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Picks and previews from this year’s Florida Film Festival
From April 10-19, the Enzian Theater hosts the 24th annual Florida Film Festival. For 10 days, more than 170 films, including documentaries, narrative features and shorts programs, screen at Enzian Theater (1300 S. Orlando Ave., Maitland, 407-629-1088) and Regal Winter Park Village (510 N. Orlando Ave., Winter Park, 407-628-0035). In addition, Enzian hosts a handful…
Keep an eye on the Rollins Greenhouse livecam and you may see their corpse plant bloom UPDATE: It bloomed!!
And what an enticing opportunity that is! Manager of the Rollins Greenhouse Alan Chryst and his staff have waited for 11 years to see the first bloom erupt from their “rare and stunning corpse plant (or Amorphophallus titanum if you want to get scientific).” The corpse plant is so named for its horrific stink, said…
Taste of Winter Park gathers nearly all the area’s hot restaurants into a foodie paradise
Winter Park is a well-established culinary town, with some of the area’s best restaurants calling it home. This weekend, the city invites a horde of those restos – along with plenty of beer and wine purveyors – to the lovely Winter Park Farmers Market to show off their wares. Unlike some food festivals, Taste of…
R. Kelly and Mint Condition bring Funk Fest to the Fairgrounds
Pepsi’s Funk Fest makes its way to the Central Florida Fairgrounds this weekend, bringing a full evening of food, funk and fun. This year’s lineup includes popular ’80s and ’90s R&B favorites such as Mint Condition, Silk, SWV and Whodini, followed by a headlining performance by none other than the R&B don dada himself, R.…
If you’re seeing Dave Chappelle at the Bob Carr either tonight or tomorrow, we’re jealous
There aren’t many living comedians who have the sterling reputation that Dave Chappelle does. After coming up in the stand-up world, Chappelle seamlessly transitioned to national prominence due to his star-making turn in the 1998 stoner classic Half Baked and his stereotype-skewering sketch comedy show, Chappelle’s Show. Then, in 2005, he stunned everyone by walking…
Here we go again: OK Go brings infectious dance pop to the Beacham
Genius power pop quartet OK Go compels equal geek-out reactions to their wildly original and inventive music videos as their swallow-you-whole dance-floor tunes. Their most recent single, “You’re a Fucking Nerd and No One Likes You,” is damn guaranteed to pump up the crowds who turn out to the Beacham when the band plays it…
Get more bang for your buck at Diarrhea Planet’s stacked bill at Backbooth
When it comes to the sweet crossroads of punk, pop and just big, beefy guitar-driven indie rock, this is a steroid lineup. First, you’ve got Nashville heroes Diarrhea Planet, who come with the sound of pure maximalist guitar exultation and a serious live reputation. Then there’s the brawny, affable ’90s worship of noteworthy Infinity Cat…
Twelve21 Gallery moves into their new home on Mills Avenue with a glittery explosion of ‘New Refractions’
Twelve21 Gallery, known for their modestly sized, big-idea art shows, has moved out of their small walk-up in Ivanhoe Village and into a spot in the Orange Studio on Mills Ave. Though the street number, 1121, is off by a digit, they’re bringing the same level of contemporary art to their first exhibition there, New…
David Sedaris talks pretty this Friday at Bob Carr
David Sedaris is funny – very funny, even – so why is it that whenever you read a blurb about him coming to perform, the descriptions make him sound so … dull? The blurb for his upcoming show at the Bob Carr Theater calls him one of our “pre-eminent humor writers” and talks about his “sardonic…
The UCF Book Festival celebrates the printed page
This year marks the sixth annual UCF Book Festival, which authors from all around the world attend, including a few that teach at the university. There are a variety of literary activities to choose from, whether you’d prefer to attend author panel discussions, get tips on how to write a novel with James O. Born…
Bring your old clothes to OPP Spring Swap & Shop and leave with new ones
“Americans throw away more than 68 pounds of clothing and textiles per person per year,” according to vintage fashion purveyors Other People’s Property (quoting numbers from the EPA). They suggest that you keep your stuff out of the landfill, and have fun doing it, by participating in one of their wardrobe exchanges. Drop off your…
Blue Bird Bake Shop now open on Mondays
It’s true: The éminence grise of the Orlando cupcake trend, one of our O.C.s (original cupcakers), the bake shop that helped establish Audubon Park as foodie central, Blue Bird Bake Shop, will now be open seven days a week. Lovers of the sugary indulgence – perhaps some of the people who voted them Best Cupcake…
Before you let somebody muzzle your dog, here are some important things to know
Today, WKMG posted a story about a local doggy daycare/boarding facility that was using nylon muzzles to keep dogs from barking while in its care. According to the story, a former employee of the daycare took photos and video of dogs wearing what some people call “party hats” – snug nylon muzzles used in veterinarian’s…
Theme park rumor mill: Is CityWalk getting a microbrewery with a side of NBC Sports?
