The Da Vinci Code, 2006. Directed by Ron Howard, written by another embarrassing Academy Award winner, Akiva Goldsman. Starring Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Ian McKellen, Paul Bettany, Alfred Molina, Jurgen Prochnow, Jean Reno and Etienne Chicot. If there’s one thing I never would have guessed, it’s that Ron Howard had such a preposterous sense of … Read more
Uff, I feel old. Art-A-Whirl is turning eleven this year. And I remember volunteering, way back when, for versions three and four. Margo Ashmore was in charge back in those days. My friend Sarah Whiting later took the reins. I get a little misty when I think back–back before AAW had rock concerts, and when … Read more
While I’m waiting on Uncle Jumbo I’ll pose this question: Have there been any Dick Such sightings in or around the Metrodome lately? Because I’m really struggling to understand the Twins’ 5.44 ERA and the abysmal performances of Brad Radke, Carlos Silva, and Kyle Lohse. It’s not such a struggle, really, to understand the Lohse … Read more
Gallery Grooves crashes into the whole gallery-slash-hair salon phenomenon tonight, when it visits FiveTwoSix salon, spa, and gallery. There, you can pursue facial, aural, and material beauty–all under one roof! There’ll be some great gallery finds opposite beauty products. KBEM will also be there, spinning another month’s worth of great jazz records. Also provided: Cheese, … Read more
To wit: the Heights Theatre is giving everyone another opportunity to check out Christopher R. Mihm’s local B-Movie homage Monster of Phantom Lake. This time, the film will be even better than it was back in early March, only because we’re going to have the great early summer weather that these frightfests deserve. I use … Read more
Let’s just get last weekend’s art events taken care of, shall we? Go see the Ballet of the Dolls show! I don’t know a ton about dance, but I’d venture to say that this show is pretty terrific. I’m secretly a music-head, so the thing I liked best was how the music covered the gamut … Read more
He needed to get rid of some of this shit –the books and magazines, the photographs of his war and the places he’d been and the things he’d seen. He needed to get out from under that story; it kept things too fresh for him, even as what he had actually experienced became more unreal … Read more
Le Proces (The Trial), 1962. Written and directed by Orson Welles. Starring Anthony Perkins, Jeanne Moreau, Romy Schneider, Elsa Martinelli, Madeleine Robinson, Anoldo Foa and Billy Kearns as the inspectors, Suzanne Flon, Carl Studer, the lovely character actor (and Welles stalwart) Akim Tamiroff, the madman William Chappell, and Orson Welles himself, as the magistrate. Where … Read more
Tiffani is getting railroaded. I finally saw the “reunion” episode of Top Chef the other night, and I seriously couldn’t sleep afterward. Tiffani is being cast in the role of the villain. Don’t think for a minute that just because it’s Reality Television that there aren’t people behind the scenes working the events into “story … Read more
My verdict on The Elephant Man opera: worth seeing, so long as you’ve downed some espresso before hand. My random thoughts: This being a contemporary French opera, the “dialogue” seldom manages to get outside of poor Joseph Merrick’s head. Therefore, the libretto is gawd-awful, chalk-full of trite simplifications about how it must feel to be … Read more