2013 marks the second year the Academy showcases the next generation of filmmakers at the Oscars. And this time, they have enlisted the help of Channing "Magic Mike" Tatum to find those very fortunate kids.
Our boy Tatum — who is currently on location for 22 Jump Street— showed up via Skype on The Ellen DeGeneres Show recently to talk about his new projects, but also the Team Oscar college search. The lucky contest winners receive a whole weeklong “Oscar experience“ and serve as onstage ushers at the 86th Oscar program next year.
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“It’s inspiring to see talented young people passionate about movies, and I’m excited to help shine a spotlight on them through Team Oscar,” Tatum told DeGeneres.
He, 86th Oscar producers Craig Zadan and Neil Maron and many others will choose the final winners. Student participants are asked to submit 60-second videos submitted explaining why they represent the future of film.
“Team Oscar” is the new concept, based on last year's contest, “The Oscar Experience College Search,” started by Seth MacFarlane. I don't know if this is necessary but, Family Guy creator, among plenty of other amazing work, was the anchor for last year’s contest during a surprise visit to a UCLA film class.
“We were very happy to have created this college program for last year’s show. It was a huge success, and we’re excited to take it to the next level,” Zadan and Meron elaborated. “With Channing Tatum set to help us discover a new group of talented young filmmakers and The Ellen DeGeneres Show on board to chronicle their stories, we feel Team Oscar will be more rewarding and exciting than ever.”
DeGeneres will be hosting the 86th Academy Awards March 2, 2014. Click here to enter.
As the Lightning, which have a record of 14-8-1, host the New York Rangers, 23-12-1, tonight, they're coming off of a four game on-the-road losing streak.
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Earlier this month, on Nov. 11, one of the Tampa Bay Lightning's strongest players, Steven Stamkos, suffered a horrific blow — an injury to his leg, which resulted in surgery on his right tibia. While Stamkos is expected to fully recover, he's out for the rest of the season. There's always the potential he'll return towards the end of the season, but ultimately his absence is to blame for the lack of recent wins.
The injured list also includes Tom Pyatt, who has been out with a collarbone injury and is getting ready to return, although not in time for tonight's matchup. Mattias Ohlund has also been out since last season with a knee injury. Ryan Malone took a puck to the foot during the overtime loss against the Anaheim Ducks this past Friday and did not practice on Sunday or today. The team is not sure when Malone is expected to return.
With the Rangers return to the Tampa Bay Times Forum, also comes the return of previous Lightning head coach John Tortorella and ex-center Brad Richards. Tortorella helped lead the Lightning to the Stanley cup in 2004, Richards was there to help win it and holds the record for game-winning goals in a single playoff season with seven goals in 2004. Revenge would be too strong of a word to use and in this case would be better predicted as one of the seasons best face-offs.
The Lighting were in their hottest streak this season since we won the Stanley Cup back in 2004, until Stamkos was placed on the injured reserve list. Immediately after, consecutive games were won against the Montréal Canadiens (2-1 in a shootout) and the Anaheim Ducks (5-1); however, since then, the Lightning have lost the last four games.
Between Stamkos' injury and a recent recent lack of scoring, forward Nikita Kucherov and defensemen Dmitry Korobov were called up from the Syracuse Crunch, general manager Steve Yzerman announced yesterday.
Kucherov, 20, has been a rookie sensation in the AHL in 17 games this season, posting 13 goals and 11 assists. He leads all AHL rookies for goals and points and was recently on a nine-game-point streak. While there's no doubt that Stamkos was the best player on the team when he fell to the ice, having amassed 14 goals and 9 assists for 23 points in only 17 games, his absence also calls into question whether the recent losses can be attributed to the void of Stamkos or the void of the offense during the California run. I say it's a combination of both, but that the Lightning will kick ice and still make the playoffs. The season is still early and Coach Jon Cooper, who led the Admirals to the Calder cup and the Crunch to a team record of 39—18—3—5, the best in the AHL just before his promotion, won't let that happen. Cooper has clearly made all the right moves in his new position since joining the team last year.
Tonight's game shouldn't be missed. The Bolts have been dominating on home ice and the Rangers have played their best on the road, but it will be end-to-end until the final buzzer.
My prediction is that the Lightning will still dictate the game, with a final score of 4-3, Lightning.
Rick Scott doesn't often comment on foreign-policy issues, but did today regarding the major deal that President Obama and the P5+1 world powers made with Iran over the weekend that compels Tehran to limit its nuclear program in exchange for lighter economic sanctions.
The Governor is giving it a thumbs-down.
“President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran does nothing to stop the country’s pursuit of nuclear weapons," he said in a statement. "The deal relieves Iran from economic sanctions while allowing them to continue to enrich uranium. This could prove to be a dangerous formula for the safety of our ally Israel, the Middle East and the world."
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That sentiment is shared by many Republicans in Florida and around the nation.
However one Florida Republican Congressman known for at times making some rather dubious statements, Ted Yoho from Gainesville, issued a downright diplomatic statement from his perch on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
"I welcome the opportunity for diplomacy, it is always preferable to sending our sons and daughters into harm's way,” Yoho said on Monday. “Let it never be forgotten that military action has its costs, certainly on the American taxpayer, but most importantly on the lives and families of the brave men and women we send into the battlefield. For that reason I am hopeful for peace, however President Rouhani's past actions and statements require a skeptical eye. Iran remains the world's leading state sponsor of terror. In this deal, the devil is truly in the details. The verify part needs to come before the trust."
Taking a relatively moderate tone on anything regarding the president is a bit of a change of pace for the freshman Representative. Or don't you recall his statement during the government shutdown last month that not raising the debt ceiling would "bring stability to the world markets."
But the general thrust from Florida Republicans is that the deal is too lenient on Iran. Sarasota's Vern Buchanan said in a statement that “The stakes are too high to trust a regime that has proven it cannot be trusted. This dangerously reckless agreement allows Iran to continue its pursuit of nuclear weapons.”
“The only reason Iran came to the bargaining table in the first place is because the sanctions are working,” Buchanan continued. “Now is the time to tighten the economic noose — not loosen it — if we want to end their nuclear program once and for all.”
CNN reports that the major nations of the world will suspend sanctions on various items, including gold and petrochemical exports. That suspension will provide Iran with about $1.5 billion in revenue, according to the White House.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has never been popular since its creation in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Most of that criticism involves the invasive nature of inspections at airport check-in lines. Yet overall a majority of Americans appreciate the work that TSA agents do. At least that's what a Gallup poll taken from the summer of 2012reported, with 54 percent of Americans saying that the agency does an excellent or a good job of handling airport screening.
