Abbas Kiarostami is preoccupied with my tape recorder. He wonders whether it’s too far away from where he’s sitting. He makes his translator switch from one side of him to another so that the recorder is between them. After a while, clearly still anxious about it, he picks it up…
The ways in which revolutions disrupt the lives of the winners has been well documented. In Matthew Lopez’s The Whipping Man, we consider the losers — in this case, of the Civil War — and reside, courtesy of a strong production at the Black Theatre Troupe, with three actors whose…
Before anything else, here’s how dumb things get in A Good Day for Die Hard, which is being sold as a bang-bang movie sequel so that nobody catches onto its true nature: a black-ops experiment testing the human faculty for discovering coherent patterns in unrelated shards of image. Late in…
If Sundance signals the annual launch of American indie cinema’s new product line, the 63-year-old Berlin Film Festival (February 7-17) offers the year’s first major look at what the rest of the world has to offer. In addition to the 19-film official competition — this year presided over by jury…
Internet assholes are always yelling about what Lena Dunham doesn’t wear on Girls, but let’s talk about something she does. Bros who think everything should be marketed to them never get tired of pointing out that Dunham’s Hannah Horvath seems to be topless more often than not, a point of…
Even when you’re in a relationship, Valentine’s Day seriously blows. You’re with someone for an extended amount of time, and just because some stupid cherubic jerk with heart shaped weaponry decided it’s his day, you have to spend extra money on the person you spend an absurd amount of money…
It’s no secret water is key in the development of any city, but it’s especially important in the desert. In Phoenix, the battle to save, conserve, and utilize water has shaped the city’s layout and culture. Ed Lebow, director of the city’s Office of Arts & Culture, knows the impact…
The hole in the ozone layer might be shrinking and recycling programs may be on the rise, but there are still a lot of issues between humankind and planet Earth. It would take more than 90 minutes to get to them all, but that’s exactly how much time EPIK Dance…
For less-adventurous drinkers, finding new beers can be a bit of a challenge. Not that we blame those wary of trying out funky flavors; Kiltlifter is delicious and no sub-par ale will do. But those fraidy-cats have the opportunity to get adventurous at the 13th Annual Strong Beer Festival.The event…
Louis CK is a creative-control freak. The guy directs, writes, and stars in his FX show Louie, picks how, when, and where he tours, and sells tickets to his performances directly to fans through his own website. Sounds a little overbearing, sure. But fans of the comic’s comic appreciate his…
The Star Wars saga continues with J.J. Abrams as the director of Episode VII and rumors popping up of a stand-alone flick centered around Yoda, the ancient Jedi master. It’s doubtful, though, that the space opera can keep up with the twists & turns of R. Kelly’s sprawling 33-chapter video…
In 1929, Chicago saw Valentine’s Day turn bloody as Al Capone and thugs gunned down seven mob rivals. That event is the gruesome inspiration behind the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre Cruiser Ride, devised by TT Roadhouse owner Rick Skoog and Ska Brewing. “We decided to do a Valentine’s Day Massacre…
Gather your empty bags and prep your nose for the smell of books: the VNSA Book Sale is back. All year, members of the Volunteer Nonprofit Service Association have been sorting through hundreds of thousands of books, and on Saturday and Sunday, Feburary 16 and 17, more than eight and…
The Valley’s west side has been on the up-and-up in recent years. People are finding reasonably priced homes and, along with them, a steady influx of corporate and privately owned businesses. Since the cost of location and operation is lower than downtown Phoenix or Scottsdale, it makes sense that independent…
As New Times employees, it’s part of our journalistic duties to investigate trends, and we’ll gladly put our skills to work at this year’s Body Art Expo, the world’s largest showcase of tattoo artists and lovers. Want us to do a story about one of the more than 300 top…
February is an awful time of year to be a sports fan because there’s basically nothing of importance going on in any major sport (regular-season basketball and hockey games that are effectively meaningless don’t count). This is why Sports Illustrated devotes an entire February issue to the fast-paced sport of…
For a state that sees more annual sunshine than most Norwegians do in their lifetimes, 2012 turned out to be downright gloomy for Arizona sports fans. The Cardinals finished last in their division, the only thing major league about the Diamondbacks was their ability to underperform, and the characteristically stalwart…
Close counts in more than just horseshoes and hand grenades. Being a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama counts big time — the nominating committee chooses as few as three scripts per year and ranges farther than Broadway in search of the best American play.So plays don’t get much…
For three years, Sarah Hurwitz has filled Eye Lounge, 419 East Roosevelt Street, with everything we have ever wanted to own. The local artist’s paintings and mixed-media installations have turned the gallery into an interactive meat shop, a science lab, a jungle, and a gem show, and with her last…
Between keeping up with a Twitter feed, dreaming up new, creative, and offensive roles for Emojis, and constantly refreshing Instagram to check how many likes that pic of our pup has, it’s pretty tough to imagine squeezing two or three of Leonardo da Vinci’s hobbies into our Netflix-packed schedules.Perhaps a…
The setup: There’s a lot of backstory here. Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre went out of business last year, and a venerable, family-friendly Salt Lake City (well, Murray) company, Desert Star Playhouse, took over the cavernous space at Brown and Higley roads to launch a metro Phoenix branch of their silly,…
Gather your empty bags and prep your nose for the smell of books: the VNSA Book Sale is back. All year, members of the Volunteer Nonprofit Service Association (VNSA) have been sorting through hundreds of thousands of books, and this Saturday and Sunday, February 16 and 17, the collection will…
