Why is it that little movies about being out of step so often wind up feeling the same? Not long into Michael Showalter’s Hello, My Name Is Doris, a comedy about a misfit frump pining for a much younger hunk, the unlikely target of the heroine’s affections muses to his…
Drone warfare is a moral grey area, and this movie is on it. Gavin Hood’s Eye in the Sky stands alongside Drones and Good Kill as the cinematic equivalent of online commenters shouting “First!” on on a hot topic but not bothering to say anything new or insightful about it…
It’s spring break in Tucson, and while students are off to exotic locales for a week of drunken debauchery, bookworms from across the country are descending on the University of Arizona for a different kind of party. The annual Tucson Festival of Books runs Saturday and Sunday, March 12 and…
What happens in the studio shouldn’t always stay in the studio. Studio Visit is a monthly series that profiles artists in their studios. We ask them questions, they provide answers, and then we have a nice discussion about their work. This month: Christine Cassano, whose most recent exhibition featured 330…
When fans and followers of the Stargate franchise step through the center of Ilan Averbuch’s stone sculpture Landmark at the Central Avenue and Camelback Road light rail station, there’s a chance they’re fantasizing about traveling to distant worlds to fight aliens such as the Goa’uld and Ori. They’re not going bonkers…
Is it possible to have too many good choices? Some people surely thought so during this month’s First Friday, when art was on view at dozens of Phoenix venues. Getting to each and every one of them during the course of just a few hours was impossible, but that’s not…
The publisher’s subtitle appended to prosecutor Juan Martinez’s new book, Conviction: The Untold Story of Putting Jodi Arias Behind Bars (William Morrow, $26.99) is only partly true. Much of what Martinez reports in this just-published hardcover was widely covered in this internationally ballyhooed case, which resulted in Arias being convicted…
New Times picks the best arts and culture events in metro Phoenix from March 7 through 11. “Hierogliffic and Other Stories” Turner G. Davis’ “Hierogliffic and Other Stories” borrows from history in form and inspiration. The noted fine artist put pencil and pen to paper daily, creating images reminiscent of cave…
Museums traditionally acquire objects in two ways — via donation or purchase. As a general rule, museums show only 2 to 4% of their collections at any given time. That means their vaults are brimming with hidden gems that don’t always make it to the gallery floor. We asked five…
“Confluence: Inter-generational Collaborations” at the Heard Museum bursts at the seams with bright hues, nods to urban culture, and a strong thematic undercurrent of environmental sustainability. Rainbow-colored butterflies hang on wires from the ceiling amid glass raindrops suspended above a pond, all created from recycled materials. The piece, called Butterfly…
Most of the metro Phoenix mural action is concentrated in just a few areas – Roosevelt Row, the Grand Avenue district, and Calle 16. But now the Coronado neighborhood is home to a charming new mural by Karlito Miller Espinosa, who uses the moniker Mata Ruda. Born in Costa Rica…
It’s bad enough that spring has once again reneged on its scheduled appearance; that Cher has cancelled her latest farewell tour; that the Stones have limited their summer concerts to Latin American cities only. Phoenix will just have to make due with Casper’s Nap Tour, which stops here this week…
Two lawmakers and a lobbyist have hurled serious accusations at the City of Phoenix over its creation of the Roosevelt business improvement district (BID). Senator Warren Petersen, Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCiccio, and lobbyist Marcus Dell’Artino say the City Council acted improperly or illegally when it voted during its January…
iTheatre Collaborative was announced as the newest resident company at downtown Phoenix’s Herberger Theater Center on March 3. Other resident companies at the arts venue, built in 1989, are Arizona Theatre Company and Center Dance Ensemble, both longtime staples of the Arizona arts scene. Founded in 2002, iTheatre focuses on creating performing…
The third season of Broad City (Comedy Central) opens with a toilet-centric montage that already feels like one of the year’s TV highlights. At once exuberant, absurd and all-too-real, a split screen reveals besties Ilana (Ilana Glazer) and Abbi (Abbi Jacobson) living their best lives in their respective bathrooms. They…
Launched in 2014, Paint PHX is a weekend-long mural and paint festival that has become a beloved annual affair. In the past iterations, up to 300 artists came from around the world to paint murals in Phoenix during this grassroots event. Now in its third year, Paint PHX’s celebration of…
After years dormant, Scottsdale Fashion Week is back. Known for nightlife events in Scottsdale and around the Valley, Steve LeVine Entertainment has teamed up with J Group Media and Ford/Robert Black Agency to resurrect the previously annual fashion event, which had its last show in 2010. For 2016, the event…
New Times picks the best arts and culture events in metro Phoenix from March 3 to 5. Paint PHX For years it seemed downtown Phoenix was a less-than-painted desert. Today, that couldn’t be further from the truth. And while some murals and public art have been painted over or torn down…
Be still your beating hearts, ladies. The Internet’s imaginary boyfriends and Making a Murderer’s real life superheroes are coming to Phoenix. In the frenzy that followed the Netflix documentary, viewers were as gripped with defense attorneys Dean Strang and Jerry Buting as they were with the man they were hired to defend. Their bold crusade for Steven Avery went…
Two movies, same scenario: Moments before a scheduled execution, just as the blade or gas pellet is set to deliver its fatal blow, the hero bursts into the room and carries the victim to safety. Banter is exchanged: “What took you so long?” “Traffic was a bitch.” “What took you…
Agnese Udinotti has seen it all. On a cold, cloudy January morning, her small frame is wrapped in layers of black, her dark hair tied back. She’s wearing shaggy, nearly knee-high Ugg boots. Taking a seat on an armless chair covered with a deep red throw in the front room…
You wouldn’t guess it from browsing her stunning showroom floor, but Phoenix dressmaker Monique Sandoval failed her first home ec class. “It was a vest, so that doesn’t count,” says a defensive-but-smiling Sandoval. “My heart wasn’t in it.” That is certainly not the case with the handmade gowns at Cleo…