Restore the Fourth however, is not part of that 54 percent. The Tampa chapter of the national civil liberties group protested NSA surveillance on the 4th of July in downtown Tampa, and now members of the group say they intend to protest against the TSA this Wednesday evening at 6:00 p.m. at Tampa International Airport, generally considered the busiest travel day of the year.
"We want to remind people that this was done in the name of our security," says protest organizer Timothy Crosby says about the creation of the airport agents, who don't carry guns. "We were told that this was done to give up our privacy and give up our rights and give up our liberties at the airport to protect us from terrorists with box cutters."
Crosby cites the overall cost of the agency, its effectiveness or lack thereof, and its growing expansion as reasons to hold the action.
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Critics who question the effectiveness of the TSA are trumpeting two federal reports that are critical of the nearly $900 million SPOT program (Screening of Passengers by Observation Techniques) that recently was discussed in the House of Representatives. Those reports concluded that there was no solid evidence that airport checkpoint personnel have a clue when they scan the approaching line for suspicious passengers.
And Crosby says the TSA has never stopped a single terrorist, citing internal testing that shows how law enforcement agencies have successfully hidden mock bombs through the TSA as proof of their ineffectiveness.
Restore the Fourth haven't had too many public actions that have drawn the attention of the public since their 4th of July stomp through downtown Tampa. Organizer Timothy Crosby says that the group has held bi-weekly protests at the corner of Westshore and Kennedy without much fanfare recently. That ultimately inspired this week's protest.
But they won't be able to protest actually in front of the security agents. That's because federal law bans anyone without special permission to get within them at an airport without having a boarding pass.
Restore the Forth members have spoken with Mark Witt, the head of security at TIA, but how far they'll get on Wednesday night is questionable at this point. That's because they say they won't go ahead with what obtaining a First Amendment Permit and submit all their information and fliers for approval in advance, as is required at TIA, a public institution.
"We said what do you mean? Isn't the First Amendment our permit?," Crosby asked. He says the group has never requested such a permit and won't start now. But he insists they'll be peaceful.
The group intends to meet in front of the Mis en Place restaurant called First Flight which is located inside the Main Terminal at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, and then decide from there how and where they'll actually protest.
For more information on the Tampa branch of Restore The Fourth, check out their Facebook page.
As if it weren’t awesome enough Tampa Bay has so many vinyl enthusiasts that we can support several noteworthy indie record shops, now one of the youngest is celebrating its second year this Sunday. Microgroove, the shop owned and operated by New Granada Records’ Keith Ulrey, is blowing it out, too, with live music over two days, not to mention some rad sales at the shop.
On Saturday, Microgroove stages a 2nd Anniversary Pre-Party at New Granada’s unofficial headquarters, New World Brewery. Three bands are scheduled to perform, including Lakeland-based NGR-repped Mrenc (Eric Collins), who produces jagged art rock with post-punk and darkly experimental tendencies, and just issued a new EP over the summer, All Around Surround. Then, on Sunday, the actual Microgroove party kicks off at 11 a.m. and goes until Ulrey & Co. feel like shutting it down. Among the offerings: live music by Atlantic Oceans (the new project of Sleepy Vikings formers Connor and Tessa), Matt Hires (the pop rock acoustic guitar wielding singer-songwriter who landed a national record deal with Atlantic), and others TBA; a (mostly) storewide sale; and beer courtesy of PBR.
Details: Microgroove 2nd Anniversary Pre-Party with Mrenc, Empire Cinema, Radarmen?, Sat., Nov. 30, 9 p.m., New World Brewery, Ybor City, $7; and Microgroove 2nd Anniversary, Sun., Dec. 1, 11 a.m.-TBD, Microgroove, Tampa, free.
As our world becomes more populated, and our online lives become more interconnected, in some ways the distance between people has grown. In an age where we increasingly interact through digital screens, it's easy to forget how essential human touch is in influencing our attitudes, emotions, and behavior.
Photographer, Richard Renaldi, has highlighted the power of human interaction in a series called, "Touching Strangers." For these photos, he recruits complete strangers on the notoriously cold streets of New York City and poses them as though they are couples, family, or friends. At first their body language reflects their discomfort, but then, an interesting thing happens. Their feelings begin to follow their poses. In essence, by physically acting as though they are a couple, these strangers begin to feel genuine warmth toward their posing partners.
The last week of November releases features new albums coming out on Monday, Tuesday and on Friday, the last some indie record shop-exclusive releases issued as part of Record Store Day’s Black Friday sales event. Info and links for the ones you want to know about most below, plus some other ones you may not have heard of (but should know), with audio & video for your listening and viewing pleasure. Click here to check out releases that dropped over the past few months.
A Day to Remember, Common Courtesy (self-release) After a bitter lawsuit with their former label Victory Records, ADTR self-released their fifth studio album digitally on Oct. 8; this is the physical release, which features three bonus tracks. Fans who purchased a digital copy of Common Courtesy can snag the extras at ADTR's website. The Ocala-bred band plays 97X Next Big Thing 13 next Sat., Dec. 7.
A Perfect Circle, A Perfect Circle Live: Featuring Stone and Echo (A Perfect Circle Entertainment)
Beachwood Sparks, Desert Skies (Naturalsound Records) The LA-bred alt country band with sunshine-y beach rock and psych folk tendencies and a Bay area-bred bassist (Brent Rademaker) presents a new album. Check out the video for "Make It Together" after the jump along with finding out about the rest of this week's new releases...
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Billie Joe & Norah, Foreverly (Reprise) A rather unlikely pair of artists — Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day and soul-jazz-pop songstress Norah Jones — present this tribute to the Everley Brothers, inspired their 1958 album of reinterpreted traditional Americana material, Songs Our Daddy Taught Us. Lyric video for "Long Time Gone" below.
Black Sabbath, Black Sabbath: Live… Gathered in Their Masses DVD (Vertigo/Republic)
Eric Clapton, Give Me Strength: The ’74/’75 Recordings (Universal)
Shearwater, Fellow Travelers (Sub Pop) Shearwater re-imagines songs by the bands they've traveled with. About lead-off track, a cover of Xiu Xiu’s “I Luv The Valley OH!!”, Shearwater bandleader Jonathan Meiburg said: “Xiu Xiu’s deeply anxious song always seemed like it wanted to be a big rock anthem to me, so we decided to go for it and and blow it out. I played a white 3-pickup SG (like Sister Rosetta Tharpe!) through a Marshall stack (like AC/DC!) for the opening guitar riff — not a sound that’s ever appeared on a SW rec before — and Cully Symington whacked the drums with mallets as hard as he could, sounding more like the Swans’ orchestral-percussion approach than a regular drum set. I love how this song — about imploring a partner to take Mifeprex, I’m pretty sure - seems to explode and implode at the same time, a state of ecstatic terror that Jamie’s music often inhabits and that lurks in a lot of my songs, too." Video below.