It’s been nearly six months since NASCAR Sports Grille at CityWalk closed its doors, and although Universal Orlando said at the time that it was being shuttered to make way for an “exciting new concept,” no official announcement has been made about what will take its place. There’s been a lot of speculation about the…
Florida Film Festival review: Shorts Program No. 1
We’re approaching the halfway point of the festival, and if you haven’t caught a shorts program yet, shame on you. As I’ve said repeatedly, they are the Corpse Flowers of the festival, blooming infrequently and requiring your rapt attention lest you never see them again. Regrettably, shorts too can smell like decomposing flesh once in…
Florida Film Festival review: ‘The Desk’
Pretend you’re a fair-minded, professional journalist, as the creator and subject of The Desk (2 stars) imagines himself. A writer comes to you to pitch a piece after uncovering scandalous information that may or may not prove that a person was unjustly let go from his job. “Ah, sounds like an interesting read. So who…
Marco Rubio wants to be president
Today Florida’s own very special snowflake, Sen. Marco Rubio announced his bid for president. Rubiocorn 2016. Related Stories
GoFundMe account set up for family of instructor killed in crash at Richard Petty Driving Experience
This morning, we posted about the crash at the Richard Petty Driving Experience that took the life of 36-year-old Gary Terry of Davenport. Terry, an instructor at the attraction that allows people to get behind the wheel of an exotic luxury car, was in the passenger seat of a Lamborghini being driven by 24-year-old Tavon…
Florida Film Festival review: ‘Sunshine Superman’
“People like that have something inside, something to do with death.” Those words spoken by Cheyenne (Jason Robards) in the immortal Once Upon a Time in the West ring true for Carl Boenish, who went from engineer, to skydiver, to filmmaker, to cliff jumper before essentially founding the BASE jumping movement in the late 1970s.…
Florida Senate seeks tougher Uber insurance requirements
The Senate and House are on different paths as they consider setting auto-insurance requirements for technology-based rideshare services such as Uber and Lyft. As taxi and limo services call for stricter regulations on growing “transportation network companies,” the Senate has expanded an insurance measure (SB 1298) to include a requirement for around-the-clock coverage on the…
This Little Underground: Mike Dunn & the Company debut with American Aquarium (Will’s Pub)
North Carolina’s American Aquarium (April 11, Will’s Pub) was excellent on their latest full-band swing through town as always. Really, these guys have been one of the best country-rock bands going for a while now and are – in sensibility, work ethic and trajectory – the next Lucero if there’s any justice in this world.…
Raw deal: Cafe 118 in Winter Park has closed
After a couple of weeks of uncertainty, the area’s only high-end raw-food restaurant has permanently closed. There had been rumors about chef Os Barruos and owner Joe Diaz’s Cafe 118 possibly closing doors for a while, stoked by unpredictable hours, but now it seems that the rumors are true. (Update: Barruos contacted us at 5:30 Monday to…
Instructor at Richard Petty Driving Experience at Walt Disney World killed in crash
A driving instructor at the Richard Petty Driving Experience, located at Walt Disney World, was killed yesterday when a Lamborghini he was in crashed and hit a guardrail. The attraction allows people to drive exotic luxury cars around a track while an instructor sits in the passenger seat. Tavon Watson, 24, was driving the car,…
Milk District food hub Market on South needs your help
Market on South’s mural is up, but the burgeoning collective on the corner of South Street and Graham Avenue we told you about a few weeks back needs your assistance to get up and running. They’re looking to raise money to help them overcome some obstacles before city inspectors give them the final go-ahead. The…
Goodbye ‘Captain EO,’ hello ‘Tomorrowland’
Captain EO, the short film starring Michael Jackson and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, has finally closed after its five-year “temporary” return to the Future World theater at Epcot in 2010. Its last day showing at the theater, at least for now, was April 9. The film was reintroduced at the park as a dedication to…
Florida Film Fest 2015 starts today! Here’s a listing of this year’s FFF parties, food events and panel discussions
The Florida Film Festival begins this evening (read our reviews here), and in case you weren’t aware, it’s more than just a bunch of movies – every year, the festival offers food programming, panel discussion, parties and free movie screenings on the lawn of the Enzian. Some of the events are ticketed, and some are…
Florida Film Festival review: International Shorts
