1. One glance into their eyes will tell you that winter weirdness has consumed them. While most folks snowshoe the backcountry around Mount Rainier, soak in hot springs or hibernate by the fire with a pile of unfinished books and a cupboard full of cocoa, a few freaks laugh at the Snow Meister's work and jump into icy-cold sea water. Consider this the Ultimate Hardass Competition. at 11:30 a.m., join them and take the plunge into the icy waters of Commencement Bay. Once you emerge - and you will, though your skin might be slightly blue - you can warm your bones next to a heater while sipping free hot drinks. Weirdo.
2. In the spirit of the new year, Washingtonians are encouraged to start 2014 with a healthy hike and connect with the diverse natural resources and recreation opportunities found at state parks across Washington today. Fifteen state parks are offering guided hikes ranging from interpretive strolls through military batteries and Puget Sound coastal forests, to snowshoe walks in the Selkirk and Cascade mountains.
3. If you have yet to check out the ice skating adventures in currently being offered in Tollefson Plaza, today might just be your chance to do so. The Franciscan Polar Plaza, located on the corner of Pacific Avenue and South 17th Street, is a covered outdoor rink is about half the size of a hockey rink. It sports real ice and holds about 150 skaters at a time. And it's pretty awesome. Skate from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
4. Nursing a hangover? Find your way to The Grand Cinema in Tacoma for a great movie in a dark room. Inside Llewyn Davis, Nebraska, Philomena and Saving Mr. Banks are currently playing. In Olympia, the place to hit is the Capitol Theater, where A Perfect Man and The Fifth Estate are playing.
5. There's a ton of football on today. New Year's Day is synomous the pigskin. Browse our bar listings and find the perfect place to watch whatever game interests you.
Every Tuesday, "Check This Out" recommends movies available at your friendly local library. So you can satisfy your next film fix at the place with the books.
"Drama is life with the dull bits left out," the wise Hitchcock tells us. So what excitement could one possibly find in a three-hour-plus film of a man who does nothing? He doesn't fight back when others bully and beat him up, he lets himself get thrown into prison multiple times without a word of complaint and sometimes he even refuses to eat. But Gandhi (and the 1982 film of the same name) proved to the world that rejecting the status quo packs plenty of drama, and, against all odds, quiet inaction can still bring down empires and inspire millions.
Winner of the Oscar for Best Picture, Gandhi tells the story of one man on a grand scale, and remains one of cinema's last old-fashioned epics before the assist (or crutch, some would argue) of computer-generated imagery. (Interestingly, director Richard Attenborough would usher in moviemaking's digital age indirectly a decade later with Jurassic Park, playing that polite British creator of deadly dinos.) The film achieves its most dazzling effect with nothing more than makeup and the performance of Sir Ben Kingsley, who seamlessly transforms from dark-haired, dark-suited lawyer to white-haired, white-robed global revolutionary.
Early in life, Gandhi gets thrown off a train in India for not moving back to third class, the designated section for people of his heritage. From that incident is born a nearly 50-year fight to secure his nation's independence from the British Empire. Yet he doesn't spur his countrymen to wage war with weapons or bloodshed, but quite the opposite, by using passive resistance. The film does a fine job exploring how this quiet riot ripples out across the continent, all the way to England's highest government leaders, whose initial arrogance towards this willful "little brown man" gets cut down to confusion, frustration, and finally defeat.
Like other powerful sagas, Gandhi packs thousands of extras and crosses multiple eras and landscapes, yet never loses sight of telling the very personal story of an individual who dared to defy. With its anti-imperialist message and call for religious equality, history itself suddenly seems not this buried and forgotten thing, but a voice crying to be heard today.
It's the end of 2013, and by this point we've all been flooded with a deluge of year-end "best of" lists. How sick of them must you be? But fear not! At Judging by the Trailer, there is no best of. There is only Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones- one of the most laughably inept trailers I've seen in quite some time.
And why shouldn't it be laughable? As the fifth installment in that franchise of diminishing returns, Paranormal Activity, The Marked Ones is left to pick up the pieces of a broken genre (found-footage horror) and listlessly toss them out in that cinematic graveyard known as January.
