06 Sep 2005

Nature Expo Gives Green Thumbs a Hand

By Mike Schulz
For anyone who has spent time working to ensure that their garden or yard or home landscaping looked not only presentable but beautfiul, certain questions routinely pop up: When should I plant seeds for my flower bed, and is that the best time to plant seeds for my vegetable garden, too? How do I remove that tree stump from my backyard without removing my leg in the process? What's the deal with those damned weeds growing back in the same place year after year, and how do I make them stop? Answers to these and other outdoor questions will finally come via this weekend's Two State Forestry Conference & Expo.
06 Sep 2005

Gilliam's "The Brothers Grimm" Not Grimm Enough

By Mike Schulz

Heath Ledger and Matt Damon in The Brothers GrimmTHE BROTHERS GRIMM

Fairy tales, at their core, exert a powerful emotional pull, and at rare moments in Terry Gilliam's The Brothers Grimm, the director finds a visual equivalent to their hypnotic, wicked appeal. In this typically unclassifiable Gilliam excursion, the first glimpse of Little Red Hiding Hood traipsing through the gloomy forest is enough to give any adult viewer a shiver. Gilliam frames her entrance, and the later arrival of Hansel and Gretel, with ominous portent, the colors - that cape and hood especially - are enticing, and the forest sets have a creepy, storybook elegance. For the briefest of moments, you're a kid again, enraptured by the haunting, suggestive simplicity of these stories; our first sightings of Little Red, Hansel, and Gretel bring with them a spark of tingly joy.

30 Aug 2005

R.I.P. B&V

By Mike Schulz

Everyone has movies they love, but you don't often have loving feelings toward movie houses.

30 Aug 2005

Involvement Leads to Opportunity with St. Ambrose Theatre

By Mike Schulz

For students at Davenport's St. Ambrose University, the end of summer brings with it the usual. Buying books. Attending classes. Preparing for Urinetown.

30 Aug 2005

A First-Class McAdams in a Second-Rate "Red Eye": Also, "Four Brothers" and "Valiant"

By Mike Schulz

Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy in Red EyeRED EYE

Wes Craven's Red Eye is the beneficiary of an original, intriguing leading character and, in Rachel McAdams, exactly the right performer to play her. A good thing, too, because the movie doesn't have a lot else going for it.

23 Aug 2005

New Ground Gives Junior Theatre a Facelift

By Mike Schulz

Chris Jansen, the artistic director of the New Ground Theatre, is a self-described "Junior Theatre kid," and has the pictures to prove it. She thinks.

23 Aug 2005

The Accidental Activist

By Mike Schulz
Activism can sneak up on you. One year ago, Bettendorf musician A.J. Haut couldn't have imagined being the initiator of a benefit performance involving dozens of performers and nearly a thousand dollars in raffle merchandise.
23 Aug 2005

The Summer's Best Surprise Is a "40-Year-Old Virgin": Also, "A League of Ordinary Gentlemen"

By Mike Schulz

Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, Romany Malco, and Seth Rogen in The 40-Year-Old VirginTHE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN

Considering the film's title, this might sound ludicrous. But in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Steve Carell, playing our hapless hero Andrew, gives what might become a legendary comedic screen performance.

16 Aug 2005

CAST Delivers a "Beauty"-ful Season Closer: "Beauty & the Beast" at the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre

By Mike Schulz
In the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre's ingenious new production of Beauty & the Beast, the first things to catch your eye are a small bench located stage right and a large screen - it's nearly half the length of the stage - hanging upstage. On that screen is a rear projection of a rose, and it has a haunting, rough-edged quality; it looks like something that French waif on the Les Miz poster should be holding.
16 Aug 2005

A Dysfunctional Family You'd Want to Join: "Over the Tavern" at the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre

By Mike Schulz

At Friday's nearly sold-out performance of Over the Tavern at Richmond Hill's Barn Theatre, I found myself seated next to a charming couple who engaged me in conversation. I asked whether they had heard of the play previously, as Tom Dudzick's comedy was unfamiliar to me. The gentleman responded that he'd read a little bit about it, but his wife said, "Not me. I like being surprised."

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