Most people think designing a shorts program begins and ends with picking the films. And then there’s Matthew Curtis, the programming director of the Enzian Theater and the Florida Film Festival. A consummate professional, he starts by picking shorts that complement one another and ends by massaging the order until it feels just right. The…
Florida House passes its anti-gay adoption bill, but saner minds prevail in the Senate
This week in Happytown, we told you about a bill introduced in the state House of Representatives that would make it legal for private adoption agencies to refuse to adopt to families based on “moral or religious” objections. Unlike in Indiana, where politicians pretended that, oh gosh, their discriminatory religious freedom laws weren’t intended to…
Florida Film Festival review: ‘Top Spin’
As an amateur ping-pong player, I didn’t need Top Spin (3 stars on our 0-5 scale) to tell me that the sport is perceived as a bit of a joke in this country. But it was still refreshing to hear Americans talk about their love for the game and see, in edge-of-your-seat cinematography, just how…
Florida Film Festival review: ‘Gemma Bovery’
“Desire and death are intertwined,” we’re told in Gemma Bovery (3 stars on our 0-5 scale), a clever and occasionally funny satire on Gustave Flaubert’s masterpiece. Though director Anne Fontaine’s French-language production is essentially a one-note conceit, it’s able to coast on its charm, overcoming its almost total lack of a second act and other…
Short but sweet: American Gymkhana closing at end of month
Well, that was fast. Upscale Indian restaurant American Gymkhana, which had been garnering raves from reviewers and regular folks alike (including us), is set to close. The letter making the official announcement is below. OFFICIAL STATEMENT From: Rajesh Bhardwaj / RB Hospitality Group Re: American Gymkhana Closing Announcement Date: Thursday, April 9, 2015 “Since the opening…
Florida Film Festival review: ‘Welcome to Me’
If you haven’t read The Weekly’s big festival article, what are you waiting for? It contains 21 feature reviews, but there are many noteworthy films that we didn’t have a chance to screen before our press deadline. Several of those will be reviewed in blogs over the coming days. I start with perhaps the most…
This Little Underground: Fort Defiance, Baby Erection, the Dull Blades (Will’s Pub)
Their punk-scuffed folk music is a pretty good listen but, live, Nashville trio Fort Defiance (April 8, Will’s Pub) is a rousing stage display of flashy busker tricks and bellies of fire. Although they have a dedicated percussionist with a rig of intriguing things like a suitcase foot drum and a washboard, their irrepressible beat…
LET THEM FIGHT! Bring Tokyo’s new Godzilla hotel to Orlando!
If you’re anything like me, you’re a massive fan of old green-n-scaly. Well earlier this year, a new Godzilla-themed hotel was announced for Tokyo’s Shinjuku and I’ve been knocking over (very small) buildings in anticipation for on-site pictures and a decent walkthrough. At long last, we have this video to prove just how over-the-top bonkers…
Frozen feminism: Pints for PMS, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream icons and Viagra-laced “vice cream”
In 1978, Susie Orbach famously said that fat is a feminist issue. Three new products/projects seem to agree, if from a more positive and delicious angle. Well, maybe fat isn’t the issue exactly – but fattening, butterfat-rich ice cream. First, there’s The Ice Cream That Understands PMS (we really think “PMS Pints” is a better name, tho),…
An easy way to find our Florida Film Fest 2015 reviews
Click on any film title to jump straight to our review and find out when the movie screens. Narrative Features: Across the Sea ★★☆☆☆ Body ★☆☆☆☆ The Editor ★★★★★ Gabriel ★★☆☆☆ Gosford Park ★★★☆☆ Homeless ★★★☆☆ Gemma Bovery ★★★☆☆ I Am a Knife With Legs ★★★☆☆ Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter ★★★★☆ Moon ★★★★☆ My Last Year With…
Flights from Orlando to Cuba begin this summer
Orlando International Airport has announced that it’ll be offering nonstop flights to Cuba beginning July 8 via Island Travel and Tours. The 90-minute flights will be offered on Wednesdays, and eventually Island Travel and Tours hopes to expand to Sundays as well. You can’t just book a trip for fun, though, because straight-up tourism to…
‘Halt and Catch Fire’ is now on Netflix; catch up before local comedian Nick Pupo joins the cast May 31
Halt and Catch Fire, AMC’s show about the PC clone industry of the 1980s, has hit Netflix in advance of the premiere of its second season on May 31. Though the first season got good reviews, ratings were, well, iffy, leading AMC to hold fans in suspense for months about the future of the show…
You know what’s missing from Disney Springs? $115 steaks. But don’t worry, they’re coming.