Syd Arthur, On An On (Harvest Records) The U.S. release of the debut LP from the UK psychedelic rock foursome. “Ode To The Summer” video below.
Various Artists, I Need You Bad (Polyvinyl Records) A sonic document of San Francisco modern garage rock scene curated by a significant musician playing within it, Sonny Smith. Among the featured artists: Sonny & The Sunsets, The Sandwitches and Warm Soda.
The Warlocks, Skull Worship (Zap Banana) The eighth studio LP from the LA-bred garage-psych rock band. Freaky video for "Dead Generation" below.
Lewis Watson, Some Songs With Some Friends EP (Warner Music)
BACK TO BLACK FRIDAY RECORD STORE DAY SALES This Friday, several indie record shops in town will be carrying some exclusive (only to be had at indie record shops) merchandise in honor of Back to Black RSD Friday. Highlights below along with info about local RSD sales and events and links to each individual RSD listing... Get the full breakdown of releases on the RSD website...
Cheap Trick, The Classic Albums 1977-79 (Columbia Records, vinyl box set)
The Doors, Curated By Record Store Day (Rhino Records) Compiled from suggestions by record store owners, with the individual tracks selected by Bruce Botnick and comprising rare mono mixes and live tracks.
Grateful Dead, Family Dog at the Great Highway (Grateful Dead Productions, LP) A 1970 live acoustic show.
Harry Nilsson, Rarities Collection (Columbia, LP) Culled from this year's 17-CD box set featuring all of Nilsson's RCA albums, previously unreleased demos and radio spots.
Nirvana, In Utero 2013 Mix (Geffen Records, LP) The seminal last album from Nirvana, as remixed and remastered at Abbey Road Studios by original album producer Steve Albini, with permission from Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic; issued on 45 RPM LPs, cut to copper plates.
Rolling Stones, Got LIVE If You Want It (ABKCO Records, 7" Vinyl) The third and final Rolling Stones 7" EP release (The Rolling Stones EP was released on Black Friday 2012, Five By Five dropped on RSD 2013).
Upsetters, Super Ape (Get On Down, RSD Black Friday Etched Version LP)
Various Artists, Hot Wacks - Vinyl Fall Compilation 2013 (LP) A nod back to the classic "loss leader" LPs of the 1970s, introducing newer artists (Saintseneca, Son Little, Broken Twin) alongside rare and unreleased tracks from artists with established street cred (Neko Case, Man Man, Mavis Staples, Dr. Dog).
Various Artists, I Am The Resurrection: A Tribute To John Fahey (Vanguard, LP) A vinyl edition of the release paying respect to the Americana guitar-extraordinaire as produced by M. Ward; participants include Fruit Bats, Sufjan Stevens, Devendra Banhart and many others.
Various Artists, A Musical Tribute To The Songs of Shel Silverstein (Sugar Hill Records, LP) A vinyl release of the 2010 allstar tribute to Shel Silversein, which features covers by My Morning Jacket, Andrew Bird, Kris Kristofferson, Black Francis with Joey Santiago and others.
Vince Guaraldi Trio, Linus and Lucy (Fantasy, 7" Vinyl) A recreation of the 1964 Fantasy Records single on gold vinyl includes a new picture sleeve featuring some Peanuts characters.
LOCAL SHOPS PARTICIPATING IN RSD Bananas, 2887 22nd Ave N. , St. Petersburg, 727-327-4616. Open at 11 a.m. Live music by Betty Fox and Jun Bustamante, food by Smoky J's BBQ, and 10% off all used merchandise, all day long
Daddy Kool, 666 Central Ave., St Petersburg, 727-822-5665 Open at 9 a.m. Music by D.J. Tyson Mink, Sonic Graffiti, Rebekah Pulley and Luxury Mane, storewide sales and sidewalk bargains, and a special Globe Coffee Lounge Pop Up Shop at Local 662, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Mojo Books & Records, 2540 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa, 813-971-9717 Open 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Buy one, get one sales on select music, movies and books, and Early Bird goodies (First 5 shoppers get a Mojo tee-shirt, first 20 people get free coffee, and drawing for limited RSD Black Friday posters designed by John Baizley of Baroness, pictured right)
Planet Retro, 2414 Central Ave., St. Petersburg, 727-218-7434 Open at 11 a.m. Buy one, get one free on all $1 LPs and 45's, 15% off all used vinyl, tee-shirt and store gift certificate giveaways, live bands and DJs and free food & drink all day long.
Every Elections Supervisor in Florida that I've encountered in my years of reporting here has always has one overriding goal — to maximize the number of citizens to exercise their constitutional right to vote in an election.
That's because the job itself isn't partisan, though in Florida one has to run for the office as either a Democrat orRepublican (or non-party affiliated). I mention that because the two leading voices of opposition to a new directive being issued out by Secretary of State Ken Detzner are Republicans SOE's — Pasco's Brian Corley and Pinellas's Deborah Clark.
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The directive, as reported by the Times' Steve Bosquet, is to impose new restrictions on how and where voters can return completed absentee ballots in future elections.
Why is this necessary?
Detzner says it's about having "uniformity" throughout the state on this particular way of voting. But was there a problem in the past? Was there anything illicit going on that demands that the state now restrict where you can turn in an absentee ballot?
Although some Republicans (Joe Scarborough and Hans von Spakovsky to name just two) are outraged when they hear Democrats and others complain about "voter suppression," just what do you call it when one party seems to have as a policy goal to try to restrict the franchise? We saw it in a number of states that went red in 2010. In the case of Florida, the elections reform bill of 2011 was so egregious that it ended up blowing up in their faces a year ago, shaming the GOP-led Legislature to scale back some of those "reforms' in the 2013 session.
Charlie Crist has certainly been all over the map on various issues over the years, but he's been fairly consistent in advocating for more opportunities to vote, not less. He tweeted last night that "this relentless attack on the people has to stop. The voters are in charge." But not in Florida, Charlie. Not in Florida.
Meanwhile, while foreign policy analysts have been commenting on whether or not they think John Kerry negotiated a good deal with Iran on restraining their nuclear program in the last 48 hours, you also had Rick Scott weighing in.....
And along with thousands of other people stressed tomorrow night about making their flights in inclement weather to get home for Thanksgiving, some civil liberties activists will be joining them at Tampa International Airport to make a statement about the TSA.
Animals in the wild don't have an affordable health care plan. Their survival is often by chance — whether they're narrowly escaping a predator, manmade invasions or quite simply the elements.
