Five Easy Pieces is one of those polarizing films that cinephiles love to discuss while regular moviegoers are left wondering why they wasted an hour and a half of their lives watching the damn thing (if they even bother to finish it at all). Jack Nicholson plays an oil rig…
Every Wednesday night, DJ Johnny Murder spins an eclectic mix at Fallout Lounge. Expect everything from Supertramp to Super Furry Animals. His spinning shenanigans will be augmented this Wednesday by a live performance from the legendary Dutch Treats. In honor of Luke Perry’s 39th birthday, the Treats will tease and…
Whoever named Dallas Heritage Village’s “Nip and Tuck’s Barnyard Buddies Storytime for Preschoolers” obviously didn’t grow up with a bunch of farm boys. I did, and believe me, you wouldn’t want your preschooler to hear some of the tales those guys told about their barnyard “buddies.” Let’s just say this:…
John Ashcroft just won’t go away. When a man loses an election to a dead guy, you’d think he would take a vacation or something. But not the former attorney general: He’s back, and this time it’s personal. His new book, Never Again: Securing America and Restoring Justice, claims to…
Move over Trinity, there’s a new river in town! Big River, the classic Roger Miller musical based on Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, rolls in this weekend courtesy of Garland Civic Theatre. There are no fancy bridges to cross (or debate!), but Huck’s adventure with a runaway slave on the Mighty…
I’m not much of a wine drinker, but in efforts to improve my epicurean palate and social standing, I feel compelled to learn more about the Jesus juice. Oops, maybe not a good start. At the very least, I just want to stick my nose in a glass. The Dallas…
Just to name a few, there’s Spike Lee’s Original Kings of Comedy (not to be confused with Paul Rodriguez’s Original Latin Kings of Comedy), Jeff Foxworthy’s Blue Collar Comedy, Patton Oswalt’s Comedians of Comedy and, of course, Professor Hendricus Stoof’s wildly popular Dutch Physicists of Comedy. Now there’s finally a…
Over 78 million American “boomers” were born after World War II. In their parents’ generation, age 50 meant retirement was around the corner, along with a gold watch, Social Security payouts and a comfortable chair on the porch. Now 50-year-olds are merely entering the second half of an average lifespan…
What with the carnage in Iraq, Hugo Chavez declaring President Bush the devil and drug thugs rolling severed heads onto dance floors in Mexico, harmony seems to be in short supply these days. Leave it to artists—in this case, dancers—to provide whatever may be missing in the world. The Bruce…
Who sings “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” better than Gene Autry? Nobody. He made that song one of the best-selling singles of all time. I think he might have even been the mastermind behind the “Like a light bulb!” backup. During his career, the Singing Cowboy appeared in 94 feature films…
There are so many beautiful things in this world we may look to for inspiration in our own lives and creative endeavors. Sunrises and sunsets. Kittens. Nature. Bjork. I know if I were going to write a symphony—been meaning to get around to it on a rainy day, you know—she’d…
Valhalla is a lot to handle. You got your mad king who builds castles based on operas, as well as your frolicking country boy in hip-baring dungarees. And of course, there’s a moral to the story, but honestly, we try to steer clear of those. Audiences follow the lives of…
If you’re new to the activity, it might seem scary to “ride the rim.” Maybe you haven’t met many people who are into it. Maybe you’re afraid the rim will be dirty. Maybe you won’t be able to stick through the whole thing. But riding the rim can be fun…
Right now, there’s an episode of Law and Order on TV. And here’s how it goes: If it’s the beginning of the show (DUN DUN), someone just found a body. A cop arrives to deliver some witty banter and point his blacklight at walls. Then, a suspect is booked (who…
Naturists. Nudists. Nakednessists. They go by many names. But despite what they decide to call themselves, one thing is painfully obvious: People who like to be naked outdoors are almost always not the kind of people you would want to see naked, much less be naked with. Just like the…
If you Google “mystical arts of Tibet,” you probably won’t be surprised that the first name on the screen will be none other than Mr. Richard Gere. In these parts, the man is known for three things: his average acting skills, his supposed foray into gerbilling and his well-publicized friendship…
For such a small country, Belgium is loaded with claims to fame. Many countries would be happy merely to be renowned for their chocolate and lace, but the Belgians know what really counts in life: booze. Belgian beer is the cream of the crop, keeping tongues, tummies and livers happy…
For much of the time I attended the University of Texas, corn dogs made me sick to my stomach (and I love corn dogs). You see, the bitter taste of defeat can ruin even the most perfectly designed of State Fair delicacies—and defeat was just the dish the Oklahoma Sooners…
Like many people, I’m thoroughly convinced that John Tesh is an alien. Who else but an alien would think to write the whitest theme song in history (“Roundball Rock”) for America’s blackest sport (basketball)? “It just came into my head. So I called my message machine and sang the chorus…
Modern spinmeisters covet the talents of someone such as Alonso Quijana, the chivalrous but insane protagonist of Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote. To be able to turn yourself into a knight, a sway-backed nag into a mighty steed, a dishrag into a silk scarf and a barmaid/whore into the ideal…
Among documentary muckrakers, Kirby Dick may not be as righteously indignant as Michael Moore or as brilliantly droll as Nick Broomfield. But say this for the maker and star of This Film Is Not Yet Rated: He’s not afraid to soil his hands to get the story. Rummaging through the…
One would never confuse the work of writer-director Todd Phillips with that of the late Robert Hamer, whose filmography includes the essential Kind Hearts and Coronets. Hamer’s movies had a gentlemanly quality, no matter the cruelty that skulked beneath their prim exteriors; one always felt the characters in his movies,…