We begin with the exploration of what historians may note as the most fearless amateur cameraman of all time. It's one thing to document every waking moment, as this gentleman seems to do, but when it comes to courageously filming gang violence, breaking and entering and (not to put too fine a point on it) horrifying fucking apparitions, this guy deserves some sort of Egon Spengler medal of bravery. He is an honorary Ghostbuster. He may as well have his own crystal skull-themed brand of vodka.
Things go from bad to worse to SPOOKY when two teenagers break into a murdered old lady's apartment to find it adorned with some variety of voodoo hocus pocus, after which one of the kids finds himself possessed (don't you hate it when that happens?). Gone are the modest days of strapping a video camera to an oscillating fan in the hopes that something might jump out and scare you - this ain't your grandma's found-footage horror. What we have now is essentially a standard narrative with bad cinematography and a mouthy camera operator.
The scariest thing about The Marked Ones, it seems to me, is that anyone with a functioning brain and a tongue they've yet to swallow might find themselves ordering a ticket for this nonsense. Happy New Year!
Sharlto Copley (District 9) stars in trippy sci-fi mystery "Europa Report" about a crew of international astronauts sent on a private mission to Jupiter’s fourth moon.
Besties, this is Nerd Alert, the Weekly Volcano's recurring events calendar devoted to all things nerdy. I myself am a Star Wars fan, mathlete, and spelling bee champion of long standing, so trust me: I grok whereof I speak.
Welcome to the first week of January, aka the annual geek doldrums. Good movies came out at the end of December to qualify for Oscar nominations, leaving only a sad Paranormal Activity sequel debuting this week. With the nerd-neutral exception of Downton Abbey, TV season premieres don't begin till later this month. There are no geek events planned locally this week. There isn't even a new play opening (though I will be at the debut of Lakewood Playhouse's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Friday). I thought about filling this void by compiling a Best of 2013 list, but the truth is I haven't caught up on all last year had to offer. Instead, please allow me to rattle off the finest genre projects I have been able to take in over the last 12 months. That'll at least give you some quality entertainment to binge on through this cold winter hiatus.
No one ever accused Doctor Who of excessive consistency in tone, but when it's on its A game (usually meaning showrunner Steven Moffat, who also runs the excellent Sherlock, wrote the episode) it's as entertaining as anything on TV. I thoroughly enjoyed a cuddly telefilm about the origins of the series, An Adventure in Space and Time, and the massive episode it introduced, "The Day of the Doctor." All this was to set up the departure of 11th Doctor Matt Smith, in Christmas Day's poignant ep "The Time of the Doctor." Here's the good news: the BBC's rerunning the lot of it on New Year's Eve.
I can't pretend to be a fan of modern horror, thanks to its overreliance on shock effects and sadism. (Seven Saws plus two branded video games in a decade? No, thanks.) The Conjuring was a rare and welcome exception, however, thanks to great performances from Vera Farmiga and Lili Taylor, plus a goosebumpy script by the Hayes brothers of Portland, Ore. It's available now on Netflix, including Netflix Streaming, and I dare you to watch it with the lights off.
Though it probably slipped under your radar, the "found-footage" sci-fi film Europa Report gets impressive mileage from a mere seven-digit budget. An international team of scientists is en route to an ecologically promising Jovian moon when its ship loses communication with the earth. What happens next will remind you less of Prometheus and more of 2010: The Year We Make Contact. The action and settings feel unusually plausible, and it's a fun change of pace from less cerebral efforts. (Oh, Pacific Rim ... where should I even begin?) Europa Report is also available on Netflix Streaming.
While Gravity fudges near-terrestrial orbital mechanics for maximum impact, it also boasts a fine performance by Sandra Bullock, plus what I think we can all agree are the most dazzling visual effects of the year, maybe ever. Sadly, Alfonso Cuarón's epic two-hander vacated Tacoma and Olympia cineplexes, but it arrives on Blu-ray, including a 3-D edition, Feb. 25, flush with what I expect will be a raft of Oscar noms.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is, however, in area theaters. If you passed on it because you found its predecessor lacking in the thrills department, now's a good time to reconsider. Every conceivable aspect of this installment is better, thanks in large part to a change of director. It has visceral excitement, better effects, richer acting and a promising setup for Mockingjay, Parts 1 and 2. Between this and American Hustle, that lovely young Jennifer Lawrence is having quite an annus mirabilis.
