You have to hand it to James McAvoy, who has made a career out of his amiable, boyish good looks; in Filth, he destroys that image. As Detective Sergeant Bruce Robertson, he’s a booze-bloated, greasy wreck who appears about 20 years older, all busted capillaries and shit-eating grin. He’s not…
There’s still one kind of dread that today’s genre filmmakers can reliably stir up: that fear that everything we’ve been watching onscreen is going to be upended by some last-minute twist, that all the clues and portents we’ve puzzled over will be swept away in favor of some revelation so…
There’s much to be astonished by in the story of how the Supreme Court was goaded in slapping down Proposition 8, California’s gay marriage ban. One of the most surprising: that in courtroom after courtroom, be they state, district or superior, Charles Cooper and the proponents of the ban never…
This Ain’t No Party is a deceptive name for Ash Studios’ next art filled, dare we say it, ‘party,’ because a night full of film, music and art certainly checks out with our criteria for a party. Wait, were they just being facetious? Whoops. Anyways, June 12 is when, for…
“Wherever you live in this world, basically . . . you are alone. Even if [we] have support systems, we’re really alone.” Those words, shorn of sentimentality, are offered—and received—as motherly balm in the documentary When I Walk. Filmmaker Jason DaSilva, having turned his camera on himself to capture the…
The show must go on. This testament has never been truer than in the case of the dancers of the Bruce Wood Dance Project, as they mourn the loss of their leader. Wood was more than just their choreographer; he was their friend. He was loved by many, and mourned…
There’s a moment in everyone’s life when they realize that they are no longer in the “youth” demographic. It happens without warning, like maybe when browsing Urban Outfitters — music blaring — and coming to the realization that the selection of netted crop tops and sequined trapeze dresses are out…
Summer is finally upon us, and for the third time the East Dallas Gallery Day is helping us load up on a little culture before we hit the pool. This year, 14 galleries in Downtown, Deep Ellum and Expo Park will be opening their doors and providing Dallisites of all…
I’ve always wondered if comedians are actually impressed by other comedians with armloads of awards. It would be hard to know their true feelings without conducting some kind of scientifically monitored Gallup poll. Comedians can be a naturally moody bunch, prone to fits of jealousy, but it’s usually over getting…
On Saturday night, June 14th, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra is partnering with some of the city’s most talented and innovative young musical minds to present a special, one-night only concert. The concert is imagined by and presented in partnership with the Dallas Symphony’s Teen Council and features musicians from the…
I’ve always wondered if comedians are actually impressed by other comedians with armloads of awards. It would be hard to know their true feelings without conducting some kind of scientifically monitored Gallup poll. Comedians can be a naturally moody bunch, prone to fits of jealousy, but it’s usually over getting…
On Saturday, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and some of the city’s most talented and innovative young musical present a special one-night only concert. The concert is imagined by and presented in partnership with the Dallas Symphony’s Teen Council and features musicians from the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra and the Booker…
We would have paid good money to sit in the room when Nintendo got the big pitch for their disastrous WiiU console. Some guy who probably just got done running a Jack in the Box barges into the board room with crude drawings of what appeared to be an iPad…
Leave your e-readers at home and stock up on bookmarks, because Dallas’ newest publishing house is throwing a party. Publisher Will Evans will be unveiling the cover art for the first round of books from his company, Deep Vellum. These are no ordinary indie tomes however. Beginning this fall, Deep…
There’s art everywhere. In this cubicle, there’s a graphic print next to a Robert Motherwell postcard, above a notebook covered with an Andy Warhol photograph. And that’s just one corner. We cover everything in art to make life more beautiful. Perhaps that’s why designer and illustrator Michael Sieben began covering…
The noir detective flick was good for about two things: highly stylized filmmaking that keeps Christopher Nolan in a permanent state of arousal; and liberal, unapologetic overuse of cliché. Chock full of classy dames and private dicks, the genre left a lasting impression on filmmaking, but man…if you took a…
The eye of heaven is certainly beginning to shine too hot as we make the slow descent to summer’s summit. In due order, Shakespeare season is back. The annual onslaught of iambic pentameter anchors summer stages with productions of his most beloved works at theaters across the Metroplex. Like in…
Shakespeare’s plots are more complicated than the brain of an angsty teenage girl. Perhaps that’s fitting because many of Shakespeare’s plays are about angsty teenage girls. Much Ado About Nothing, for example, chronicles the thorny twists and turns of men trying to woo the affection of two young cousins, Beatrice…
I thought the creepy neighbor from American Beauty had the corner on finding beauty in the mundane. I mean, that plastic bag “dancing in the wind” changed the way I saw litter forever. But he has nothing on Fort Worth artist Brian Moore. The title of Moore’s 20-piece photography exhibition,…
When The Dallas Opera decided to stage Death and the Powers, Tod Machover’s challenging modern sci-fi opera, they called on conductor Nicole Paiement to handle the complex score. Paiement was a smart choice: as Artistic Director of San Fransisco’s Opera Parallèl, a professional company dedicated to producing contemporary operas, she’s…
Plan to treat yo self, Dallas. Tom Haverford Aziz Ansari announced via Twitter this morning that he’ll be bringing his swag to the American Airlines Center September 13. All year, he’s been taking his cheesy smile and well-pressed suits to cities across the U.S. on his “Modern Romance” tour and…
On the heels of a number of dance companies following the theatrical standard of announcing their season’s offerings, fledging company Avant Chamber Ballet is presenting a line-up that promises to keep audience and dancers busy in the coming year. Avant Chamber Ballet is one of the newest ballet companies on…
