TV execs have known for decades that the real broadcast jackpot is the competition show. Sure, we as viewers got sucked into the vortex that was first dominated by the sitcom and then replaced by the reality dramedy, but we’ve returned to the world of winners and losers with open…
Even considering people who don’t regularly follow professional sports, it would be rather difficult to find anyone who missed the dramatic fallout surrounding the Cleveland Cavaliers this summer. To recap: The Cavs’ very own King (LeBron) James decided to jump ship in Ohio to join cronies Chris Bosh and Dwyane…
The Coen Brothers’ stoner/detective/quest movie, 1998’s The Big Lebowski, is endlessly rewatchable, as its phenomenal DVD sales and an official Lebowski Fest are proof enough of its staying power. You’ve probably watched it enough times that once we start quoting our favorite lines you’ll be able to finish them. Us:…
There are some movies whose viewing is considered so mandatory that you’re subject to derision if you cop to not having seen them. Seriously, people act as if sitting on your couch and watching movies is some sort of grand intellectual conquest on par with completing all of the works…
Be jealous. I’m totally getting a piece tomorrow. Actually, I’m getting several pieces tomorrow…pieces of (hopefully) delicious pie. North Haven Gardens is hosting its Fall Harvest Pie Contest and as luck would have it, I’m a judge. (Maybe they heard about my office birthday baking, because it surely can’t have…
Martin Gerwers is not a geometric painter. For him, geometry is not the subject of his work, but rather, a tool he uses to shape the diversity of movements we see in his paintings. He builds upon the correlation between architecture and painting, and his works have an effect similar…
Do you have a pair of balls just begging to be scared off? At 7:30 p.m. Friday, check out Thrillvania Thrill Park (2330 County Road 138 at I-20 and Wilson Road in Terrell), home to eight different haunted attractions housed on almost 50 acres of land. Named one of the…
They’re creepy and yes, they’re kooky and maybe mysterious and spooky, but no, they are not the Addams Family. Hold on to your snaps, folks, because there’s a new gothic crew in town. And no, it’s not the Munsters, either. (Miss Marilyn would be proud, though). Meet the Mongrew family:…
Used to be, Dallas Contemporary focused on just Texas artists. But then, used to be, Dallas Contemporary lived in a much different venue. Now housed in a larger, much more raw space–repurposed industrial quarters, actually, and one of the few like spaces in the US–the Contemporary has expanded its focus…
A farting contest in the middle of Shrek the Musical turns out to be one of its classiest moments. The competition takes place between the title character, an okra-colored ogre played by Eric Petersen, and the object of his affection, a rescued red-haired princess named Fiona (Haven Burton). In the…
A full moon bathes a window in sugary white. A train whistles. Bacon curls in a skillet. These simple sensory references are part of everyday life in Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire, the United States, Western Hemisphere, the Earth, the solar system, the universe—the way one character addresses the fictional village…
The Social Network is a wonderful title, at once Olympian in its detachment and self-descriptive in its buzz. Everyone will opine (and Tweet) on this Scott Rudin-produced, Aaron Sorkin-scripted, David Fincher-directed, universally anticipated tale of Facebook’s genesis and founding genius—at least until something sexier comes along. The main talking point…
Beware: The punishment for lighting the grail-shaped beacon is spankings, lots of spankings. After the first grail-lighter gets her spankings, the others must be spanked too. And after those spankings, the oral sex, at least by Monty Python punishment standards. When Dingo realizes Zoot, her twin sister and co-leader of…
All right, Bishop Arts District, we get the picture. You’ve had some kind of festival about every three days for the past couple of years, and last week we awarded you that Best of Dallas award for Best Place For A Street Festival that you’ve clearly been aiming for. We…
When I was a kid, I was a typical girly-girl. We’re talking pink hair ribbons, Barbie dolls and an abhorrence of dirt, but even I loved dinosaurs. There was an exhibit featuring giant animatronic dinosaurs, including the carnivorous T-Rex. I spent hours staring up at the creature, convinced he was…
The History Channel’s Monster Quest proves that believing in sasquatch, moth-men, chupacabras and other legendary creatures requires some suspension of skepticism. The story is set with witnesses describing an encounter and perhaps showing a blurry photo or scratch left behind on a tree. The team of cryptozoologists take print casts,…
Ask anyone in town and they’re sure to tell you that NorthPark is more than just a mall. Yes, there are the obligatory high-end stores and the much needed food court, but NorthPark is a scene unto its own, and it is home to some of the best artwork in…
Miss the 2008 election? Ready catch a good play? Not sure what those two things have in common? Adventures in Mating, may quite possibly be the most democratic play for our democratic society. The audience controls the characters’ decisions thus taking the direction of this romantic comedy any which way…
The summer of deep V’s is winding down, but Tosh Tour Twenty Ten is just getting warmed up. If you don’t chuckle at misogyny and racism, stop reading here. But if racial humor, gay jokes, nut punches and vomit are your thing, then Daniel Tosh is your man. Well, this…
Before Marfa, Texas became famous as a mecca for modern art buffs and high-desert hipsters, it was best known as the location for the shoot of the classic ’56 film Giant, starring Rock Hudson, James Dean and Elizabeth Taylor. Strangely, despite the fact that we’ve been to Marfa–and even stayed…
Midnight this Friday (or Saturday) see Israel Luna’s Ticked-Off Trannies with Knives at the Inwood Theatre, 5458 West Lovers Lane. Shot in Dallas, the “transploitation” film is about a group of transgender entertainers who are brutally attacked and decide to get revenge. It’s Kill Bill with bigger tits and better…
Need a cure for claustrophobia? Spend 93 minutes trapped inside a tank with four soldiers during the First Lebanon War. Now, imagine spending 30 days trapped inside that same tank and your only glimpse of the outside world is through the crosshairs of a gun. Samuel Maoz’s film (and winner…
