If weird is your thing, and you prefer films that don’t conform to the well established formula, then you might appreciate a movie like Werner Herzog’s Stroszek. The film follows the journey of an alcoholic named Bruno after his release from prison. He becomes friends with a prostitute and a…
Screw Bella and the Pacific Northwest; Twilight’s gone dark. But apparently, lovers of young adult vampire fiction (read: students, Goths, moms, retirees, backyard wrestlers, hipsters, aliens, ranch hands, etc.) needn’t resort to bloodletting, thanks to the Morganville Vampire series by Fort Worth author Rachel Caine. Set in the fictional town…
Sonic the Hedgehog doesn’t look or act like an actual hedgehog at all. Have you ever seen a hedgehog in real life? First of all, they’re not blue. Also, they don’t wear tennis shoes or walk around on their hind legs, and most importantly, the last thing a hedgehog would…
People seem to go nuts over silent auctions. Or maybe not. They go anti-auction. People are quiet. They’re serene. They stroll. After all, a silent auction is just eBay you have to put on pants for. If you’re into that (and you might be), or want to support the awareness…
Looking for just the right bone for Fido? The Texas Pet Expo in Plano is the largest indoor pet show in North Texas and will be a great source of education and entertainment for pet owners of all kinds. The two-day event takes place from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m…
Finally–a chance to go laugh at the efforts of art students. We’re not talking about mocking some UTD sophomore’s rickety wire sculpture or indulgent self-portrait, as satisfying as it might be to that horrible part of you that secretly wants to tell them to give up on their dreams. These…
It’s a long, long way from the women’s bar outside Berkeley, California, where Ntozake Shange first presented her combustible choreopoem For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf in December 1974, to Atlanta’s Tyler Perry Studios, where the impresario filmed much of this calamitous adaptation. Though striving…
Every night of live theater is an adventure. When things go right, it’s a thrill ride. When things go wrong, as they did at the final preview of Lyric Stage’s premiere of the musical adaptation of The Night of the Hunter, it’s like stumbling through a carnival fun house. The…
Times are tough all around, and especially for artists. Grant money is scarce and patron support isn’t what it was during boom times. Why not offer Dallas artists and creative entrepreneurs a shot at some money and a bit of buzz-generating publicity? Dallas Observer’s first MasterMinds competition, launched in September,…
Come with me, and you’ll be, in a world of orange dude exploitation…Take a look, and you’ll see child victimization… Remember how great it was hearing that deliciously evil-at-heart song and watching all the pain and suffering of the bad, gum-smacking children in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory? Though…
If you were to ride down an escalator in International Terminal D at DFW Airport, you might notice a 600″x 240 “x 28” aluminum wall fixture dotted with faint streams of black lines spanning across the large structure. You might not know that the artist of the subtle, impressive artwork…
Austin artist Jules Buck Jones spent part of last year living in Florida’s Everglades, sketching gators and chasing panthers through the world’s most famous swamp. But instead of carefully documenting Florida’s wild creatures like a member of some Darwin-era expedition, Jones let his imagination run free with the inspiration, resulting…
Hard-drinking American playwright Eugene O’Neil isn’t exactly known for his comedies–he only wrote one–but Ah, Wilderness is a real knee slapper, with prostitutes and drunken uncles peppering a story about coming of age in a New England town.17-year-old Richard likes to read subversive books. He also likes the neighbor’s daughter,…
The Dallas-Haiti Project, a ten year old organization which focuses on humanitarian aid, education, health care, and emergency funding for poor communities in Haiti, has teamed up with Urban Dog Coffee to present the two-artist show Ase Anpil. Featuring clay pottery by Leslie Showalter and black and white photography by…
She bends over towards the ground with her elegant neck stretched outwards. Her arms are tightly tucked towards her body and her beady glass eyes sparkle in the imaginary sunlight. Her head begins to jut in and out in a violent manner. Her lips are now a pointed beak, and…
At what point does video documentation change from just recorded events to something worthy of exhibition in a gallery setting? When does a filmed document become worthy not of critical cinematic analysis, but of critical art analysis? Why aren’t historical representations considered “art”? Those are the types of questions artists…
The saga of Dallas’ Trinity River Project could make a great play. The intrigue, deceit and power plays made by city leaders to sell Dallas voters on the notion that a reeking ditch will be transformed into an urban oasis complete with solar-powered water taxis–and that doing so isn’t only…
Generally we find ventriloquists to be the opposite of funny and actually, kind of creepy. OK, really creepy. However, puppets in general are a different story. From that endearing scene in The Sound of Music–where governess Maria stages the puppet show that presumably gets Captain von Trapp to notice her–all…
Everyone’s a photographer lately. Hit up any event or landmark locally, and you’ll see them: the hipsters with $1300 lenses; the grandmas trying to figure out the Hipstamatic app on their iPhone; the 12-year-olds tussling with tripods. It’s something of an epidemic, and it’s made possible by technology and the…
Garland Fielder: Modulations, a new exhibit at the Holly Johnson Gallery, 1411 Dragon St., showcases a minimalist artist with seemingly a lot to say. Using few colors and elements, Fielder toes the line between 2D and 3D, examining lines and optical illusions. He says it’s the act of interpretation that…
What do mummies and cat scans have in common? Need a hint? How about CSI Luxor? OK, fine. One is used to learn about the other. The Columbus Center for Science and History made a trip to Egypt in order to learn about the methods and technology used by the…
What are you up for? A play about a guy who shoots a dog? A play about yuppie parents who poison a lady with pesto? How about a comedy with typists who murder lumberjacks to score men’s better-made outerwear? Let’s start with the most entertaining one (by far), The Secretaries,…
