Vengeance
I was only marginally impressed with a recent viewing of Hong Kong director Johnnie To’s “PTU” from 2003, but blown away by his latest, “Vengeance.” It’s masterfully shot and masterfully told, grafting the classic Western revenge plot onto a gritty, urban, modern-day backdrop, making it one of the very best crime stories of the year.…
Skeletons
Despite the title, “Skeletons” is not a horror film, but a comedy “? the wry kind in which the British specialize. In this case, Davis and Bennett (Ed Gaughan and Andrew Buckley, respectively) are freelance exorcists “? not of demons, but literally the figurative skeletons in your closet. For example, couples about to be married…
Don’t Look Back
To quote Fine Young Cannibals’ grammatically incorrect but nonetheless awesome song, “Baby, baby, don’t look back / It won’t do no good.” True dat, learns nonfiction writer Jeanne (Sophie Marceau) in “Don’t Look Back,” a French/Italian thriller that’s more mind-bending than anything else you’re likely to see all year. Married and a mother of two,…
Kristin Chenoweth one of six new Oklahoma Hall of Fame inductees
Actress and singer Kristin Chenoweth was among the six 2010 inductees into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. The honorees were inducted in a Nov. 4 ceremony at the Cox Convention Center. Chenoweth, a native of Broken Arrow, is a star of the stage and screen, already having earned a Tony and Emmy in her career.…
Local woman in need of lung transplant dressed as zombie to raise awareness, funds
Amid a procession of haunts, monsters and masqueraded adults, one zombie rode atop a motorized mobility scooter. Along with her barrage of “lung-hungry zombies,” better-known as her family and friends, Oklahoma City resident Carol Craig participated in Oklahoma Gazette’s Ghouls Gone Wild Halloween parade on Oct. 23, passing out candy and fundraiser flyers. Craig has…
Predators
p;asins=B0040YFR1Y&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr”> Honestly, even after two viewings, I can’t buy into the talk that this summer’s “Predators” was the second-best in the “Predator” franchise behind the 1987 original. (And I’m even including the two much-maligned “AVP” spin-offs! Sacrilege!) Director Nimr
How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less
Things that start with a bang often run out of fuel very quickly, whether it’s a science experiment or a story. Sarah Glidden’s graphic novel “How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less” falls victim to this, as a quick start gives way to a meandering middle. The quick start is due in part…
Low unemployment, cost of living earn OKC title as ‘Most Affordable City’
Being cheap is an unpleasant personality trait, but a good economic one, which bodes well for Oklahoma City. Forbes recently ranked Oklahoma City as the nation’s Most Affordable City. “It’s got good schools and universities, friendly residents and an unemployment rate well below the national average ” 6.3% compared with the nationwide 9.5%,” the article…
Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XIX
In the not-too-distant future “? next Sunday, A.D., to be exact “? why not curl up on the couch with “Mystery Science Theater 3000: Vol. XIX”? The four-disc DVD set is another feather in Shout! Factory’s continuous cap of random-episode releases of the long-running movie-skewing series. This batch carries two shows from its early, Joel…
The Hypnotic Eye
Few old-school horror flicks start off with better first scenes than 1960’s campy “The Hypnotic Eye”: A blonde beauty is washing her hair, and suddenly, the sink is an open flame on a gas-burning stove, and her lovely locks are ablaze! AAAAAIIIIIEEEEE!!!!! Following an opening-credits sequence reminiscent of the great “Police Squad!” TV series, she’s…
V: The Complete First Season
<iframe marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" style="width: 120px; height: 240px;" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=oklahgazet-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B002U0KHME&fc1=000000&IS2=1 The last five or six times I’ve gone to the movies, I’ve had to suffer through the trailer for the upcoming alien-invasion film “Skyline.” With each viewing, I get more and more aggravated, but my first response was, “I feel like I’ve seen this before. It looks…
