In his first outing as a feature-film writer/director/star, B.J. Novak does a lot of very smart things in Vengeance; while I've enjoyed a bunch of movies this summer, none of them has been the low-key, completely unanticipated surprise that this comedic thriller proves to be.

An eagerly awaited weekend of live performances returning to the Quad Cities for the 51st time, the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival will, from August 4 through 6, again enjoy residency at the Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center, with the Davenport venue hosting no fewer than 25 individual sets by nine assemblages of thrilling jazz talents.

Held in honor of the City of Moline's Sesquicentennial, Moline Preservation Society Board member Brandon Tidwell will, on August 3, treat Moline Public Library patrons to three-quarters of the century worth of local history, sharing a fascinating tale of entrepreneurship and growth titled Molette: The American Dream Realized in Moline – Celebrating 75 years of Affordable Housing.

With the August 4 event taking place in collaboration with River Action and the Native American Coalition of the Quad Cities, Davenport's Figge Art Museum invites patrons to explore the history of the Mississippi River in our region in connection with the venue's Anne Lindberg: think like the river with poet Ginny Threefoot, the collaborative exhibition currently teaming the talents of a noted artist with those of a noted writer.

Touring in support of his fifth studio album Maybe We Never Die, which inspired a trio of Billboard singles in "Hood of My Car," "Drugs," and the number-12 hit "Madelyn," the chart-topping roots rocker Anderson East plays an August 4 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, displaying the musical gifts that led NPR to deem him “a perceptive record-maker and proven captivator of live crowds.”

With his credits including five studio albums, an EP, 14 music videos, and eight chart-topping singles on Billboard's Country Airplay chart -- i all in his first decade of professional performing -- singer/songwriter Dustin Lynch headlines the final grandstand concert in the 2022 Mississippi Valley Fair on August 7, his Blue in the Sky from earlier this year the country artist's fifth consecutive recording to land on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart.

The recent winner of four Academy of Country Music Awards – two of which, for Female Artist of the Year and Music Event of the Year, she received earlier in 2022 – singer/songwriter Carly Pearce headlines the Mississippi Valley Fair grandstand concert on August 5, the artist revered for such chart-topping Billboard smashes as “Every Little Thing,” “I Hope You're Happy Now” (with Lee Brice) and “Never Wanted to Be That Girl” (with Ashley McBryde).

Did you know that UFOs (unidentified flying objects) are now, instead, routinely classified as UAP (unidentified aerial phenomena)? Until seeing Jordan Peele's Nope, I had no idea – just as I had no idea that the writer/director/producer could so successfully harvest the Spielberg/Shymalan oeuvres for his specific needs, or that the image of a monkey staring directly into the camera lens could so thoroughly freak me out.

A global stage smash that has delighted audiences with more than 5,000 productions worldwide and has been translated into 21 languages, the iconic musical comedy Nunsense enjoys a July 28 through August 7 run at Mt. Carroll's Timber Lake Playhouse, the show lauded by Broadway World as boasting "dynamite singing, a pinch of puppetry, the tip-tap of time steps, and a hefty dose of soul."