After a nationally televised improv exercise that, for better or worse, offered more unvarnished reality than anything else at this year’s political conventions, Clint Eastwood returns in his first on-screen role in four years with Trouble With the Curve. The “empty chair” jokes practically make themselves. There is a scene…
If you didn’t quite get your fill from this year’s Phoenix Comic-Con or you’re just a devoted fan to the Marvel brand, Arizona Popular Culture Experience is celebrating the release of “The Avengers” this Saturday, September 22 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. See Also: – AZ Pop Culture Experience…
It’s been another year of sloooow economic recovery, and those of us who are not yet down to (or still down to) living in an unregistered Oldsmobile making ketchup-packet soup have many opportunities to help support the arts organizations who help make life worth living. Space 55 Theatre Ensemble is…
When we last put the spotlight on 100 creative forces in Phoenix, it was no secret there were more than 100 individuals who were making waves in the local arts community. So as we count down to our annual Best of Phoenix issue, we’re profiling 100 more. Welcome (back) to 100 Creatives. Jules Demetrius…
To say Tania Katan is a character would be an understatement. Her personality is as colorful as her resume, which includes her memoir My One-Night Stand With Cancer; comedic solo performances including her most recent, Saving Tania’s Privates; as well as featured works and shows in The New York Times,…
Gamers of the Valley, put down your controllers for a second and pay attention, because we’ve got some bad news: This year’s Devastation is a no-go. According to an organizer of the annual event — which has taken place since 2005 and is essentially a gigantic video gaming fest featuring…
When Phoenix Design Week kicks off on Monday, September 24, there are plenty of ways to get in on the design-centric fun — whether it’s your life’s work or you’re simply an avid admirer of desirable design. To aid in your choosing process (you have plenty of options), we picked…
It’s been almost six months since Bob Carey’s world completely changed. The photographer (who grew up in Phoenix, but now works in New York) had been working on a series of self-portraits — in each, he wears only a large tutu surrounded by landscapes and city scenes across the country…
Typically, the creators of comic-book adaptations assume that ingratiating themselves with anyone unfamiliar with their characters/properties demands boilerplate origin stories where protagonists exhaustively declare who they are in no uncertain terms. This is, thankfully, not true of Dredd, whose creators have the confidence to treat their narrative like just another…
You’ve Been Trumped, directed by Anthony Baxter, is a document of a humble American businessman who, through some perspicacity and Abe Lincoln-style bootstraps-hoisting, wins the land and homes of a bunch of primitive, chattering Scottish natives who obviously don’t use them to God’s and Ayn Rand’s intended purpose: for playing…
There’s something startlingly noncommittal about many of the initial reviews of The Master that leaked out following the impromptu screenings writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson organized in 70mm-equipped houses across the country, and later in response to the film’s official bow at the Venice Film Festival. This is perhaps the natural,…
Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald is slated to attempt something out of the ordinary in public on Thursday, September 20, and you can join him without painting your chest. Phoenix Symphony’s new season kicks off, and ol’ Sticky Fingers will lead the orchestra in our national anthem at Symphony Hall,…
If nothing else, the Arizona Diamondbacks heartbreaking 2012 campaign certainlyhas proven one thing about our local hometown zer–uh, heroes: They’ve become the San Diego Padres’ personal bitches. Switch-hitting slugger Chase Headley and the rest of the Southern California squad have mercilessly assaulted the D-backs over the past six months, beaten…
There’s something about Brazilians that draws less-vibrant cultures to the South American way of life. Maybe it’s their colorful mode of traditional dress or their delicious food, but we’re willing to bet it’s mostly because Brazil’s the sexiest place on the planet, period. The country totally monopolizes international runways with…
We may not witness the traditional signs of autumn here, but we sure as hell know when summer is over. When our nighttime temps drop and the asphalt and concrete radiate heat less intensely after dark, fall in Phoenix has arrived. Celebrate taking back the nights with an outdoor flick…
Just a year after Ashley Harder purchased and renovated the building at 335 West McDowell Road, the local developer and arts champion has hosted community meetings and mural celebrations that have given us another reason to check out the art scene in midtown. And on Friday, September 21, she’s back…
Comedian Mike Birbiglia has told his tale of sleepwalking all the way through a La Quinta second-story window on This American Life, as an off-Broadway one-man show, in novel form, and, most recently, through his first film endeavor, Sleepwalk with Me, in which he stars opposite Lauren Ambrose. As compelling…
On Saturday, September 22, volunteers from non-profit humanitarian group No Mas Muertes (or No More Deaths) will host their third annual silent art auction to benefit the group’s efforts in the Arizona desert. The mission of the organization, which was founded in 2004, is to “end death and suffering on…
Question: What do you get when you cross storytellers with an improv troupe? Answer: An offbeat, unexpected, altogether spontaneous, simply hilarious good time. As much is expected when Jonathan Simon, founder of local pop culture blog Lightning Octopus, teams up with The Foundation, a “supersquad” of improvisation masters, for an…
Jerry Seinfeld has so irreversibly permeated pop culture with his affection for life’s “nothing” moments and mimicable intonations that it’s hard for us to imagine he’s anything but an apartment-dwelling, cereal-loving, serial dater and detail-obsessive. The thought of seeing him in person, on a stage, delivering jokes that are neither…
Way back when, in the days leading up to the NFL’s 2011 season, the Philadelphia Eagles were touted as a dream team of sorts. Even casual birdwatchers may recall that our beloved Arizona Cardinals contributed to the early Eagle hype by giving Philly cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie in exchange for a…
Typically Sunday school students are impeccably dressed goody-two-shoes types who love sucking up to their teachers. At Bliss/reBAR’s version of Sunday School, it will be tough to top the teacher’s digs, as drag queen Barbra Seville will bartend and lead rounds of trivia and pop quiz sessions. Sucking up will…
