Ladies and gents, it has been a wonderful first year for FrontRow. Thank you for finding us and reading us; we hope we continue to chat in the new year. When we return in early January, we’ll have some upgrades ready: a new look, some new features, maybe even some new events and happenings to throw into the mix. So stay tuned. Until then, enjoy the break. To get you there, here’s the Dallas Family Band ringining in the holiday with a rendition of Feliz Navidad at the Murray Street Coffee Shop (video by  Kelsey Foster). Enjoy!

Despite some chattering about the state of motion pictures and poor offerings in 2010, this hasn’t been a terrible year for movies. What was missing, however, was a runaway favorite — a movie of epic scope and quality.

For my best picture of 2010, I chose Winter’s Bone, which is saying something in itself. Winter’s Bone is wonderful, beautiful, and a hard film that is tremendously realized, but it is also a small film. No movies in 2010 had the eschatological ..read more

Sir Name And The Janes/Zorch/Tiger Thrust/Leg Sweeper (The Cavern): If you are at all familiar with Richard Hell’s portrayal of “Billy” in the 1980 film, Blank Generation, you may remember a scene where he is recording vocals.  Hell is more or less playing himself and literally recording one of his own songs.  One wonders why he didn’t just actually play himself completely, since Warhol was allowed to do so in the same film (perhaps that’s obvious).  But the scene is notable ..read more

If anyone is misled into believing that the new Jack Black-starring film, Gulliver’s Travels, has anything to do with the Jonathan Swift classic (and I’ll admit, I was, as I try to stay away from trailers), I’ll let you know the movie has exactly three things in common with the 18th century satire: 1) There is a character named Gulliver. 2) There is a boat. 3) There is a kingdom of little people.

Otherwise, the reference is in jest, a way ..read more

I’m trying to decide whom Rabbit Hole will satisfy. Anyone drawn to the theater purely by Nicole Kidman’s star power will find a film so deeply suffused by sadness that it hardly qualifies as “entertainment” in the usual sense. Those already familiar with the subject matter and hoping for a cathartic experience may be disappointed by the trite moral tacked onto the story.

The movie’s desire to end on a hopeful note is frustrating because it undercuts the more interesting question ..read more

To review the year’s visual art offerings and happenings, I chatted with FrontRow’s visual arts critics Noah Simblist, Rebecca Carter, and Lucia Simek to see what shows and exhibitions stuck out in 2010. Part one primarily discussed work in commercial galleries, while the second part touches on museums and non-profit spaces. (Click for part one.)

Noah Simblist: Well now that we’re begun to move out of commercial galleries, I think Jeffrey Grove’s re-installation of the Dallas Museum of Art’s contemporary collection ..read more

In part three of our three-part look back at the last year in music, 35 Conferette’s Natalie Davila, solo artist Sarah Alexander, Pastime Tavern booker Kara Howell, musician George Quartz, and Dharma’s Kevyn Green offer their favorites in local and national new music. (Click for Part 1 and Part 2)

Photo above: Cuckoo Birds performing at Majestic Dwelling of Doom (Credit: Natalie Davila)

Natalie Davila (Booking person, 35 Conferette, Majestic Dwelling Of Doom)

Local Scene: Quite a few interesting bands came out ..read more

1. Willem Brans got his start in arts management as the marketing manager for the Dallas Ballet, after years as an English teacher and journalist. He now runs the Los Angeles-based Arts Consulting Group, which, as we learn in this New York Times interview, helps arts organizations conceive of and raise funds for new venues. Bran’s biggest project to date? The Meyerson:

That was a major project. I. M. Pei was the architect, and it’s an absolutely brilliant building. It opened in 1989 and has 2,100 seats. That’s the sweet spot for acoustics. It was definitely a turning point for Dallas.

2. I hope you have been enjoying our year end recaps (pop music, visual art, classical music, architecture, dance, theater), which have largely turned out to be more conversations than the usual listomania. The Dallas Morning News has also filed some look-backs today, including classical music and museums and galleries. We’ll continue with our best-ofs today, including our third installment of the pop music conversation, the second part of our visual art conversation (which focuses on museums), and a roundup of the best movies of the year. Then, we’ll sign-off until January.

3. And finally, a programming note: if you’ve picked up the latest issue of the print product, you’ll notice we’re already thinking ahead to 2011, coming up with 20 things that will happen in the new year. My compadre, Zac Crain, and I will discuss these prophecies today on Think (if this sounds to you like a last minute fill-in, I think KERA’s program discription on their website (“developing”) is pretty much a tip-off). So, if you find yourself hustling through traffic trying to get in some last-minute shopping, tune in.

To review the year’s visual art offerings and happenings, I chatted with FrontRow’s visual arts critics Noah Simblist, Rebecca Carter, and Lucia Simek to see what shows and exhibitions stuck out in 2010. Part one primarily discusses work in commercial galleries, while the second part touches on museums and non-profit spaces.

Noah Simblist: Some strong shows that stick out for me in 2010 include: 

Jeff Elrod ­(pictured above) After a disastrous train wreck of a lecture at the Modern Art Museum ..read more

True Grit doesn’t feel like the first western by the Coen Brothers, just the first western by the Coen Brothers set in the Wild West.

So many of the Coens’ movies — Blood Simple, Miller’s Crossing, Fargo, O Brother Where Art Thou, No Country for Old Men — straddle genres, nod in style and form towards golden-age Hollywood, and employ to new effect the cinematic language of the great western filmmakers: Ford, Hawks, Huston, Zimmerman, etc.

True Grit is a western in a ..read more