Tater was a victim of the latter. The juvenile Green Sea Turtle was found on Jacksonville Beach at the end of April, lethargic and covered in barnacles — most likely because of last season's prolonged winter.
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He was delivered to The Florida Aquarium shortly after, where the vet staff has successfully rehabilitated him back to health.
Tater's recovery came with complications: A week into his rehab, he needed a blood transfusion as a result of a low red blood count. He then needed another transfusion one week later. Fortunately, Tater has recovered and is ready to swim the Atlantic again.
Congrats to the The Florida Aquarium’s Center for Conservation Team for their exhaustive efforts in saving Tater's life, and kudos to the Flip, donor turtle, a resident of the Florida Aquarium. Because of his donation, Tater is expected to live a long healthy life in the wild.
Tater's release is scheduled for today, close to the beach where he was found, on the East Coast of Florida, said Florida Aquarium spokesperson Katherine Claytor.
Monday's public forum in front of the St. Petersburg City Council over the funding of a future police headquarters, St. Pete's latest civic headache, brought a passionate crowd out, upset with what they felt was the misuse of the funds that should be intended for neighborhood projects.
The move prompting the forum was city official's plans to take $4.77 million from the referendum approved Penny for Pinellas fund, which covers capital improvements in the county, and put it towards the funding of the headquarters. The police headquarters, a major aspect of the 2007 referendum campaign, is currently without a plan but will be estimated to cost between $40 and $68 million.
Largely represented by the People's Budget Review, members of the audience spent two hours making clear that while they understand the need for a new headquarters, it should not come at the expense of the more community focused initiatives.
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"I would like to express our strong opposition against this council's proposal to take roughly 4 million from funds meant for neighborhoods, local recreation projects, and cultural facilities, to be used for the construction of a new police facility,” said Louis Brown. “This transfer will further reduce the balances of both the neighborhood and citywide infrastructure and recreations project funds, which have suffered sharply reduced revenues as a result of the recession … As with any budget decision this is a matter of priorities. In the past two years, thousands of residents have made their vision and values in St. petersburg known and they are expressed time and time again, the longing for critical investments into our neighborhoods and into our youth. This decision, if it is approved, does not represent that vision. In fact it is turning a deaf ear on two years of unprecedented public engagement to this body and dialogue on the future of our city.”
Brown and other members of the People's Budget Review pointed out projects covered by Penny for Pinellas that could be scrapped due to the transfer of funds, including the acquisition of property for new affordable housing, street-scaping, landscaping and green-scaping for neighborhoods, recreation center improvements and enhancements, library additions, improvements and replacements, the Chiles Park corridor, the arts maintenance program, improving streets, roads, sidewalks and ramps, storm water drainage improvements, improvements of pedestrian walkways and bike lanes, historical renovations and new park facilities and playground equipment.
While the audience was in a clear majority of opposition towards the diversion of funds, there were some who felt that the new headquarters was necessary.
“While we owe the residents to respond to the People's Budget Review,” said one woman who CL was unable to identify, "the referendum where we promised the voters that we would support a police headquarters I think is a greater obligation. Most of the speakers who have gotten up so far say they do not oppose building a police department and certainly for the fourth largest city in the state of Florida, we have an obligation to the public safety of our citizens. We have fine officers sitting over here. I'm sure if they had the opportunity to speak, they would also voice the opinion that they need the resources to do their job.”
There was also the opinion that this topic should be delayed until 2014, when newly elected Mayor Rick Kriseman and city council members Darden Rice and Amy Foster will join the discussion. This was echoed by former city council candidate and current member of the Rick Kriesman transition team Lorraine Margeson.
“The proposed transfer of funding away from the neighborhood parks, arts and culture to find money for the new police headquarters is an absolutely hard proposition and I urge you to vote no on the strongest terms,” said Margeson. “The neighborhoods have suffered enough these last few years at the hands of this current city government. I have said time and time again, while on the campaign trail, that it is time for the neighborhoods to be supported once again by their own city government. What makes this idea even more astounding is that you don't even know what plan you will use going forward on the police station. How do you even know that you will need this extra money? … The simple fact is neither you or the citizens have a final plan for a police headquarters. There needs to be more thought regarding a final plan and at this late stage in the game for this current administration, it seems only wise to wait for January second, with our new electives, as well as transition recommendations. Just vote no.”
Reactions from the council members were mixed. Some members, such as Karl Nurse and Wengay Newton, agreed with the audience and voiced displeasure at how the issue had arisen, with blame levied at both Mayor Bill Foster and his predecessor Rick Baker.
“If you're going to make that decision [on funding the headquarters], you ought to do it the other way around,” said Nurse “Take a look at the building, decide what you're going to build and then say we are going to make that decision, not we're going to move the money today and then we'll take a look at it. … To me I think that the bottom line is that, while I understand that we need a new police headquarters, that would not have as much of an impact on the rest of our city, whereas if you shift $4.75 million to the neighborhood, city wide structure and rec programs and the rest of it, that has a real impact.”
Supporters of the fund transfer included Bill Dudley, who compared the quality of the current police headquarters to one found in a third world country, and Steve Kornell.
“When you go to a political referendum and you don't do what you tell voters you're going to do, that's problematic,” said Kornell. “I don't see how I do that and then go face them.”
Despite the People's Budget Review's pressure, the council eventually approved a motion that would allocate an additional $3.1 million towards the headquarters, a motion submitted by Council Member Charlie Gerdes that was considered a compromise from the $4.77 million. The council is expected to decide on a plan in 2014.
Disney's latest tries to re-capture the magic of its 1990s renaissance.
by Anthony Salveggi
Its pretensions to the contrary, this is nothing we haven’t seen before, because Disney doesn’t mess with a lucrative formula. Hans Christen Andersen’s The Snow Queen gets the Mouse House combination of square-jawed, somewhat obtuse but funny hero, spunky heroines who pour their hearts out in song, and diminutive, anthropomorphic sidekicks for comic relief. As usual, love is the answer, though that brand of love comes with what passes for feminism in a Disney-fied fairy tale.
Those less than charitable toward Disney entertainment will see a smiling banality in the creation of yet another batch of characters to merchandise to kids. Though Disney has imbued recent films like Brave and Frozen with girl-power sensibility, the efforts still feel commercially calculated to sell decorated twin-size bed sheets.
This is a tale of two sibling princesses — one of whom will grow up to be queen. Elsa (Idina Menzel), like a reluctant Jack Frost, is cursed with the power to create ice and snow. Because using that power nearly killed her little sister Anna (Kirsten Bell), Elsa's ability compels her parents, the king and queen of Norway's Arendelle, to confine her to her room. That separation upsets the free-spirited Anna as she grows — particularly because she has no recollection of having been harmed by Elsa. Most of Frozen has Anna trying to connect with Elsa, whose powers have left the kingdom covered in snow.
