Arts & Entertainment

2022 Oscar nomination takeaways
Arts & Entertainment, Opinion

2022 Oscar nomination takeaways

By JAVIER DOSAMANTESPima Post Now that the dust has settled from the media and fan reactions to the 2022 Oscar nominations, it’s time to do the uncool thing and look at the list with nuance and hindsight. For the most part, the nominations ended up being what many prediction models anticipated, and there was only one reproachable snub (it was not Lady Gaga). Although, the argument for “Spider-Man: No Way Home” receiving a Best Picture nomination could be made because it was a highly critically acclaimed movie and a massive commercial success. It demolished “Titanic” in the box office during an era when no one goes to theaters anymore because of streaming and the pandemic. The Oscars are on an annual slide in ratings, and adding one or two of these movies might give a...
‘Gem and Jam’ rocks Tucson for 14th year
Arts & Entertainment, Events, Opinion, Reviews

‘Gem and Jam’ rocks Tucson for 14th year

Tripp St. on the Onyx Stage Story and photos by JOSHUA BAILEYPima Post Pima Gem & Jam: Friday Roundup This weekend marked the 14th annual Pima Gem and Jam Festival in Tucson.  The fairgrounds held a whopping 5,000 guest capacity for the music fest and hosted a variety of artists and DJs playing an eclectic mix of jams ranging from EDM to folk-country.  Stars like Rising Appalachia, STS9 and Simon Posford were scheduled to appear over the weekend. The first year back from the pandemic made Pima Gem & Jam hit the ground running with a dazzling lineup of artists, entertainers and music-weavers. Tripp St., known for his unique style of electronic music reminiscent of action-packed sci-fi media, made an appearance at the Onyx Stage on Friday to an enthusiasti...
Beauty in a ‘Nightmare’
Arts & Entertainment, Opinion, Reviews

Beauty in a ‘Nightmare’

By JAVIER DOSAMANTESPima Post “Nightmare Alley”Directed by: Guillermo del ToroRating: RRun time: 2 hours, 30 minutesShowing at The Loft Cinema “Film noir” is a term coined by French movie critic Nino Frank to describe a subgenre of detective and mystery movies between the 1940s and 1950s. The term translates directly to "dark" or "black" films. Movies in this genre are literally and figuratively dark: The lighting is dim to create gloom, and shadows are heavily employed to form an atmosphere of mystery. Their overarching themes include murder, double-crossing, pessimism or romantic betrayal. The characters in the genre are cynics motivated by selfishness or pure evil, who embark on an immoral and tragic journey. It's the opposite approach Guillermo del Toro has to his usual ...
Biopics: a cheat code to the Oscars
Arts & Entertainment, Features

Biopics: a cheat code to the Oscars

By JAVIER DOSAMANTESPima Post When the Oscar season began this past fall and the perceived contenders were released, I noticed an uptick in high-profile biopics this year. Four of the movies with odds-favorite candidates in the acting categories were released within three weeks of each other, with just a few days in between releases. Last month, it was announced that Daniel Radcliffe will play “Weird Al” Yankovic in an upcoming biopic.  A slew of new biopics have taken over Hollywood in a seemingly new trend.  The problem with writing an article about how biopics are a new trend is that it has been written seemingly every year.  Biopics are biographical movies about historical, famous or public figures. But many also are made about lesser-known people with ...
Preview: Gem & Jam
Arts & Entertainment, Culture, News

Preview: Gem & Jam

By JOSHUA BAILEY The Tucson 14th annual Gem & Jam show will be premiering Feb. 4 until the 6.  In addition to showcasing (and selling) a wide variety of minerals and gems and interactive art installations, Electronic Dance artists from a large range of backgrounds will be entertaining audiences in attendance at the Pima County Fairgrounds. The sonically diverse festival will feature a wide variety of musical acts ranging from jam, rock, indie, bluegrass, funk and soul bands, to bass, indie-dance, experimental, trip-hop and dubstep DJs.  Headliners will include STS9, Liquid Stranger, Shpongle (Simon Posford Live Set), Claude VonStroke and Lotus, with support from Goldfish, Opiou, Quantic, Rising Appalachia, Sunsquabi, TAUK, Random Rab, Daily Bread and Wreckno. ...
Celebrate the Lunar New Year with origami
Arts & Entertainment, Culture, Events