I'm working my way slowly through critics' top 10 lists of 2013 novels, having just finished Meg Wolitzer's expansive The Interestings, but few include the book I found most un-put-down-able: Lexicon, by Australia's Max Barry. It's about an underground society in which so-called "poets" wield linguistic "persuasion" tricks to manipulate the masses, for crusades both kind and abominable. It's a riveting thriller with a cerebral, satirical pulse, my favorite since Ready Player One.
If you have Xfinity On Demand, you can binge-watch all 10 first-season episodes of the BBC's Orphan Black for free, and you totally should. It's amazingly good, y'all, especially the manifold performance of Tatiana Maslany. That she didn't receive an Emmy nomination casts that entire nominating process into serious doubt. Here's the setup: A young British woman named Sarah (Maslany) spots another woman, Beth (also Maslany), in a tube station, just before Beth leaps to her death in front of a train. Sarah then swaps identities with Beth to get herself and her daughter out of a jam. That's how she meets Katja (uh, Maslany) and Alison (holy crap, Maslany again), plus three more vivid characters - all played by, yep, Maslany. Defiance be damned, Orphan Black was far and away the smartest sci-fi telly of 2013.
That said, I sure enjoyed me some Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Season 5. Memories of embarrassing prequels faded thanks to killer episodes like "Point of No Return," culminating in a series-finale arc in which a young Padawan is wrongfully accused of mass murder. It's true Clone Wars was all over the tonal map, perhaps by necessity, but it sure made my DVR fun on Saturday mornings. All five seasons are available on DVD or Blu-ray, harder to find on legal streaming services.
The summer movie season was bracketed by two apocalyptic comedies, This Is the End and The World's End. Both were hysterically funny. Both are available on something called HitBliss Streaming, or for disc rental on Netflix. Neither, I promise you, is G-rated, but only the former includes Jonah Hill getting menaced by a priapic demon. So yeah. Good luck wiping that image from your brain.
This was an unexpectedly strong season of The Walking Dead, especially episode 3.8, "Made to Suffer." Oh! And I gather there was some sort of wedding on Game of Thrones? I don't subscribe to HBO, so my wife and I are eagerly awaiting the Blu-rays Feb. 18. Don't you dare spoil anything for us! Nothing warms our hearts more than a glorious wedding. Felicitations and mazel tov, you beautiful Stark kids!
Until next week, may the Force be with you, may the odds be ever in your favor, and vartix velkor mannik wissick, may you send me a stack of Regal gift cards courtesy of the Volcano head office.
1. "The first thing I saw was my drums, although I didn't recognize them," said Tacoma musician Dean Tsapralis, also known as "Dean the Dreamweaver," after he opened his storage unit door in September. Tsapralis' life-long collection of musical instruments from around the world, along with many personal belongings, was below 9 feet of mud and water. "I was devastated," said Tsapralis. For the past three months he has worked hard to salvage what he can. This process and the consequent loss of work have left him both physically and financially drained. As Tacoma does, a benefit concert will be held at Benefit Central, also known as The Swiss, beginning at 3 p.m. featuring Dakota Bob, Tatoosh, Jerry Miller, Tim Hall, Steve Cooley, Spin Cycle and a 9 p.m. open jam.
2. The film Inside Llewyn Davisshowcases a week in the life of its titular character. Llewyn (Oscar Isaac) is a down-and-out folk singer struggling to find fame and fortune, or maybe just earn a living, in 1961 New York. Despite enjoying a small degree of success early in his career, things aren't going well for Llewyn when we meet him. Mike (sung by Marcus Mumford), Llewyn's musical partner, committed suicide some time before the film's opening. Llewyn, unable to find solo success, is reduced to playing sleazy juke joints and couch-surfing amongst a rotating roster of friends and vague acquaintances. Catch the film at 11:30 a.m., 2, 4:25, 6:45 and 9:05 p.m. at The Grand Cinema.
