“Who are you?” pleads a doomed man as Benedict Cumberbatch looms into his first close-up in Star Trek Into Darkness. The answer is Khan. And that’s not a spoiler — it’s a selling point. A less secretive director (i.e., all save the ghost of Stanley Kubrick) would trumpet that his…
Young people are lovely in ways they can’t comprehend until years later. Yesterday’s haircut straight out of Scooby-Doo becomes tomorrow’s despondent comb-over. With the advent of varicose veins, the pale, dimpled legs you once hated now seem in memory not so far off from the lily stems of Botticelli’s Venus…
Daniel Mindel, A.S.C., is part of an ever-shrinking population: cinematographers who have yet to shoot a feature digitally. He acknowledges that he “will be forced” to do it eventually by “the corporate entities that drive our industry,” but he believes “there is no need to use an inferior technology at…
One of the most exciting things about attending the Cannes Film Festival is being among the first people to see the films the world will be talking about. That’s one of the terrible things, too: There’s no one to warn you when you’re about to see a puppy murder, a…
The biggest puzzlement of these early days of the festival comes from Sofia Coppola, one of my favorite working directors. Until now, I have loved every one of Coppola’s movies: I love her sure and delicate touch, and she’s better than any other contemporary filmmaker at capturing the greatness of…
François Ozon’s Young & Beautiful, a portrait of a 17-year-old French call girl, is something else again. This is another story about a family in crisis: Isabelle (played by Marine Vacth, a stunning-looking if ultimately inert actress) is a student who still lives at home with her mother, stepfather, and…
Nearly everyone I know who has seen the official poster for the 66th Cannes Film Festival — a bird’s-eye view of a kiss between a young Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward — has been crazy about it. The couple’s lips meet in the center of a perfect sunburst. She’s two…
If you ever arrive in Cuba with an appetite for some kickass architecture, put the National Art Schools project on your must-see list. If a ticket to Cuba’s not on your horizon, make a note to get to Bragg’s Pie Factory at 8 p.m. on Thursday, May 16.The campus was…
Sculpture and architecture fiends have plenty of eye candy in metro Phoenix, and on Thursday, May 16, they’ll have an opportunity to meet with a lineup of creatives who have shaped this city.That’s when Scottsdale Public Art and the International Sculpture Center will host “A Conversation: Sculpture + Architecture,” a…
Adam Dumper admits to having a bit of a dilemma whilst planning The Blunt Club’s 11th Anniversary Party. How do you top last year’s phenomenal bash, which marked a decade of existence for the hip-hop weekly and included a pair of epic fetes over two nights and a slew of…
Retro retailer Annie Boomer Vintage isn’t new to the Roosevelt Row neighborhood. Owner and operator Andrea Engelsberg ran her clothing shop online and out of the back of Nostra Style House (another Row boutique) long before finding a well-suited space in the former home of Butter Toast Boutique.A month since…
Never mind He-Man; Phoenicians are the masters of the universe. In addition to ditching daylight saving time, we pull the trigger on the beginning of summer whenever we want. Officially, summer doesn’t start until the latter chunk of June — whatevs! We’re stoked that the swanky folks at the Renaissance…
Adding a new art gallery to the local scene is always a good thing, and R. Pela Contemporary Art celebrates in high style as owner (and New Times contributor) Robrt L. Pela welcomes visitors with an inaugural exhibition of new works from Hank Fries and Jake Fischer. Fries’ three-dimensional metal…
It’s not every day you come across a musical comedy is based on a line of greeting cards. (Hallmark sure doesn’t market a glittery mailer for the occurrence, anyway.) But such is the case with Dan Goggin’s 1985 Off-Broadway hit Nunsense.Through Saturday, May 18, Almost Famous Theater Company runs with…
UrbanAZ’s Celebrity Theatre programming features the funk, soul, rap, and old school we all need, and it’s also crazy fun, positive and uplifting in vibe, and sooooo sexy. (The periodic visits by glistening, chiseled male dancers never get old.) These promoters are the coolest at mixing up tasty performance combos…
If you guys are anything like us, then you’re kind of over the culture of the present. We don’t blame you – hipsters have ruined pretty much everything.The Rockabella Auto Show is the way back to better, less-ironic times. Hosted by AZ Rockabilly at Fear Farm, the event is more…
If the third annual Ameri-Can Canned Craft Beer Festival has one goal, it’s to debunk the myth that canned beer doesn’t taste good. Brewer Gabe Wilson of San Tan Brewing, host of this year’s festival, tells it like it is: “There are still those out there who have negative perceptions…
If you beat your friends to the punchline of the day’s pop culture headlines or can recap the latest breaking news before it reaches the dinner table, you’ll want to check out Wait Wait — Don’t Tell Me! The public radio show is a weekly news quiz hosted by Peter…
The Phoenix Mercury should write a book on failing forward. The Merc managed to have each of their two worst seasons just in time to draft two of the most highly touted prospects in WNBA history. In 2003, this meant Phoenix got to draft guard Diana Taurasi (who proceeded to…
Early last decade, a man stepped into an explosive role as the creator of the most recognizable exclamation in recent comedy history. Anyone and everyone who tuned in to Comedy Central in the early 2000s can attest that they witnessed the all-time greatest sketch ever seen on television. Just the…
There are quite a few things you can teach yourself. Farming, however, isn’t likely one of them. The good news for those interested in the art of agriculture is that they can learn the necessary tips and tricks from the folks at the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension.During the two-day…
The hectic 40-hour workweek provides minimal solace, aside from an eagerly anticipated lunch break or stealing away a few rounds of Angry Birds while on the toilet. An hour away from coworkers can make you wonder if you actually have anxiety issues, or if your state of mind is just…