Celebrate the Lunar New Year with origami

By JAVIER DOSAMANTESPima Post The East Campus is hosting an origami folding event to celebrate the Lunar New Year. The free event will take place from 10 a.m. to noon Feb. 1 in the East Campus Makerspace, Room 116. Origami is the art of folding paper into sculptures. It’s one of the oldest art forms, and it has evolved into forms of modern art and is practiced globally. Join and participate in the fun paper-folding projects including money (actual money not provided), zodiac animals, lanterns and Chinese fans.  For questions, email ec-library@pima.edu.
Festival of Books volunteers needed
Arts & Entertainment, Culture, Events, Features

Festival of Books volunteers needed

By JAVIER DOSAMANTESPima Post Help celebrate literature this Spring at The Tucson Festival of Books on March 12-13 at The University of Arizona campus. Pima Community College is seeking volunteers to provide a Pima presence at its table. Volunteers can share and present information on their subject matter expertise, while partnering with Pima’s external relations staff during the festival. The event will run from  9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. each day — if you are interested in volunteering, complete this form by Feb. 25. 
Visit Pima’s free art exhibit at West Campus
Arts & Entertainment, Bernal Gallery, Pima Arts, Pima News

Visit Pima’s free art exhibit at West Campus

Wayne Gudmundon’s photograph of Mescal Spring, part of his What Place is This collection, and Perla Segovia’s Threads of Immigration on display starting Jan. 31 in Pima Community College West Campus’ Louis Carlos Bernal Gallery. (Photo courtesy of the Bernal Gallery) By ALEX JIMENEZPima Post Pima Community College will be hosting a free art exhibit at the Louis Carlos Bernal Gallery on West Campus Jan. 31-March 11.  The reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Feb. 10. On display at the art exhibit will be Wayne Gudmundson’s “What Place is This” and Perla Segovia’s “Threads of Immigration.” Gudmundson is a photographer who was born in Fargo, North Dakota, in 1949. Gudmundson’s photography has been exhibited in institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art and the Center ...
Movie review: ‘Licorice Pizza’
Arts & Entertainment, Opinion, Reviews

Movie review: ‘Licorice Pizza’

By JAVIER DOSAMANTESPima Post “Licorice Pizza”Directed by: Paul Thomas AndersonRating: RRun time: 2 hours, 13 minutesShowing at The Loft Cinema “Paul Thomas Anderson’s new movie is a charming and sweet coming of age story” is a sentence I never thought would be written or said, but that’s what “Licorice Pizza” is. Anderson’s films usually involve scenes with Daniel Day-Lewis throwing bowling balls and pins at a preacher-slash-hustler during the early 20th century oil rush in California. Or drug-induced shootouts in a living room with “Jessie’s Girl” and “99 Red Balloons” playing in the background. “Licorice Pizza,” however, is not a consuming character study nor an intense journey into darkness. It is a fun, hazy and more personal film for the eight-time Oscar-nominated auteur....
A new frontier in the Old West
Arts & Entertainment, Opinion, Reviews

A new frontier in the Old West

By JAVIER DOSAMANTES  “The Power of the Dog”Directed by: Jane CampionRating: RRun time: 2 hours, 6 minutesOpens at The Loft Cinema Dec. 10 and is currently streaming on Netflix In Michael Mann's "Heat," Robert de Niro's character tells his love interest, "I'm alone, I am not lonely."  Throughout "The Power of the Dog," a psychological drama set in the Old West, I kept thinking about that quote. Everyone in this film is not alone, but they are lonely. Nobody's happy where they are, with whom they are, or with whom they are not. One character rejects society and longs for his brother's love in their mentor's absence. Meanwhile, the other brother wants to be accepted by society and rejects their way of life. A widow who terrifyingly coexists with her new brother-in-law ...