Three types of artists hinge on authenticity: punk bands, folk singers, and rappers. Actors, like Oscar Isaac, are by definition phonies. But the star of Joel and Ethan Coen’s new film, Inside Llewyn Davis, gets that pressure to keep it real. In high school, he was a straight-edge punk frontman…
Here’s where I write about how hard it is to draw up a 10-best list at the end of the year. Except it isn’t: I think of drawing up a list as an honor and a necessity, a way of putting 12 months of moviegoing into some sort of perspective…
I could write a Shakespearean sonnet about each film on my Top 10 of 2013, but we know we’re all here for the agreements and arguments. (Plus, have you tried writing about Joe Swanberg in iambic pentameter?) Ladies and gentlemen, let’s begin. The Act of Killing — The year’s best…
January! Just the time to snuggle up with a 3D swordandpectoral extravaganza. And although some of its more imaginative plot details would make Edith Hamilton blanch, Renny Harlin’s Legend of Hercules fulfills every silly, flimsy promise that it makes in the first place: There are lots of battles (albeit rather…
Horror is an often- (and wrongly) maligned genre. True, there’s more than a healthy amount of crap in it, and the most famous examples are full of campy characters like Leatherface and William Shatner-masked psychopaths. But like any genre, horror can be well-executed, intellectual and artful. The Texas Theatre, 231…
Some will tell you that comedian Neil Hamburger wasn’t born in a traditional sense, that he instead materialized in the coat check of a pizza parlor off a frontage road in Atlantic City. Hamburger speaks in a collective “we,” and whether he’s including his phantom “management,” adoring fans or alter…
It’s rare that drinking more beer equates with raising your IQ. Usually it just ends up with you abandoning your britches in some nature-rich landscape, like that one shady bush next to the bank drive-thru. And yet Bottle Cap Bingo is an event that promises to bolster your brainpower through…
There are so many ways you could know Colin Quinn. Way back in the day he was on an MTV game show called Remote Control. Less back in the day he was on SNL. And recently he had his own show on Comedy Central — Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn…
If the extent of your safari knowledge comes from The Wild Thornberrys, it’s time to get with the program, sister. The Dallas Safari Club’s annual convention is a solid place to start, especially if you’re into things themed “Generations” that promise to “set the standard for sporting enthusiasts from around…
It’s a big night in the gallery and nonprofit art sector, with dozens of spaces ushering in a new start of 2014 exhibitions. See our full run-down in the paper’s Culture section. If you can only get to four shows, here are my picks, but you’ll be running from Uptown…
Ever since they put out Toy Story, the first all-CGI movie about a depressing nightmare world where toys come to life and live eternally, suffering the inevitable neglect of their child owners, Pixar has produced some of the most visually impressive children’s movies in history. Considering their prodigious talent for…
Typically, we at the Observer don’t associate with scavengers, Dumpster divers or unruly birds of prey — they tend to carry easily transmittable parasites, wear colorful open sores or just have frustratingly misspelled neck tattoos, none of which are terribly appetizing. However, in the world of Finders, we draw a…
As we age, films take on different functions. Take Brazil, for instance. Sure, it’s become a cult classic, as most dystopian, bureaucratically steeped, darkly satirical cinematic spools do. But it’s more than that, really, because Brazil ties with Videodrome for most frequently shown hipster bar video of all time. (Is…
There’s a classic moment from the silent film era that’s ingrained in our collective memory. Sure, you may not know that it’s Buster Keaton in the scene, or that it’s from the full-length comedy Steamboat Bill Jr., but you’d recognize it nonetheless. A man is standing in front of an…
Dallas has no shortage of comic conventions, but with nerds ascending popular culture and becoming more and more socially acceptable, there’s always room for another con. If you’ve never been to one but are curious, then fix that. Make 2014 the year of the comic. North Texas Comic Book Shows…
Buddy movies are so very “been there, done that,” right? Old cop, young cop. High-ranking cop, goofy patrol cop. You know the drill. But John Sayles takes the tale and renews it with his latest noir-esque thriller, Go For Sisters, featuring two African-American women in the lead roles. Yolanda Ross…
You may have thought that since we have finally passed the 50th anniversary of the JFK assassination we’d run out of things to say on the topic. But this is Dallas: We’re never done talking about JFK and all the history and logistics that led up to the shooting. The…
David Garrett looks like he should be emblazoned across one of your mom’s old romance novels, edging Fabio out with the dull end of a giant sword and ripping bodices off some busty Ren-Faire enthusiast. The blond hair flows, the perfectly groomed stubble glimmers against his tanned skin and for…
If you’ve ever accidentally oared a buddy in the face, or rowed enthusiastically in circles until you figured out that coordinating your efforts equals forward movement, you truly know how much fun can be had in a narrow little boat. And while the Dallas-Fort Worth area may not be the…
Some Broadway hits just don’t deliver, or they become musty claptraps over time. (I’m looking at you, Kiss of the Spider Woman.) Then there are those culty works, those weirdly masterful creations that keep us returning for more, like Avenue Q. You can try to go against the grain on…
In a simply magical turn of fate, former talk show host and mayor of Cincinnati Jerry Springer will materialize in Uptown tonight to sing a collection of Elvis-exclusive songs. We don’t pretend to know how we got so lucky, but we suspect that someone hot-wired our wish-making machine, then drove…
Author. Comedian. Television host. Admitted hussy. Chelsea Handler has announced a Dallas visit on her new tour, and tickets go on sale Friday, January 17. The 31-date stand-up excursion will promote her fifth book, Uganda Be Kidding Me, an essay collection with a March 2014 release date. Handler’s North Texas…