Frozen is a close cousin to Disney’s Beauty and the Beast— a main character in self-exile in an opulent castle, two men pining for the same woman, a message that only true love can break a curse. The movie recalls not just previous Disney successes, but also bits taken from the X-Men series and Star Wars. Where Frozen pales in comparison to forbears like The Little Mermaid and Beauty is in the songs — the music and lyrics are as generic and forgettable as anything you’d hear in a live production at the Magic Kingdom. Which this lackluster film is surely destined to become.
A review of the Sat., Nov. 23 concert with Talib Kweli and Big KRIT
by Andrew Silverstein and Tracy May
You don’t realize how big of a presence an artist like Macklemore has until you get kicked out of your seat by a dozen grade-schoolers tricked out in thrift shop wear. [Words by Andrew, photos by Tracy.]
It seemed like a good idea — sneak up to the empty row of seats below me to get a better view right before Macklemore and his producer/partner Ryan Lewis were due to hit the stage. That was until a pint-sized, feather-boa’d brunette and her crew promptly notified me, "um, these are our seats." The parents, clutching tickets, extra sweaters, and a look of general unease about the whole thing, agreed — insistently.
The odd hilarity of it wasn’t beyond me, but neither was the bigger picture. When packs of elementary-age kids are coming to your concert, donned in the subject matter of your hit single, you’ve probably made it, and without major label backing at that.
Macklemore’s show on Saturday at the USF Sun Dome was a well-deserved exercise in celebration. Playing to a modestly packed venue, Macklemore rejoiced with a show that was never dull, safely irreverent, and dare I say kind of uplifting.
Entering the stage in a gold sequined jacket to the The Heist opener “Ten Thousand Hours,” Mack was joined his co-hort Ryan Lewis on the turntables and a random assortment of instrumentalists including, but not limited to — a wild, stage running trumpeter, a trombone player, one cellist, a violinist and a rotating assortment of backup dancers. Most of them were likely for show, though it's hard to fault a dude for bringing something original to a genre well regarded for its more traditional way of doing things, especially live.
And he keeps it up throughout. While most of the banter between songs was probably canned (a diatribe on equality before “Same Love”? No way!), Macklemore was present and jovial and easy to like as a showman. He’s also sober, and like most ex-addicts, he'll tell you all about it ad nauseum, though he parlays the anti-drug dialogue into an overarching message of not letting substances get in the way of your inner creativity. Surely those parents we mentioned earlier were lapping all this up amid the minor freak outs that came after every 'FUCK' was uttered from the stage?
Even as the spotlight shines harder on this guy every day, he still brought Wanz (of ubiquitous “IM GONNA POP SOME TAGS” deep voiced-fame) and Mary Lambert on tour to guest perform on their respective songs, “Thrift Shop” and “Same Love,” in addition to busting out the expected singles “Can’t Hold Us,”“White Walls” and “Wing$.”
Not to mention the fact that he also invited conscious rap royalty, Talib Kweli, and rising Mississippi act Big KRIT to fill the opening slots for him. While it seemed like KRIT had seen better nights and Talib couldn’t get the crowd as hyped as he wanted, each are unique beacons of talent in hip hop today and far off the map (both in sound and income) from the sort of pop-mainstream acts a major label would “encourage” Macklemore to take on tour with him instead.
Is Macklemore's subject matter a little base? Yeah. He’s not necessarily offering us any riveting insight on the human condition. Is he pandering to an easily-swayed crowd of largely white-skinned 18-to-24-year-olds with tons of disposable income? Probably. Does his hit single(s) deserve to be buried in a modern musical graveyard right alongside Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know”? Definitely — but he’s trying, and clearly getting something more substantial than the income or notoriety out of the whole shebang, so good for him. I can’t knock that hustle, even if I want to.
It’s a less than happy birthday for the downtown icon, and its architect challenges the city to finish the job.
by Linda Saul-Sena
A rare harmonic convergence of money and taste took place here 25 years ago, giving birth to the most extraordinary building and garden in Tampa Bay: Rivergate Tower. When you enter this space, there’s a rigor to the design and a quality of the materials that’s palpable. It feels grand.
Last week Harry Wolf, the building’s visionary architect, came back to town for a celebration of this stunning iconic structure and challenged our community to restore Dan Kiley’s adjacent garden to its former glory.
Wolf is a formidable man. Handsome, opinionated and rightfully proud of what he created, he spun the tale of the creation of this masterpiece for an audience of architects, community leaders and design aficionados on Thursday night in the soaring space originally used as the main banking floor of NCNB (now Bank of America), which commissioned the building. NCNB’s CEO Hugh McColl, envisioning the finest “Banking Hall” in Florida, paired two powerful and highly independent forces — Henry Faison, a real estate developer, and Harry Wolf, architect extraordinaire — to accomplish the project.
Wolf, in a spot-on imitation of McColl’s North Carolina drawl, quoted the CEO’s message to Faison: “The good news is that you’re going to get to build the best building in Florida. But the bad news is that you’re going to have to work with Harry Wolf!”
The site they selected, the corner of Ashley Street and Kennedy Boulevard, was not for sale. Undeterred, they schmoozed the local power structure and convinced Mayor Bob Martinez to sell the city parking structure and rose garden for this venture.
Wolf considered the site carefully and determined that a round building would best utilize this prime location. At the time, most of the new high-rises in the area were reflective glass rectangles with no relationship to their location.
Wolf anchored his design in the materials and geometry of the locale. The fossil-filled, warmly golden shellstone cladding the first three floors was mined on the Gulf of Mexico shelf. The upper floors were covered in a less expensive French limestone, but the difference is scarcely visible and the franc was weaker than the dollar at the time. Strict geometry, in the form of the “Golden Mean”— a 3:5 relationship — directed the proportions of the buildings, both the Cube and the Cylinder.
Wolf drew and revised and redesigned and reworked, with Miles Davis as his inspiration. Davis’ artistry, says Wolf, was in “what he left out.” The architect aspired to create a building which produced the same effect. After all, Goethe said that music is liquid architecture and architecture is frozen music.
Dan Kiley, the most revered modernist landscape architect, had collaborated with Wolf on some previous projects, but none of this scale and ambition. They shared a vision of the building’s and landscape’s design reflecting the same template but in different materials — the building representing a crisp order and the garden melding the geometry with the playfulness of water and softness of grass.
Kiley selected local trees, tall sabal palms for height and lush, flowering crape myrtles with pink and white blossoms for color and contrast. In creating a Persian garden (a nod to the Moorish accents of Plant Hall on the opposite side of the Hillsborough River), water was a key element. Large shallow reflecting pools mirrored the Cube, a shimmering welcome to the property.