We’re all Americans,’ Sen. Lieberman reminds crowd during OKC visit
Americans are ready for a new sense of civility and unity in political and nonpolitical life, U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman told an Oklahoma City crowd Wednesday night. He was the keynote speaker at the 13th anniversary celebration of the Chabad Community Center for Jewish Life and Learning in Oklahoma. On Thursday, Lieberman also spoke at…
Fallin victory caps GOP’s statewide sweep on Election Day
Oklahoma Republicans scored major electoral victories in Tuesday’s general election, sweeping into the governor’s office and key state positions in landslide victories and even scoring a few upsets. In the state gubernatorial race, Republican candidate U.S. Rep. Mary Fallin beat Democratic Lt. Gov. Jari Askins with more than 60 percent of the vote, making Fallin…
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
Your new vocabulary word for the week is “skookum,” a term from the Chinook Indians that is still used in some parts of British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest. My astrological colleague Caroline Casey says it means “in cahoots with good spirits” and “completely made for the job.” Wikipedia suggests that when you’re skookum, you’ve…
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)
In the coming days, it’s crucial for you to be spontaneous but not rash. Do you know the distinction? Read the words of psychologist Abraham Maslow: “Spontaneity (the impulses from our best self) gets confused with impulsivity and acting-out (the impulses from our sick self), and there is then no way to tell the difference.”…
The Evil / Twice Dead
rindhouse-style: back-to-back and bookended with trailers for other Corman fare and vintage concession ads. It’s the best way to watch. “?Rod Lott
City council retains moratorium on out-of-state travel
The Oklahoma City Council voted down a measure Tuesday that would have lifted the moratorium on city payments for out-of-state travel by council members and the mayor. The measure, which failed 6-3, would have rescinded the moratorium enacted on Oct. 27, 2009, after the city began to tighten its fiscal belt because of decreased revenue.…
Powered by estrogen, ‘The Girlie Show’ enters its seventh year of offering female artists a platform to sell their wares
The Girlie Show 7-11 p.m. Friday, noon-5 p.m. Saturday OKC Farmers Public Market 311 S. Klein www.thegirlieshow.net $15-$20 Friday, $5 Saturday ‘Tis the season for early bird Christmas shoppers to get a jump-start on their lists, and organizers of “The Girlie Show” hope to lure the first wave this weekend by injecting a party atmosphere…
For six consecutive years, Harper’s Bazaar tags Oklahoma retailer Balliets as a style leader
Like many Oklahomans, Bob Benham can recall Gov. Brad Henry’s election into office in 2002. Benham’s recollection is unique, however, because by the Thursday of that fateful week, the new first lady, Kim Henry, was in his store looking for something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. “I walked over to her said, ‘Congratulations,’…
Curing cancer
Every day, 567 women are diagnosed with breast cancer. I was 25 years old when my amazing grandmother, Marge Nance, lost her battle with breast cancer. My grandmother never met a stranger, and when you were with her you never doubted for one minute you were loved. She was a pillar of strength to me…
You auto make a truck stop, as Oklahoma City Museum of Art serves as a vehicle for Jonathan Hils’ sculptures of wheel merit
Jonathan Hils: Intersection daily through Jan. 3, 2011 Oklahoma City Museum of Art 415 Couch www.okcmoa.com 236-3100 $10-$12 In general, a truck in the air or on its end signifies something bad is about to happen. Unless it’s art. For “Intersection,” Jonathan Hils’ five-piece exhibit at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, the all-American pickup…
JT on the DL
Oh, Olivia. Sweet, innocent, Okie Olivia. Fell for the ol’ “we’re broken up, I swear” line. Hey, don’t worry, we’ve all been there. Except this wasn’t some OU undergrad falling for some frat boy’s ham-fisted advances. This was geek pin-up Olivia Munn allegedly believing Justin Timberlake when he apparently pinkie-swore that he and Jessica Biel…
The formula for Friday fun? Kids + Science Museum Oklahoma = Chemistry Day!
