Anna Are You OK? Studio Ghibli’s Marnie is a joyous-glum outsider drama. “I hate myself.” That’s an unusual statement coming from the hero of an animated film, let alone in the first two minutes. But 12-year-old orphan Anna (Sara Takatsuki), the protagonist of Hiromasa Yonebayashi’s lovely anime When Marnie Was…
Never Say ‘Not Her’ Again In Spy, Melissa McCarthy triumphs for the Susans everywhere. The Melissa McCarthy of Spy is different from the one who rose to prominence by shitting in a sink. Bridesmaids scored her an Oscar nomination, and for the ceremony McCarthy donned a glamorous rose gown with…
The Crimes Remain the Same The Connection’s glorious technique can’t disguise its familiarity. A movie about bringing down druglords that’s actually mostly about movies, Cédric Jimenez’s The Connection is stretched over driven-cop beats so familiar American audiences could probably follow it without subtitles. (It’s in French — add that to…
The first line in Entourage is a good indication of what the next 104 minutes will bring. Peering through a pair of binoculars while a speedboat carries him toward a yacht in the dazzling waters of Ibiza, Johnny…
It ain’t easy being a cosplayer at Phoenix Comicon, or any other convention during the warmer months. It can be uncomfortable walking around downtown Phoenix to begin with, let alone layers of cardboard, PVC, or other costuming material. And believe us, you tend to do a lot of walking at…
For those who feel they can never be too close to arts and culture venues such as Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix Theatre, or Arizona Opera, there’s a new condominium development being built right in the heart of midtown. Jason Boyer is both architect and developer for the new residential development…
There are few things better in life than getting something absolutely free. And as we start out a new month (how is it already June?), keeping a little extra cash in pocket can’t be a bad thing. From questioning our city’s existence to belting out some good ol’ show tunes,…
For several weeks the house at 314 East Roosevelt Street sat raised off its foundation as curious neighbors and tourists wondered why. Months before, it was one of three buildings at the heart of a controversy about the future of Roosevelt Row. Even as developers eyed and purchased lots along…
“Super Heroes” Move over Avengers — the real “Super Heroes” are here. The newest Heard Museum art exhibition offers a Native American view point on what makes a super hero. These views, mostly drawings and works on paper, include animals, humans and magical beings who fight “evil” in everyday life,…
Good or bad, Cameron Crowe movies build to improbable declarations of sincerity, to the great acts or speeches a man must loose from himself into a world too cynical to value them. His heroes always must filibuster regular life with their decency. Superficially, these acts and speeches are performed in…
Outdoor fitness options are all good and fine during days with double-digit temperatures. But a steady stream of triple digits will soon be upon us, prompting most people to think about indoor alternatives. It’s tough to hike or bike inside, so we figure dance is really where it’s at for…
Forgive us if we sound a little like Kanye for a second, but Willow Rosenberg is the greatest character in Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer of all time. Of all time. Sure, the show isn’t named after her, she doesn’t get pity points for being just human like Xander,…
Phoenix Comicon 2015 The best thing about Phoenix Comicon, the mammoth gathering of comic book, gaming, and entertainment aficianados, is how everyone from cautiously curious folks to hardcore geeks keep an eye out for Wookiees, Klingons, and gender-swapped superheroes to stamp in their games of mental Comicon bingo. Keep your…
There is nothing, I have said publicly and privately for years, that could ever make me enjoy live theater’s odious and ever-growing ritual of audience participation. Calling hapless audience members up out of the audience and humiliating them has always struck me as a particularly low form of humor, gratuitous…
“I really like you, and that was amazing,” said the naked 26-year-old woman who lay in bed next to me. “But I couldn’t date you, my mom would kill both of us. It’s nothing against you, you’re just not the type of guy I’d want to bring home to her,…
Phoenix Comicon is definitely jam-packed with things to do. This year’s edition of PCC – taking place from Thursday, May 28, until Sunday, May 31 – is no exception, as illustrated by the four-day event’s enormous program guide. Besides all the hubbub and lively booths in the Exhibition Hall, there…
“Collective Dissent: The SMS Portfolios,” on view at Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, is marked by a turbulent year in America: 1968. Along with the Cold War and conflicts in Vietnam, there was traumatic violence on U.S. soil. The assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, in…
What happens in the studio, shouldn’t always stay in the studio. Studio Visit Q+A is a weekly 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 week: Tempe artist Ben Willis. Ben Willis has…
The San Andreas fault stretches 810 miles up the Pacific coast, roughly the length of a dozen Dwayne “The Rock” Johnsons lying end to end. When it rumbles, we’ll need all 12 of him to spring into action — although, as Brad Peyton’s San Andreas warns, that still won’t be…
On my third day in Cannes, I was dismayed to settle in for a screening at one of the festival’s two main venues, the Debussy, only to notice that the guy to my left had removed his shoes and socks and, file in hand, was happily sawing away at his…
It’s not exactly a surprise that Christy Kimball, owner of eyewear boutique Framed Ewe in Union at the Biltmore, didn’t even hesitate before she chose glasses as the first of her five essentials. But it was more than just repping her store. For Kimball, glasses are a daily expression of…
Okay, guys. It’s here. Maybe you’re excited for the star-studded line-up of speakers, the awesomely geeky events, or the general grade-A ogling at all the intricate and impressive costumes. Either way Phoenix Comicon 2015 is coming. We’ve got three events to either help you celebrate this cultural or completely avoid…