Fountains danced in the garden, adding animation and providing soothing white noise to reinforce the notion of the garden’s meditative, quiet elegance. An intricate pattern of pavers mimicked the building’s golden mean relationships. Water flowed through runnels and above the building’s entry areas. Bliss!
Frank Lloyd Wright is the best-known advocate for design consistency throughout a structure, meaning that the chimney’s design should be reflected in the room proportions, the garden walls and even the salt and pepper shakers. Wolf took this ethic of design-consciousness to heart, so the metal grilles between the two buildings, the elevator doors and all the original office furniture custom-designed by ASD for NCNB and fellow tenants, the Holland & Knight law firm, were created to fit.
The result was dazzling. The building won international kudos and Harry Wolf was lauded for his bold creation by the American Institute of Architects 1993 National Honor Award.
Meanwhile, back in Tampa, things were not so rosy.
The Bank of America unloaded the maintenance of this complex, highly manicured garden onto the City of Tampa’s Parks Department — nice guys, but with mow-and-blow resources. Also, the waterproofing of the city’s first green roof — the garden was planted atop an underground parking garage — had major leaking issues. Wrong construction? Poor materials? Whatever the causes, the park caused headaches for the city and building owners.
The downward spiral of lack of maintenance coupled with less investment in the property was disheartening for all. Mayor Pam Iorio delivered the death blow with the Great Tree Massacre of 2009. Fortunately, the building owners sued the city to prompt repairs to the roof. Architects from RS&H oversaw the roof’s reconstruction; working with Kiley’s original drawings from archives at Harvard University, they numbered each part of the garden’s hardscape and returned it to its original location. Except: No trees. no water. And the reflecting pools had been sacrificed on the altar of valet parking a decade before.
Dark days for great design. The building rotated through several owners until the In-Rel Properties Group purchased it in 2011 for $22 million, significantly less than the original construction price of $150 million. The new owners, justifiably proud of owning a landmark building, have stepped up to the plate and invested over $3 million in maintenance and freshening.
Thanks to In-Rel’s understanding of the greatness of this building, reinvigorating it with zippy new tenants like the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts, Tampa Bay WaVE and Kawha Coffee, Rivergate’s future is definitely bright.
Kiley Garden’s future is uncertain. Its present condition as a treeless garden is an oxymoron. As a community we could rally to return it to its former greatness, which will attract savvy visitors from around the world and brand our area as sophisticated and smart.
Or we can leave it as a barren, unloved lawn, to be utilized sporadically for festivals and dormant 350 days a year, a shadow of its former glory.
Tampa architect Mickey Jacob, currently national president of the American Institute of Architects, says he’ll lead the charge for the Garden’s restoration, including the reflecting pools. Dennis Udwin, In-Rel partner, says the company will support the Kiley Garden restoration.
Tampa City Councilmember Mary Mulhern, who joined over 70 citizens attending the birthday celebration, summed up the challenge. “The people assembled here have the ability and resources to restore the garden and make this place whole again.”
Rather than being known as the place where great design is ignored and left to ruin, don’t we want the national spotlight to shine brightly on our success with this restoration? For a mere $1.5 million, Harry estimates that this national treasure can be regained. Let’s invest in this place!
The cocktails rocked at the event held on the Tampa Heights’ waterfront.
by Daniel Figueroa IV
Thousands descended on Tampa Heights’ waterfront Saturday to celebrate the one beautiful corn concoction even more American than apple pie — bourbon whiskey.
Brought to the eager drinkers of Tampa Bay by uDream Events and Big City Events, the Bourbon and Brew Festival provided multiple drinking locations featuring special, crafted cocktails; a few tents of grub; live music, including country music chart toppers, LoCash Cowboys; a mechanical bull, and a fireworks display.
A 2007 Senate resolution declared bourbon to be “America’s natural spirit.” Though the practice of distilling fermented grain mash to make whiskey can be traced back to Scotland in the 15th century, true bourbon whiskey — barrel aged and consisting of at least 51 percent corn — was first made in the American South during the 18th century. Over the last 400 years, bourbon has become an American staple. No other spirit has roots or history as directly tied to America’s evolution.
The festival was rich with celebration as good ol’ boys and city folk alike sampled the many cocktails created for the event. Standouts included an unexpectedly tasty Makers Mark and Mango slushy. Jim Beam’s Kentucky Storm was an interesting take on the classic Dark and Stormy cocktail, mixing honey whiskey instead of rum with ginger beer.
As opposed to the Summer of Rum Festival earlier this year, which was an all-access event, Bourbon and Brews featured a VIP area in the historic Tampa Armature Works building. VIP ticket-holders had access to unlimited samples of more than 40 different types of bourbon, including Old Rip Van Winkle, a spirit rated 94 by the Beverage Tasting Institute, making it one of the highest rated bourbons in the world.
The building was used as the VIP area to give a more exclusive feel to those who opted for the pricey $85 ticket. Another new addition was the VIP suite option, where you could purchase a private seating area with stage, water and fireworks views as well as private cocktail service.
Following upon lessons learned from past festivals, uDream Events’ director of operations, Cristina Martin, looks forward to bringing more themed parties to the Bay area. She is working on setting up a higher-end vodka fest for the winter, which she hopes will feature new cocktails and entire bars made of ice.
“We want to do something fun, something different,” says Martin. “So long as everybody has a good time and you don’t have to wait 20 minutes for a drink.”
With a rocks glass of George Dickel Tennessee Whisky in hand (yes, Tennessee whisky is also technically a bourbon), an enthusiastic group of line dancers swinging boots in the air, a chilly breeze coming off the Hillsborough River, and a body warmed by the fires of tradition and oak barrel aging, a little wait didn’t seem so
bad.
This holiday recipe will have you giving thanks for the awesome flavor.
by Katie Machol Simon
Besides the giant turkey, I bet if you asked most Americans what their favorite Thanksgiving dish is they’d say it’s the stuffing. Being included in that party, it’s only appropriate that my first official holiday-related recipe of the year is a classed-up version of the traditional side.
For this revamped stuffing, I wanted to use a variety of tastes: buttery brioche bread, savory sausage, sweet apples, tart dried cherries, and crunchy hazelnuts. The pièce de résistance? Hitting the sauté pan with sweet and smoky bourbon to deglaze it and concentrate the flavors of the alcohol. My pro tip for stuffing: Don’t even think about putting it inside your raw turkey and baking it that way — always bake it separately. Stuffing baked inside turkeys gets soaked with raw turkey juices and almost never reaches the proper internal temperature, thus making it one of the biggest causes of foodborne illness during the holidays.
