Demoted
Luckily for Klein, as the head honcho of Treadline Industries tires, he checks out early, leaving the tire company in the hands of Ken (the too-good-for-this David Cross, TV’s The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret), a nerdy, put-upon salesman/laughingstock who’s long been the target of fellow salesmen Rodney (Michael Vartan, Colombiana) and Mike (Sean…
Monster Brawl
If the answer is “yes,” then the feature film Monster Brawl was made for you. If you let it, watching it can be a ball. Just know going in it offers neither plot nor story — it’s a series of bouts in the ring, pure and simple, with eight monstrosities summoned from around the globe…
Evolution theory
Denton, Texas-based singersongwriter Sarah Jaffe broke through in 2010 with her first full-length album, Suburban Nature, boasting a beautiful sound, charming voice and lyrical wit, all evidenced by the single, “Clementine.” It won her spots playing shows with Norah Jones and The Old 97’s, so she could have just leaned on that sound for a…
Street heat
OKC leaders are undecided about where to put a Bricktown entrance on a planned boulevard downtown. By Clifton Adcock The picture of the boulevard that will replace the former Interstate 40 crosstown route has become a little clearer in recent weeks, as the state Department of Transportation made public presentations on the project. Two features…
Open carry is an embarrassment
Robin Meyers In almost every column I wrote, there was a singular refrain: Beware the triumph of the Christian right in the halls of power. Beware the lawmaker whose intolerance masquerades as faith, and whose fundamental distrust of women creates laws designed to shame them rather than to protect them. Don’t say that you weren’t…
Out of the box
Rodney Bivens Credit: Mark Hancock Unfortunately, those unsavory offerings are the image many have of provisions from a food bank, but the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma has decided to shake things up with a line called Extra Helpings. To ensure their tastiness, chef Kurt Fleischfresser from The Coach House helped tweak the recipes. Since…
The Moody muse
It only makes sense that Australian-born, Canadian-raised singer-songwriter Ruth Moody has enjoyed her illustrious career, filled with Juno Awards (Canada’s answer to the Grammys), Billboard-charting albums and more than a dozen appearances on A Prairie Home Companion. After all, she’s been groomed for it since birth. “When I was growing up, there was music everywhere.…
Quitting with pride
Vicki Monks and Matt Harney check out smoking ads that have targeted the LGBT community. Credit: Mark Hancock What’s not as well-known is that within the LGBT community, smoking rates are considerably higher than among the population as a whole. One study by the American Lung Association even estimates smoking rates in that demographic might…
Road hazards
Credit: Shannon Cornman That’s because almost one-quarter of all Oklahoma drivers are uninsured, according to statistics compiled in 2009 by the Insurance Research Council. Among the 50 states, Oklahoma is tied with Tennessee and Florida for third place, with 24 percent of all drivers uninsured. Only New Mexico (26 percent) and Mississippi (28 percent) have…
A crappy show
Austin, Texas-based garage musician Orville Bateman Neely stays busy. He produces records for the likes of The Strange Boys, drums for A Giant Dog, co-fronts Bad Sports and runs sound at Austin venue Beerland. Oh, and currently on its first national tour, his own band, OBN IIIs, plays 10 p.m. Saturday at The Blue Note…
Mad meeting
Aubrey McClendon Credit: Shannon Cornman Since spring, when Reuters published the first of several damaging stories about Chesapeake CEO Aubrey McClendon’s financial dealings, the company has made a number of substantial changes. Those developments included removing McClendon from the company’s board chairmanship, ending its Founder Well Participation Program, or FWPP (which gave McClendon a stake…
Senior moment
Back for its second year, Oklahoma Senior Follies takes its inspiration from the Ziegfeld Follies for a show packed with music, dance and comedy. Former Miss America Jane Jayroe and Oklahoma City University President Robert Henry are emcees for the show, which features performers 55 years and older. “During the week we have special coaching…
Puff-less parks
Ed Shadid Credit: Mark Hancock The city is also seeking a state Attorney General opinion on whether it can ban tobacco use in public parks. State law currently preempts municipalities from establishing smoking restrictions that go beyond what has been enacted by state lawmakers. City Manager Jim Couch said he will bring whatever design city…
The hole shebang
Brown’s Bakery Mark Hancock But more important, is there a better (tasting) and worse (health-wise) way to start a day than a donut? One will lift the spirits, but nobody eats just one. After six, the spirits are still high, but the body droops uncomfortably toward the ground. Still, we do not eat donuts every…
Athletic Endeavor
Every year, competitors gather at the University of Central Oklahoma to compete in the Endeavor Games for athletes with physical disabilities. Many come from out of state — some from across the globe — to compete in 11 events, including swimming, power lifting, table tennis and archery. This year, there is additional motivation. The 2012…
