It’s a little sad that Colin Farrell has outgrown roles that require him to wear raggedy sweaters and say things like “For fook’s sake!” It had to happen, though. Farrell has always made a terrific bad boy, but he clearly knows he couldn’t be a scamp forever, and he seems…
Congratulations, Detroit. In 1987, Paul Verhoeven’s RoboCop cemented it as the most violent city in the world, an honor the Motor City resented for decades until its powers that be realized they may as well erect a statue of Peter Weller and milk the tourism. Twenty-seven years later, the attention…
Director José Padilha’s long-delayed RoboCop reboot has arrived, and it’s neither an unalloyed (see what I did there?) triumph nor the travesty that partisans of Paul Verhoeven’s subversive Reagan-era classic had feared. At least, and at most, it’s different, taking bold liberties with the original text, as remakes should. One…
Though it’s difficult to pinpoint the typical Berlin Film Festival film, I’ve attended the festival enough times to attest that most pictures in the competition lean toward the somber end of the scale: You’re more likely to see a drama about immigrants in tough circumstances or children left to fend…
The endless love in question unfolds in that universe where shy, bookish teenage girls are always catalog-model beautiful, not a pimple in sight or a pound overweight, not a garment from Hot Topic darkening their closets. The movie tells us that 17-year-old Jade Butterfield (Gabriella Wilde) is “awkward” and has…
Almost a pop history of Western culture’s relationship to female orgasm, Charlie Stratton’s In Secret is a spirited zip through Zola’s Thérèse Raquin, a sex-and-sin morality tale of the sort that has been the template for the last decade of Woody Allen dramas. Unlike those, In Secret boasts vigor and…
Just as animated characters who look too human creep us out, could there be a phenomenon we might call the RomCom Uncanny Valley, a case when movie stars’ gorgeousness fully outshines our ability to believe their characters’ humdrum relationship problems? Radiant lovers make radiant love — and then argue about…
Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, both of which publish special daily issues at the major international festivals, may be the most famous movie trade magazines. But every morning at any of these festivals, including Berlin, most critics I know – and probably plenty of industry people, too – turn to…
Avoid the restaurants like the plague on Valentine’s Day. Since the day itself falls on a Friday this year, it’ll be an unholy crush of lovers crowding the hostess stand and waiters rushing you through your attempts at romance. Make reservations for, like, Tuesday and spend Friday actually having some…
Despite the gradual easing of regulations over the last decade, comedians working in broadcast television still perform under constant threat of fines and sanctions for uttering certain words deemed too unsavory for airplay. With the exception of the occasional TBN ventriloquist, these restrictions have forced TV comics to stash much…
Pianist Jon Nakamatsu and clarinetist Jon Manasse will perform in concert at 8 p.m. Saturday at St. Barnabas Presbyterian Church (1220 W. Belt Line Road, Richardson). In the fourth concert in Chamber Music International’s current season, the popular touring duo will perform works by Beethoven, Polulenc, Halvorsen and Brahms —…
As a terrified child growing up in a tornado-prone region, I was given many pieces of advice about how to tell when a tornado was coming. Greenish sky? Tornado. Jet contrails? Put two of them together and get a tornado. Sudden drop in temperature? Tornado. There were dozens of signs…
Fans of comedian and ventriloquist Jeff Dunham and his rainbow of supposedly hilarious puppets will be thrilled to know that the Dallas native is bringing his Disorderly Conduct tour to the American Airlines Center on Saturday. With such characters in his arsenal as José Jalapeño on a Stick and Achmed…
Imagine you’re in a small Andalusian mountain town in Spain at the turn of the 20th century. You hold hands with your lover as the Spanish guitars fill the air and the flamenco dancers sweep across the stage in front of you. Open your eyes. You’re in the City Performance…
You don’t see many collections of extremely personal essays turned into raucous, uplifting stage musicals. It’s just hard to picture the silly but somber musings of David Sedaris or the hazy, drunken memories of Chelsea Handler getting a soundtrack that would incorporate Chorus Line-esque choreography, although Lord knows someone in…
Just in time to get a little present for the herpetologist in your life, the North American Reptile Breeders Conference takes place this Valentine’s Day weekend at the Arlington Convention Center. The conference will feature talks from animal experts on various species such as the “Aboreal Alligator Alizards of the…
Remember that time Gloria Estefan told us to turn it up, turn it up, turn it upside down? You know who was listening? Teatro Dallas. On Thursday it kicks off the 16th International Theater Festival and in the grand tradition of enumerated threats, this promises to be a triple —…
The Church Basement Ladies are back with another chapter in their series of musical comedies. The third sequel to the original hit show that was based on the 1997 book Growing Up Lutheran, A Mighty Fortress is Our Basement opens at the Eisemann Center (2351 Performance Drive, Richardson) with a…
He’s Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gary Busey, Chris Rock and Ozzy Osbourne. He’s Ricky Martin, Dennis Hopper and Casey Kasem. Most of the time, he’s the movie trailer guy, Don LaFontaine. As the absolute king of impressions, comedian Pablo Francisco embodies them all and more. With two Comedy Central specials, numerous late-night…
Denton’s Thin Line Fest brings quality documentaries, a notable awards program and the Docu-Denton 7K video race to Denton’s historic downtown Campus Theater this month. Now in its seventh year, the festival is adding more than 100 bands to its program, including Sebadoh and the local Mexican-American rapper Snow Tha…
Not everybody’s love life should be put onstage, and there are plenty of sordid stories better left untold. But if they were, Oral Fixation wouldn’t be quite such a smashing success. The monthly storytelling series thrives on the intimate, unsavory details local writers are willing to share with the world…
Kicking off a U.S. tour, Irish tenor Paul Byrom will perform Wednesday night on the Voodoo Stage at House of Blues, 2200 N. Lamar St.. Former lead tenor with the group Celtic Thunder, a favorite of PBS watchers everywhere, Byrom’s solo career included release of the album This Is the…
