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Will Arbery

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Articles by Will Arbery

  • Movies

    The Expendables Proves That a Dozen B-Class Actors Don’t Add Up to An A-Class Film

    Author:
    By
    Post date:
    August 13th, 2010 9:29am

    Rating

    G Y R

    Location

    AMC Northpark 15 8687 N. Central Expy. Dallas, TX 75225

    Dates

    Opens Aug 13

    Is it a marketing conspiracy? Two films opening this weekend could not have been more carefully crafted to appeal exclusively to one sex and not the other. While Eat, Pray, Love will pack theaters with sentimental ladies, any guy with a drop of testosterone in his veins should be instantly excited about the cast list for The Expendables. Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Jet Li, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke, Terry Crews, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Randy Couture, even Arnold Schwarzenegger ..read more

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  • Movies

    With Its Odd Russian Humor and Mismanaged Tone, The Concert Hits Few Good Notes

    Author:
    By
    Post date:
    August 6th, 2010 2:05pm

    Rating

    G Y R

    Location

    Magnolia Theatre 3699 McKinney Ave., Ste. 100 Dallas, TX 75204

    Dates

    Opens Aug 6

    In Radu Mihaileanu’s The Concert, a French and Russian production, Aleksei Guskov plays Andreï Filipov, also called “The Maestro,” the former conductor of the Bolshoi Orchestra in Moscow. Twenty years before film begins, he was thrown out of his position because he refused to release the Jewish members of his orchestra. The Maestro’s baton was broken in half by a Communist official during a performance of a Tchaikovsky concerto, and since then he has been unable to resurrect his career. ..read more

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  • Movies

    Middle Men is About a Porn Pioneer, But Its Moral Mess Doesn’t Get Dirty Enough

    Author:
    By
    Post date:
    August 6th, 2010 11:07am

    Rating

    G Y R

    Location

    AMC Northpark 8687 N. Central Expy. Dallas, TX 75225

    Dates

    Opens Aug 6

    At the beginning of Middle Men, we see Jack Harris (Luke Wilson), a Houston businessman, stuffing millions of dollars into a duffel bag and driving out to save his family from angry Russian mobsters. In an apologetic voice-over, he explains. A few years ago, he became involved in the internet pornography business. On paper, his involvement was only that of a “middle man,” selling a revolutionary credit card billing program to pornographic websites. But he is, in fact, the brains ..read more

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  • Movies

    Dinner For Schmucks Is Funny For All the Wrong Reasons

    Author:
    By
    Post date:
    July 30th, 2010 11:04am

    Rating

    G Y R

    Location

    AMC Northpark 8687 N. Central Expy. Dallas, TX 75225

    Dates

    Opens Jul 30

    The film on which Jay Roach’s Dinner for Schmucks is based, The Dinner Game, ends on  a much harsher note than the remake, partly because it’s French, and partly because it manages to make its central idiot, played by Jacques Villeret, a real person. In the American version we get comic superstar du jour Steve Carell. Although Steve Carell is hilarious in this film and occasionally endearing, the role seems like an amalgamation of his previous roles. He’s not unique. ..read more

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  • Movies

    Asian Film Festival of Dallas: Let’s Fall in Love and Seven 2 One

    Author:
    By
    Post date:
    July 29th, 2010 2:17pm

    Rating

    G Y R

    Location

    Magnolia Theatre 3699 McKinney Ave., Ste. 100 Dallas, TX 75204

    Dates

    Jul 23 thru Jul 29

    Let’s Fall in Love

    Taiwanese director Wuna Wu has found a good subject in her documentary Let’s Fall in Love: matchmaker Helen Chen is a fascinating, larger-than-life figure, reminiscent of Rosalind Russell’s Auntie Mame with her dramatic meddling in other people’s lives. She is officially a “marriage consultant,” a lifelong passion on the side of her other, full-time job. She says she does it for the good of Taiwan, which has a 50% divorce rate. She meets someone who ..read more