3. Make Sunday the day you check out Zoolights or Fantasy Lights - both South Sound institutions. Zoolights, the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium's holiday light show and extravaganza, offers a stroll through more than half a million lights, crafted whimsically throughout the zoo from 5-9 p.m. Take a driving tour of Fantasy Lights in Spanaway Park, where carloads of travelers can see more than 300 stunning displays of lights and imaginative animation over a two-mile stretch of Spanaway Lake Park from 5:30-9 p.m.
4. Let's be honest. You love The Spar. You love drinking beer. And you love rockin' blues. Do yourself a favor and check out the twangy and bluesy rock of Billy Stoops & the Rectifiers at 7 p.m. in The Spar. You love Stoops in Junkyard Jane. You love him every Thursday at the Stonegate. You just love him.
5. At 8 p.m. the Tacoma Comedy Club hosts Jay Hollingsworth's True Comedy Show. Immediately following each comedian's act, Hollingsworth will probe comics Duane Goad, Rodger Lizaola and Aaron Kirb ywith questions to reveal what's true and what's fiction in their material.
1. There's nothing worse than awakening from a long winter's nap, rolling out of bed and discovering it's Christmas morning - and not a creature is stirring his coffee, not even your favorite coffee house. But you'd better not cry, and you don't need to pout, because Spanaway Park has zapped 12 million watts of power to its lights. Take a driving tour of Fantasy Lights in Spanaway Park, where carloads of travelers can see more than 300 stunning displays of lights and imaginative animation over a two-mile stretch of Spanaway Lake Park. Tune in to a special holiday radio station for a little holiday music to add to the mood.
2. Whether you want to channel your inner Winter Olympics sports nerd, capture the magic of the season in a vibrant urban venue or just have a wintery and sporty adventure, break out the ice skates, people, because the Franciscan Polar Plaza, in partnership with the Tacoma Art Museum, is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Bring family and friends to Tacoma's holiday ice rink for holiday fun and a good time right in the heart of downtown Tacoma.
3. Have your kids - ham-stoked and spinning amok with sugarplums, Barbie dolls and Yu-Gi-Oh! action figures - drilled a hole through the roof yet? There's a reason they switch on the holiday light exhibits Christmas night, so why not take advantage of the thoughtful gesture? Lights on from 5-9 p.m. at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium.
4. If "attending more cultural events" is on your list of 2014 resolutions, why not kick it off a bit early. Temple Beth Hatfiloh and the Olympia Film Society present Hava Nagila (The Movie), a documentary about the song played at millions of Jewish weddings and bar/bat mitzvahs every year. (We trust the filmmakers delve into hard-hitting statistics about how many injuries occur during the chair-hoisting hora dance.) So quit kvetching and get to it at 7 p.m. inside the Capitol Theater.
5. Olympia drummer Jerry Zeigler will be playing his annual Merry Fitz-mas show at McCoy's with Fitz of Depression raging two sets beginning at 10 p.m. Never seen Fitz play? Well, expect to get ripped a new one. The band seriously tears into the nether-regions and squiggle their reverb around, getting all deep and fast and punk rock. Also, this is a good time to see Zeigler turn into a full-fledged octopus on the drums. Enjoy.
Every Tuesday, "Check This Out" recommends movies available at your friendly local library. So you can satisfy your next film fix at the place with the books.
I once read an essay on Alfred Hitchcock's film Vertigo (currently poised at the top of my favorites list) in which the author took six pages just to analyze the first shot. Luckily for you, I won't cram an already crowded Internet with nearly that many words regarding the opening moments of 1987's House of Games. (Yay!) But basically, the shot consists of a dolly moving left, the camera gliding smoothly over the brown pebbles of a gravel path. On the soundtrack we hear footsteps, but from where we don't know.
Nothing remarkable, I know, until the camera pulls out and the path isn't a path at all, but the vertical side of a structure standing in a plaza surrounded by high-rises. Instead of looking down on the ground, we've in reality been staring straight ahead this whole time - a bit of a dizzying, disorienting feeling, something like ... vertigo? The footsteps belong to a woman running across the plaza.
