27 Jun 2016

Just Give 'em the Planet Already: "Independence Day: Resurgence"

By Mike Schulz

William Fichtner, Jeff Goldblum, and Brent Spiner in Independence Day: Resurgence

INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE

Independence Day: Resurgence boasts white heroes, black heroes, and Chinese heroes and is still, by a considerable margin, the most colorless movie of the year. It doesn’t even resemble a typical 21st Century blockbuster sequel so much as those sad, 20th Century sitcom reunions – The Brady Girls Get Married, say, or The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan’s Island – that existed only to remind you how old beloved figures had gotten, and just how stale “timeless” material can become. Roland Emmerich’s 1996 original was an easy film to laugh both at and with, but despite the derisive chuckles it inspires, the most proper response to the director’s wildly unnecessary follow-up would be a two-hour yawn.

21 Jun 2016

What's Happenin': Thursday, June 22, through Wednesday, July 6

By Mike Schulz

Music

Anthony D’Amato

Redstone Room

Thursday, June 30, 7:30 p.m.

In singer/songwriter Anthony D’Amato’s Web-site biography, we learn that when the Americana musician was on his way to an introductory meeting with famed record producer Mike Mogis, he accidentally overturned and totaled his rental car. Near the end of his tour for 2014’s Mogis-produced album The Shipwreck from the Shore, D’Amato broke his finger, and played the final two shows hopped up on Advil. In the video for “Golden Gloves” from his June 17 release Cold Snap, we find D’Amato getting repeatedly punched in the face by passers-by wearing boxing gloves.

I’m not suggesting that Anthony D’Amato is accident- or fistfight-prone. But when you see the acclaimed artist’s June 30 concert at Davenport’s Redstone Room, you may want to think about sitting in the back. You know, just in case.

20 Jun 2016

Declarations of Independence: "Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years," at the Timber Lake Playhouse through June 25

By Mike Schulz
Shayla Brielle G. and Jenia Head in Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years

Author Emily Mann’s Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years is a two-character series of reminiscences taking place entirely in one home, and in close to real time. Consequently, you might not expect the Timber Lake Playhouse’s latest to boast much in the way of technical showmanship. But the visual effect that occurs 30 minutes into director Chuck Smith’s irrepressibly jubilant production is a true stunner, and would no doubt stand as the show’s most magical element if the play were presented wholly free of actors.

19 Jun 2016

Well, Here’s Another Fin Mess You’ve Gotten Us Into: "Finding Dory" and "Central Intelligence"

By Mike Schulz

FINDING DORY

Taken on its own, Pixar’s Finding Dory is a delightful time: smart, clever, entertaining, gorgeously animated, and, Pixar being Pixar, all but guaranteed to get you weepy on at least three occasions. But I also can’t help feeling just a little bit pissed at it, if only because of how irrevocably it might change the experience of its predecessor.

13 Jun 2016

If at First You Don’t Succeed ... and Even If You Do ... : "Now You See Me 2," "The Conjuring 2," and "Warcraft"

By Mike Schulz

NOW YOU SEE ME 2

During its entire first hour, and at random times during its second, Now You See Me 2 is something I never thought it would be: fun.

13 Jun 2016

Animals/Husbandry: "The Lobster" and "Humpback Whales"

By Mike Schulz

Colin Farrell in The Lobster

THE LOBSTER

At nearly any given moment in its two-hour running length, Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Lobster has the power to make you laugh or cry. If you choose to laugh out of derision or cry with frustration, that’s your business, and it’d be hard not to empathize with either reaction. If, however, you find yourself on Lanthimos’ and his movie’s shared, absurdist-deadpan wavelength, you might find the Greek writer/director’s latest tragicomedy – and first English-language one – both extraordinarily funny and almost embarrassingly moving. Never before has the mere sight of a Shetland pony made me chuckle, or well up once I registered exactly what it was I was chuckling at.

