We begin this week’s Voice Film Club podcast with a strange story about Giles Corey, who famously said, “More weight!” as stones were laid upon him during his witch trial. The end of the year is sort of like that for film critics, who are pressed upon with all the…
This year the Dallas art scene felt rebellious. While one museum exhibition paid homage to a wonderful Dallas-based painter, another had me wanting to commit acts of destruction. At galleries and other exhibitions, the work dripped with anarchy and frustration with the system — a sentiment felt across the country,…
On Tuesday night, downtown was filled with gleeful, excited children. Their parents quickly grabbed their hands to stop them from running into the street. Where were they running? Well, only to the most famous reindeer of all. Rudolph. Yes, folks, it’s time to get your Christmas spirit on and take…
The Alamo Drafthouse in Richardson captured the attention of an angry America by scheduling a screening of Team America: World Police in place of The Interview starring Seth Rogen and James Franco that was canned by Sony Pictures. Now it appears that Paramount Pictures doesn’t want America to see the…
Mixmaster presents “100 Creatives,” in which we feature cultural entrepreneurs of Dallas in random order. I’ve always thought the notion of an “x factor” is a little bit hokey. But after meeting Charles Smith II at Glasshouse Studio in Expo Park, it began to seem like a real thing. Smith…
A series of 10 short plays dubbed A Very Nouveau Holiday is on for a few more performances at the Margo Jones Theatre in Fair Park, and it’s a little naughty, a little nice. The collection is hit-and-miss, ranging from mawkishly bad to absurdly smart, but the actors — Ginger…
If you missed the 2007 film that made Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová famous, you missed one of the most compelling soundtracks ever made. The songs in Once turned the quiet drama into a hit, which eventually found its way to Broadway, where it answered its showy neighbors with intimate…
Sony’s decision not to release The Interview on Christmas Day due to hackers threatening violence seemed inevitable. But the shock still hasn’t worn off. That some group of idiots could intimidate and bully a major motion picture studio into shelving a multimillion dollar motion picture seems unbelievable. It’s even more…
Perhaps one of the most lovely art exhibitions in town this year was Provocations at the Nasher Sculpture Center. Featuring the design work of the UK’s Heatherwick Studio, it featured small scale models, or bits and pieces of designs from around the globe, all of which demonstrated the company’s humanistic…
The biggest laugh I heard from the audience at my screening of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies came after seven words in the end credits: “Based on the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien.” Just picture that tweedy Oxford philologist nodding in approval at this adaptation of his lark…
The original Broadway production of Annie was a kiddie musical that wasn’t for kids. It was a period piece about the Great Depression — both a celebration of Warbucksian success and an elbow-jab to stingy rich folk — with a detour into a Hooverville and a key cameo from Franklin…
Editor’s Note: Sony has officially canceled the theatrical release of The Interview following terrorist threats against theaters, and the announcement that several major theater chains had opted not to exhibit the film. The following review was written before Sony pulled The Interview – and stands as a reminder that world-shaking…
Sony assumed North Korea would hate the movie. The question was: What would it do? Pyongyang had just tested its atom bomb and threatened “preemptive nuclear attack.” And the Supreme Leader with his finger on the trigger was barely over 30, with less than two years of experience. But Kim…
It’s kind of a foul one, that Jim Carrey Grinch movie. At least, you think it is. Your kids don’t care about your reasons for hating these Whos, they don’t care a bit that you aren’t a fan of all the noise, noise, noise in the movie, nor are they…
Christmas music is blah. We get it. Grandma got run over by a reindeer. You want your two front teeth. All Mariah Carey wants is you, you, and you. It’s all a little underwhelming. But luckily for you, Local Honey’s lead vocalist, Kelly Brown, will bring together a bunch of…
Who needs graceful, beautiful ballerinas leaping and turning on stage, when you could see a Miley Cyrus lookalike twerking to the original sounds of The Nutcracker. It’s probably a tad nuts, but it might be just what your boring old holiday needs. The Texas Ballet Theater hosts The Nutty Nutcracker,…
Cognitive Dissonance is something most adults understand, and relate to. That two things you believe or value could be in direct conflict with one another is a frustrating, anxiety-filled way to live in this gray-shaded world. The new series of work by Dallas-based artist Gaeb Cardinale shares a name with…
If you’ve ever informed a sibling “they’re what the French call les incompetents,” gone all the way and explained, “Santy Claus doesn’t visit the funeral home little boy” or just let out a grotesque burp and exclaimed, “The shitter’s full,” then the holiday Granada’s Holiday Mockbuster has your name on…
You’re late to the game. We hear you. And making a last minute trip to NorthPark to buy your mother something overpriced and destined to be underused from Williams Sonoma will only take up more time than you have. Let’s face it, you’ve been running a bit behind all year…
It takes a huge set of balls to call yourself the “The” of anything whether the title is “The Structural Engineer,” “The Research Librarian” or “The Fries Guy.” Fortunately, Cedric the Entertainment deserves the title he bestowed upon himself when he became a comedian. He’s not only performed in just…
Come the holidays, there’s always talk of the ultimate dichotomy. No, not yin and yang—that’s too black and white. The red and green polarity we’re digging on is classic naughty and nice. Allegedly, the whole idea is one should be nice to get great and amazing rewards during the holidays…
The holidays can be a depressing bore. Between the massive, violent shopping crowds who resemble Mongol hordes with each passing season and the racist relatives who make you feel ashamed to carry their DNA, you could use a laugh. Hyena’s Comedy Nightclub (5321 E. Mockingbird Ln.) has brought in comedian…
