This Dracula Begins-style sword-and-fangs curio plays like someone said, “What if we took a vampire flick but did a find-and-replace swapping out all that bare-neck sensuality for some video-game ass-kicking?” Or: “Remember what the Star Wars prequels did for Darth Vader? Let’s foist the same kind of tragic love story…
Few people on the planet have ever been as good at anything as Muhammad Ali was at boxing; fewer still have the outsized charisma to match that talent. It doesn’t seem much of an overstatement to say that The Greatest is also one of the more fascinating men of our…
It says something about current global affairs that a movie set during the U.K. miners’ strike of the mid-1980s — an event that tore lives to shreds, representing a dismal and damaging period in late-20th-century British history — is likely to make you feel better rather than worse about the…
Mathieu Amalric’s brisk, agreeably nasty thriller The Blue Room turns on a couple of murders — or does it? — but rather than corpses, it’s time and space and human connection that get most memorably diced, here. Working from Georges Simenon’s 1964 novel of a wrong man accused — or…
One rhyme in particular crystallizes the genius of Nas’ 1994 classic Illmatic. It comes in the song “One Love,” which takes the form of a letter to a friend in prison: “Congratulations, you know you got a son,” Nas raps. “I heard he looks like ya, why don’t your lady…
Arizona State’s women’s soccer team may be on the verge of something big. Not only have the Sun Devils gotten off to a great start (the team ripped off six straight wins en route to a 7-1-1 start), but they’ve racked up their wins on the strength of huge contributions…
So you think you know Sheriff Joe, huh? Well, prepare to get sucked into the insane and almost unbelievable media circus that surrounds America’s most infamous lawman, in the locally made documentary The Joe Show.Even if Arpaio didn’t happen to run the county that we live in, the film’s use…
Now that New York, Milan, and Paris have had their fashion week fun, it’s time for Phoenix to get in on the garment action.Phoenix Fashion Week 2014 brings 25 designer shows to Talking Stick Resort. And while most of the designers on the roster aren’t exactly household names (13 of…
Phoenix is a pretty awesome place. Sure, we get flak for our politics and the scorching heat, but the Valley of the Sun is a hotbed of culture, food, and art. Don’t believe us? Just browse through this year’s Best of Phoenix issue for a taste of what the Valley…
Numerous reasons keep Tour de Fat, presented by Colorado’s New Belgium Brewery (the epitome of bike-loving, brew-making goodness) coming back to Tempe. First and foremost, Tempe — and by extension much of the Valley — is a bike loving town, home to State Bicycle and offering some kazillion miles of…
We once had a roommate who hated Bill Maher. Could not stand him. If Maher’s HBO show, Real Time, came on, the roomie would proceed to yell to the rest of us all the reasons he despised Bill. He stormed out of the house when he found us watching Maher’s…
What happens when you take some of the Valley’s premier restaurants and top chefs and you pit them against one another all in the name of charity? Well, it’s not like we know who will win or anything, but it should be a good show over at Dish It Out…
Most Arizona sports fans probably checked out on Major League Baseball a while ago. With a bizarre two-game stint Down Under that put the D-Backs on the books at 0-2 before the regular season had even begun, the team seemed doomed from the get-go. A tumultuous, injury-plagued season ensued. But…
Last season, the Phoenix Suns managed to have a better year than anyone could have predicted, barely missing out on the playoffs. Their pre-season starts on Wednesday, October 8, versus Flamengo Basketball of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Brazil has a rich basketball history which includes the roundball branch of the Clube…
Remember that Guatemalan sweater you wore to that Phish concert? Or that hand-woven tapestry hanging in the living room? Wool, cotton, or some other textile— those original fibers were once devoid of color. “chromoFEELia” explores the interdependence of color and fiber art. Fiber artist begin project, like a painter, with…
Halloween’s come early this year. No, you don’t need to panic over your costume (yet). And, yes, you may use this as an excuse to binge on mini Butterfingers for the next few weeks.Scorpius Dance Theatre’s A Vampire Tale, best described as All Hallow’s Eve’s answer to The Nutcracker, opens…
Between Simpsons Legos, Simpsons video games, Simpsons theme parks, and the soon-to-be launched Simpsons World, it’s safe to say the citizens of Springfield are going to be around for a long time — possibly event after nuclear fallout as playwright Anne Washburn explores in her off-Broadway production, Mr. Burns.In this…
Come one, come all! Feast your eyes on that which has to be seen to be believed. Brooklyn-via-Phoenix artist Luster Kaboom is bringing the hairiest man on earth to the Valley. The illustrator and muralist who made his mark on the Valley has come back with a new creation and…
Quick question: If you could be anything for Halloween this year — and we mean anything — what would you choose? And forget about doing the pirate, vampire, or steampunk thing yet again. Ditto for Miley Cyrus, Walter White, or Daft Punk. Those are sooo 2013. Since Halloween is essentially…
We certainly won’t judge you if you opt to see Annabelle or any of the classic horror movies screening this October — it is almost Halloween, after all. However, you should know that there are quite a few great movies coming out this month that don’t involve ghoulish dolls or…
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon is coming to Phoenix. NBC announced on Tuesday, September 30, that Fallon and company will tape a special episode of the late-night talk show at the Orpheum Theatre. The show will be telecast live on NBC after Super Bowl XLIX on Sunday, February 1,…
When William “Boomer” Baker lost his left index finger to a gun malfunction about a decade ago, he thought it was the end of his artistic career. Instead, it turned out to be just the life-changing event that he needed. “I used to collect guns. One time I was messing…