Misdirection abounds in acclaimed playwright David Mamet's stylish debut feature. His script centers on successful author and therapist Margaret Ford (played by Mamet's ex Lindsay Crouse), whose promise to a suicidal patient sends her into a noir-ish world of cons and criminals. With words as smooth as his shave, Joe Mantegna plays the sharp swindler Mike, who introduces Margaret to his bag of tricks (in more ways than one). It's all fun and Games until one job goes too far. ...
Mamet's performers speak his lines in an entertainingly detached, self-conscious way; trying the English language on and breaking it in like a pair of new shoes. Double crosses pile on top of one another, the jazzy score is pure '80s, and let's not forget Mamet shot part of HofG in, of all places, Seattle. In exchange for touristy shots of Emerald City icons - except for perhaps an off-ramp sign for I-90 - you have steam rising from the sewer grates, empty city streets slicked down after a good rain - as Hollis croons in Macklemore's "White Walls," "this city never looked so bright" ... or delightfully dark.
Some might say it's unfair to kick a film when it is so obviously down. I mean, it's hard to call a film with a reported $225m budget an underdog, but this notoriously troubled production is almost certainly doomed to commercial failure, and a prompt one-way trip to obscurity. Still, the trailer is hilarious and the film is wonderfully misguided, so it may be that 47 Ronin will live on with bad movie aficionados on home video.
So, where to start? The only logical entry point into this film is in the befuddling casting of Keanu Reeves as the lead in a retelling of a classic Japanese fable. Reeves is an actor who's spent the majority of his career getting flack for his wooden acting and surfer dude patois, but I've tended to defend the guy. See My Own Private Idaho for proof that some chops lurk somewhere beneath that beautiful visage.
The trailer opens with Reeves as a slave (referred to, here, as a "half-breed," which yikes), being rescued by a samurai so that he may be taken along in a mission for revenge. It's all a little too Django Unchained, but better that than to see this movie's take on 12 Years a Slave. What follows is a bewildering flipbook of queasy special effects as the titular 47 ronin assemble to fight a series of ribbon dancers. Reeves, tellingly, has very few lines beyond standard action movie utterances.
IMDb tells me Keanu Reeves claims that the film was first shot in Japanese, to appease the largely Japanese cast, before then being shot in English. I don't know much about the business end of filmmaking, to be sure, but that strikes me as wildly unnecessary. Oh well. A movie like this is designed to play better overseas than in the U.S. - though it's currently tanking in Japan, so oops.
47 Ronin - a movie I will never see (sober, anyway), but by which I am endlessly fascinated. Dance on, ribbons. Dance on.
1. Slutty Hearts' recent EP, Bones in the Snow, opens by referencing Nancy Sinatra. It's a fitting introduction to the Slutty Hearts ethos, which shares some qualities with Sinatra's spooky romanticism. Dark garage pop gems positively drip from the mouths and fingers of Slutty Hearts - devoted exercises in melodicism and attitude. Like the Violent Femmes (or Seattle's Pillow Army, for that matter), Slutty Hearts' band name tips off the listener with opposing and contradictory terms. Yes, there's an element of sleazy party-hardy energy to their music, but there's just as much swooning vocals and evocative lyrics to counterbalance the danciness. Catch the band with Vox Mod and Back From Hiatus at 8 p.m. in Bob's Java Jive. Read Rev. Adam McKinney's full feature on the Slutty Hearts in the Music & Culture section.
2. There are some hobbies better kept quiet. You know, the ones you do alone in your basement late at night. And then there are some truly cool hobbies, like model railroads. These should be celebrated and dragged out in the open for all to admire - which is why the Model Train Festival, downtown Tacoma's biggest model railroad exposition (taking into account, of course, the relatively small size of the subjects at hand because they are, of course, models), will run 10 days beginning today at 10 a.m. This gives you plenty of time to enjoy every floor of the Washington State History Museum filled with operating modular layouts. Santa is in the house 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 21-23. And, remember to look both ways before crossing, and keep your pennies to yourself.
