If you aren’t familiar with Bishop T.D. Jakes, it could only mean you’re white or, like much of the entertainment industry and American media, generally clueless about the lives of this country’s tens of millions of evangelical Christians. To black Americans, Jakes is an icon — a preaching, teaching, entrepreneurial…
THU 28 To borrow and alter a rock cliché, if it’s live, you’re too old. At least, that’s been the mantra for those happy-go-ecstasy House kids for years, who now find themselves at the ass end of yet another all-electronic phase of progressive music. Enter New York’s Tortured Soul, who…
Tue 11/2 For politically active artists (redundant, we know), the presidential election is a bit like the Super Bowl, sans the beer commercials. Perfect time to gather like minds around the tube with some snacks, sodas and, in this case, a night full of satire. While election-watching parties on Tuesday,…
If you believe what you’ve read about Donald Harris, he’s little more than a loudmouth crackpot out for retribution –and maybe a little tail on the side. The Democratic candidate for Maricopa County Attorney has barreled through his campaign without an endorsement from his party, dodging accusations that he’s a…
Ray, director Taylor Hackford’s 15-years-in-the-making biography of Ray Charles, begins as you might hope: with 1959’s “What’d I Say (Part 1)” pulsing on the soundtrack, the organ’s low moans building toward that familiar, funky frenzy. It almost serves as an early climax, a bracing thrill served up before a word…
It takes mighty big stones to name your horror movie Saw, knowing full well that that’s popular fan-slang for Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, a movie worshiped by gorehounds worldwide. When you take that name for your own, you had damn well better deliver a memorable, worthy contender to…
Even before the movie begins, as the New Line logo is still coalescing on a dark screen, a man speaks on the soundtrack. He’s talking about reincarnation and about what he would do if his wife, named Anna, were to die and return as a bird insisting it was indeed…
There is a phrase bandied about that other film industry — “gay for pay” — that means exactly what it says. The queer thing is, this switch-hitting work ethic obviously applies to the “straight” industry as well, since actors not infrequently launch their careers, or rev ’em up, by playing…
In October 1998, 21-year-old University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard was brutally beaten, tied to a fence post and left to die in the town of Laramie because of his sexual orientation. The incident, which made headlines the world over, hit Tucson-based filmmaker Beverly Seckinger especially close to home. A…
Wed 11/3 With the D-Backs in freefall, the Cardinals in the basement, and the Coyotes involved in a lockout nobody cares about, the smart money is on the new and improved Phoenix Suns to reclaim their status as the big dogs of the Valley’s sports landscape. Just months removed from…
10/29-11/2 Amy Hettinger, director and founder of the Scottsdale Film Festival, built some bigger britches for this year’s local cinematic extravaganza. The festival, now in its fourth year, has previously showcased mostly foreign films. This year, several things have been added, including documentaries, a student filmmaker competition, classic films, and…
10/29-10/30 Though the mainstream media long ago ceded their role as the voice of the people, it was still jarring to see the lengths to which they embraced the role of administration cheerleader in both the run-up to the Iraq war and the march on Baghdad. Most cynical of all…
Events and Happenings Wednesday, October 27: A Favored Affar; Catering & Bistro 4016 East Main Street Monster meal deal, with a choice of sandwich, soda and chips for $3.99 (treat included). Deal valid Wednesday, October 27, through Friday, October 29, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday, October 30,…
THU 21 We love it when that little green light blinks “on,” and the camcorder’s rolling. Nothing like pretending we’re spending One Night in Paris to get us to perform. But dancing for the camera? We tend to shy away since the lens adds 10 pounds to our already wavy…
The Grudge bears the imprimatur of Sam Raimi, but alas, neither his sense of fun nor his smarts. The wunderkind director behind the Spider-Man and Evil Dead franchises has followed in the path of Robert Zemeckis and Joel Silver with their Dark Castle releases, launching his own lucrative spook factory,…
Ever since we were preteens, we’ve wanted to be James Bond and cruise the globe in search of SPECTRE and the honeys. We had every film memorized, right down to 007’s witty rejoinders as he dispatched whichever supervillain he was facing at a given moment (even if the double entendres…
10/21-11/14 Bob “Daddy-O” Wade knows weird when he sees it — or makes it. The “King of Texas Kitsch,” as fans and art enthusiasts call him, has long turned the dull into dazzling and the useless into priceless. His Technicolor-terrific revisions of early 1900s Western photography will be on display…
Fri 10/22 There’s no need to fear the reaper at this Fiesta de los Muertos — or Day of the Dead Party for those gringos who aren’t hip to the lingo. This shindig at 3121 East 27th Place on Friday, October 22, will have live music by Clown Band and…
Ditch your donkey-show and dollar-a-day hooker dreams. Tijuana is a real town with more to love than its proximity. So says Culture Clash, a national Chicano-Latino performance troupe. Clash is breaking down cultural barriers and busting gringo balls with its original play Bordertown, the opening of the Actors Theatre’s 20th…
Poor Dion Johnson. Surrounded by other “actors,” he’s nonetheless left all alone to make his way through two acts of The Elephant Man. That he turns in a spectacular performance and walks off with every minute of the show would be more impressive if he happened to share the stage…
Note to the next person to answer a cell phone call during a theater performance at which I am present: Enjoy your telephone conversation, because it will be your last. I will personally murder you with my bare hands at intermission. If you somehow evade me before Act Two commences,…
Maybe you’re one of the many who went to see Hero and were blown away. The historical Chinese setting, the attention to detail, the fights — who could blame you? There’s a better than average chance you may be thinking to yourself right now, “Self, that flick totally kicked ass…
