18 Feb 2014

What's Happenin': Thursday, February 20, through Wednesday, March 5

By Mike Schulz

Miles NielsenMusic

Miles Nielsen & the Rusted Hearts and Chicago Farmer

The Redstone Room

Friday, February 21, 8:30 p.m.

 

Americana musician Miles Nielsen performs at Davenport's Redstone Room on February 21 alongside his ensemble the Rusted Hearts, and in an interview in the Decatur Herald & Review, Nielsen said of his team, "I want the band to sound like guys who have experienced a winter." Let's hope, for his local set, that Nielsen also wants his audience to have experienced a winter, because otherwise, he's totally gonna be at the wrong venue.

16 Feb 2014

Let's Remake a Deal: "RoboCop," "About Last Night," and "Endless Love"

By Mike Schulz

Joel Kinnaman and Gary Oldman in RoboCopROBOCOP, ABOUT LAST NIGHT, and ENDLESS LOVE

I caught a triple-feature this past weekend, and lemme tell ya, it made me feel like a teenager again. Specifically, it made me feel 19, my age when the original RoboCop debuted; 18, my age when the original About Last Night debuted; and 13, my age when the original Endless Love debuted. I don't know what confluence of release strategies resulted in this trifecta of Reagan-era remakes, but I guess I should be grateful to Hollywood for the collective trip down memory lane. I'd be more grateful if the movies themselves were better, but ... .

11 Feb 2014

Plastics: "The Lego Movie," "The Monuments Men," and "Vampire Academy"

By Mike Schulz

The Lego MovieTHE LEGO MOVIE

Two of the characters in The Lego Movie are Lego Minifigures of Superman and Green Lantern, the latter of whom, here, is an obsequious suck-up whom the Man of Steel can't stand. That's a good joke. These decided non-friends are voiced by Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill, who famously played best friends in 21 Jump Street. That's a good in-joke. The Lego Movie is directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who also directed 21 Jump Street. That's a good in-in-joke. But the news that this new animated release is not only the cleverest, most hysterical comedy since 21 Jump Street, but an altogether stronger, more audacious piece of work than at least 90 percent of everything Hollywood gave us last year? No joke at all.

07 Feb 2014

Mike Schulz with Dave & Darren on 104.9

By Mike Schulz

Going to the cineplex this weekend? Every Friday morning at 9 a.m. you can listen to Mike Schulz dish on recent movie releases & talk smack about Hollywood celebs on the Quad City Rocker 104.9FM, with the fabulous morning team of Dave and Darren. The morning crew previews upcoming releases, too.

Or you can check the Reader Web site and listen to their latest conversation by the warm glow of your computer.

Never miss a pithy comment from these three scintillating pundits again.

Friday, February 7, 2014: After an appreciation of the gone-far-too-soon Philip Seymour Hoffman, discussion of "Labor Day," "That Awkward Moment," and "All Is Lost," previews of "The LEGO Movie," "Vampire Academy," and "The Monuments Men," and the guys' pitch for a really great-sounding movie: A comedy -- maybe starring Bill and Ted? -- in which time travelers convince a young Adolph Hitler that his artwork is actually sensational, thereby changing the future for the much, much better.

mp3

04 Feb 2014

What's Happenin': Thursday, February 6, through Wednesday, February 19

By Mike Schulz

Griffin HouseMusic

Griffin House

The Redstone Room

Thursday, February 6, 8 p.m.

 

Folk, pop, and acoustic rocker Griffin House plays Davenport's Redstone Room on February 6, and from all accounts, music fans and critics alike are just crazy about the man's Balls.

Which, of course, is the title of the musicians's latest CD.

Which, of course, meant there was no way I was going to open with anything other than a Balls-related joke. (I mean, come on: How long have we known each other?)

03 Feb 2014

A "Leagues" of Their Own: Davenport Junior Theatre Stages a Jules Verne Classic, in Musical Form, February 15 through 23

By Mike Schulz

ensemble members in Davenport Junior Theatre's 20,000 Leagues Under the SeaFans of Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea - either the novel or 1954's live-action Disney movie - should be excited to attend Davenport Junior Theatre's debuting stage version of the adventure classic, running February 15 through 23. Just as long, says playwright Aaron Randolph III, as those 20,000 Leagues fans aren't also 20,000 Leagues purists.

02 Feb 2014

Peach Pits: "Labor Day"

By Mike Schulz

Gattlin Griffith, Josh Brolin, and Kate Winslet in Labor DayLABOR DAY

Once upon a time, in the world of writer/director Jason Reitman, there was a magical kingdom called Labor Day.

02 Feb 2014

There's a Hole in Your Vessel, Dear Redford, Dear Redford ... : "All Is Lost" and "That Awkward Moment"

By Mike Schulz

Robert Redford in All Is LostALL IS LOST

Continuing to earn cool points following their November booking of Enough Said - a marvelous movie that finally landed in our area several months after its initial national release - schedulers for Moline's Nova 6 Cinemas have done it again with the booking of All Is Lost, another critically acclaimed title that managed to bypass the Quad Cities' first-run cineplexes.

23 Jan 2014

Mule'll Be Missed: Local Favorites Jim the Mule Perform the Band's Farewell Show, February 1 at the Redstone Room

By Mike Schulz

Jim the MuleAfter nearly 14 years of music-making - many of them spent headlining concerts and outdoor festivals, and opening for the likes of the BoDeans and the Little River Band - the Quad Cities-based alt-country band Jim the Mule is taking a long, perhaps permanent, break. And on February 1, guitarists Tom Swanson and Sean Ryan, bassist Jason Gilliland, and percussionist Marty Reyhons will perform Jim the Mule's farewell show at Davenport's Redstone Room, an event featuring guest musicians and a retrospective celebration of Jim the Mule's most popular originals and covers.

Swanson, who co-founded Jim the Mule with Gilliland in 2000 (and is a former River Cities' Reader employee), recently shared some thoughts about the band's history and journey, and where on Earth the mule itself might have gone.

21 Jan 2014

What's Happenin': Thursday, January 23, through Wednesday, February 5

By Mike Schulz

Katja Loher: Videoplanet - OrchestraExhibit

Katja Loher: Videoplanet - Orchestra

Figge Art Museum

Saturday, January 25, through Sunday, May 4

 

The newest exhibition at the Figge Art Museum is titled Katja Loher: Videoplanet - Orchestra, and according to the exhibit's description at the venue's Web site, one of its more fascinating elements allows museum visitors the chance to see "androgynous, costumed dancers form letters that compose words and sentences to pose simple, thought-provoking questions." In honor of Loher's artistic endeavor, I considered employing exactly the same style for this What's Happenin' article, but my bosses were convinced that I'd never find the thousands of androgynous, costumed dancers necessary to pull it off. I told them they obviously didn't know my friends, but whatever ... .

Pages

Subscribe & Listen to Reader Podcasts

On Stands Now

 

Tagged Content

    

Two Ways to Subscribe

1. Subscribe to free weekly e-mail content updates.

You'll get both the current official narrative challenge and What's Happenin' in the Quad Cities.
(Did you know we publish a new Real Astrology and RCR Crossword every week?) 

Subscribe!

* indicates required

2. Get 12 monthly issues mailed first class for $48

Get 12 issues mailed monthly for $48 per year.

Get the printed Reader edition mailed to you (or anyone you want) first-class for 12 months for $48.
$24 goes to postage and handling, $24 goes to keeping the doors open!

Click this link to Subscribe now.