It was Jason Tugman’s first day of work. Almost a decade later, he still remembers the screams. A former circus fire-eater, he’d taken a job as a lighting technician for The Oprah Winfrey Show after burning off a chunk of his tongue. The pay was $32 an hour and he…
It’s been a few days since I saw David Cronenberg’s Maps to the Stars, screening here in competition, and I’m still not completely sure what I think of this sometimes-smart, sometimes-arch ultra-black comedy about shallow Hollywood types. But one thing’s for sure: Julianne Moore is a knockout in it. Moore…
#492425863 / gettyimages.com Marion Cotillard, the star of the Dardenne Brothers’ competition film Two Days, One Night, showed up for the photo call on Tuesday in a mini-dress encrusted with a riot of buttons, a whimsical and rather adorable choice for an actress who, on-screen just a few minutes earlier,…
James McAvoy knows not to trust the British tabloids. While flogging his grotty drama Filth, based on the Irvine Welsh novel about a coke-addicted, double-crossing cop, they breathlessly reported that the Scottish actor had dived so deep into method acting that he’d convinced a German hooker to punch him in…
I haven’t looked forward to a new Godard movie since…never. The first Godard movie I saw upon its release in a movie theater was First Name: Carmen, in 1983, which overwhelmed me: I didn’t yet understand that it’s OK not to completely comprehend everything a filmmaker puts in front of…
Even a turtle has its day. That was the lesson from the footrace that the speedy, but lazy hare lost to the tortoise. If we’re being technical, a turtle would actually race a fish. Clearly, I failed biology, but I’m going to make an uneducated guess that no self-respecting tortoise…
Stand-up comedians usually don’t make great cultural ambassadors because their job is to offend the sensibilities of everyone in the room for a laugh. Comedian Maz Jobrani, however, can do both with a daft cleverness that’s rare in comedy circles. His well honed material doesn’t attack cultural and political biases…
Emerging from the grungy 90’s, the 21st century saw young men pulling their pants up, styling their hair and pressing suit jackets to wear with designer jeans. From Pharrell’s infamous hat to Justin Timberlake’s suit and tie, today’s rockstars pay homage to Hollywood’s golden age of gentlemanly sex appeal. For…
The polka has a lot to answer for, namely the terrible damage polka-ing did to the reputation of the innocent accordion in this country. In the right hands — the late Clifton Chenier’s, or Flaco Jimenez’s for example — the accordion is a perfectly fine folk instrument that can boogie…
If you really just can’t bear to wait until July Fourth to feel really American, and if Memorial Day is still 24 hours too far away, Sunday is just as USA. Why? Because it’s National Tap Dance Day, of course. And while you may see some clog, step, and stomp…
If your main exposure to Thai culture involves spicy fried rice at a place with vases of plastic orchids at every table, then you’re doing it wrong. The colorful, mostly-Buddhist and cheerful customs of the people of Thailand are downright heartwarming for us jaded Americans—and the food is just the…
Cartoons aren’t just for kids anymore thanks in part to rise of Adult Swim and primetime fare like The Simpsons, South Park and the endless supply of shows that FOX instinctively keeps giving to Seth MacFarlane. Just about every major animator and cartoon artist working today got their start as…
This is a Composer’s Brain on Drugs Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique twists together strange percussive effects and a recurring, meandering melody to depict the story of a young artist’s opiate d ream. The music waltzes, marches and dances maniacally as the young man obsesses over the woman he loves, murders…
For a lot of Dallas kids, their first introduction to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra was the Memorial Day Concert at Flag Pole Hill. It’s a decades-old tradition that combines classical music, picnics and fireworks. And this is not the year to stray from traditions. Grab that apple pie out of…
If last year was any indication, we should probably get the outdoor fun out of the way early, lest we melt into a puddle of barbecue-scented Texan goo. After all, come June, outdoor events may no longer be classified as “fun,” but as “sweatsperiments.” Fortunately, Uptown Ciclovía is all about…
Last year’s Oddball Comedy and Curiosity Festival was a historic tour for comedy fans and not just because comedy hermit Dave Chappelle returned to the stage and almost suffered a total implosion at some of his stops. It was a primer of modern comedy that could help even the most…
Did you cry during March of the Penguins? Of course you did. Nothing brings mist to the eye like the story of an animal’s miraculous journey through harsh natural elements against all odds. Plus, there’s almost nothing cuter than a baby penguin, except maybe a baby panda. As the beloved…
Do you want to build a snowman? Have you heard that question about an hundred zillion more times than you ever thought you would in your whole lifetime? Well, you wouldn’t be the only one. But maybe it’s time to change the narrative a little bit: from the frozen icescapes…
There is so much art and literature about Abraham Lincoln and his assassination, one could fill several museums and libraries with it all, but not much is known about his killer, John Wilkes Booth, even though his personal history, and the story of his plans leading up to the attack,…
It is impossible to imagine what it would have been like to live in the 19th century, when abstract art began. In that time, few knew what to make of the direction that art was heading, but now many of us who consider ourselves artists or art-lovers find more value…
If you cough near a hypochondriac, they will ask for a doctor. I believe that’s the title of the adult sequel to If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. Everybody knows someone who’s perpetually sick. A telltale sign is their need to one-up stories of sickness. You had pneumonia? They’ve…
In Texan suburbs, relationships between neighbors are like Tim Allen and Wilson on Home Improvement. We build fences so that no one can just “pop in,” making backyard barbecues overblown, usually awkward affairs. And when the newlywed couple from down the block begins to discuss their cat’s bowel movements, you…
