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Theater
Two acts are better than one
Theater aficionados, thespians and patrons of the alternative art community -- these are the people that will enjoy “Bad Habits", Terrance McNally’s billing of one-acts that highlight the absurdity of our self medicating society currently on stage at the black box Mission space Theater Rhinoceros. Everyone else should stay at home. More
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Movies
Yet Another Lackluster Pixar Imitation
Fly Me to the Moon 3D, the latest attempt by an animation studio not named Pixar to duplicate Pixar’s commercial and critical success is, like most of its predecessors in the Pixar imitation sweepstakes, short on visual and narrative originality. The first feature-length effort from nWave Pictures, a fledgling Belgium animation studio, and director Ben Stassen, Fly Me to the Moon, borrows the central conceit from Pixar’s second, lesser animated film, A Bug’s Life, mixes the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing, Cold War politics, and broad physical comedy and uninspired verbal humor with sub-Pixar- production values. More
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Movies
Woody Allen’s Summer of Bittersweet Romance
The disparity between Woody Allen’s recent string of tormented meditations on murder and betrayal (Match Point, Cassandra’s Dream) and his weightless farces (Anything Else, Scoop) has led some to suggest that he dispense with his comic impulses altogether. So it comes as a welcome surprise that Allen’s latest, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, is a comedy of refreshing depth that finds the 72-year-old filmmaker invigorated by the picturesque backdrop of the Mediterranean coast and a perfectly matched cast led by Javier Bardem as a preternaturally confident Don Juan. More
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Restaurants
Meat Me in Noe Valley
Rustic California-Italian food, prepared with thrift and skill, makes Noe Valley's Incanto one of the most appealing restaurants in the city. To most of its patrons, Incanto is simply a thoroughly appealing neighborhood restaurant. But to those who closely follow the food media, the place buzzes. More
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Music
SF Station Blows It Up
Last Thursday night KMEL threw a little block party and invited some close friends to entertain the guests. I was in the in crowd and got a chance to have some fun…With a line-up like Lloyd, The Dream, Trey Songs, Rick Ross, Ne-Yo, Young Jeezy and T-Pain rocking this sold out show, it was something to see. From Ne-Yo’s smooth and sexy tunes that made the girls faint to Young Jeezy's surprise appearance which made the 11k+ crowd get out of their seats, this was a hell of a show. More
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Music
No Explanation for the Exclamation
After nearly 10 months on the road last year, !!! (commonly referred to as Chk, Chk, Chk) is easing up on its tour schedule this summer with regional mini-tours, the latest of which stops in San Francisco on August 27th at The Independent. That’s not to say that life is completely easy for !!!. When it’s not on tour, the dance-rock band’s eight members are split with homes in New York, Portland and Sacramento, making regular practices and collaboration nearly impossible. And then there’s the symbolic name -- a source of constant questioning that thwarts easy explanations and simple Internet searches alike. More
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Movies
War is Hell
Making a film is pretty much a thankless march through hell. War is no walk in the park either. Making a film about war? Pure, unadulterated insanity. Tropic Thunder begins with harried director Damien Cockburn (Steve Coogan) on the verge of a meltdown as production of his epic Vietnam war film Tropic Thunder has come to a standstill. His three self-absorbed megastars (Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., and Jack Black) can’t get their act together and production is a month behind after a mere five days of shooting! More
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Literary Arts
Not just another Beauty and the Beast
Anyone who has ever watched the cartoon "Gargoyles" remembers the impossible love that blossomed between Goliath, the leader of the gargoyles, and Elisa, the savvy New York City cop. He was an enormous, frightening creature who turned to stone during the day, while she was an ordinary (but beautiful and talented) human. Their love remained, sadly, unconsummated. Just as in the cartoon, Andrew Davidson’s novel, The Gargoyle, also tells the story of a man who, despite his frightening appearance, has an unconsummated love affair with a beautiful woman. He, like the stone gargoyles that she carves, is carved away in order to become whole. More
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Museums
Where is the Bay Area Now?
When galleries and cities begin recurring art exhibitions, they make long term commitment to showcasing their region’s art well into the future. Twelve years ago, San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts committed to the Bay Area with the initiation of its triennial exhibition, Bay Area Now. Only this year, just four triennials in, they almost didn’t hold BAN 5. More
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Arts & Crafts
Treasures for Discovery
“The Vintage Paper Fair is coming up!” I said excitedly to a friend the other day. This drew a strange look and a puzzled “Oh…?” What, you may wonder, is a vintage paper fair and what’s to get so excited about? Hal Lutsky’s series of Vintage Paper Fairs only provide fantastic inspiration and finds to anyone with a passion for pretty much anything really. In particular, if you fancy yourself to be any sort of craft, design or antique aficionado, run, don’t walk to the paradise of vintage post cards, photography, campy brochures, “all manner of curious, beautiful and interesting old paper” and more that await at the Hall of Flowers. More
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