Arts & Entertainment
Guilty Pleasure: The First Wives Club (1996)
Some people find it bizarre that a film following three middle-aged divorcees as they plot revenge on their ex-husbands ranks among my favorites.
The Wild Ones
For many, The Runaways will present itself as the perfect opportunity to ogle Dakota Fanning as the sexed-up version of her former child star self.
This Week In...
MUSIC Tonight : Wild Beasts, Johnny Brenda’s, $10, 21+ Looking to get ahead of the curve on the next Pitchfork megastars?
It's A Small World After All
It’s easy to forget that there is a whole musical world out there full of artists who are taking their own traditional styles and fashioning them into contemporary masterpieces that challenge our preconceptions of what music is, has been and will be.
Picasso And The Avant-Garde In Philadelphia
It is all too easy to buy into the one-dimensional cult of genius that surrounds the Spanish painter Pablo Picasso and is propagated by art historians, intellectuals and sometimes, the artist himself.
It's Already Happening
Belgian indie rock vet Dieter Sermeus has seen it all, from the heyday of punk to the early 90s lo-fi haze.
We're Going Green
A collaboration between DJ Green Lantern, the former DJ for Eminem’s Shady Records, and Styles P of The LOX, The Green Ghost Project sounds exactly like what it is: a bunch of talented guys coming together to make hip-hop they themselves would actually listen to.
One Track Mind
Damon Albarn’s non-Blur work has always been notable for its effortlessly vibrant way of flirting with a diverse range of genres and styles.
Under The Radar
K-Os has always been one of those artists on the brink of success. Maybe it’s his Canadian heritage that’s holding him back; his smooth hip-hop has swiftly flown under the musical radar for nearly all of his 17-year career.
Climbing The North Face
For a film based on the well-known attempt by a set of climbers to scale the north face of the Eiger in 1936, the German-made thriller North Face perfects the art of the cliffhanger (literally) — even for an audience aware of the ultimate historical outcome. From the moment the main characters Toni Kurz (Benno Furmann) and Andi Hintertoisser (Florian Lukas) — two Nazi soldiers who prefer pitons over pistols — approach the deathly Eiger, director Philipp Stolzl crafts the story of the climber’s ascent with visual and emotional precision. With the group of climbers clinging to a mass of rock by the most inconsequential of steel and rope, dodging avalanches and taking a frostbitten beating from the fickle weather, Stolzl brings the audience to the mountain, piecing together the infamous story in the process. This becomes most evident in the scenes off the mountain; where the storyline strays from original accounts of the expedition, it struggles the most.
Forgotten By The Academy
Each year as Oscar nominations are announced, worthy candidates are inevitably left off the nominations shortlist.
Defibrillator: "Heavenly Creatures" (1994)
The name Peter Jackson is synonymous with fantasy, thanks to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but this has not always been the case.
The Art Of The Documentary
Street chatted with The Art of the Steal director Don Argott and producer Sheena M. Joyce.
City Of Brotherly Theft?
According to Don Argott’s riveting documentary The Art of the Steal, one of the biggest thefts of recent memory was conducted not by masked men with guns, but by Philadelphia’s own elected officials.
Written In The Stars
Roman Polanski has directed yet another cinematic success with The Ghost Writer, a political thriller — and adaptation of Robert Harris’s book of the same name — that acutely delves into the lives of its high-powered characters, isolated from their country and the rest of the world on a secluded, bleak and wintry Massachusetts island compound.
Defibrillator: "Taxi Driver" (1976)
A few years ago, I watched Raging Bull on a whim. Having finally appreciated a movie not starring Will Ferrell, I vowed to make my way through the rest of Martin Scorsese’s greatest hits.
This Week In...
MUSIC Thursday, 2/18: Mission of Burma with Sleeper Agent, First Unitarian Church, $16, All Ages Mission of Burma is one of the most important bands of the past 20 years, and once you hear them play, you’ll immediately know why.
First And Foremost
Everyone loves telling stories. Whether reliving last weekend’s escapades, reminiscing about high school or repeating the absolutely ridiculous thing a professor said in class this week, this urge to share snapshots of daily life is embraced by Philadelphia’s First Person Arts.
Say Yes
Yeasayer’s sophomore album Odd Blood is deceptive. The first song, “The Children,” is a pretentiously experimental jumble of robotic noises and creepy, boogeyman vocals.
