Kick-Ass
ef=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002ZG983M?ie=UTF8&tag=oklahgazet-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B002ZG983M”>Kick-Ass” never quite reaches the levels of, well, kicking said ass. Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) is a high school student with the power of invisibility, but only in the figurative sense. Gawky, with glasses and an unruly mop of hair, he does not exist when it comes to girls, and can count his friends on…
Dorian Gray
Oscar Wilde’s classic novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray” has been adapted to film more times than I care to count. The latest, a British production, puts “Chronicles of Narnia” star Ben Barnes in the title role. A newcomer to London, Dorian is taken under the wing of Lord Henry Wotton (Colin Firth) and shown…
On the set: Final day of filming for ‘Bringing Up Bobby’
Umbrellas and frequent shade-breaks offered temporary relief to a busy crew and celebrity cast during the final day of filming on “Bringing Up Bobby.” The film shoot wraps Friday night in Oklahoma City, said Sofia Sondervan-Bild, one of the film’s producers. Many of the movie’s stars had scenes during the final day of filming, including…
Stage Center to remain vacant at least one year
Ravaged by June flooding, Oklahoma City’s Stage Center will close for at least a year as the Arts Council of Oklahoma City figures out a long-term plan for moving forward. The multi-use arts complex at 400 W. Sheridan was decimated by flooding on June 14, a torrential “500-year rainfall event” that brought 9 inches of…
Date Night
“Date Night” is a perfectly agreeable movie saved from mediocrity by its two leads. Although Josh Klausner’s script is not up to their immense talents, they make the movie better simply by doing what they do. NBC Thursday-night MVPs Steve Carell (“The Office”) and Tina Fey (“30 Rock”) star as Phil and Claire Foster, who…
Despite deadly risk, few Oklahoma teenagers get immunized against meningitis
Amanda Moran was two days away from heading off to the University of Central Oklahoma when she started feeling sick. Her doctors thought she had the flu. Then again, maybe it was anxiety from moving away to college. Or it even could have been overexertion from lifeguarding all week. Whatever it was, it was nothing…
Taste of the South spotlights 22 area eateries
The third annual Taste of the South will be held 5:30-7:30 p.m., Sept. 7 at Moore Norman Technology Center’s South Penn Campus, 13301 S. Pennsylvania. The large fundraising event allows attendees to sample food from 22 Oklahoma City and Moore restaurants. Along with that, a business expo will bring more than 25 area businesses together.…
Forum to discuss flood prevention, recovery set for Aug. 12
Those impacted by the metro’s June and July floods are urged to attend the city’s Flood Risk, Reduction and Recovery Forum, scheduled from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 12. The forum will be held in the auditorium at Metro Tech Springlake Campus, 1900 Springlake Drive. Discussions will cover flood maps, flood risks, flood insurance,…
Rally planned for state solider accused of leaking classified war info
Oklahomans will rally Thursday to show support for one of their own. Pfc. Bradley Manning is accused of leaking a classified video of American troops in an Apache helicopter firing upon and killing 11 Iraq civilians, including two Reuters employees. Manning, who is from Crescent and was serving as an intelligence analyst in the U.S.-led…
Recycle old electronics for free Aug. 21
Used, unwanted, obsolete and damaged household electronic equipment will be recycled for free between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 21, at State Fair Park. Sponsored by the City of Oklahoma City, Waste Management Recycle America and LG Electronics, the event is free of charge. No proof of residency is necessary. “LG Electronics is…
Open House
com/e/ir?t=oklahgazet-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B003LR5BDK” />” is a decent little thriller “? a slasher by way of HGTV. You may have blind-buyer’s remorse, but its 88 minutes is certainly befitting of an overnight rental. With few characters and essentially one setting, Paquin’s piece could almost be a play, and he stages it well; the contemporary, upscale home looks like…
Open house at the American Organ Institute offers a behind-the-scenes workshop and a showcase of newly restored organs
Open House University of Oklahoma American Organ Institute Monday, 6 to 8 p.m. 2101 W. Tecumseh in Norman 325-7829, aoi.ou.edu Organs may be favorites of churches and phantoms of the opera, but the University of Oklahoma American Organ Institute would like to give the rest of us an up-close look at what makes these room-sized…
The City Council is considering new criteria for sign technologies and uses in downtown and Bricktown
After enacting new regulations concerning signs throughout the city earlier this year, the Oklahoma City Council is now reviewing special rules just for selected areas of town. The council was presented a plan at its Aug. 3 meeting that would provide more flexibility when it comes to the types and size of signs in areas…
De-what?
