Byron Gambulos in 1959 Provided After his Oklahoma City liquor store had been bombed multiple times in the mid 1960s, Gambulos mounted his World War II-era registered machine gun on top of his store at the corner of NW 23rd Street and Broadway Avenue. “I have never been one to run,” said Gambulos, 88, the […]
alcohol
Posted inFood & Drink
Beer and wine
Wines at Ludivine Photo by Mark Hancock For the committed red wine drinker, rosés are an excellent choice for spring and summer. Rosés have more body and more tannins than most whites but are still light enough to be warm weather-appropriate. Several new rosés are available in the metro this year, including a couple from […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Bloody Mary crawl
Aaron Kaub at The Boom Photo by Mark Hancock When the increasingly sinister character Jack Torrance (played by Jack Nicholson) walks in to a ghostly 1920s bar in the classic horror movie The Shining, the “hair of the dog that bit me” is his drink of choice. While there are numerous drinks that fit in […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Hopper: A Journey into the American Dream — Tom Folsom
Folsom traces the life of Dennis Hopper through its four distinct phrases: Kansas farm boy, Method actor/James Dean worshipper, pharmaceutical madman, comeback kid. That he had a fourth at all continues to amaze me, especially after reading all the details. The kinder, gentler Hopper was hardly one to shy away from admitting his battles with […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Smashed
New to Blu-ray and DVD after a too-brief theatrical release, the indie drama is reminiscent of 1988’s Clean and Sober, also a sturdy-enough addiction movie that lives and dies on its central performance — in other words, one actor shoulders the entire burden, elevating what is otherwise unremarkable (but not incompetent) material. He or she […]
Posted inArts & Culture
The Master
Up for three Academy Awards on Sunday, all for its main performances, the inspired-by-Scientology-but-not-really drama follows Navy vet Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix, Walk the Line) as he returns home post-WWII to find he never really had a home to begin with. He doesn’t “fit” anywhere; his string of tenuous relationships — with women, with jobs […]
Posted inArts & Culture
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
That’s what makes The Perks of Being a Wallflower so impressive. New to Blu-ray and DVD, it understands the excess of feeling that characterizes being a teenager, and it doesn’t prettify or minimize the trials faced by the shy and socially awkward kid sitting alone in the school cafeteria. Written and directed by Stephen Chbosky, […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Paul Williams: Still Alive
Both documentaries deal with a musician wrongly presumed to be dead; the difference here is that the love comes straight from the director, Stephen Kessler (Vegas Vacation), whose impetus for the project is purely, deeply personal. With all the extra layers removed, I began to feel it, too; his adoration for his subject is infectious. […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Wake in Fright
Gary Bond (Zulu) works wonders as John Grant, the only teacher in the Australian desert town of Tiboonda, where the tiny, single-room schoolhouse is surrounded by sand and dust. On Christmas break, Grant heads for Sydney, but must spend a night in Bundanyabba before catching a flight the next morning. At least that’s the plan. […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Smashed
Opening today exclusively at AMC Quail Springs Mall 24, 2501 W. Memorial, the indie drama is reminiscent of 1988’s Clean and Sober, also a sturdy-enough addiction movie that lives and dies on its central performance — in other words, one actor shoulders the entire burden, elevating what is otherwise unremarkable (but not incompetent) material. He […]