20 Aug 2012

Old Habits Die Hard: "The Expendables 2," "ParaNorman," and "The Odd Life of Timothy Green"

By Mike Schulz

Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, and Terry Crews in The Expendables 2THE EXPENDABLES 2

If home viewings of The Expendables 2 are one day turned into a drinking game, and I pray that they are, one of the rules has to be that you chug every time the film employs a thudding cliché from the '80s, either directly or indirectly. A plot involving stolen weapons-grade plutonium? Drink! A team of he-men astonished that a new female recruit can actually do something? Drink! Dolph Lundgren wrestling with a Rubik's Cube? Drink twice!

14 Aug 2012

What's Happenin': Thursday, August 16, through Wednesday, August 29

By Mike Schulz

Sara King and Kelly Lohrenz in Next to NormalTheatre

Next to Normal

District Theatre

Friday, August 24, through Sunday, September 9

 

Occasionally, I'll recommend an emotionally wrenching movie or play to friends and family members, and invariably, after they've sobbed their way through the entertainment, they'll hit me with "Why didn't you tell me I'd need tissues for that thing?!" Well, the District Theatre is opening Next to Normal on August 24, and while I haven't yet seen this musical on-stage, its Broadway soundtrack is also emotionally wrenching. If you listen to the CD, though, I'm here to tell you that it doesn't require tissues. It requires a freakin' squeegee.

12 Aug 2012

The Running Men: "The Campaign," "The Bourne Legacy," "Nitro Circus: The Movie," and "Hope Springs"

By Mike Schulz

Zach Galifianakis, Jason Sudeikis, Dyan McDermott, and Will Ferrell in The CampaignTHE CAMPAIGN

As the movie's trailers have been running since what feels like the last presidential campaign, it's understandable if viewers enter the Will Ferrell/Zach Galifianakis political spoof The Campaign worried that all of the hilarious bits have already been spoiled for them. The wonderful surprise of director Jay Roach's comedy, however, is that they haven't - not unless viewers have somehow been privy to a trailer that lasts 85 minutes.

05 Aug 2012

Really, Really Secret Agent Man: "Total Recall" and "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days"

By Mike Schulz

Colin Farrell in Total RecallTOTAL RECALL

Beyond its rather stunning scenic design, the best thing about director Len Wiseman's new Total Recall update is Kate Beckinsale, which is pretty surprising, considering that this admittedly capable, inarguably gorgeous performer really hasn't been the best thing about any of her previous movies.

31 Jul 2012

What's Happenin': Thursday, August 2, through Wednesday, August 15

By Mike Schulz

Zac Brown BandMusic

The Zac Brown Band

i wireless Center

Friday, August 3, 7 p.m.

 

The country-music superstars of the Zac Brown Band will play the i wireless center on August 3, and among the group's output is the 2012 CD You Get What You Give. Considering what the band has been giving over the years, it's no wonder they've been getting so much!

29 Jul 2012

There Goes the Neighborhood: "The Watch" and "Step Up Revolution"

By Mike Schulz

Richard Ayoade, Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, and Jonah Hill in The WatchTHE WATCH

A buddy and I caught a Friday-morning screening of The Watch along with roughly a dozen others, and before the end credits rolled, only four of us were still in the auditorium. Professional obligations were keeping me at director Akiva Schaffer's comedy and I was my friend's ride, but for the life of me, I can't fathom what prevented those other two patrons from bolting. Lethargy? Politeness? Morbid curiosity?

25 Jul 2012

"Peaks" Performance: Swedish Singer/Songwriter Sofia Talvik, August 3 at Cool Beanz Coffeehouse

By Mike Schulz
Sofia Talvik, photo by Kirk StaufferIf you're a fellow fan of Twin Peaks - David Lynch's 1990-91 cult favorite in which Special Agent Dale Cooper investigated the murder of high-schooler Laura Palmer - you can listen to folk singer/songwriter Sofia Talvik's latest CD thinking that the Swedish musician sounds, sometimes uncannily, like that TV series' resident chanteuse, Julee Cruise. With her light, airy soprano and haunting, faraway melancholy, it's easy to imagine Talvik herself hypnotizing crowds in a small-town biker bar, right before vanishing into the ether and being replaced by a cryptic bald giant. (It was that kind of show, bless its demented heart.)
23 Jul 2012

Layovers: "Boeing-Boeing," at the Timber Lake Playhouse through July 28

By Mike Schulz

Brandon Jess Ford, Dryden Meints, and Hanah Nardone in Boeing-BoeingEven if you entered the Timber Lake Playhouse's Boeing-Boeing unaware that author Marc Camoletti's play was a farcical comedy - its elbow-in-the-ribs title somehow not divulging that information - all it would take is one look at Nathan Dahlkemper's scenic design to know that some serious slapstick was bound to be in store.

21 Jul 2012

Scraped Crusader: "The Dark Knight Rises" and "Red Stroke"

By Mike Schulz

Tom Hardy and Christian Bale in The Dark Knight RisesTHE DARK KNIGHT RISES

The Dark Knight Rises, as you've perhaps heard, is the concluding chapter in Christopher Nolan's series of grandly scaled, intensely serious-minded Batman adventures that began with 2005's fittingly titled Batman Begins and continued with 2008's The Dark Knight. It is also, as you perhaps hoped, a terrifically satisfying wrap-up to the trilogy - flawed, at times distractingly flawed, but powerful and resonant and deeply emotional. After my lukewarm responses to The Avengers and The Amazing Spider-Man, I would've been relieved to exit this summer's latest superhero blockbuster merely content. Instead, I left Nolan's 165-minute comic-book epic simultaneously jazzed and sated, and more than ready to see it again.

17 Jul 2012

What's Happenin': Thursday, July 19, through Wednesday, August 1

By Mike Schulz

John FullbrightMusic

John Fullbright

Rozz-Tox

Friday, July 27, 9 p.m.

 

Discussing the widely acclaimed musician who will perform a special concert at Rock Island's Rozz-Tox on July 27, the legendary singer/songwriter Jimmy Webb is quoted as saying, "I have no doubt that in a very short time, John Fullbright will be a household name in American music."

I can't imagine how Webb knew that Fullbright would eventually be highlighted in the Reader's What's Happenin' pages, but let's get cracking on that household-name thing!

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