For those who have never attended or watched an Oklahoma City Council meeting, you are really missing out. The meetings are chock full of educational opportunities like learning what a PUD and a SPUD are, knowing the difference between the Oklahoma City Municipal Facilities Authority and the Oklahoma City Public Property Authority, and acquiring new…
Jazz singer Champian Fulton blows back into the metro with a new album
Champian Fulton 9:30 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday 9 p.m. Friday-Saturday Maker’s Cigar & Piano Lounge 25 S. Oklahoma www.makerscigarlounge.com 606-9000 Free Champian Fulton’s pilgrimage to Maker’s Cigar Bar & Lounge is fast becoming an annual affair. A New Yorker by way of Norman, Fulton has been in the big city since 2003, where she’s kept busy with…
PR BS
Lots of press releases related to the Sooner State cross our desk. This week, these titles least screamed “Stop the presses!” “”Chick-fil-A Sets Guinness World Record With World’s Largest Sweet Tea” “”Copano Energy Announces Second Quarter 2010 Earnings Release and Conference Call Schedule” “”Dollar Thrifty Update on Avis Budget Proposal” “”Natural Gas Services Group Announces…
Heavy California quintet Atreyu renews its dark faith by leading a ‘Congregation of the Damned’
Mayhem Festival featuring Rob Zombie, Atreyu, Korn and more 2 p.m. Saturday Zoo Amphitheatre 2101 N.E. 50th www.zooamp.com 800-511-1552 $42-$125 In its dozen years of existence, Atreyu has risen to the top of the melodic hardcore heap. In that time, the members of the California quintet have established themselves as an act capable of blinding…
Holly Wilson’s bird-inspired sculptures and paintings will be showcased at Friday’s Live on the Plaza
“Unguarded” Works by Holly Wilson 7-10 p.m. Friday Midwestmedia & Marketing, 1614 N. Gatewood Toys were stacked on a child’s worktable in the corner of Holly Wilson’s cramped home studio. Through the window, a miniature theme park of slides, wading pools and other pint-sized playground equipment filled her backyard. Like most parents, the signs of…
The older candidate in Senate District 44 who fell three votes shy of winning the nomination still subject to runoff
James Davenport was just three votes shy of winning the Republican nomination for a state Senate seat outright. Instead, he is out “sweating like a pig” again trying to secure that spot. The race for Senate District 44 in south Oklahoma City is one of the hotter campaigns this year in Oklahoma, and not just…
CFN Quote of the Week
“The great thing about Oklahoma City is that it’s a big city, but it’s also kind of a small town, and you get to meet a lot of interesting people that have been very supportive of the movie.” “actor Bill Pullman, who’s in town wrapping up filming on “Bringing Up Bobby,” from a NewsOK.com blog.…
What the hell?’
Regarding Greg Horton’s July 14 story (News, “Preaching to the choir,” Oklahoma Gazette): Reclaiming Oklahoma for Christ’s mission statement: “To educate our pastors, legislators, educators, students and all citizens as to the truth about America’s Christian Heritage and the role of fundamental, Biblical Christianity in the establishment and function of our legal, legislative and educational…
Messy and mesmerizing rock ‘n’ roll noisemakers Season to Risk survived ‘The Shattering’ and reunites for random pandemonium
Season to Risk with New Franklin Panthers and Engine Orchestra 9 p.m. Sunday the Conservatory 8911 N. Western www.conservatoryokc.com 607-4805 $8 Listening to Missouri’s Season to Risk, it’s hard not to scratch your head and wonder what Columbia Records was thinking when it signed the band in the early ’90s. Guitars writhe, spasmodic rhythms rattle…
The nonprofit OKC Quality Schools Inc., headed by Kirk Humphreys, seeks to get the ball rolling on a downtown school
With a former mayor’s ardent support, downtown OKC is edging closer to becoming home to a new elementary school. In a meeting of the Oklahoma City Public Schools Board of Education on Aug. 2, Kirk Humphreys led the brigade in convincing the board of the desperate need for a “first rate path through the system,”…
Politics, American style
Politics seems to be keeping to traditional American style. In R.M. McVay’s July 28 Gazette letter, “U.S. at a crossroads,” we find that a health care system having a third of its citizens without insurance and largely without health care ” except for the most expensive and socialistic sort of emergency room treatment ” is…
Brogdon on Fallin
It took a few days, but Randy Brogdon has endorsed Mary Fallin for governor. The two Republicans met for about 30 minutes Aug. 4 before making the announcement, according to the Tulsa World. “I have endorsed her because I am convinced she is going to champion much of what I have been working on for…
Reader wants on blacklist
Jenni White’s letter “Just following orders” in the Aug. 4 Gazette is a withering critique of Saul Alinsky’s views. By putting Alinsky’s words into my mouth and then attacking them as if I had said them is a logical fallacy called a straw-man argument. It isn’t that “truth really isn’t relevant to (me),” it’s just…
As SandRidge’s downtown campus moves forward, what will the demolition mean for OKC’s future?
