Architecturally, Stage Center is an artwork in and of itself. And yes, as with all art, not everyone appreciates it. Stage Center is an important architectural structure of national and international acclaim. Oklahoma City leaders would be unimaginably foolish and incredibly stupid to allow this internationally renowned diamond in the rough to be destroyed. What […]
dead
Posted inMusic
Oxford karma
As odd and eccentric as Dent May’s sun-soaked soul tunes might read, they are firmly planted in pop territory — just not the one most of us are accustomed to. “When we are on tour, we only have the radio. It’s either oldies or contemporary pop radio, and I’m an FM pop junkie. In my […]
Posted inArts & Culture
The Frozen Dead
Said scientist is Dr. Norberg (Dana Andrews, Airport 1975), who lives in London, even if his heart belongs to Germany — Nazi Germany, in fact: “I’m as good a Nazi as I was 25 years ago.” So dedicated to his party is he that Norberg thirsts to bring deceased members of the Third Reich back […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Detention of the Dead / The Demented
Imagine if zombies invaded The Breakfast Club. That’s literally the setup experienced by your stock-character students of the nerd, the jock, the misfit, the bully, the cheerleader and, so it’s not a total copy of the 1985 John Hughes classic, a wisecracking Asian kid (Justin Chon, 21 & Over) to spout things like, “I gotta […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Evil Dead
In Sam Raimi’s wildly original, wildly influential The Evil Dead of 1981, five friends into the woods for a cabin getaway and couldn’t get away from the demons they accidentally summon from an ancient book. In his feature debut, Uruguay director Fede Alvarez retains that setup, minus the vacation. In his vision, the young men […]
Posted inNews
Reel jobs
On May 24 — the final day of this year’s session — the state House voted against extension of the Oklahoma Film Enhancement Rebate Program, which provides incentives for qualifiying film productions that spend money on Oklahoma goods and services. Before the vote, House Democratic Leader Scott Inman of Del City called the Democrats in […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Crimewave
When I ran across Crimewave at the Buttons video store at N.W. 63rd and May Avenue in 1988, I had never heard of it. However, I rented it as soon as I spotted that it was co-written by Joel and Ethan Coen; at the time, they had just made this little comedy I absolutely adored, […]
Posted inMusic
It might get loud
Copperheads Photo: Doug Schwarz To paraphrase Kiss, Oklahoma City loves it loud. It loves it so much so that the Okie Noise Fest, a free, nine-hour tribute to turning it up to 11, returns Saturday, this time to OKC, after a successful launch at Norman’s Opolis a year ago. Fest co-founder Robert Layton, front man […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Dead Souls
Steve Niles’ Remains comic-book miniseries is terrific; Michael Laimo’s Dead Souls novel was average even by horror-paperback standards. Both resulting movies were directed by Colin Theys and written by John Doolan (the team behind Chiller’s inaugural telepic, Alien Opponent, not considered here because it’s not based on pre-existing material). Both also reside on a similar […]
Posted inArts & Culture
dead again
Computer ChessJust in case there was any doubt that fashions and haircuts of the early 1980s were mighty ugly, the time capsule Computer Chess is a solid reminder. Writer-director Andrew Bujalski, in his use of antiquated cameras and technology that could make a TRS-80 look cutting-edge, evokes the period in gloriously fuzzy black and white. […]