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  • Movies

    Asian Film Festival of Dallas: Iron Crows and I Corrupt All Cops

    Author:
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    Post date:
    July 28th, 2010 12:02pm

    Rating

    G Y R

    Location

    Magnolia Theatre 3699 McKinney Ave., Suite 100 Dallas, TX 75204

    Dates

    Jul 23 thru Jul 29

    The Asian Film Festival of Dallas runs until Thursday night, but it announced its Jury Award winners yesterday. I suppose that means that only the movies screened through Tuesday were up for big awards. The Audience Award hasn’t been announced yet, and voting for that will continue. But does this signify that the films will drop in quality for the last two days of the festival? I hope not.

    The jury was composed of several local figures, including D’s Best Actor ..read more

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  • Theater & Dance

    The Festival of Independent Theaters: Once More, With Feeling and Purgatory

    Author:
    By
    Post date:
    July 27th, 2010 1:31pm

    Rating

    G Y R

    Location

    Bath House Cultural Center 512 E. Lawther Drive Dallas, TX 75218

    Dates

    Jul 16 thru Aug 7

    There are two productions at the Festival of Independent Theaters of which you should steer clear: Second Thought’s Once More, With Feeling (A Power Play) and the McClarey Players’ Purgatory, A Bedroom Farce. Both feature young actors, including some with real talent, but the scripts are the real culprits. Christina Cigala’s Once More and Cliff McClelland’s Purgatory are both meandering and jokey. They’re painful to sit through.

    At first, Once More is charming. The young cast is one of the most ..read more

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  • Movies

    Asian Film Festival of Dallas: Day 4 Brings an Inside Look at China, a Film With Texas Roots

    Author:
    By
    Post date:
    July 27th, 2010 10:37am

    Rating

    G Y R

    Location

    Magnolia Theatre 3699 McKinney Ave., Suite 100 Dallas, TX 75204

    Dates

    Jul 23 thru Jul 29

    The showcase on Monday at the Asian Film Festival of Dallas was Mao’s Last Dancer, whose screening was attended by dozens of people involved in the film. Most of Bruce Beresford’s movie takes place in Houston (and features Kyle MacLachlan attempting a Texan accent), so several Texan investors and producers were in attendance.

    Mao’s Last Dancer is a distinctly Western film, and the festival knows it, as does its audience. Apparently the leading contenders for the Audience Award so far are ..read more

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  • Movies

    Asian Film Festival of Dallas: Weekend Wrap-up

    Author:
    By
    Post date:
    July 26th, 2010 1:46pm

    Rating

    G Y R

    Location

    Magnolia Theatre 3699 McKinney Ave., Suite 100 Dallas, TX 75204

    Dates

    Jul 23 thru Jul 29

    “We’ve been called a niche festival,” Asian Film Festival of Dallas co-founder Steve Carlton said before Sunday night’s centerpiece film Ip Man 2. “And, you know, it’s true. But we’re proud of that.” Whether they’re niche or not, AFFD has lasted for an impressive nine years in the festival business, and the first three days of this year’s program proved that they know what they are doing, and they do it well. Here’s a recap:

    Friday

    Best day of the festival so ..read more

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  • Theater & Dance

    The Festival of Independent Theaters: Bible Women, Georgie Gets a Facelift, and Thank You Berry Much

    Author:
    By
    Post date:
    July 26th, 2010 1:20pm

    Rating

    G Y R

    Location

    Bath House Cultural Center 512 E. Lawther Drive Dallas, TX 75218

    Dates

    Jul 16 thru Aug 7

    Bible Women (repeats July 29, July 31, August 1)

    New York playwright and composer Elizabeth Swados wrote Bible Women as a song cycle, but it’s presented here with text by local playwright Vicki Cheatwood. Her chunks of narration and dialogue are much appreciated, because it’s hard to imagine this not-quite-play without her guidance.

    As it is, the piece is still dominated by its songs, which incorporate a broad range of styles, from gospel to pop. It deals, rather quickly, with several Old ..read more

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