hippie-like things… I started an herb garden in my breakfast nook (the pots are nestled in with my natural crystal salt lamp), I bought a pair of TOMS shoes and wear…
Don’t worry, if you’re interested in this modeling gig, you can still eat lunch today. This casting call is for artsy fashion models. It’s for people who are fun to look at because they are pretty/interesting/beautiful/wild/alternative/kinda scary.The Grand Avenue Festival, set to take place September 26th, will feature (among many…
So much bouncing. So much squealing. I love to watch young audiences. They’re better than the show — but that’s true even when the show is really good, like the productions of Great Arizona Puppets. And everybody quiets down and sits still when the lights change and Tinker Bell opens…
Are your kids totally bored with summer now? I remember that feeling of actually wanting to go back to school. It was too hot to play outside, games of “The Little Mermaid” in the pool had lost their charm and I was sick of playing Nintendo.You really couldn’t pay me…
Okay, I know Phoenix is in its how-did-anyone-think-to-settle-in-this-Hell-zone time of year right now but hear me out. Er, actually, hear artist, Jason Hill, out. This guy is our number one promoter of all things that are good in Phoenix. Namely, our architecture. Some may be surprised to know that we…
The niece of Martin Luther King Jr., a noted civil rights activist in her own right as well as a self-proclaimed “pro-life warrior,” speaks about issues ranging from school choice to faith in God over government. Sun., Aug. 2, 8, 9:15 & 11 a.m., 2009…
The niece of Martin Luther King Jr., a noted civil rights activist in her own right as well as a self-proclaimed “pro-life warrior,” speaks about issues ranging from school choice to faith in God over government. Sat., Aug. 1, 5 p.m., 2009…
Louis Psihoyos, renowned for taking beautiful pics for National Geographic, paints a truly ugly portrait of the village of Taji, Japan, in this documentary-cum-thriller. Psihoyos and his team (which includes the dolphin trainer from the 1960s TV show Flipper) go undercover to capture Taji’s illicit dolphin-capture trade. The screening, which…
The Valley resident and host of the TV show Smart Spaces: Inside & Out discusses his green-living creation, the “holistic home” he calls the Urban Farm, as well as concepts such as “the New American Dream” and becoming a “net producer.” RSVP required. Mon., Aug. 3, 6:30-8:30 p.m., 2009…
There’s a fine line between writing fiction and nonfiction, but one of the things that distinguishes a great writer of both is the ability to know what to leave unsaid. After all, truth is sometimes harder to believe than fiction. Best-selling author J.A. Jance learned that when she was shopping…
The origins of the one-man band supposedly date back to the 13th century, when performers, armed with a panpipe in one hand and the drum-like tabor in the other, entertained the masses. Hundreds of years later, a handful of enterprising mad-genius musicians – no doubt feeling liberated from having bandmates…
Of the artists on Chicago’s “insurgent country” label Bloodshot Records — Ryan Adams, Neko Case, Split Lip Rayfield, etc. — veteran road dog Wayne “The Train” Hancock is probably the truest to the mythos of classic country music. While he’s got the middle-finger-toward-Nashville attitude of the ’70s outlaws, Hancock’s dead-set…
The other day, we were trying to organize all of the piles of paper crap that were dumped into various grocery sacks when we stumbled upon an old flier, circa 2003, for Lymbyc Systym. Motivation to clean and organize gone. That’s because we’re still mourning the loss of the Bell…
Let’s be honest: Most of us have had some type of fetish-related experience. Perhaps that’s why Phoenix has such a thriving scene; just say the words “fetish ball” and nearly everyone’s ears (and other parts) perk up. Having the right soundtrack’s almost as important as having the right brand of…
The last we saw the Arizona Cardinals was during Super Bowl XLIII. After a spotty season and a Cinderella-flavored playoff jaunt, the exciting but ultimately disappointing showdown had the Cards on top of the world for a precious couple of minutes in the fourth quarter. Then a tippy-toe end-zone grab…
