1981/2007 Does the world really need yet another edition of Sam Raimi’s oft-released indie-horror classic “The Evil Dead”? When it comes to the new, super-sweet three-disc “Ultimate Edition,” the answer is a resounding “Yes!” If you thought Anchor Bay put a lot of effort into its recent “Ultimate” releases of “Re-Animator,” “Phantasm” or “Hellraiser” this […]
Rod Lott
Posted inArts & Culture
Ocean’s Thirteen
2007 Apparently having learned a hard, valuable lesson from 2004’s “Ocean’s Twelve” — being that Americans don’t cotton to sequels that draw inspiration from Italian films of the swingin’ Sixties —? director Steven Soderbergh and his mighty cast go back to the heist-driven hijinks that made “Ocean’s Eleven” such a hit in 2001 and kick-start […]
Posted inNews
Bowling comes to Bricktown with new lounge
The newly opened RedPin Bowling Lounge at 200 S. Oklahoma sports 10 lanes, restaurant seating for 100 people and a full bar, just north of Harkins Bricktown Cinemas, on the canal level. Managing partner Erin Brewer said she and her husband read an article a few years ago about a similar bowling lounge/restaurant concept in […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Frankenstein: A Cultural History — Susan Tyler Hitchcock
W.W. Norton Fire, bad! “Frankenstein: A Cultural History” book, good! Susan Tyler Hitchcock traces the creature’s history from its conception on a dark and stormy night in 1816 to its omnipresent, multimedia existence today. So powerful and primal is the character, she notes, that he’s instantly recognizable by those who’ve never even read Mary Shelley’s […]
Posted inArts & Culture
30 Days of Night
Reviewer’s grade: A- “Spider-Man” director Sam Raimi started up Ghost House Pictures as a shingle for scary movies. After a consistently underwhelming slate that has included “The Grudge,” “The Grudge 2,” “Boogeyman” and “The Messengers,” he finally delivers —? and big —? with “30 Days of Night,” based on the same-named graphic novel. Josh […]
Posted inNews
After escaping zoo in 1950, Leapy the Leopard held city in fear
For three February days in the early Fifties, Oklahoma City residents were frozen in terror, their lives at the mercy of a runaway leopard. The afternoon of Feb. 25, 1950, was just an ordinary Saturday for the metro, which included the usual crowd of attendees at the zoo. Some had come to see the zoo’s […]
Posted inArts & Culture
The Fly Collection
1958/1959/1965/2007 No slight to David Cronenberg’s acclaimed “The Fly” remake, but I have a soft spot in my heart for the 1958 original. Ever since I caught it as a kid on local UHF showings, its story of science gone awry never has failed to capture my attention, and its closing scene (“Help me!”) still […]
Posted inNews
Second state biofuel conference scheduled
More than 35 speakers from across the nation are scheduled to present at the second annual Oklahoma Biofuels Conference, to be held Oct. 16-17 at The Sheraton, 1 N. Broadway. Among the topics to be discussed include:” the $40 million research and development initiative for the Oklahoma Bioenergy Center,” an update on new farm and […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Knocked Up: Unrated
2007 Judd Apatow’s “Knocked Up” is many things: quite filthy, often funny and sometimes sad. And now that it’s out on DVD in a two-disc, unrated edition, it’s at least filthier. Co-scripter Seth Rogen makes for an unlikely leading man in Ben Stone, a perpetually stoned loser who somehow lucks into a one-night stand with […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Phallic Frenzy: Ken Russell and His Films – Joseph Lanza
Chicago Review Press Director Ken Russell is no stranger to taboos of any kind, and Joseph Lanza’s bio of the maverick moviemaker explains why, starting with the boy’s most unusual reaction to seeing Walt Disney’s “Pinocchio.” “Tommy,” “Altered States” and “Crimes of Passion” are among his best-known works, but his filmography is full of controversy […]