On this week’s Voice Film club podcast, L.A. Weekly chief film critic Amy Nicholson, Village Voice film critic Stephanie Zacharek and Voice film editor Alan Scherstuhl discuss two movies opening this weekend, including the James Franco’d Palo Alto, which we fully recommend, and the latest version of the West Memphis…
When March Madness arrived this year, I needed a refresher course on how to fill in a bracket. Last Fall, local radio DJ Paul Slavens gave me my first lesson on Fantasy Football. It would be fair to say I don’t know much about sports. But I’m learning. Today, for…
By Danny King By the time Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker in Christopher Nolan’s 2008 The Dark Knight was finally seen by critics and audiences, talk of a posthumous Oscar reached a fever pitch. Naturally, the inclination to compare Ledger’s work to past posthumous landmarks proved tempting, and many…
If you’ve never seen a Muay Thai demonstration, you’ll need to put the Thai Culture & Food Festival on your calendar. The world champion of the sport known as the “art of eight limbs” takes the stage of the two-day culture showcase, May 24-25 at The Buddhist Center of Dallas…
In Game of Thrones, the ominous line “winter is coming” would be far more terrifying for a Dallas resident if it said “summer is coming.” With the arrival of May, the mercury is rising, as the temperatures swiftly approach triple digits. Lucky for us, even when our cars run out…
Nearly four years have passed since the Mark Morris Dance Group last came to Dallas, and upon their much-anticipated return, I wonder what this nearly 40-year old institution has up its sleeve? If you ask Morris, like I did recently, you’ll get this response: “I hope you like it.” Chances…
The time has come for you to break up with Dallas. You’ve felt trapped in this relationship for years, and it’s not getting any better. We understand. There’s no need to tell us that it’s not Dallas, it’s you. We know better. You’re leaving Dallas for Austin, the younger, edgier…
During the summer months, most professional classical musicians pack up their cellos, flutes, bassoons and horns and head to summer music festivals in cooler climes. If you’ve been meaning to catch an opera or go to the symphony but haven’t gotten around to it yet, this month is your last…
Do you think that your viewer understands the allusions and the references in your work? Is it important that they do? These were the questions Stephen Lapthisophon asked of Michelle Rawlings at the Dallas Biennial 14 panel Saturday afternoon. Often, the obscurity or the abstraction of an object opens it…
Dallas has a new dance company on its hands. Well, maybe not “new,” as it is in its second full season in Dallas, but you might not have heard of them yet. And that’s because they were first based in South Korea (and still have a branch there). I’m talking…
At college campuses across the country, spring semester draws to a close. Students are taking finals, selling their books back, and celebrating the arrival of summer. But at the University of Texas at Dallas, the end of Spring semester might also mean the end of the beloved Art Barn. Since…
You can’t vote for Picasso’s Guernica or Marc Chagall’s floating lovers in Art Everywhere US. But if you want to see a billboard come to life with a painting by Edward Hopper, Andy Warhol, or Mark Rothko, you have until May 7 to vote for Nighthawks, or my favorite, Joseph…
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra is performing Beethoven’s 9th symphony this weekend as part of its three-week-long Beethoven Festival and you do not want to miss it. Last night, the whole concert felt like a reminder from the DSO to its audience: “In case you forgot, we have one of the…
Steven Michael Quezada hears some form of the following statement just about every time he goes out on the road: “I’m kind of surprised that you’re a stand-up.” I learned that because that’s the simple-minded, poorly worded statement I used to open our 30-minute conversation. He doesn’t seem to mind…
Don your capes, strap on your superhero boots and head to a local comic book store to dig your way through the quarter comics and pick up a few freebies at Free Comic Book Day. The first Saturday in May is probably the only Stan Lee- endorsed holiday on the…
Another day, another dollar. This week, the wise words of Jay-Z are getting you through to the weekend, which arrives in approximately five more spreadsheets, 30 more emails, and one long meeting with the boss man, which you’re hoping will lead to that raise they promised you last year. The…
It’s been a couple of years since the city of Dallas has had their tolerance tested for excessive violence and suffering presented as entertainment. We don’t mean within the hustle and bustle that is life in the Metroplex. Thanks to a population that’s heavily armed, traditional cuisine that’s deliciously fattening…
How much can you take away and still have a movie? Steven Knight’s Locke is an experiment in reducing contemporary screen storytelling to its irreducible essentials, which isn’t quite the same thing as being an “experimental” film, despite the early reviews from England. It shows us just one actor, on…
Today it’s hard for us to fathom why preachers used to rail so vehemently against jitterbugging. Even with cultural context — black music infiltrating white America; the revolution of rhythm over melody — the athletic whirligig swing-time boogie craze of the ’30s and ’40s now looks as wholesome as ice-cream…
The next time someone tells you dance is boring, point them to Texas International Theatrical Arts Society, or TITAS for short. For more than 30 years, this group has brought some of the world’s most exciting dance troupes to Dallas. And no, “exciting dance” is not an oxymoron. Some of…
If you’ve ever thought about participating in The Amazing Race only to remember your crippling fear of air travel, we have exciting news. The Deep Ellum Urban Race and Block Party gives you a chance to race through the streets, solve puzzles, answer trivia and outwit your opponents to the…
As part of its three-week Beethoven Festival, The Dallas Symphony Orchestra (conducted by Jaap van Zweden) is performing the master’s symphonic game-changer, The 9th Symphony. Psychologically absorbing, suspenseful and grandiose, the 9th remains one of the greatest pieces of music ever composed. From the fiery rhythms of the scherzo to…
