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Nathan Weinbender

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A&E >  Entertainment

The 7: Looking forward to Shyamalan, Legos, ‘Logan’

It’s no surprise that movie studios dump their least desirable products during the first few months of the year. After all the Oscar hopefuls march through theaters, multiplexes become a wasteland. But do not despair, cinephiles. Here are 7 wide releases that we hope will brighten up big screens during these cold winter months.
News >  Features

In an instant, it all changed for Ken Hopkins

Ken Hopkins’ recollection of July 13, 2015, is still vivid up to a certain point. That evening, he was involved in a bike accident that left him with a concussion, a few broken ribs and a spinal injury. A few days later, he was told he would have to rely on the use of a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
A&E >  Entertainment

New Year’s Eve: Turn your ears toward 2017

New Year’s Eve falls on a Saturday this year, which is good news for anyone who doesn’t have to work on the weekend and wants to ring in 2017 with as much spirit as possible. We’ve already got a rundown of First Night festivities, but here are a handful of concerts and music-related events to help you say goodbye to the year that was.
A&E >  Entertainment

Spokane Civic Theatre presents “It’s a Wonderful Life” as a live radio play

It was common practice in the 1940s and ’50s to adapt popular movies into hour-long radio dramas. Frank Capra’s 1946 classic “It’s a Wonderful Life” was one of those films, with Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed reprising their roles in several radio programs following its original release. That broadcast of “It’s a Wonderful Life” has since been transferred to the stage by playwright Joe Landry, and you can see it this weekend at the Bing courtesy of Spokane Civic Theatre.
A&E >  Entertainment

Cirque Dreams tells ornaments side of the story in ‘Holidaze’

“Holidaze,” the touring Christmas show from Florida-based theater troupe Cirque Dreams, takes every Christmas icon and tradition and blows them up to Cinemascope proportions. Making a limited run at the INB Performing Arts Center this week, the show aims to be a vibrant, larger than life yuletide circus.
A&E >  Entertainment

Spokane Symphony’s Holiday Pops concerts will offer ‘mix of familiar and new discoveries’

The Spokane Symphony’s annual Holiday Pops concerts is a tradition for a lot of area families, who gather at the Fox Theater every December to hear a collection of Christmas songs old and new. And it’s become a ritual for the symphony’s musicians, too, many of whom have been decking the halls for decades. Morihiko Nakahara returns to conduct the holiday concerts on Saturday and Sunday.
A&E >  Entertainment

He’s no Danny Tanner: Bob Saget’s comedy allows him to get his devils out

Bob Saget’s stand-up is a lot filthier than you might expect. In a way, that’s part of the joke: There’s the original host of “America’s Funniest Home Videos” and Danny Tanner from “Full House” onstage with a routine riddled with F-bombs. The comedian performs at Spokane Comedy Club this weekend, and his material covers everything from his late parents, his unusual career and all kinds of sexual and scatological subjects.
A&E >  Entertainment

Film review: Deception drives Park’s wicked thriller ‘The Handmaiden’

“The Handmaiden” is as twisty, venomous and sexually frank a film as we’ve come to expect from South Korean director Park Chan-wook, a tale of deceit and infidelity that’s something of a con itself. That’s not to say the movie cheats the audience as its complex, crafty plot unfolds; it’s tricky and wickedly funny in ways we don’t anticipate, and the less you know about it, the better.
A&E >  Entertainment

SJO takes on jazzed up ‘Nutcracker’

The Spokane Jazz Orchestra’s 42nd season continues this weekend with “A Christmas Celebration,” a concert at the Bing Crosby Theater that will showcase jazzy yuletide numbers designed to get you in the holiday spirit. Perhaps the most significant piece on the roster is Duke Ellington’s interpretation of P.I. Tchaikovsky’s famous “Nutcracker Suite,” a little-performed composition by an oft-performed composer.
A&E >  Entertainment

Dark side of the holiday on local stages

Every year around this time, there are more local Christmas concerts and plays than you could possibly see in a single season. It’s enough to make your head spin with more than just visions of dancing sugarplums. We’re continuing our coverage of some notable yuletide events, and here are a couple of Christmas-themed plays opening Friday on area stages.
A&E >  Entertainment

Bing hosts monthly New York Film Critics Series

At a time when so many low profile, independently produced movies bypass theaters and go straight to streaming or VOD services, a new monthly film series at the Bing Crosby Theater is providing them with a big screen platform. The New York Film Critics series has been operating in dozens of theaters around the country for nearly four years, but it’s just now adding Spokane to its roster. The program, which kicks off Thursday, gives audiences a chance to see acclaimed, modestly budgeted films before they’re officially released in theaters and on demand.
A&E >  Entertainment

Kyle Gass Band’s rock entertains both comically, musically

Kyle Gass is best known as one half of Tenacious D, the comedy rock duo he formed with Jack Black in the mid-’90s. But Tenacious D is, because of Black’s thriving film career, frequently dormant. In 2011, Gass formed another group, appropriately called the Kyle Gass Band, which performs at the Big Dipper on Monday.
A&E >  Entertainment

Festival brings Bing home for the holidays

The Bing Crosby Holiday Film Festival is an annual daylong event celebrating the crooner’s music and films at his namesake Spokane theater. Below is the lineup of three classic Crosby-starring films that will screen on Saturday.
A&E >  Entertainment

Magic Lantern fills niche for film fans

After months of speculation about its future, the Magic Lantern Theater, 25 W. Main Ave., recently announced that it was finally reopening this week, and the news inspired a sigh of relief among local film fanatics.
News >  Features

‘Show Town’: New history book examines Spokane theater life at turn of the 20th century

Author Holly George knew she had a wealth of fascinating stories when she began researching Spokane’s theater scene at the turn of the 20th century. Her new book, “Show Town: Theater and Culture in the Pacific Northwest 1890-1920” (University of Oklahoma Press, $29.95), paints a raucous portrait of the birth of Spokane’s theatrical landscape, starting with the city’s rebirth following the Great Fire and ending at the birth of cinema.
A&E >  Entertainment

Decking the concert halls

If you need a break from Christmas shopping or want to duck out for a breather while your family is in town, local music venues are going to be pretty busy in December. We’ve compiled a diverse selection of live music choices – some holiday-related, some not – to last you through the end of the year.
A&E >  Entertainment

Musical revue brings dose of good cheer

Right in time for the holidays, “Forever Plaid: Plaid Tidings” hits Spokane Civic Theatre on Friday, a rollicking, feel-good, willfully goofy Christmas comedy that’s plastered wall-to-wall with classic songs.
A&E >  Entertainment

James McMurtry not afraid to speak his mind

A few days before the presidential election, James McMurtry released a single titled “Remembrance” as a free download on his website. The Texas-based singer-songwriter, who will perform a solo acoustic set at the Bartlett this weekend, has spoken out against conservative politicians in the past, but this was the first outwardly political stance he’d taken in years.