Chemistry Day 9 a.m., Friday Science Museum Oklahoma, 2100 N.E. 52nd $10.95 adults, $8.95 seniors and children 4″?12 602-6664, www.sciencemuseumok.org On Friday, kids can experiment with a host of chemistry-related projects and have a good time while learning the fundamentals of science. Chemistry Day, an annual event for Science Museum Oklahoma, 2100 N.E. 52nd, is…
Women want him, and men want to be him: Meet Thunder star Serge Ibaka
The National Basketball Association is a league of superhumans. Let’s face it. To us regular folks, NBA players are all mutants in long shorts and expensive shoes. Too tall not to notice. Too big for your hand not to meet the side of your face: “Did you see that guy?” NEW KID ON THE BLOCKS…
OMGQ
Oh, GQ magazine, it’s uninformed articles like one in your new November issue that make us glad we got our subscription not through money, but via Coke Rewards points. In the issue ” the one with the supposed pervy “Glee” photos ” Bethlehem Shoals contributes a piece on the Oklahoma City Thunder titled “Congrats! You’ve…
The OCU law school is hoping the movie ‘Conviction’ spurs its Oklahoma Innocence Clinic
Call it a matter of hoping life imitates art that has imitated life. Betty Anne Waters, the real-life heroine behind the new movie, “Conviction,” said she hopes the dramatized account of her life will build momentum in Oklahoma City and elsewhere for legal clinics that help exonerate people convicted of crimes they did not commit.…
The Oklahoma City Council is amending the SkyDance Bridge design after cost projections doubled
The pedestrian SkyDance Bridge was to be an “iconic symbol of Oklahoma City’s future,” according to city planners, spanning the relocated Interstate 40 near S.W. 9th Street and Harvey Avenue and providing a critical link between the city’s core and development to the south. But when the bridge’s projected construction costs more than doubled from…
Skating Polly — Taking Over the World
Skating Polly isn’t your typical band, but Peyton Suitor and Kelli Mayo aren’t your typical girls. At 15 and 10, respectively, they would much rather visit a record store than a mall; they listen to Nirvana instead of Justin Bieber; and they’d opt for Coachella over Disneyland any day. All that shows on the duo’s…
‘Star Trek’ actor Robert Picardo takes the stage for one day to benefit Oklahoma City Repertory Theatre
Best known for his portrayal of the Emergency Medical Hologram on “Star Trek: Voyager,” actor Robert Picardo beams into town Saturday for two performances of his one-man show “The ‘Doctor’ Is In,” to benefit Oklahoma City Repertory Theatre. The benefit comes at a time when CityRep, like so many arts organizations during the recession, has…
Norman’s National Weather Center has a festival on its radar
National Weather Festival 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday National Weather Center 120 David L. Boren, Norman www.nwc.ou.edu Free Channel your inner weatherman on Saturday at the National Weather Center’s sixth annual National Weather Festival. “The festival is an opportunity for visitors to see what we do and learn about weather processes and organizations,” said Keli Pirtle…
Conviction
“Conviction” is the sort of nightmare scenario that can only be conjured up by reality: A man is wrongly convicted for a crime he did not commit. His sister, convinced of his innocence and unable to pay for better legal representation, resolves to transform herself into a lawyer in a Hail Mary effort to free…
Keep on thinking
In answer to Jim Nichols’ letter (“Cooperation worked,” Sept. 27, Gazette), he should have kept on thinking. Had there been a Chilean Environmental Protection Agency, likely there would have not been a cave-in. There were plenty of lawyers, representing the miners’ families. At last count, they were shopping their story for $20 million. A government…
Doggone shame
A man and his dog were recently put behind bars in the Oklahoma town of Hydro. Unfortunately, only one of them made it out alive. Edwin Fry was jailed after he broke into the Hydro pound to rescue his canine pal, Buddy Tough. Fry’s poodle had been put in the slammer for running loose, but…
The MAPS 3 advisory board taps Architectural Design Group as program consultant
