Even the most inspiration-averse will have eyes as moist as blowholes by the end credits of Dolphin Tale 2, a good-hearted kids’ drama whose earnestness and surprising moral complexity put other sunny-weepy sea-mammal flicks to shame. After the story wraps up, the filmmakers work a trick that’s become common in…
The Drop, the richly textured, beautifully acted film collaboration between Belgian director Michaël R. Roskam (Bullhead) and novelist-turned-screenwriter Dennis Lehane (Mystic River), takes place in the present, but its heart lies in the noirish past of both movies and literature. In that shadowy realm, tough guys are endlessly quotable, and…
Normally, turning tricks for cash would be frowned upon by law enforcement, society and your mom, but Adidas and Cowtown Skateboards have found a way to make it okay: Tricks for Twenties. At this free-to-enter contest — the first of three to be held this year — reps from Cowtown…
Some people are just better in pairs: Thelma and Louise, Butch and Sundance, and Phoenix artists Larry Kornegay and Bill Timmerman. The two creatives are teaming up once again this time to produce an untitled exhibition that explores the juxtaposition of man-made designs in the desert through two separate mediums…
Attention all kinky school girls and boys. City of Madness is bringing back one of its favorite nights of naughtiness with Reform School: Revenge of the Nerds. This adult evening of DJs, dancing, and debauchery is an opportunity for partygoers to put on their favorite pleated skirts or cosplay ensembles…
We know, we know: “a puppet show”?Think Comedy Central’s Crank Yankers or the Tony award-winning Avenue Q on a smaller stage with equally ill-behaved marionettes. Because while it’s likely been years since Jim Henson’s famed Muppet collective entertained you, puppet shows aren’t just for children anymore — and the edgy,…
In a funny sort of way, the word “Brazilian” sounds more like an unfathomably large number than an ethnicity. Well here in the Valley, a very fathomable number — 365 days — equals a Brazilian. For the last four years, the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, 7380 East 2nd…
If you thought you’d outgrown your childhood fascination with pop-up books, local artist Rossitza Todorova’s pop-up sculptures may change your mind. Todorova’s dynamic paper forms are movable and thus are not limited to a single, stagnant sculptural expression. In a two-day workshop at the Shemer Art Center, the artist shares…
Ever watched a World War II movie that includes a wild dance scene with insanely fast steps, lots of swinging about, and women flying around their partners? That’s the Lindy Hop, which gained popularity in the late 1930s and proved a welcome outlet for soldiers on leave. And it’s one…
On a raucous visit to a Midwestern TV morning show this past July, actor and comedian T.J. Miller asserted between bits, “I’m at that level of pseudo-celebrity where people say, ‘Hey, we went to high school together.’” Miller’s familiar face brings laughs to the opening weekend of Rick Bronson’s House…
“My sex-change operation got botched / My guardian angel fell asleep on the watch / Now all I got is a Barbie Doll-crotch / I got an angry inch.”A surgical nightmare becomes a terrifying reality, and so begins the fated tale of Hansel becoming Hedwig. The drag-centric rock musical Hedwig…
For whatever reason, some celebrity deaths seem to hit the public harder than others. All deaths are, of course, a tragedy, but Robin Williams’ death really grabbed the public’s attention. Seemingly everybody — from Billy Crystal to the people on your Twitter feed to the people setting up Netflix’s recommendations…
You don’t need to be a huge fan or an expert to enjoy polo. The people-watching opportunities are endless, thanks to fancy outfits and a steady supply of frou-frou drinks. Plus, most polo players are pretty hot. Just look at Facundo Pieres, Nacho Figueras, and Louise Sanberg. The Fourth Annual…
Award-winning nonfiction author David Laskin makes a stop at the Phoenix Changing Hands Bookstore location during his current to promoting his latest novel, The Family: Three Journeys Into the Heart of the Twentieth Century. Author of The Children’s Blizzard, whose writings have appeared in the New York Times and Smithsonian,…
Brought on by the recession as a cheap way to indulge in fashion trends, our nation’s obsession with nail art (painting patterns or adding other adornments to one’s nails) may have hit its high point. Awards show red carpets feature cameras, called mani-cams, specifically designed to show off tricked-out nails…
Forrest Gump has turned 20 and is celebrating its birthday with a weeklong IMAX release. It’s a significant milestone for the six-time Academy Award winner. Today, 1994 is as far away from the present as the Vietnam War was from it. Forrest Gump was a fable without a moral, the…
Most of us would agree that there’s only one Al Pacino. But this year in Venice, there are actually two: Pacino appears in two films at the festival this year, David Gordon Green’s Manglehorn, about a lonely Texas locksmith stuck in a romantic dream, and, playing out of competition, Barry…
There’s no other way to say it: Tempe’s shopping scene has been lackluster of late. Sure, we have our standby shops that we can count on for a fashionable piece here or there, but even they’ve started to feel a smidge stale. Enter The Treehouse Collective.Owned by Moonbeam Le May,…
Phoenix is brimming with creativity. And every other year, we put the spotlight on 100 of the city’s creative forces. Leading up to the release of this year’s Best of Phoenix issue, we’re profiling 100 more. Welcome to the 2014 edition of 100 Creatives. Up today: 16. J.B. Snyder. Knowingly…
Japanese pop culture can often be a bit colorful and imaginative, to put it mildly. Maybe we’re showing our gaijin (or foreigner) by saying such things, but it seems that much of what constitutes entertainment by denizens of the Asian isle — be it video games, TV shows, movies, literature,…
Ladies, there are a lot of things you can do to make yourself appealing to guys. Unfortunately for many of you, it’s usually not the stuff you think it is. Believe it or not, most dudes aren’t going to notice a lot of the little things that you think you’re…
When 26-year-old Mario G. stopped by a tattoo shop to watch his buddy get tattooed, he didn’t think it would lead him to tattooing as a career. It just so happened that on that particular day in 2007, Mario was wearing a T-shirt that he had designed and silkscreened. The…