3. There's nothing better than this holiday recipe: great holiday flick, warm and cozy movie theater, hot buttery popcorn and some sweet treats. Well, the wonderful and eclectic Grand Cinema in Tacoma launches two holiday classics today. The movie version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas is sure to delight the kiddies and adults alike. Based on the family classic holiday TV show, watch the creepy ole' Grinch's heart grow giddy with the holiday spirit in this endearing flick. It's free for the first 100 people through the door for this 10 a.m. flick. For those who prefer a bit of a darker production, check out Rare Exports: A Christmas Taleat 10 a.m. and 8:15 p.m. Set in Finland, the unusual and terrifically bizarre plot features disappearing children, a kidnapped Santa, vengeful elves and some debauchery. Cool. Oh, and need a last-minute gift? The Grand has great movie and dinner gift certificate packages.
4. The Tacoma Brewing Co. is celebrating Gingerfest from 5-9 p.m. This will be the first time all three of its hard ginger ales - white, golden and spicy - will be on tap simultaneously. According to the Tacoma Brewing Co.'s owner Morgan Alexander, all the hard ginger ales are made on site, in small handcrafted batches. And what exactly is a "hard" ginger ale? According to Alexander, the flavors are more complex and not as sweet. Gingerfest will highlight TCB's versatility by utilizing the ales in custom cocktails. What's more, Alexander states if you come dressed as your favorite redhead, you'll get a dollar off your first drink. Here are a few of my costume suggestions: Amy Pond, Ginny Weasley, Conan O'Brien, Vincent Van Gogh, Molly Ringwald, Dana Scully, Andy Dalton of the Cincinnati Bengals, Willie Nelson and everyone's favorite Tacoma redhead, Lynn Di Nino.
5. NWCZ Radio's Night of Gritness Presents - A Merry Gritness will be held at 8 p.m. in The New Frontier Lounge. OK, the title is a bit redundant. That said, maybe NWCZ needed twice the grit in the title considering the confirmed line-up: Big Wheel Stunt Show, Fred Speakman, Gavin Guss, Halcion Halo, Bandolier, Regan Lane, The Harolds, The Gimmer That Stole Christmas and The Reindeer Droppings. Best of all, the money collected will go to the Tacoma Rescue Mission. Donations of food will also be collected. Expect an evening of both holiday and original tunes. Bandolier even promises to play "some awesome Festivus songs." Maybe "O Festivus Pole, O Festivus Pole"?
Almost a decade ago, a young Rev. Adam McKinney sat down in a packed theater and had a groundbreaking exposure to absurdist, largely improvised comedy. Seeing Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy in a theater that radiated with warm laughter was a revelation. "Is this the funniest movie ever made?" hyperbolically thought a young, dumb me.
The short answer is no. While Anchorman is a perfectly fine comedy, it shrinks upon subsequent viewings, separated from a hysterical audience. In the following years, I and many others would grow weary of Will Ferrell and Adam McKay's brand of comedy, which essentially just boils down to a couple of people standing around and saying weird stuff to each other. It's the type of improvisational comedy that's tailor-made for blooper reels during the credits.
And yet, why does the trailer for Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues bring me such unbridled joy? I don't miss any of these characters or actors-in fact, part of the reason why it took so long for the sequel to come out was that the four main players had shot to A-list status in Hollywood, which would necessitate exorbitant paychecks to reunite them all. Having these actors constantly around makes them a little harder to miss.
I'm still a little jaded when it comes to the stand-around-and-say-goofy-stuff style of comedy, with which this trailer is positively jam-packed. Ferrell still ejaculates nonsense like "biscuits and gravy!" - and there's generally a lot of screaming.
But still, there's something charming about this blatantly stupid little film rising to such prominence and requiring such non-stop fanfare upon its return. In a time when comedies are largely disappointments, Anchorman still feels like a bunch of weirdos getting away with something. It's easy to imagine them giggling to themselves at the mere thought that this silly dalliance would actually find its way to theaters, let alone become a smash hit.
It's a sly bit of anarchy in the middle of a giant machine, which is rare enough in this day and age.
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