The best idea for a Gladiator sequel is not doing one. The second best idea is bringing Russell Crowe back as a zombie Roman warrior and letting him go full The Pope’s Exorcist up in it. The third best idea is letting Denzel Washington treat the unnecessary film as a mash-up between Training Day and […]
Posted inMusic, Uncategorized
Hoodoo column returns, New Year’s notes
I am happy to be taking a step back and a step forward with this column. I’m returning to write the Hoodoo column of local blues, roots and Americana previews while writing for the new incarnation of The Reader. In case you missed it, before our fearless founder John Heaston lost his battle with cancer […]
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Cause & Culture: ‘Tis the season to get involved
In the wake of an election that rocked parts of America, many are left wondering: Now what? The election results brought uncertainty and concern for what the future may hold, especially for communities already facing significant challenges. Now that the dust has settled and with potential policy changes on the horizon, there are those here […]
Posted inMovies
Gravity Defied, Theater Kids Can Stand Down
Wicked’s lineage is so complicated, Maury Povich is heavy breathing. L. Frank Baum’s book became a movie that inspired a book that became a musical that became a movie. You may be expecting a snide comment about derivative exploitation of “intellectual property,” but your presumption is wrong. Wow, you should really be forced to watch […]
Posted inNews
This year’s Christmas tree has arrived at the Durham Museum
The holiday season has begun at Omaha’s Durham Museum with the delivery of the annual Christmas tree on Monday. Each year Union Pacific provides a bridge maintenance crew to cut down the Durham Museum’s annual Christmas tree. The tradition started in the 1930s, with UP bringing trees by train from the Pacific Northwest. That changed […]
Posted inMovies
The G7 Ain’t GR8
It is entirely possible that Rumours, an alleged comedy from writers/directors Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson, and Guy Maddin, is smart and funny. I am basing a lot of that on the fact that Cate Blanchett agreed to star in it. I am not basing a lot of that on my having found it smart and […]
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The Haunting of Notting Hill House
A deranged lunatic using religion as an excuse to torture women is also the plot of Heretic, arguably the best use of Hugh Grant’s face since his mug shot, a memory that also feels upsettingly timely. The film is essentially a sandwich where the bread is monologues and the meaty filling is slightly shorter monologues. […]
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Cause & Culture: Preserving the traditions of Día de Los Muertos and remembering the dead
When you think of the Day of the Dead, what comes to mind? Sugar skulls? Halloween? Disney’s Coco? Many may know its imagery, but not the significance behind the observance. I recently saw a TikTok of a parade of people donned in vibrant and elaborate dress, makeup and headwear being presented to a crowd of […]
Posted inNews
Cause & Culture: Sharing stories of humanity
If life has felt a bit heavy lately, you are not alone. Between the divisiveness of the political climate that has bled over into our personal lives, social media that has us either doom-scrolling or comparing our lives to a shallow peek at someone else’s, and constant news cycle, it can be easy to feel […]
Posted inMovies
Don’t Pick Bachelor Number 3, Pick the Bear
As the revered historian Netflix tells it, not being murdered by a serial killer was an impressive feat in the past. Like, was every dude in the 1970s/80s a mass murderer? It’s a good thing that the violent, disturbed tendencies men once had towards women has been totally and completely removed from society… It feels […]