The People’s Champion, the Louisville Lip, the Greatest — whatever you called him, Muhammad Ali was one of the world’s most famous athletes. Born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr., the internationally renowned boxer died at the age of 74 on Friday, June 3, in Scottsdale. Hailing from Louisville, Kentucky, Ali was…
If you can get past the spectacle of British and Australian actors portraying some of the most important figures of 20th-century American literature, Genius is a good example of a prestige pic that is not only literate but surprisingly vibrant. It’s the story of the tumultuous relationship between hot-tempered, Asheville-born…
In Anna Rose Holmer’s The Fits, emotion becomes motion and psychology becomes space. It’s a coming-of-age story, but Holmer mostly eschews dialogue and standard storytelling devices; she tells her tale through movements and patterns and the way that she films them. The Fits follows Toni (Royalty Hightower), an 11-year-old tomboy…
Octave Mirbeau’s The Diary of a Chambermaid, a 1900 novel about the depravities in all social strata written from the point of view of a servant named Célestine, has famously been adapted twice before, by two of cinema’s immortals. Benoît Jacquot’s uneven take on the material won’t challenge the stature…
In cinema, all things move towards acceptance. In time, debates about filmmakers usually settle in favor of the filmmaker — not because detractors change their minds, but because the urgency of the conflict wanes, and stalemates go to the fans. It’s hard to believe that battle lines were once drawn…
When commercials for Mel Brooks’ Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995) ran on Channel One at my high school, I was ready. Vampire movies had dominated the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, and at last a slapstick comedy was set to lampoon all that arty melodrama. High school me couldn’t…
Every other year, New Times puts the spotlight on Phoenix’s creative forces — painters, dancers, designers, and actors. Leading up to the release of Best of Phoenix, we’re taking a closer look at 100 more. Welcome to the 2016 edition of 100 Creatives. Up today is 87. Brian Klein. Born and…
After spending 13 episodes catching up on life with them, we’ll miss our old familiar friends DJ, Kimmy, Stephanie and the rest of the Fuller House gang. This finale hardly felt like one, probably because we knew that there will be a second season of the show before we even…
When Joe Fortunato was 7 years old, he refused to get into the bathtub. Or go swimming in his cousin’s pool. Or join the family’s annual summer beach trip. “My mom took me to see Jaws,” Fortunato says, before adding with a laugh, “We can question my mother’s parenting skills.”…
I don’t remember when I first read Where the Wild Things Are — probably not when it was first published, though I was just old enough to read. I didn’t have a copy of my own, as my parents were more Little Golden Book types. I don’t remember if I loved…
May’s best artworks included photography, sculpture, painting, and video shown at art venues in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, and Gilbert. Several were created by artists working right here in the Valley. Even as one gallery showed works by Iranian artists, another showed works by an Israeli-born American artist. One artist explored…
Listen up. Bar Flies — New Times’ live reading series held monthly at Valley Bar in downtown Phoenix — is now available on the fly. The first three episodes of Bar Flies: The Podcast are ready to be downloaded free on iTunes. We’ll release a new episode each month. The…
In 2001 a friend, a grown-up, saw The Fellowship of the Ring more than a dozen time in the theater. Sometimes she’d leave with a half hour left. “I just needed to get to Galadriel and Lothlorien,” she told me. She didn’t need all the climactic fighting. In 2012 I…
Back in 2013, James Wan’s The Conjuring represented the high point of a wave of mainstream horror that showed there was still value in old-school scares — that there was life beyond torture porn and slick slasher reboots. It was a ghost story-turned-possession thriller that mined terror out of the…
There’s something satisfying about hearing Tyler Perry, as mad scientist Baxter Stockman, say the words “Eliminate those turtles,” but it’s not quite novel enough to bring Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows up to street level and out of the sewers. Early on, giant squid-like brain Krang (Brad…
Every other year, New Times puts the spotlight on Phoenix’s creative forces — painters, dancers, designers, and actors. Leading up to the release of Best of Phoenix, we’re taking a closer look at 100 more. Welcome to the 2016 edition of 100 Creatives. Up today is 88. Patricia Sannit. For sculptor…
New Times picks the best things to do in the Valley of the Sun this weekend, including opportunities to nerd out, watch an original opera debut, and visit Italy (well, sorta). For more events, see our curated online calendar. Phoenix Comicon The annual entertainment explosion that is Phoenix Comicon has star…
Each week, we’re recapping the second season of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt episode by episode. After a few rocky ones, we finally get an episode of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt that works on every level. The character development, the humor, the pacing, the relevance to the larger themes of the show — each…
June’s First Friday is looking mighty eclectic, with exhibitions exploring stereotypes about American Indians, science fiction literature, water conservation, LGBTQ pride, pop culture, and divinity. During a night devoted to visual arts, you’ll also have the chance to watch live hip hop and contemporary dance performance. Here’s the rundown on…
Phoenix Comicon is going to be absolutely fantastic for Doctor Who fans this year. After all, two of the most iconic actresses from the legendary British sci-fi series – Billie Piper and Alex Kingston – are scheduled to appear at this weekend’s event along with a few other actors from…
There’s no doubt that it’s become more convenient to talk at people via social media platforms than to share a face-to-face dialogue, so it’s refreshing that someone like ASU lecturer of English Rosemarie Dombrowski is keeping the art of critical discourse alive. In addition to taking part in other events…
If mid-century pulp and noir gave us the cynical, quippy hardboiled detective, then Peak TV has given birth to its successor: the charbroiled cop, a bitter, corrupt, philandering, violent, addicted, nihilistic or just psychotic contemporary crime fighter. The supposed irony of this figure is that he (almost always a he)…
