5 Things to Do in Metro Phoenix This Weekend

“Closure: Paintings From JB Snyder” J.B. Snyder, a local artist known for making a splash by adding color to deserted landscapes, is trying something new-ish: an art show within four walls, not on them. His first solo show since 2010’s “Fragments of Happiness” at The Quincy, “Closure” includes approximately 25…

The Creative Center of Scottsdale Set to Open in Summer 2014

If you’ve driven through Old Town Scottsdale recently, you may have noticed some new changes on the horizon, starting with Sip Coffee & Brew House at the southwest corner of Scottsdale and Osborn roads. The new eatery is just a first taste of The Creative Center of Scottsdale, a community…

I Dated the Pretentious Bigfoot of Phoenix

Courting Disaster is Jackalope Ranch’s weekly column of dating horror stories, observations, how-tos, and more by Katie Johnson. Names of ex-boyfriends, past hookups, and bad blind dates have been changed to protect the guilty. They say there’s someone for everyone. Not true. Some people are dicks. And, as someone who’s…

In Nymphomaniac, Lars von Trier Plunges Deep

Let’s start with the ending, the closing credits disclaimer that insists that none of the lead actors in Lars von Trier’s two-part erotic epic Nymphomaniac filmed penetrative sex. If there is real sex in the movie — and it sure looks like there is — it must have been the…

Muppets Most Wanted Is a Great Caper

If you count forward from Jim Henson’s mid-1960s TV appearances with a fringy pup named Rowlf and the lizard, made from an old winter coat, who would later become Kermit the Frog, the Muppets have outlived most of their early puppet peers by more than two generations: You don’t see…

Pippin Is a Colossal Misfire at Phoenix Theatre

After what seemed like a very long time, Phoenix Theatre’s production of Pippin stopped shrieking and wiggling its collective hips, and shuddered to a close. Meanwhile, we — an audience made up mostly of “people of a certain age” — endured a lifeless rip-off of Cirque du Soleil staged by…

Shailene Woodley Proves More Human Than Divergent

Dystopian movies don’t have to make sense. As the audience, we’re obligated to sit down with our popcorn and soda and pretend that yes, of course, in the future monkeys rule the Earth, women can’t bear children, and Arnold Schwarzenegger is an everyday construction worker. It’s a mutual contract of…

Ali In

It’s hard to find anybody who doesn’t know something about Muhammad Ali, as the retired boxer still manages to keep a fairly high profile. Still, there’s a lot to learn about the man oft-considered the greatest boxer of all time. The Trials of Muhammad Ali captures many of the details…

Novel Family

It’s hard to keep a good duo down. The crime-solving team of Navajo Nation police detectives Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee lives on in the latest work from Anne Hillerman, who’ll discuss her first foray into fiction on Thursday, March 20.Leaphorn and Chee are the beloved protagonists of 18 of…

Indoor Man

J.B. Snyder, a local artist known for making a splash by adding color to deserted landscapes, is trying something new-ish: an art show within four walls, not on them.His first solo show since 2010’s “Fragments of Happiness” at The Quincy, “Closure” includes approximately 25 new pieces. The Hive art gallery…

No Sunscreen Needed

It sure feels like a distant memory now, but just a few months ago the prevailing wisdom amongst NBA insiders was that the Phoenix Suns would be swan-diving their way to the bottom of the barrel in hopes of fishing out some top-notch draft picks. Instead, the gritty, over-achieving squad…