“Virgil Ortiz: La Renaissance Indigène”: Native American tradition meets downtown hip as Virgil Ortiz puts designs inspired by the pottery of his native Cochiti Pueblo on contemporary objects. Black and white lines, swirls and geometric shapes that owe much to op-art show up on purses, corsets and skirts; in a…
I arrive early at America West Arena and feel especially imbecilic telling the parking attendant that I’m there “to see the gorilla.” But I’m apparently the only one who finds this foolish. “He’s expecting you,” she tells me without a hint of irony. “Please tell him hello for me.” Inside,…
Jane Fonda comes from a good Hollywood family and used to be a pretty fair actress herself. Klute, They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?, and Coming Home were three of the better films of their time. So, after getting a look at herself in her first movie in 15 years, La…
The mockumentary is a tricky thing and not to be attempted by amateurs, many of whom treat the form like a joke without need of a punch line; damn the filmmaker who thinks it clever and ironic enough to “interview” “real people” “talking” about other “real people” who, of course,…
If you’re expecting a psychological thriller out of Mindhunters, and you buy a ticket for the movie, you will almost indubitably feel cheated. But break down the film’s title to its most literal sense — hunting for a mind, presumably because those involved were out of theirs — and you’ll…
Kicking & Screaming might be the most predictable movie of the year, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Think about it: How many times have you gone to a movie and gotten far less than you were expecting? Here, that’s not a concern — you may not get more…
It’s a dark time for the Phoenix Fan Force. Although the local cadre of sci-fi superfreaks is hyperspaced for the impending release of Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith, the final chapter in George Lucas’ six-part space opera, the PFF geeks are also morose that the über-director…
Anger is a gift that Brandon Ladd Burkey wants to share. Much like the characters in the Eric Bogosian play subUrbia, which Burkey directs, the Valley transplant (by way of L.A.) is fed up with the status quo. “I believe that what we need here in the Valley is a…
THU 5/12″Clothing, just like your being, has a constant energy flowing around you,” says fashion designer Kenyata Baraka, a.k.a. “Queen Be.” Her imaginative designs fall into the urban clothing style, and each handcrafted piece strives to harness a “continuous energy of peace, power and love that will leave you totally…
5/13-5/14Generally, if you mention the letters PBR, it’s cause for ears to perk up in hopes of a crisp snap of the tab that pops open a cold one. Well, it won’t be that PBR, but there surely could be some snapping sounds, mainly those of human bones, when the…
5/13-5/28As much as guys try to get two girls to make out in front of them, there are still men in the world who’ll throw punches instead of dollars at the sight of a same-sex snog. A man wandering through a New York park serves as a prime example in…
5/14-6/8You may have heard the adage “opinions are like assholes — everybody’s got one.” When it comes to the issue of gun control, there are definitely a lot of people who don’t like the smell of other people’s assholes. And while not everybody views the issue in black and white…
THU 12 So you ate paint chips as a kid? Well, that explains a lot. But while the art hanging in Scottsdale’s Marshall Way galleries on Thursday, May 12, might be good enough to eat, please refrain from returning to your childhood eating habits. The Bon Appetit ArtWalk features special…
Much of Crash, an L.A.-stories portmanteau about the suffocating embrace of racism, is hard to watch, harder still to listen to. Its characters — the creations of co-writer and director Paul Haggis but also of people who live next door and perhaps even inside of you — say and do…
Whatever you do, don’t accuse Ridley Scott of turning his back on a fight. Doesn’t matter if it’s slimy-fanged space aliens attacking Sigourney Weaver, Roman slaves in tough against hungry lions down at the Colosseum, or American GIs going at it with Somali insurgents. Sir Ridley is always happy to…
The new House of Wax — a remake, pretty much in name only, of the 1953 Vincent Price movie (itself a remake of a 1933 film) — manages to be gruesome and grisly, but it falls well short of being truly creepy, much less terrifying. Horror aficionados expecting the chills…
It is no great joy to review Palindromes, the latest film from writer-director Todd Solondz, who is loved by those who do not loathe him for such movies as Welcome to the Dollhouse, Happiness, and Storytelling. Advance word had Palindromes as Solondz’s most shocking film, which seemed impossible, given its…
Andrew Wise isn’t a biker. But he’ll live the life this weekend — along with at least 15,000 to 20,000 biker dudes and chicks — at the inaugural Cycle de Mayo at the Lake Pleasant Harbor Marina. Wise, owner of Banana Communications and producer of the event, dreamed up the…
It’s do-or-die time for Seth Riveras, as the 14-year-old plummets down one of Phoenix Skate Park’s six-foot bankramps on his skateboard, blasting blindly toward a thigh-high obstacle known as a pyramid. Seconds before colliding with the trapezoid, Riveras pops his ride skyward, flying over any danger while the board spins…
5/5-5/6 Laurie Notaro is ecstatic that so many women want to be certified “idiots.” But give her a break, already. “People are totally mad at me,” says the author of The Idiot Girls’ Action-Adventure Club, who makes appearances in Tempe and Phoenix, respectively, on Thursday, May 5, and Friday, May…
SAT 5/7 To some, a “nighttime art run” consists of a mobile graffiti spree with the intent of tagging the maximum number of block walls before dawn. But don’t expect many aerosol paint-toting runners at the Night Run for the Arts, since the event is not about turf boundaries, but…
SAT 5/7 There’s a myth that nothing free is worth having. Tell that to the thousands of comic book fans who will stand in line for hours to get their paws on complimentary comics on “Free Comic Book Day,” happening Saturday, May 7. More than 3,000 comic shops worldwide will…