Squeaky wheel
Credit: Brad Gregg Heck, we even indulge the naysayers who believe we’re nothing but slow-thinking rubes who shun secondary education and them newfangled horseless carriages we keep hearin’ so much about. We aren’t sure who makes all these rules, but we are sure it’s a little odd how Charles Barkley-crazy everyone went in Oklahoma City…
Breast intentions
It’s not unusual for pregnant women to feel less than beautiful, and Oklahoma City artist Kelly Brinkmeyer was no exception. During her pregnancy in 2007, she channeled this frustration and killed two birds with one stone: learning to love her body while creating art — some nudity required. It was a hot July day when…
Getting attention
Carpenter Square Theatre presents a challenging play in Lisa Loomer’s Distracted, about a family with a child who has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Carpenter Square bills the play as a comedy, and although Loomer tells the story with a certain amount of humor, it’s a stretch to call it a comedy. Directed by Rhonda…
Barry spritzer
Rock has The Beatles, jazz has Miles Davis, rap has Tupac, and adult contemporary has Barry Manilow. The man who became an icon for molding “Mandy,” “Copacabana (At the Copa)” and “Can’t Smile Without You” into chunks of pop-culture history is a natural showman with a gleaming voice, penchant for flashy stage attire and a…
Chevy bass
Cami Stinson With each episode running two and a half minutes, the weekly documentary series originally began as Chevy Bricktown Showcase. “The general idea of the show was to create a bridge between the independent artists with the local Oklahoma music scene with the general public that sometimes forgets there is this enormous wealth of…
Spinning wheels
Credit: Brad Gregg Refer to them as trailer-trash from Washington state, apparently. The city, along with Downtown OKC Inc., last month launched its new bike-share program, Spokies. But “spokie” carries with it an unfortunate regional slang definition. As defined at urbandictionary.com, a “spokie” refers to a native of Spokane, Wash., who “typically exhibits a lack…
Mambo Italiano
Sergio’s Italian Bistro owner/operator Sergio Garcia has an obvious passion for Italian cuisine, but he’s not a native of Roma. He’s from Mexico City. “Most of my daily specials are Italian,” Garcia said. “But I’m from Mexico, so I mix it up a little bit. I often make a poblano cream that’s similar to Alfredo…
Nonprofits owe much to Chesapeake
Deborah McAuliffe Senner Although these corporate partners provide significant financial support, these partnerships go much deeper. Many of these companies also encourage their employees to give generously of their time, talent and treasure to help build a stronger community and better place to live and work. Their employees are on our boards, working on our…
OKG7 places for late-night noshing
Sauced on Paseo 2912 Paseo Drive 521-9800 A slice a day will keep the bad vibes at bay. That’s the motto at this Paseo pizza house. Well, it should be, anyway! The best part is the patio and live music, and the fact it stays open until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Try the…
Andy hardy
See through the eyes of Andy Warhol at The Cult of Personality, a new exhibit opening Friday at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art. Celebrity Polaroid portraits shot by the legendary pop artist will be on display, along with two Warhol paintings and portraits by Harold Stevenson, Warhol’s contemporary and colleague. Taken in preparation…
Liquid cooling
Robert Painter of Iguana Shannon Cornman We have faith you’ll choose the latter. And luckily enough, plenty of metro bartenders are ready to quench your summertime thirst. For a solid hot-weather drink, the keys are tartness and lightness, said Patrick Ireland, owner lightness, said Patrick Ireland, owner of Saints, 1715 N.W. 16th. “You want something…
Lil’ unprepared
Credit: Brad Gregg But the problem, according to a Thunder spokesman, was pretty simple: Lil Wayne didn’t have a ticket. The Thunder contended that the rapper only wanted to sit in the front row, but that no tickets — least of all the Nicholson seats — were still available. Did Lil Wayne have a special…
Glenn levity
Credit: Brad Gregg We kid, we kid. Beck’s un-electability, however, is the premise behind his live comedy show, which makes a stop Friday at the Civic Center Music Hall (a performing arts venue built and maintained with public funds). Unelectable is sure to incite the choir. In a 2009 Salon article, Steve Almond called Beck…
Quality control
Lake Thunderbird Credit: Mark Hancock Up to $10,000 a day in penalties eventually could be assessed on watershed cities if a 75 percent reduction of pollution in Little River and Hog Creek is not achieved, according to state Department of Environmental Quality officials. At a public meeting in Norman last month, DEQ representatives said that…
Super sizing
