SAT 7/9Get your geek on with the members of the United Federation of Phoenix, the nation’s second-oldest continuous Star Trek fan club, as they party poolside on Saturday, July 9, sipping sodas and swapping stories of Klingon valor. The universe may be a lonely place for some people, but not…
We’re a town lousy with theater awards: the ariZonis, the Scotties, the Milties and the Tilties. Chris Page at the Tribune has his Spotlight Awards, and even Mark Turvin hands out something called The Fishy Awards, which sounds sort of — well, you can finish that thought yourself, can’t you?…
Quite simply and quite literally, Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds is Close Encounters of the Third Kind turned inside out: They’re still out there, only this time the aliens are out for our blood, which they spray all over the countryside like so much red…
Martin Lawrence has never exactly been among the world’s more gifted comedians, yet his movies seem to keep raking in the cash, so there must be legions of loyal Lawrenceheads out there somewhere. But even they, who made financial successes of Black Knight and Big Momma’s House and National Security,…
You’re a talented young resident at a New York hospital, first-generation Chinese, and you happen to be gay. In fact, you’re dating a new and exciting woman, a dancer with the city ballet, and she wants you to share the relationship with the world — and your family. But can…
Ditch the masses on the grasses this Independence Day and revel in your freedom with bouncy swing tempos, jazzy brass instruments, dance-igniting beats, and most importantly, a powerful swamp cooler. On Monday, July 4, several Arizona bands, including Captain Squeegee and the Soap Suds, The Dietrichs, and Tucson’s Kool Shades,…
Look out for the 22-foot blonde with the boob job! She’s part of Phoenix artist Hector Ruiz’s room-size installation Westernization, a tragicomic take on America’s image in the world, and part of his “La Realidad (Reality)” show opening Friday, July 1, at the Heard Museum. “America is so appealing to…
MON 7/4 This year, you can choose to fire up the grill and celebrate America’s independence by inviting over your near-and-dears, replete with the usual band of screaming kids and unruly pets, or you can go to the City of Phoenix’s 20th annual “Fabulous Fourth” celebration at Steele Indian School…
MON 7/4If you have a hot jalopy that you’re dying to show off to a group of ogling, salivating spectators, gas it up and drive to Chandler, where the Arizona Veteran Rodders Club hosts a classic car show at Tumbleweed Park on Monday, July 4, as part of the Lions…
7/1-7/30 While typecast TV stars have quotation-marked middle names for faster recognition — witness Jaleel “Urkel” White — it’s quite uncommon for a fine artist and portraitist. But avant photographer Heidi “Bluegirl” Calvert, whose photographic retrospective opens with a reception from 6:30 p.m. to midnight at Perihelion Arts on Friday,…
SUN 7/3The local hip-hop underground goes above ground, as the true record playas of the Valley will turn on their turntablism talents during Reign of the Tech on Sunday, July 3, at the Old Brickhouse Grill, 1 East Jackson. Myriad mixmasters from around the PHX will mass for the 21-and-over…
THU 6/30″Chunks of Fried Funk” might sound like a bad school cafeteria lunch, but techno-haters and hip-hop junkies love the mystery meat packed into this sonic casserole of electrobreaks, hip-hop, “nu skool,” funk and “ghetto stylez.” The weekly DJ night at Ichiban Sushi Bar, 1435 East University Drive in Tempe,…
Until scientists master the secret to immortality, local businessman-jock-turned-philanthropist Bill Wohl has the answer: Donating your organs (and therefore your DNA) is a good way of stayin’ alive. Granted, you won’t be entirely yourself, but your affection for chicken wings might well live on if you leave your eyes or…
Technology and inhumanity and greed, oh, my! Those wild beasties have been lurking in the shadows alongside the yellow brick road to progress for generations. Spend some time at the spirited “Surrealism USA” exhibit at Phoenix Art Museum, and you’ll realize we were worried about the dark side of our…
Bewitched may go down as the first movie about a fictional failed actor that created a real-life failed actor. This hackneyed, hapless, and utterly useless redo of an overrated 1960s sitcom is excruciating to sit through for a dozen reasons. But nothing is more intolerable than the sight of Will…
I envy people whose favorite television show is something well-written or intelligent. My cousin John loves The Mary Tyler Moore Show; my sister has seen every episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show a dozen times each. Even my mechanic favors smarty-pants programs like Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm. I,…
Not many people saw Lost and Delirious, the 2001 boarding-school drama about two girls in obsessive love, and that was probably for the best. Yes, Piper Perabo (Coyote Ugly) made a stunning androgynous rebel, but she couldn’t rescue the film from its unctuous self-importance. My Summer of Love, a bewitching…
Anyone who would insist that movie reviewing is not a real job (‘Sup, Mom) hasn’t been forced to sit through screenings of Bewitched and Herbie: Fully Loaded in the span of five days — and by forced, I mean either you see both movies, write 800 words about each, or…
It’s okay to be slightly afraid of Hungarian movies. Even critics don’t necessarily relish the thought of them, or look upon Budapest as a hotbed of filmmaking. As a matter of fact, it’s hard to recall the last time there was a good movie from the land that gave us…
Edna Mode may have stolen the show as the snooty seamstress to the superheroes in The Incredibles, but the next time Batman chills at the Batcave, dahling, he just might be sporting a Mark Newport knitted sweater. For the past two years, Newport has been knitting superhero costumes — including…
Many a posturing punker has attempted over the years to emulate the puerile pranks of GG Allin, arguably one of the more infamous and reviled figures in rock history. Whether slicing open their melons, wearing women’s underwear, or flinging fecal matter, amped-up alt-rockers everywhere have copied the late shock-rocker’s aggressive…
THU 6/23We love belly dancers like the desert loves rain. Lucky for us, “Splash: Summer SMoCA Nights,” on Thursday, June 23, at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Arts, quenches our thirst on both fronts — metaphorically speaking. Along with performances by electronic duo Peachcake and DJ Maji, the Gamil Zarah…
