If you’ve ever gone line-dancing with a gaggle of amputees on crank and hallucinogens, you know something of the feeling engendered by viewing Alexander. This broad, bold and ambitious film by Oliver Stone presents itself as a fairly straightforward endeavor, but its rhythms quickly go strange while its participants hobble…
As the year stumbles toward its conclusion and critics begin penning their best-and-worst compendiums, here’s a holiday contender fit for the all-time Naughty List. Based on the John Grisham novel Skipping Christmas — which, face it, is less a novel than an impulse item stacked on bookstore checkout counters –…
According to Israeli singer Achinoam Nini, a.k.a. Noa, if you’ve heard her music, well, that’s downright un-American. No, really, unless you’re Jewish or European, you probably haven’t heard of Noa, despite her distinguished résumé, which includes performances for the pope and Bill Clinton, and alongside Quincy Jones and Sting. “My…
Provided you somehow fight off a T-Day invasion by the extended family with the usual gourmet gorge-fest, relieving your ravenous relatives (not to mention snuffing out the usual psychodrama), you’ve still got yet another dilemma: They’re clamoring for some post-gluttony goings-on. Forestall a potential family feud with a good old-fashioned…
Thu 11/25 As the joke goes, they do celebrate Thanksgiving in Great Britain — only on September 6. Why? Because that’s when we Yankee blokes, back in 1620, fled jolly old England. (Ba-dum-cha!) But seriously, folks, desert-dwelling Britons (wanna-bes, that is) will celebrate T-Day with a party of their own…
Fri 11/26 Graduates of the “new school” of punk rock often have difficulty receiving validation from “old school” punks, the people who remember punk as the ultimate anti-commercial loogie hocked in the face of disco and self-indulgent ’70s guitar rock. Luckily, co-ed band Tsunami Bomb has received that validation, participating…
THU 18 The NHL’s on strike, or haven’t you noticed? We can’t blame you, unless you’ve got some underage hockey-lovin’, howlin’-at-the-moon misfits itching to get out of the house and onto the ice tugging at your heartstrings. If so, we know of just the right remedy, thanks to (and because…
11/19-11/21 Ninety-nine red balloons in the sky might have been a big deal in the ’80s, but that’s nothing compared to the hot air of the new millennium. Witness the 2004 Arizona Balloon Festival at Tumbleweed Park, 2250 South McQueen in Chandler, and you’ll see what we mean. The festival…
11/20-11/21 We’ve swallowed the notion that a swath of desert near Gold Canyon transforms into a Tudor-style village every spring for the past 16 years. So it’s no surprise the medieval merrymakers at the Devonshire Renaissance Faire have fooled us with their intricately crafted illusion that a 24-acre park in…
Oh, that Johnny Depp. Played in some dime-a-dozen rock bands, did some average television, made a few cutesy little movies. Whatever. Yeah, he messes with his looks in a fun way sometimes, but otherwise he merely rides that nicotine-sunken-cheeks thing all the way to the bank. The guy’s popular, but…
Jerry Bruckheimer has always insisted he cares less about critical acclaim than about commercial appeal. “We make movies for the common man,” he said almost three years ago, as Black Hawk Down was crash-landing in theaters. “The pictures that I’ve made over the last 20 years or so have been…
Margo Channing cracked wiser. And her devious protégé cooked up better schemes to steal the limelight. Still, half a century after they lit up the screen, the principals in All About Eve likely would get a charge out of Being Julia. This bittersweet backstage drama skillfully combines — as all…
At the bottom of the ocean, inside a giant pineapple, lives a yellow, oblong sponge who likes to blow bubbles, eat more ice cream than is good for him, and work as a fry cook. The “Krabby Patty” sandwiches he makes are so popular that a one-eyed plankton, who runs…
In terms of sheer endurance, going clubbing in Scottsdale can be the social equivalent of an Ironman Triathlon. The pressure to see and be seen and to do so at your most beautiful can be exhausting, while the cost of a drink can leave you feeling as though you’ve been…
As any economist worth his weight in T-bills will tell you, when entering into any risky venture, it’s best to do a cost-benefit analysis. Like if you’re some aspiring counterculturist, say, local rabble-rouser Phil Freedom, and you’re organizing a boffo benefit, it might behoove you to weigh your expenses and…
11/18-11/21 Head south toward Tucson and, as you come upon Maricopa Road, you’ll encounter a body of water that laughs out loud when you call its next-door neighbor, the I-10, a freeway. It’s known to locals as Firebird Lake, and this weekend boats that know nothing about sailing and everything…
Sat 11/20 If you Phantom fanatics out there can’t wait until Christmastime to hear music of the night, please refrain from firing up your BitTorrent clients to catch a sneak preview of Joel Schumacher’s adaptation of the world-renowned musical, that’s all we ask of you. You can wait a few…
Those of us who have been bemoaning the state of the Union lately have clearly lost sight of the great bounty America offers. We live in a land where a block of Styrofoam is also a sofa; where chairs can be made of wicker; and a dining table is built…
What are the chances that Nearly Naked Theatre will continue to rack up winners with its string of subversive, complex plays? I’ve watched as small companies have managed a handful of hits with cute musicals and Neil Simon revivals, and seen my share of avant-garde troupes wither and die after…
I got another piece of hate mail the other day — this one from some sniffy playwright whose musical I’d recently panned. Mr. How Dare You ended his pissy missive (which, as usual, was filled with reasons I should be murdered in my sleep) with, “I’d like to see you…
Day of the Dead at Museo Chicano: Local artist Ruben Maqueda presents a feast for the senses with an intimate exhibition honoring the dearly departed. Saturated with vibrant colors and intricately adorned with glitter, sequins, beads, candles and other found objects, the 20 cajitas (portable shrines) reflect the history and…
Let’s just get the term out of the way up front. The term is “fag hag” — and a thousand pardons, sensitive readers, but there is no PC equivalent. This new film, Stage Beauty, is an absolute fag-hag fiesta. Beneath its historical leanings and classic veneer, it’s utterly gaga for…