Credit: Brad Gregg KWTV Channel 9’s Gary England and KFOR-TV Channel 4’s Mike Morgan batted around the usual, tiresome comparisons: quarter-sized, golf ball-sized, baseball-sized, softball-sized. Yawn. Morgan briefly livened things by suggesting some of the hail was grapefruit-sized, but we took a look outside and think he got his grapefruits and clementines confused. But then…
Collision course
Sometimes all people can do is salvage whatever is left of their lives after a tragedy. That’s the subject of Diane Glancy’s new play, Salvage, now being presented under the direction of Sarah d’Angelo. As it opens, Wolf (Jeremy Tanequodle) comes home to report he’s been in a head-on collision in which a passenger in…
Grand Duel / Keoma
They should also take the back cover’s claim of “two masterpieces” with a grain of salt, even two for good measure, although both films are indeed better than average. That goes especially for Lee Van Cleef, who enjoyed another career in Italy cranking these things out, with little regard to quality. However, Grand Duel —…
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island / Jules Verne’s The Mysterious Island
Young Sean (Josh Hutcherson, The Hunger Games) is the only returning cast member from 2008’s Journey to the Center of the Earth, meaning dad Brendan Fraser is nowhere to be found, replaced here by Fast Five’s Dwayne Johnson as stepdad Hank. (That’s called trading up.) Wasting no time, the movie has Sean and Hank crack…
Bernie
Bernie was also a murderer, as it turned out, convicted in 1997 of killing an 81-year-old widow and stuffing her body in a meat freezer. But in the eyes of townsfolk, that didn’t make him any less lovable. In Bernie, now playing, our antihero is played by Jack Black (Gulliver’s Travels), but it’s not the…
Street heat
Two features of the street creating discussion are a western portion that will be above grade at the level of the old I-40 and a section that will go under the north-south railway. A third issue, however, has received little public attention: the undecided route to Bricktown from the future major thoroughfare. Although current maps…
Sound of My Voice
One could say the same right back, because the absence of movie stars in the microbudget indie — now showing only at AMC Quail Springs Mall 24, 2501 W. Memorial — places the audience in as precarious a position as its protagonists: With no comfortable faces to latch onto, whom you know will lead you toward…
42nd Street Forever: Blu-ray Edition
That adds up to nearly four hours of absolutely outrageous ads. Trust me: Whether you watch in a single sitting or several, it’s a real car-chasing, cycle-revving, bomb-exploding, fist-punching, karate-chopping, foot-kicking, gun-shooting, knife-throwing, laser-blasting, woman-screaming, race-baiting, acid-pouring, eye-gouging, head-chopping, phallus-castrating, breast-squeezing, bed-writhing, succubus-sucking, wrist-tying, drug-injecting, butt-whipping, panty-ripping, bikini-filling, disco-dancing, jail-busting, snake-attacking, robot-battling, voodoo-pinning, slime-invading, dominatrix-singing,…
Lucky Devils
Either that, or men just had bigger balls back then. You decide. This amenable little action-packed drama begins with a bang, in the form of a daring bank robbery gone sour: Guns blaze, a body tumbles down a stairwell, another falls from a third-story window. Then the camera pulls back to reveal it’s a movie…
Simply Red: Live at Montreux 2003
That was then; this is now. I no longer own Simply Red — in any format — so it’s only with sheer nostalgia that I gave the group’s Live at Montreux 2003 a spin. The Blu-ray presents a live concert of 18 tracks of jazz- and soul-inspired pop (and then seven more from a 2010…
Bad day at Redrock
Fire destroyed much of Redrock Canyon Grill early this morning. Credit: Shannon Cornman Investigators are trying to determine if the fire originated from an electrical problem or lightning during overnight storms. Crews already are working on repairs to reopen the business; Redrock’s owners are hoping for a 90-day turnaround.
This Means War
• that a woman as beautiful as Reese Witherspoon can’t meet a guy;• conversely, that a man as handsome as Tom Hardy can’t meet a girl;• that Reese’s character would come to date Tom and Chris Pine — CIA partners — at once;• that video stores remain hotbeds of activity;• that Chelsea Handler is hysterical;•…
The Awakening
OK, to be honest, I kind of loved it. Based on arguably Bram Stoker’s second most famous novel, 1903’s The Jewel of Seven Stars, the movie casts Charlton Heston (Soylent Green) as Matthew Corbeck, just the kind of greedy, selfish archaeologist who unearths warnings of evil to be loosed upon the world, yet digs anyway.…
A Necessary Death
After 22 minutes of auditioning and logistics, Toma and team get down to business with their chosen “star,” Matt, a young British man who would prefer to kill himself before the fatal brain tumor he has reaches the unavoidable stage of unbearable pain. We watch as Toma films Matt talking to the camera about his…
Goon
This he-man display earns Doug a tryout for the Massachusetts farm team Orangetown Assassins. So what if he barely can skate? Donning a No. 69 jersey and the nickname of “The Thug,” Doug is quickly sent to an actual league, the Halifax Highlanders of Nova Scotia. Based on a true story, Goon aims to be…
