Every year, we put a spotlight on Scottsdale in the form of Shine, a pocket guide to the food, drink, art, and entertainment in this little ‘burb. This time around –– looking for some comic relief –– we drop-kicked our favorite illustrator, Luster Kaboom, into the middle of the city…
Among the Avengers, Thor should reign supreme. Sure, Captain America is the de facto leader, but even he — like the others — is just a jacked-up human. Thor is a god. Or if not quite a god, as he demurs, he’s the next best thing: a flying titan with…
Richard Curtis has so much to tell us about life. Seize the day! Show people you love them before it’s too late! Don’t let the right one get away! His movies — those he writes, directs, or both — are so packed with info-feeling that they become restless jumbles of…
How is it that no one had yet made the Lucien Carr-David Kammerer murder story into a movie? It’s an irresistible tall tale from the Beat back catalog — how, once upon a time in the mid-’40s, the finger-snapping legends-to-be (Ginsberg, Kerouac, Burroughs) all coalesced around the radiant rebel Carr…
Besides its cast, a parade of Brit aces the likes of which we haven’t seen since the last episode of Wizard Boy Has a Sad, the quality that most distinguishes Mike Newell’s adaptation of the best-titled of all English novels is its healthy fullness. In the decades since David Lean’s…
She was a lonely princess. He was a cocky civilian. And after she escaped the palace, the unlikely couple fell in love. It’s the plot of Roman Holiday and — according to this soapy romance from director Oliver Hirschbiegel — the true-enough story of the last two years of Princess…
Here’s how disastrous the MPAA rating system has become. How I Live Now, Kevin Macdonald’s stellar adaptation of Meg Rosoff’s uncommonly smart and insightful near-future young adult novel, has won an R rating. The film is apocalyptic in the most literal sense, as in, an apocalypse occurs, harrowing the characters…
While guest-hosting a TV variety show in 1964, Dean Martin ridiculed a hot new rock ‘n’ roll act with his trademark blend of cocksure innuendo, aw-shucks buffoonery, and inebriated syntax: “Now, something for the youngsters — five singing boys from England. . . . They’re called the Rollin’ Stones. I…
Repo! The Genetic Opera is on a fast track to becoming a horror classic. The movie is only five years old, but it has gained a cult following, thanks to its campiness, gore, and innovation. A horror musical seems like it shouldn’t work at all, but look at the longevity…
Darrell Wallace Jr. made history last month; this month he’ll settle for winning more races. The racer became the first African-American driver to win a NASCAR national series in 50 years when he won October’s Kroger 200. In the process, Wallace climbed into eighth place in the NASCAR Camping World…
Nude photography all too often borders on pornography. Pictures of pretty girls in suggestive poses are all the rage (thanks, DeviantArt), but so many photographers have lost sight of taking nude photos that are artistic and tasteful. Jen Deveroux’s upcoming nude photography exhibition, “Swedish Fish,” sets out to do just…
Merry May Vintage is a boutique housed in a throwback trailer. Usually around this time of year its owner, Ashley Eaton, would start toting the mobile shop around town to various events and festivals. But when her generator was stolen earlier this year, Eaton had to come up with a…
If you’re buying products not made by local businesses, you’re pretty much handing your money straight to The Man. And you really have no excuse for that, when the Certified Local Fall Festival brings more than 100 local vendors together for a day of shopping, eating, and dining.On Saturday, November…
Time to put on your psychedelic cowboy hat and march through the streets of Phoenix, the Phoenix Annual Parade of the Arts is making its eighth lap around Downtown and this year the theme is “Weird, Wild West.” This community event which celebrates the arts and culture of Phoenix is…
Would it really be all that strange if Phoenix became known as a big hockey town? After all, the fine denizens of Dubai saw fit to build an indoor ski resort in a city whose climate mirrors ours almost identically. Bizarre unlikelihoods aside, the Phoenix Coyotes are here to stay…
Watching Arabian horses high-stepping through the ring is akin to seeing history on the hoof. Imagine the famous (and infamous) folks who have ridden Arabian horses, be it for conquest or pleasure, contests or sport, during the breed’s 3,000-year history. Known for speed, loyalty, and intelligence, the breed — distinctive…
Of all the descriptors you could assign to Arizona’s canal system, we’re willing to bet “beautiful” wouldn’t make the top 10. In spite of that, Scottsdale Public Art is making a habit of transforming Scottsdale’s Waterfront into a wonderfully immersive art installation with its annual event Canal Convergence. The main…
If there’s any wide receiver whose immense talents have been wasted more than Larry Fitzgerald, it’s Andre Johnson. The two best wideouts of their generation, Fitzgerald and Johnson both spent the majority of their careers being on otherwise sorrowful teams. Now both players are starting to slowly decline the way…
Halloween is over, and you know what that means. It’s time to get your holiday shop on. Rather than wait for the Black Friday rush, get your gift recipients something truly unique at the 12th Annual Heard Museum Spanish Market.This cultural collaboration of artists and vendors offers a diverse selection…
It’s been well established that Doug Stanhope doesn’t shy away from any topic. The boundaryless comic’s wry stances on sex, drugs, drinking, death, and everything in between take no prisoners Wednesday, November 13, in downtown Phoenix.The man who’s called the Arizona border town of Bisbee home since 2005 often starts…
Now that Brelby Theatre Company’s in its official venue, the troupe’s wasted no time scheduling not just a mainstage season but a Studio Series of new, relatively obscure plays. Through Saturday, November 16, it’s Prodigy, about a musician’s conflicting loyalties. Indiana-based actor/playwright Ben Abbott, whose Questions of the Heart: Gay…
Unless you saw the 1988 film version of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels within the past week, it’s hard to tell who’s conning whom in the intricate, goofy, romantic plot that translates splendidly to the musical stage. Multiple Valley troupes have chosen this season to present the 2005 Broadway success, and, through…