With the biggest demolition of old buildings since urban renewal’s heyday in the 1960s slated to begin in the near future, many wonder if the city’s urban core is permanently losing its history one building at a time. ‘Retaining that historic fabric’ Conserving integrity, authenticity In July, the city’s Board of Adjustment denied an appeal…
Ghostlight’s take on Neil LaBute’s ‘reasons to be pretty’ is universally well-acted, if unevenly presented
reasons to be pretty 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, through Aug. 28 3110 N. Walker Ghostlight Theatre Club www.ghostlighttheatreclub.com 286-9412 $15 adults, $10 seniors and students Ghostlight Theatre Club has kicked off the theater season with a solid, if not soaring, production of “reasons to be pretty” by Neil LaBute. Well-acted by the four-member cast, the production…
Gamer love
And this is why you should never start dating someone you meet through a video game: Annamay Alexander, a 44-year-old Floridian accused of seducing a 14-year-old Okie and then driving here from the Sunshine State in an attempt to consummate their online love, pleaded guilty last week to a sex charge. According to a report…
Dustin Prinz’ Drugs LP
Dustin Prinz’ Drugs LP Singer/songwriter Dustin Prinz is exploring a much bigger sound. His 2009 album, “Learning to Love Yourself,” was partially recorded in the backseat of a car, but for his latest, “Drugs LP,” the Oklahoma City musician upgraded his vehicular, basement and apartment studios for a spare bedroom. The new album is fuller,…
Controversial state vegetable watermelon will be celebrated Saturday at a family-friendly event in Rush Springs
A minor controversy erupted in 2007 when the Oklahoma Senate declared the watermelon the official state vegetable, as most people thought it was a fruit. But Wanda MacGregor, festival chair for Saturday’s 66th annual Watermelon Festival in Rush Springs, said she’ll just go along with the Senate. “Oklahoma deemed the watermelon the state vegetable, so…
The great taco caper
Don’t eff with a town that’s in its third week of triple-digit temperatures. That might be the lesson for fast-food “West-Mex” chain Taco John’s after the social media brouhaha it got into with lovers of local favorite Iguana Mexican Grill. A note for would-be corporate spooks: Consider your timing. It’s the first week of August.…
Liquor limitations
I am concerned by the limitation of liquor stores to not be able to sell their merchandise during the same hours bars are able to serve drinks. All bars in this state are able to serve any beverage between the hours of 7 a.m. and 2 a.m. Liquor stores, however, are limited to sales between…
A spooky staple of local TV for years, Count Gregore finds himself facing a new battle
A modest gray house on a suburban Moore street is a far cry from the eerie mansion generations of viewers envisioned. And it’s a cadre of dogs and cats that greet visitors, not a colony of bats. Then again, John Ferguson is not, contrary to popular belief, anything like the sinister Count Gregore he created…
Worthy ‘Salt’
Moviegoers often read a review and wonder if the reviewer saw the same film. Rod Lott’s “Salt” review (“Out of its element,” July 28, Gazette) displays why moviegoers ask what was seen versus what was read. “Salt” shows “sleeper agents” created and maneuvered into society until activation. Real life versus reel life, sleepers exist and…
The Kids Are All Right
Nic and Jules are a lesbian couple making a go of their version of the modern family, in “The Kids Are All Right.” The somewhat stern Nic (Annette Bening, “The Women”) is most gainfully employed as a doctor and is the de facto household leader, while Jules (Julianne Moore, “Chloe”) is a bit more featherlight,…
Passing on gas
In a Tulsa hotel room where I recently stayed hangs a large photo of a modern oil derrick, silhouetted in the sunset, carefully matted and framed. On one level, it’s standard hotel art filling empty space on a wall. But I was struck by the choice. It seemed to reduce the rich history and natural…
A moonlit scurry through the fairgrounds promotes health while raising money for City Arts Center’s free programming
K at midnight. Center spokeswoman Kristin Richter said that the timing of the event gives runners an opportunity to hit the town afterward with fellow competitors. “Running at night presents a little bit of a different challenge, but it’s on a Saturday, so it’s not like they’ve been working all day and now have to…
In your Face
You talk, we listen! Here’s what readers said on some of last week’s Oklahoma Gazette stories, via unedited comments left on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/okgazette: On Oklahoma City Councilman Brian Walters enlisting in the U.S. Army National Guard: “”He should have resigned immediately.” “Robert Jackson On 66 Bowl’s closing: “”DAMNIT, OKLAHOMA!” “Anna Jacoby “”They…
Oklahoma City Thunder announces 2010-11 season schedule
Thunder storms are predicted for exactly 22 weekend days from fall to spring, as Oklahoma City’s NBA team announced its 2010-2011 schedule. With its third season to kick off Oct. 27 against the Chicago Bulls at the Ford Center, the Oklahoma City Thunder will play 22 weekend home games, with 11 of them on Sundays.…
