We’re with the Japanese on this one: Game shows aren’t worth their salt unless the contestants are humiliated, abused and scared out of their minds. If a lady makes thousands of dollars spinning a wheel, there better be spikes, snakes or cans of tear gas involved. That’s why we’re fond…
The Nile perch was first introduced to Africa’s Lake Victoria in the 1960s, and it has since decimated the native fish population and spawned a large-scale fishing industry that earns millions annually. The Oscar-nominated documentary Darwin’s Nightmare (coincidentally the title of my unreleased documentary on intelligent design) tells the story…
Speaking of Texas film, thank goodness for FilmFrog Productions and its Dallas Film Series. They promote Texas films (and others) each month with a feature and a short at each screening. Not only that, you get a meet-and-greet and a Q-&-A with the filmmakers. Score! See Bit Parts, a locally…
As a true Texan, I believe it’s a requirement to have seen the 1956 Oscar-nominated film Giant. It may even be in the state constitution somewhere (but I could be wrong). Apparently it’s been termed the “national film of Texas,” and it’s about as big at three-plus hours. Can you…
“Tied to apron strings” is thrown as an insult to exploited, homebound females only able to cook, sew and clean…whoa! ‘Scuse me, but I pay dearly for people to do that for me! Our great-grandmothers could make their own soap in a backyard kettle that got the skidmarks out of…
Here’s the thing that sucks when you have to write about someone legendarily funny: There’s not enough time or space to cover everything, and you’ll never truly do the subject justice. Take Lily Tomlin, for example. She’s giving a solo performance, An Evening of Classic Lily Tomlin, at the Meyerson…
In their song “Love Train,” the O’Jays ask people all over the world to join hands and start a “love train.” On Valentine’s Day, the Grapevine Vintage Railroad wants people all over the metroplex to ride one. The trip begins at Stockyards Station and includes strolling violinists, a meal, a…
For the easily bored, traditional aerobic exercise is an activity akin to being forced to push giant rocks in Dante’s fourth circle of hell. Elliptical machines, spinning classes and running are just too repetitive and tedious. At least a few of the recent fitness crazes have added interesting kicks and…
Society underrates Hans Christian Andersen’s brilliance. Just look to his fairy tale The Emperor’s New Clothes for an example. The story is about a vain and greedy leader so obsessed with his appearance that he spends all his time and money on the quest to be well-dressed. And while it’s…
Wouldn’t it be cool if Montre Bible’s name was pronounced Moan-Tray Beeb-lay, and instead of signing copies of his debut novel Heaven Sent at Barnes & Noble on Thursday, he was singing the song “Heaven Sent” with his Christian heavy metal band at Barnes & Noble? That would be cool…
Nick Di Paolo’s Web site boasts, “In this day of watered-down comedy, Nick Di Paolo’s brutally honest performances stick out like a Catholic priest at the Little League World Series.” Hmm, nice, tasteful and not exactly a great comparison. In fact, there’s nothing that makes me laugh harder or entices…
I can’t quite understand the timing here, but on Valentine’s Day a local gentleman’s club called the Lodge is offering a class on how to “strip for your lover.” It would seem that if you actually had a lover, you’d prefer to spend the evening in a more romantic setting…
Tommy Lee Jones’ feature directorial debut is probably much as you’d expect: a blast of nostalgia that nonetheless accepts the realities of modernity, which isn’t surprising coming from an actor who’s getting up there in years but has found more fame as an old man than as a young’un. The…
Anthony Hopkins lends style points to any movie in which he appears. The thing may be a dog, but the actor who brought the gruesome psychopath Hannibal Lecter to life and got deep inside a repressed English butler always gives us something fascinating to behold. The depth and gravity of…
A Good Woman, Mike Barker’s adaptation of the Oscar Wilde play Lady Windermere’s Fan, has been gathering dust for some time. It played the Toronto Film Festival in the fall of 2004 before opening in 2005 in every country in the world except this one. Such dawdling doesn’t bode well…
It happens so often these days. A comedy opens with clever jokes, endearing characters, and an enjoyably brisk pace, all of which put you at ease. This’ll be fun, you think, settling into your chair. Someone trustworthy is driving, so let’s enjoy the ride. And then, just when you thought…
January has earned its reputation as the month in which studios unload all their cheapie horror flicks, but February is the month when we invariably get yet another middle-of-the-road black-urban-professional romantic comedy. (It’s both Black History and Valentine’s month, hence the logic.) In that regard, Something New is anything but…
Say you get some fine pâté de foie gras. You spread a big dollop of it on a thick, crusty slice of warm French baguette along with generous slivers of rare black truffle. First-class ingredients all the way around. Gourmet grub. But when you think about it, when you break…
Dune: Extended Edition (Universal) On paper it sounds insane: A mammoth sci-fi epic directed by David Lynch, based on an intensely weird Frank Herbert novel about ecology and giant worms. What resulted was a flop that has yet to be remedied by multiple edits through the years. This disc includes…
Every fighting game needs a hook to stand out: Mortal Kombat has gore, Soul Calibur has weapons, Def Jam has hip-hop stars. And Dead or Alive? It has boobies. The DOA series — developed by Tecmo — made its name with a cast of fighters who look like pinups and…
Benny Hill: Complete and Unadulterated — The Hill’s Angels Years, Set Four (A&E) Billy Graham Presents: Gift Set (Fox) Bubble (Magnolia) Captains Courageous (1937) (Warner Bros.) Drake & Josh Go Hollywood (Paramount) Extreme Comedy Collection (Team America: World Police, Beavis and Butt-head Do America, and Jackass: The Movie) (Paramount) Four…
So our movie guy here gets to do the Sundance bit and interview famous actors and directors and yell at Hollywood for a lack of intimate movies. Thus it’s always with great hope that he’ll sign on for any blurbs regarding film, considering his encyclopedic knowledge of the cinema. Or…