The city of Oklahoma City will likely bring the company Architectural Design Group on board to help it plan the proposed MAPS 3 projects. The MAPS 3 program contains eight projects at a total cost of around $777 million. Once a contract is hammered out between ADG and the city, the company will become a…
Extreme
Showing this month at Science Museum Oklahoma, “Extreme” is not so much about extreme sports as it is a quick introduction to the type of person who participates in them. It’s not that they can’t play well with others “? it’s that they don’t want to. Yes, rock climbers Lynn Hill and Nancy Feagin talk…
Prove or apologize
In his Gazette letter appearing Sept. 29 (“Peacemaking efforts defended”), Peace House Director Nathaniel Batchelder erroneously claims that I “challenged (his) assertion that anti-Muslim and anti-Obama emotions are fomented on Fox Radio by Glenn Beck and others.” I actually challenged his claim that “Beck and other Fox personalities” make “slanderous assertions” that President Obama is…
A slippery slope’
I can’t help but wonder what Oklahomans are thinking when Republican candidates say things like shrinking the federal deficit means we must do away with programs that are not “constitutionally mandated.” Don’t they realize that is code for bye-bye Social Security and Medicare? Republicans fought tooth and toenail to keep these programs from being enacted,…
Famous last words
There are Sooner fans, and then there are SOONER FANS. Jeffrey Landrigan is, or at least was, one of the latter. According to CNN, Landrigan, a convicted murderer who was put to death Oct. 26 by lethal injection in Arizona, did not apologize nor ask for forgiveness from the victim’s family, but made his final…
Another Oklahoma City’
It started with a plea. David Brock, founder and CEO of the left-leaning watchdog group Media Matters for America, said Tea Party favorite Sarah Palin needed to step up as a conservative leader of the Republican Party. He also called on News Corp. to cut the cord with Fox News host Glenn Beck for stirring…
American Indian Cinema Showcase
American Indian Cinema Showcase 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Sunday Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and children, per film 236-3100, www.okcmoa.com Oklahoma boasts a roster of 39 tribal nation headquarters, affording the state a colorful history and cultural database. That makes the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch, the…
The Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office responds to violations cited by the Oklahoma Department of Health
The Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office is disputing cited violations from the state Department of Health over inmate treatment at the Oklahoma County jail. An inspection in July, spurred by an inmate complaint, led to the notice. On Oct. 27, the Oklahoma County Commissioners approved the Sheriff’s Office plan of action, which will be sent to…
Two Oklahomans use their drum skills in national competition
Out of nearly 4,000 entrants, two Oklahomans will stick it to the skins tomorrow as part of Guitar Center’s 2010 Drum-Off. As individual store winners on Sept. 23, Jemar Poteat of Oklahoma City and James Canada of Tulsa advanced to Thursday’s district finals, which will take place in Texas. The ultimate national winner, to be…
Singer/songwriter Rocky Votolato emerges from the dark to discover a new dawn with ‘True Devotion’
Rocky Votolato with Ha Ha Tonka and Taylor Gary 7:30 p.m. Sunday The Conservatory 8911 N. Western www.conservatoryokc.com 607-4805 $10-$12 Success can be a killer if you’re not prepared for it. Just ask Kurt Cobain, or fellow Seattle resident Rocky Votolato. While he never reached the Nirvana leader’s level of ubiquity, after building a solo…
Eric Wright’s “Manifestations” portray the struggles of the office drone in sculpture
“Manifestations” Opens Friday, ongoing a.k.a. Gallery, 3001 Paseo 6 to 10 p.m. For more information, call 606-2522 or visit www.akagallery.net. For 18 years, an artist bound to the corporate world sat confined to an office cubicle that would come to represent so much more than just another day on the job. Local sculptor Eric Wright,…
Reduxion Theatre’s visually stunning ‘Macbeth’ is worthwhile, despite performance issues
