The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is hardly a personal project. Still, David Fincher’s sveltely malevolent remake of the 2009 Swedish blockbuster directed by Niels Arden Oplev from Stieg Larsson’s rambling thriller, a posthumously published international bestseller and Kindle record-holder, is a recognizably Fincherian caper. The movie, which opens with…
When I told someone I was off to a screening of We Bought a Zoo the other day, the response was an eye-roll. The reaction is understandable: Save for two music docs — an Elton John-Leon Russell album making-of and that Pearl Jam anniversary infomercial — Cameron Crowe has been…
Those kids in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe have all the luck. Not only do they get to go on an epic adventure full of talking animals and magic, but they also get the best Christmas presents ever. A sword and shield, a bow and arrow that never…
If we don’t look too closely, The Women on the 6th Floor appears to be a lighthearted French- and Spanish-language romp, set in the early 1960s and centered on a bored, bourgie French businessman rekindling his life-spark in the flat of some Spanish maids. Look deeper, and it’s possibly another…
Christmas is a time for friends, family and holiday traditions. Christmas is also a time for relaxing and a time to indulge in scrumptious, delights. Engulf yourself in this year’s seasonal merriment and culture by joining Urban Crust for the Feast of the Seven Fishes Dinner. Originating from Medieval Roman…
It’s Chanukah season once again, and midway through the holiday festivities you encounter the same problem that people of all religions suffer this time of year: the nagging parent. Why haven’t you found a nice girl to settle down with? Why are you doing this to them? They’re only getting…
In a development that’s led north Texas hoops fans to proclaim that one “can’t make this stuff up,” the Dallas Mavericks will (finally) begin the defense of their NBA title against the hated, demonic trinity of the Miami Heat. Did we mention that this game, in which the franchise’s first…
Let’s be honest. The last thing you want to do on Christmas Day is spend a bunch of time cooking. Since you deserve a tasty meal after weeks of shopping and wrapping, we recommend taking the spouse and kids over to the Gaylord Texan, 1501 Gaylord Trail in Grapevine, for…
Good comedians are funny. Great comedians can work the crowd. The key to doing it right seems to be balance: You’ve gotta do a little more than a lazy, rhetorical “How’s everybody doing tonight?” without going all Dave Chapelle from The Nutty Professor. Texan comedian Raj Sharma is one of…
These days we speed date, we virtual date, we meet, we greet and we usually sanitize after. We find dips, drips and trolls, but we keep at it. There has to be just one decent person out there, right? Wrong. No, we’re kidding. Of course there is! And no doubt…
Remember the Dallas Freeze? OK, we’ll help you out. They were one of six original members of the Central Hockey League in its inaugural season in 1992. Still no clue? That’s probably because they closed up shop just three years later. (Turns out the Dallas Stars coming to town in…
Got a zany aunt? At the very least you have a fun relative — and by “fun” we mean of the “beat of a different drum” sort. Well, leave your oddball with the more patient folk and get out for an evening on your own at Jubilee Theatre’s Auntee Explains…
Four million lights? Seriously, four million? We’ve met the guy who invented the icicle light in the early ’80s. We’ve seen that special with Mr. Christmas and the lights contest on Food Network. We know about that East Dallas house that hires the live reindeer. We still can’t wrap our…
The story of Anne Frank is the most well-known story of a young Holocaust victim, but approximately 1.5 million of the six million Jews who died during the Holocaust were children. Despite the brutality they witnessed and endured, many of these children found temporary escape from their lives through art…
There’s a very, very good chance you haven’t seen the best movie of 2011. At least, that’s what Karina Longworth is saying in this week’s cover story. Margaret, Kenneth Lonergan’s latest starring Anna Paquin, Matt Damon and Mark Ruffalo, is the best film of the year, Longworth says. So, yep,…
People can be, shall we say, incredibly emphatic when they talk about religion. But, sometimes, they’re a little too emphatic. Enough that you can’t help but wonder what they really feel.Today’s FLP, “Fanatic Aunt” by r. mateo diago, one of four pieces in a series titled “iChat God Talk,” examines…
Welcome to another edition of Geek-Offs, where you’ll find the perfect distractions to help you muddle your way through hump day each week. I have a confession to make. One of the main reasons I wouldn’t update/upgrade/sync my old iPhone 3G was because of my fear of losing one game:…
An exciting moment late in the day yesterday: The debut of the official trailer for Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings prequel, you know, The Hobbit. Finally. If you didn’t know, Tolkien’s book is being adapted by the pretty much same crew as LOTR (including an epic soundtrack by Howard…
The greatest old broad on TV, Betty White, doesn’t just outlive her contemporaries; she outworks them, too. She’s about to turn 90 and will celebrate with a TV special, Betty White’s 90th Birthday: A Tribute to America’s Golden Girl, airing at 7 p.m. CT, Monday, January 16, on NBC. Joining…
You have until Christmas Eve to catch Dallas Theater Center’s robust production of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. For this one, the company moves back to its old home at Kalita Humphreys Theater on Turtle Creek, and that’s a treat. Kalita really is such a perfectly snug place to stage…
Most writers hold book signings at book stores. Gregory G. Allen is not most writers. Tomorrow you can find him at Krimson and Klover, an upscale fashion boutique in Uptown, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., dedicating copies of his new novel, Well With My Soul, a 2011 USA Book News…
“The biggest dick in the world … and not in a good way,” says Kevin Rubén Jacobs, of the eponymous gallery owner. Jacobs is laughing before he even finishes the sentence. The truth is, “Oliver Francis” may or may not be a figment of Jacobs’ brilliantly diabolical imagination. Or, he…