07 Jun 2016

What's Happenin': Summer 2016

By Mike Schulz

Events

Adler Theatre and iWireless Center

June through August

 

Like many of you, when we’re suffering the ravages of a Quad Cities winter, I can’t imagine what price I’d pay just for five seconds of summer. Moline’s iWireless center, however, actually has put a price tag on what five seconds of summer is worth: $29.95. Or up to $79.95 if you want to really feel the heat.

07 Jun 2016

What's Happenin': Thursday, June 9, through Wednesday, June 22

By Mike Schulz

MUSIC

Thursday, June 9 – Curtis Salgado. Award-winning vocalist/songwriter and harmonica icon performs in a concert in the Blues & Roots Series, preceded by a 4 p.m. blues workshop and an opening set with Craig Erickson. The Redstone Room (129 Main Street, Davenport). 7:30 p.m. $11.50-50. For tickets and information, call (563)326-1333 or visit RiverMusicExperience.org.

Friday, June 10, and Saturday, June 11 – Gumbo Ya Ya. Annual Mardi Gras celebration with Cajun, zydeco, and jazz bands on two stages, food and craft vendors, thousands of beads, and more. District of Rock Island. Friday 5 p.m. gates, Saturday 4 p.m. gates. $9 one-day pass, $14 two-day pass. For information, call (309)788-6311 or visit GumboYaYaFestival.com.

Friday, June 10 – Lil Wayne. Concert with the Grammy-winning hip-hop artist, with an opening set by O.T. Genesis. iWireless Center (1201 River Drive, Moline). 8 p.m. $48.50-68.50. For tickets, call (800)745-3000 or visit iWirelessCenter.com.

Friday, June 10 – River Music Experience 12th-Anniversary Show. Venue celebration with performances by The Giving Tree Band and Juliana & A Soul Purpose. RME Courtyard (131 West Second Street, Davenport). 4 p.m. $10-12, ages 12 and under free. For tickets and information, call (563)326-1333 or visit RiverMusicExperience.org.

Friday, June 10 – Chris Cain Band. Concert with the blues and jazz guitarist and his ensemble. Cabana’s Bar & Grille (2120 Fourth Avenue, Rock Island). 7 p.m. $10 at the door. For information, call (309)283-7564.

Friday, June 10, and Saturday, June 11 – Quad Cities Junetopia. Event to benefit Humility of Mary Inc. and Kings Harvest Ministries, with performances by more than two dozen indie-music acts and screenings by Motive Direct Pictures. Rozz-Tox (2108 Third Avenue, Rock Island). Friday 6 p.m., Saturday noon. $5-25. For information, call (309)200-0978 or visit RozzTox.com.

06 Jun 2016

If Mama Was Harried: "Gypsy," at the Timber Lake Playhouse through June 12

By Mike Schulz
John B. Boss and Saundra Santiago in 'Gypsy'

There was much to love about the Timber Lake Playhouse’s opening-night presentation of Gypsy. But if pressed for a favorite moment in this dynamically entertaining musical, it might’ve been the one in Act II in which a third-rate burlesque show loses its featured stripper, and our protagonist Mama Rose, without apology or shame, volunteers her long-ignored, wallflower daughter Louise for the job. It wasn’t the narrative turn that got me; it was the response of Timber Lake’s audience, who released a collective “Oh no she didn’t!” gasp-and-laugh implying they were legitimately shocked – shocked! – at Rose’s readiness to pimp out her child. Was this crowd somehow under the impression that, despite all previous evidence, Mama was actually not a monster?

05 Jun 2016

Fun with Dork and Jane: "Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping," "Love & Friendship," "Me Before You," and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows"

By Mike Schulz

Friday, June 3, 10 a.m.-ish: Maybe it’s because I go the full eight-hours-plus without eating, but by the end of my latest quadruple feature, I can’t help but think of the day’s collective screenings as a cinematic four-course meal. In retrospect, I should’ve skipped dessert.

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