So this is what it’s come to: another week, another terrorist-with-a-suitcase-nuke movie. Last Friday, it was up to Ben Affleck to save the world from nuclear annihilation, an unsavory proposition. He succeeded, but not before the Super Bowl disappeared in a holocaust flash. This Friday, it’s Chris Rock’s turn to…
When English playwright Harold Pinter wrote his dark comedy Hothouse in the winter of 1958, he shelved it as a “fantasy.” But in 1980, he pulled it off the shelf, as the newly exposed reality of the mental health system made it suddenly relevant. Twenty-two years later, it’s being offered…
It’s going to be a banner season for comic characters, and if the pun in that phrase eludes you, you have a lot of catching up to do. But those who are familiar with Bruce Banner, a.k.a. The Incredible Hulk, might want to attend the first Phoenix Cactus Comicon on…
There has always been something infuriating, if not appalling, about killing thousands of people in the name of blockbuster entertainment. Before September 11, no one thought much about it. Audiences accepted wholesale slaughter on the big screen because they knew there would be some sort of payoff — revenge, redemption,…
Quick! Name a brilliant mathematician at one of the country’s leading academic institutions who, despite obvious emotional problems that keep him on the edge of a nervous breakdown, is enlisted by his government to decipher seemingly impenetrable military communications that the enemy sends to its operatives around the world. If…
The plot of The Importance of Being Earnest, for those unfortunates who’ve missed it these past 109 years, goes something like this: A dandified London wastrel by the name of Algernon (Algy) Moncrieff (portrayed in this adaptation by Rupert Everett) welcomes into his chambers his friend and ally, Ernest (Colin…
Russel Simmons is hip-hop’s O.G. mogul — he was running the game before P. Diddy and Master P were outta diapers. Twenty-five years ago, Simmons began his extremely lucrative relationship with rap music, managing, producing, and releasing records by artists like Run-D.M.C. (of which baby brother Joseph “Reverend Run” Simmons…
You would think that in a sprawling megatropolis like the Valley of the Sun, with its high concentration of Chicano residents, some elements of modern Chicano popular music — alternative, punk rock, metal — would filter into the public consciousness at least to a nominal degree. Doesn’t seem to be…
With some effort, I remained awake throughout Theater Works’ production of Triumph of Love the other night. The lucky ladies on my left, who snoozed all through Act One, were spared the two head-splitting hours of “entertainment” that have haunted me ever since. Triumph of Love is a translation of…
When this column began at the beginning of 2000, readers and editors scoffed at its occasional subject matter, the comic book. Kids’ stuff, they growled, junk food for adults who still live in their parents’ basements. And maybe they were right back then. The industry was dying; the art form…
Thirty-four years later, Carson has returned to the school to deliver a series of lectures on the power of fable and film as metaphor, and he asked Coppola, whose film was partially inspired by David Holzman, to join him. Carson—who appears in Coppola’s feature debut, CQ, and who helped Roman…
Idon’t know that I’ve seen a show all season that I’ve enjoyed as much as Sophisticated Ladies, which is currently whirling its way flawlessly across Phoenix Theatre’s main stage. I confess to being surprised. I’ve seen more musicals upended on this company’s stage than I care to remember — but…
The bad news for Memento fans is that Christopher Nolan’s Insomnia is far less complex and challenging in form than the backward-edited art-house hit that sparked as much disdain as devotion among moviegoers last year. The good news for Memento haters is that Insomnia is far less complex and challenging…
It’s very tempting to not just dismiss Enough, the latest bill-paying gig by Michael Apted (Enigma) starring Jennifer Lopez, but shred it altogether. Ms. Lopez hasn’t exactly added to her acting credibility with a string of showy, glamorous roles in such mediocre fare as The Wedding Planner and Angel Eyes…
Crowds dance differently at an Israel Vibration performance. Blame it on the spliff smoke or the general state of mimicry into which Jah-praising singers lull their audiences through ceaseless call-and-response routines, but dancers at reggae shows inevitably default to skankin’ like the dreadlocked bandleaders onstage. In the case of Izzy…
A bustling parking lot at sunset glows from hundreds of cars painted in rich, metallic hues. Beyond the dull, growling rumble of engines, one can hear the swaggering Hammond organ of Booker T. & the MGs’ “Green Onions,” punctuated by the screeching roar of a car peeling out down the…
Historical biographies are a tough sell. They must either entertain us with the fascinating story of a famous person, or tell us something new and interesting about someone we think we already know. Moreover, they must make us care about someone whose accomplishments may have exceeded his affability. The hero…
Three years have passed since The Phantom Menace thrilled some and infuriated others, yet the schism in the Church of Lucas remains. Diehard supporters still refuse to admit that Episode I has some truly awful acting and dialogue, and borderline offensive caricatures; and dyed-in-the-wool detractors won’t acknowledge that, despite its…
No longer content to rest on its laurels as “The West’s Most Western Town,” Scottsdale has found new cachet as an oasis of up-and-coming restaurants. Sure, the charms of cowboy culture still get plenty of support, but lately it’s as a culinary frontier that the city is really making a…
Phoenix has long held the title of “speed capital of the West,” though not for reasons that make any of us proud. Thankfully, some people are trying to lend new meaning to that label. Racing sports such as NASCAR, Supercross and motorcycle road-racing are becoming more popular nationwide, even meriting…
About half an hour into the Actors Theatre of Phoenix production of Dinner With Friends, my theater companion leaned over and whispered, “This is great. But what makes it a Pulitzer Prize winner?” I’d been wondering the same thing about Donald Margulies’ perfectly charming, often amusing dramedy about a pair…
To the woman who broke Adrian Lyne’s heart all those years ago: Stop what you’re doing right this minute. Drop everything, pick up the phone and call him. Apologize profusely for cheating on him. Tell him it’s all your fault and you’re a worse person for leaving him. Offer him…