Macbeth 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday Reduxion Theatre City Arts Center 3000 General Pershing www.reduxiontheatre.com 651-3191 $12-$15 Reduxion Theatre kicks off its third season with another high-concept adaptation, this time of William Shakespeare’s supernatural tale of murderous ambition, “Macbeth.” After winning a major victory for the King of Scotland, Macbeth and happens upon three witches who prophesize…
Daniel Hunter buries a bummer adolescence to find happiness in an Analog Rebellion
Analog Rebellion with The Appleseed Cast 9 p.m. Sunday Opolis 113 N. Crawford, Norman www.starlightmints.com/opolis.html 447-3417 $10-$12 People change, often dramatically, yet when it comes to musicians, we tend to expect a consistency that’s simply not realistic, particularly of someone who began making music while still a teen. After growing older and putting distance between…
ACM@UCO Performance Lab teaches students by day and entertains Bricktown by night
Bare-chested but for the pink sweater hanging open over his shoulders, Twiggy Mauck stomped, thrashed and yowled his way through an impassioned version of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On?” with his band. And it was 10 a.m. on a Monday ” just another day in the life at the ACM@UCO Performance Lab, Oklahoma City’s newest…
It gets better
Zach Harrington, a 2009 graduate of Norman North High School, took his own life last month. The week before his death, the 19-year-old Zach attended a Norman City Council meeting featuring a three-hour debate over a proclamation to name October Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender History Month. Video of the Sept. 28 meeting is available…
Cyclists have the right-of-way, period
In response to Roy Neher’s letter “Bicyclist rights” (Oct. 27, Gazette): We pay for the right. Get over it! Many people like myself don’t own cars, in order to save money and to do our part to conserve the use of fossil fuels to better our environment. But my taxes pay for the roads that…
Here’s hoping Kevin Durant is more humble than LeBron James
As a heterosexual father of two, I have to make a confession: I have a fiery man crush on Kevin Durant. This is primarily due to the amazing skills Durant brings to the floor. He scores, and he scores in every imaginable way possible. Then, he scores in ways never imagined. And while that’s an…
‘Shocked and disgusted’
My family and I have enjoyed Oklahoma Gazette’s Ghouls Gone Wild Halloween parade in the past. We were all shocked and disgusted when you portrayed a pregnant Catholic nun in her black and white habit, saying loudly “The devil made me do it!” Catholic nuns do more good on this earth than you will ever…
A word for Okie musicians
There is a musical endeavor being headed by Casey Friedman in Oklahoma City right above Horn Trader Music on Reno and Western. Casey has welcomed many acoustic singer-songwriters to be a part of what he has now called “Acoustic Oklahoma,” which can be found on Facebook. Casey invited me to play in “the white room,”…
Love Ranch
<iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=oklahgazet-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B003Z8ZC0M&fc1=000000&IS2=1 From the opening sequence, it’s apparent “Love Ranch” wants to be another “Casino” or “Boogie Nights.” The problem is, Taylor Hackford is neither Martin Scorsese nor Paul Thomas Anderson. He’s a solid director, but lacking a definable, know-it-when-I-see-it style. Without work worthy of the “auteur” label, middling results are all that’s bound to…
Three and Out
Britain’s dark romantic comedy “Three and Out” begins promisingly enough, with a credits sequence set spiritedly to Elvis Costello’s stellar single “Accidents Will Happen.” How quickly fortunes change. As soon as it establishes its plot “? the last-minute twist for which you can guess upon setup “? revolves around sad-sack train operator Paul (Mackenzie Crook, Ragetti…
The Brazen Bull
Turns out, everything you need to know in life, you didn’t learn in kindergarten. For example, when an off-his-rocker Michael Madsen wants to know if you the definition of “a brazen bull,” you better damn well have the correct answer! I’ll save you the Googling trouble: It’s a torture device, and it ain’t pretty. “The…