Stay safe and keep it tasty this Thanksgiving, and be sure to try out this updated take on the best addition to your holiday table.
Brioche and sausage stuffing Makes about 10 servings
Ingredients: 1 pound brioche bread loaf, cut into 1-inch cubes (substitute Challah bread if needed)
1 pound bulk pork sausage (preferably with no spices added)
Butter or cooking oil, as needed
1 large white or yellow onion, chopped
3 sprigs fresh rosemary, stem removed and leaves chopped
A few sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only (substitute 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme)
2 Gala, Red Delicious, or Honeycrisp apples, core removed and chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/4 cup (2 ounces) bourbon (substitute a non-peaty whiskey if needed)
1/2 cup hazelnuts, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 eggs
Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut up the bread and spread it out evenly onto two baking sheet trays. Bake for 15 minutes or until it’s toasted and slightly browned. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. (This step can be done a day or two ahead; put cooled bread cubes into an airtight container and keep at room temperature.)
Heat up a large sauté pan over medium-low heat. When hot add the sausage in, stirring occasionally to break it up. Just before it’s cooked completely, remove sausage from pan, leaving rendered fat in the pan, and place it in a large bowl. If there isn’t enough fat to coat the bottom of the pan, add a little butter or cooking oil.
Raise pan heat to medium and add chopped onions and herbs. Let cook for a minute or two, stirring only occasionally. Add apples to pan, stir to combine, and let cook for another minute. Stir in garlic and dried cherries and cook for a minute, then pour in the bourbon, scraping the bottom of the pan. Raise heat to medium-high and let most of the bourbon reduce, cooking it for about 30 seconds. Pour pan contents into the bowl with the sausage and add in the hazelnuts, stirring to combine. Add half of the toasted bread cubes to the large bowl, mix it up, then add the other half and mix it all to combine. Add some salt and pepper to taste.
In a separate bowl, whisk together broth and eggs, then pour this mixture over the stuffing. Mix well to combine (your hands work best for this) and pour stuffing into a large greased baking pan, preferable 9x13”. Use multiple baking pans if needed. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes and if the top has browned, cover it with foil. Bake for another 15-20 minutes or until puffed up and cooked through. Let cool for a few minutes before serving.
At this time of year, mainstream media outlets focus ad nauseum on retail sales. Assignment editors send photographers to outlets like Best Buy or Target to snap pictures of Americans willing to sleep in tents for days to win first crack at buying cheap electronics at 4 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving. (Or, this year, 6 p.m. Thanksgiving night.)
It's also a ritual for advocacy groups like Florida Public Interest Research Group (FPIRG) to try and seize the spotlight as the official Christmas shopping season commences, focusing attention on the safety (or lack thereof) of children's toys. FPIRG did just that today, holding a press conference at St. Joseph's Children's Hospital in West Tampa.
"Parents and caregivers should watch out this holiday season for common hazards that litter our toy shelves," said Dalyn Houser, a Program Associate with FPIRG.
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FPIRG has posted the 2013 edition of Trouble in Toyland, their annual survey of toy safety. This year's report focuses on toys that pose a potential toxic, choking, strangulation or noise hazard.
Choking incidents are the leading cause of recalls, Houser said, citing statistics showing over 80 children choked to death on balloons, balls, toys or small toy cards in the U.S. between 2001-2011. She also pointed out that just in the past year, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has recalled over 172,000 toys because of choking hazards. As she spoke, Houser used as props specific toys mentioned in the report.
Houser then segued into mocking would-be smartphone-type toys, condemning them for exceeded standardized decibel levels established by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. The Chat & Count Smart Phone, for example, produces sound measuring higher than 85 decibels when measured at 2.5 centimeters. How do kids play with it? By pressing it up against their ears.
FPIRG is currently working on chemical safety issues, and Houser said her group is gathering petitions that they'll take with them to the Environment Protection Agency'shearing session on improving chemical facility safety, held in Orlando on Dec. 11.
Also present at the press conference was Tampa area Congresswoman Kathy Castor, child advocate Bevin Maynard and Dr. Yolanda Whyte, Pediatrician and board member of Florida Physicians for Social Responsibility, who also focused on how young children choke on small toy parts. What kinds of small parts? "… Magnets and batteries and beads. Some babies … swallow toxic dyes," which she said could cause birth defects.
"And if a child holds a big stuffed animal with the big white tag, they are inhaling flame retardants," Whyte continued. "Some plastics toys emit strong orders. We have to treat them like germs and avoid exposing ourselves by taking universal precautions.”
Last on the dais was Joanne Linkner, identified simply as a concerned parent. She said that, while she always considered herself a "well informed mom," she was surprised at how much she didn't know about the safety of the products she was purchasing for her kids. "We see the headlines and news teasers about dangerous toys, legitimate warnings about the hazards that are out there. However, these very same toys remain on the shelves of our favorite stores."
Linkner went on to say that federal regulations simply aren't safe enough, and parents need to be vigilant in their research when trying to find the safest toys for their kids.
Although we're not even sure which two major candidates will be on the ballot next spring to replace the late Bill Young in Pinellas County, the Democratic and Republican congressional campaign committees in Washington are wasting no time in trashing the opposing party's (potential) nominees.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) sent out a press release on Tuesday charging that state representative Kathleen Peters was now "furiously flipping and flopping," regarding her camp's clarification of a story that was published in the Tampa Bay Timesthat stated she would not support a delay in flood insurance increases.
Tens of thousands of Pinellas County residents will likely see their property insurance rates skyrocket due to the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012. There has been movement among Gulf state lawmakers to delay the rate increases for a year, but according to the Times , Peters is not interested in a delay and prefers a more comprehensive approach.
Today Peters' spokesperson Mark Zubaly issued a statement: “Kathleen’s comments to the Tampa Bay Times regarding Flood Insurance rates were that simply delaying the implantation of the rate increase for one year solves nothing — We must stop the recent changes to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) implementation completely! All a delay will do is create a year of uncertainty, cripple our real estate market, and send our local economy spiraling back into recession. “
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Peters faces lobbyist David Jolly in the Republican Primary for CD13 that takes place in January. The winner will face former state Democrat Alex Sink, the state's CFO from 2007 to 2011, who has been blasted by the Republican Party of Florida for being a carpetbagger (the longtime Hillsborough County resident is now renting in Pinellas).
While that tag may or may not hurt Sink in the general election in March, Republicans have what they think is a much more toxic issue — President Obama's stumbling health care overhaul, which appears to be growing more unpopular by the day.
Today the DCCC's loyal opposition, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), issued a pamphlet addressed to all Democratic House candidates that provides "some advice on how to sell government-run healthcare." It lists three congressional Democrats who went down to defeat in 2010 when the ACA was an issue.
