KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON. In a recent profile for the Los Angeles Times, Marissa R. Moss refers to “the radical empathy” of Jason Isbell, the frequently mis-described artist whose albums have spent more time on the turntable in this house than any other’s in the last decade. Not coincidentally, Isbell has a small but […]
The Miniplex
Posted inArts + Scene
Good Luck, Ladies
In my (lately frequent) absences, the Editor seems compelled to see and write almost exclusively about horror. I suspect the impetus for this is actually two-fold. Despite frequent, vociferous protestations, the Editor is actually an ardent fan of the genre. But these occasions allow her even more opportunity than the normal, strictly enforced, brigade-style hierarchy […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Character Star
REPTILE. There are character actors and there are movie stars, and in between is Benicio Del Toro. Like many, I first became fully aware of Del Toro with The Usual Suspects (1995), written by the now-anointed Christopher McQuarrie and directed by the lately canceled Hollywood monster Bryan Singer. Standing out among a cast of standouts, […]
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Music Tonight: Tuesday, Oct. 10
The Miniplex is hosting Latin dance classes with instructor Selma Angelina every Tuesday this month at 8 p.m. for a drop-in price of $20 per class. Then afterward, you can try your moves out during the free dance party hosted by DJ Amaru Shia. I believe they are still doing a pretty mean Taco Tuesday […]
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Intelligence
DUMB MONEY. The big lie or the truth-at-large that remains largely unspoken, is that the stock market is any kind of democratic capitalist enterprise. By the logic of a casino, perhaps: Anyone with money to waste is welcome to come on in; be our guest. Rule No. 1 of the casino being that the house […]
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Music Tonight: Friday, Sept. 29
Unless you acted far in advance and managed to snag some tickets, the sold-out Thundercat show at the Van Duzen is not in your cards tonight, friend. Don’t sweat it though, the Miniplex is putting on a banger at 9 p.m. San Francisco’s warm, electro-tinged chamber pop act Healing Potpourri is in the house, and […]
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It Lives Inside‘s Desi Demons
IT LIVES INSIDE. As deeply as the tropes of teen horror movies are carved in the genre, a shift in perspective, in setting, in character can turn them on their head. Focused on an Indian American teenager, writer and director Bishal Dutta’s It Lives Inside opens up new avenues to explore isolation, shame and family […]
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Music Tonight: Friday, Sept. 22
Everyone hip to the deal of living in Humboldt knows our county magically balances a relatively mild-yet-diverse climate with an approximation of four distinct seasons. This is a rarer thing than one who is used to this way of living might readily acknowledge, so I am always in favor of celebrating a new season. A […]
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Poirot’s Ghost in A Haunting in Venice
A HAUNTING IN VENICE. I am both an Agatha Christie fan and philistine, coming to her stories second hand, via my mother’s avid reading and BBC productions. Drinking tea with jam and toast beside my mother on the sofa as we watched, Belgian dandy Hercule Poirot became and remains my favorite of Christie’s detectives. Christie […]
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The Nun II is a Holy Terror
THE NUN II. I would like to begin by acknowledging mistakes were made. Calendar editor Kali Cozyris and I giddily planned a trip to the movies as soon as we saw the trailer for this sequel, assuming we, as supernatural horror fans, were up to it. Granted, she should have worn a thicker shirt in […]
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Music Tonight: Friday, Sept. 8
Arcata has two groovy shows tonight at 9 p.m. for you to choose from, a choice that might prove difficult, as both look quite promising. Over at Humbrews, Fernstock 2023 alumni Caribbean Jazz Odyssey is set to share the stage with Samba Floresta, which guarantees a night of movement on the dancefloor ($10). Meanwhile at […]
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Back in the Fight
MOTHER’S DAY. In my zeal for streaming action movies out of Asia, I may have slept on Poland. The first five minutes of Mateusz Rakowicz’s Dzien Matki, as it’s called pre-translation, set the tone, with the exhausted, rained-upon Nina Nowak (Agnieszka Grochowska) taking on a seven-pack of right-wing corner thugs with a six-pack of beer. […]