If you've been procrastinating, or rewriting, or rewriting as a form of procrastinating, you need to take a look at the time. You've only got 24 hours till the final deadline for entering the 2013 Creative Loafing Fiction Contest.
If you know you've got a winning story but you just want to give it a few more tweaks — well, alright, but don't say we didn't warn you: Time is running out. The deadline for submitting your entry is Wednesday, Nov. 27 at 5 p.m.
Here are the contest basics:
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The theme is "Wild," which you can incorporate or interpret any way you like. The judge is award-winning short story writer and novelist Karen Brown. Judge's prize is $500; readers' choice is $250, with readers voting online from Dec. 4-11. Winners will read from their work on Wed., Dec. 18, at CL Space, and the winning stories will be published in CL on Dec. 19.
It's Thanksgiving week, and comedy clubs in Tampa Bay have a nice mix of traveling performers and local talent. There are clean shows, dirty shows and even a few puppets. There are also opportunities to go for free (if you donate a toy), so mix in a little laughter with your turkey, football and deep-discount, full-contact shopping. Here are this week's best bets:
Here are the biggest comedy shows happening Nov. 27-Dec. 1.
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Yannis Pappas Pappas not only performs stand-up, but he brings along a number of "characters," to keep the energy flowing. Favorites include Mauricia, a Manhattan transsexual, and Mr. Panos, a stereotypical Greek male with a thick accent and plenty of opinions. But it's all Pappas underneath, and includes the witty creativity that has earned him appearances on VH-1, CBS and Comedy Central Friday at 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. and Sunday at 7 p.m. at 1600 E. Eighth Ave., Ybor City. For more information, visit improvtampa.com or call 813-864-4000.
Tim Wilkins Wilkins is a comedy vet with more than 20 years in the business, a regular voice on WFLA, has worked with WMOR-Ch. 32 and has written a book based on two of his loves — fitness and comedy. On stage his material is clean but witty as he discusses absurdities of family life, even throwing in an impression or two for good measure. sidesplitterscomedy.com or call 813-960-1197.
Bill "Bull" Ohse Ohse admits he looks like the guy who might be there to repossess your car, but the father of five offers up clean comedy with his perspectives on life and family. Co-headlining is Juanita Lolita Williams, another local clean comedian. Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. at Snappers, 36657 U.S. 19 N., Palm Harbor. For more information, visit snappersgrill.com or call 727-938-2027.
Steve Arik Arik has worked with Bobcat Goldthwait and Dan Whitney ("Larry The Cable Guy") and has been seen on MTV and Comedy Central. He's also a previous winner of Creative Loafing's "Best Stand-up Comedian" award. Never mind the 80s metal hairstyle, this longtime comedy vet keeps the locals laughing with dirty perspectives on sex, drugs, drinking and other wholesome topics. Wednesday-Saturday at 9:30 p.m. Coconuts, 6200 Gulf Blvd. at the Beachcomber Resort in St. Pete Beach. For more information, visit coconutscomedyclubs.com or call 727-360-5653.
Mark James James is a voice-thrower and impressionist who takes the stage with a number of puppets to keep him company, but it's their audience interactions and perspectives are what keeps the crowds laughing. Saturday at 8:30 p.m. at Jack's Joint, 2950 Gulf To Bay Blvd., Clearwater. For more information, visit tampabaycomedy.com or call 727-741-8014.
One-Nighters and Independent Shows
Alan Prophet Prophet has been using the stage to make people laugh for decades, and isn't one for crazy props. He uses the regular tools of the trade — a mic and a stand — to deliver witty observations with a likable personality. Saturday at 9 p.m. at Finley's, 13477 Belcher Road S., Largo. For more information, visit finleysirishpub.com or call 727-535-7858.
Jason Statham and James Franco square off in the boonies.
by Anthony Salveggi
For years, Jason Statham has been brutalizing Eurotrash baddies in the Transporter films. With Homefront, he brings his granite mug and fists of fury to the swamplands of Louisiana, where he gets to brutalize all-American rednecks. The film’s title and its poster — the latter showing Statham's back draped in the stars of the U.S. flag — would seem to suggest Homefront’s target audience is the hand-over-heart super patriots. But there’s a bit of bait-and-switch at work here, as Statham, with his gruff English accent, proceeds to lay waste to local mechanics, bikers and anyone else that threatens him or his family.
Homefront, based on a novel by Chuck Logan, was scripted by Sylvester Stallone, and Statham’s Expendables franchise costar turns in a screen story every bit as dumb and functional as you’d expect. And it might have been an enjoyable hour and a half of pulp were it not for the mess of editing that renders the fight scenes mostly incomprehensible, and a mash of plot developments that make no sense except to keep this flabby movie wheezing along.
The widowed Phil Broker (Statham), a former DEA agent, has moved to Rayville, La., to raise his 9-year-old daughter. Because she’s been taught to stand up for herself, she socks a schoolyard bully square in the nose. From that point, we’re fed a lot of hokum about the long memory of a small town, and how Broker is now being watched closely by the townsfolk.
Initially, the main person with an ax to grind is the bully’s meth-addict mom (played by an emaciated-looking Kate Bosworth). Feeling there’s still some justice to administer, she turns to her meth-cooking brother, the wonderfully named Gator Bodine (James Franco). While snooping around Broker’s two-story home, Bodine discovers boxes upon boxes of law enforcement files (why they're not in a federal facility is anyone's guess) and decides he can use that information to impress a biker gang that Broker had infiltrated. Even when it’s clear the gang has no real interest in distributing Bodine’s meth, he helps them anyway.
It doesn’t help the film that Broker might as well be a superhero. The one time he gets into trouble with the hicks, Broker quickly turns his situation to his advantage. Franco plays Bodine with his oily, smirking flair, but both of his scenes with Statham are flat, and he's hardly a match for him anyway. An obvious romantic subplot with the elementary school’s counselor (the gorgeous Rachelle Lefevre) is teased here and there but never develops. More often than not, I'd be inclined to say that's a good thing, but for a film that struggles to generate a pulse, some bedroom heat would have been nice.
by Leilani Polk
Disney's latest tries to re-capture the magic of its 1990s renaissance.
by Anthony Salveggi
A review of the Sat., Nov. 23 concert with Talib Kweli and Big KRIT
by Andrew Silverstein and Tracy May
It’s a less than happy birthday for the downtown icon, and its architect challenges the city to finish the job.
by Linda Saul-Sena
The cocktails rocked at the event held on the Tampa Heights’ waterfront.
by Daniel Figueroa IV
This holiday recipe will have you giving thanks for the awesome flavor.
by Katie Machol Simon
Jason Statham and James Franco square off in the boonies.
by Anthony Salveggi