All of these years, Downtown Disney (now known as Disney Springs) has been missing something. We never knew quite what it was until this week, when Eater revealed that the newest restaurant planned for Disney Springs, the Boathouse, will offer $115 steaks shaped like tomahawks and big enough to serve two people (see photo below). The…
Valencia will hold candlelight vigil to remember professor Ralph Clemente tonight
The expression “treat yourself” may remind some people of characters played by Aziz Ansari and on Parks and Recreation (they actually say “treat yo self,” but close enough). But for Ralph Clemente’s students at Valencia College, the expression will forever be associated with him. He was a man of many catchphrases, but that was by far…
This Little Underground: Tue night postscript (Soul Shakedown w/DJ BMF @ Will’s)
Backbooth’s been doing it for years. But now Will’s Pub is the latest live venue to enter the dance night sweepstakes with its new Tuesdays. More perhaps than almost any other nightspot in the city, this will seem curious at best and possibly alarming at worst. But don’t freak, regulars. This new night is Soul…
This Little Underground: Live review of Caravan of Thieves (Will’s Pub)
The live circuit abounds in roots acts that combine musicianship, show and levity. But it’s a tricky balance. They’re all designed to have immediate appeal yet most get stale fairly quickly. In their first headlining show in Orlando (April 7, Will’s Pub), however, Connecticut quartet Caravan of Thieves shot the straits of this niche pretty…
Weeklong UCF Celebrates the Arts festival blends art and science seamlessly
The University of Central Florida, like most large universities today, is firmly committed to propelling its students’ success in the STEM fields: science, technology, engineering and math. But what of its vital arts department? Are the arts being phased out – in fact, should they be – merely because they don’t offer an easily quantifiable…
Maitland Academy of Performing Arts closes, Gen Y Productions casting ‘The Flick,’ plus more performing arts news
Sad news came late last month as the Maitland Academy of Performing Arts ended operations on March 18. Formerly known as Starving Artists Studios, MAPA was founded in 2011 by Tim Evanicki, providing acting, dance and music lessons to area students. But their recent relocation to a 22,000-square-foot space (we reported on the fundraiser in…
Vanbarry’s Public House is what South Orlando has needed for a long time
Vanbarry’s Public House Address/phone/web: 4120 S. Orange Ave., 407-704-8881, orlandopublichouses.com After work or after hours? After work Beer/wine or liquor too? Full bar Check all that apply: ☐ fancy cocktails ☒ make ’em strong and keep ’em coming ☒ wine list (5 choices or more) ☒ craft beer ☒ beer: the usual suspects ☐ wide…
Opening in Orlando: ‘Freetown,’ ‘The Longest Ride’
Freetown: Those Mormon moviemakers sure are getting crafty. The promo materials for Freetown suggest some sort of latter-day Hotel Rwanda, with serious-looking dark-skinned folk searching the horizon for signs of a better future. In actuality, the movie is a partisan portrait of some Liberian LDS missionaries on the run from religious persecution. The kind of…
Pho Curry Ford, a modest joint on Curry Ford Road, serves up dependable Vietnamese staples
There are some undeniable merits of dining at Pho Curry Ford, not the least of which is saying the restaurant’s name. “Fuckery-ford? Fuckery-ford!” we giggled at the (I assume) unintended phonetic perversity; we just couldn’t help ourselves. Naturally, the sudden appearance of our server put a halt to those puerile titters, which nevertheless resumed soon…
Croissant Gourmet brings baked goods back to College Park, Black Rooster Taqueria previews their offerings, plus more food news
Croissant Gourmet will open in the old Ace Hardware space on Edgewater Drive, marking the return of fresh-baked goods to College Park – not seen since Delights of Benezit closed its doors. An opening date is still pending, but Black Rooster Taqueria’s scratch kitchen will feature house-made organic corn tortillas, along with such traditional Mexican…
Savage Love (4/8/15)
I’m a straight male kinkster who used to do live performances as a rope-bondage top, but I recently jumped out of the kink community. I just think I’ll have better luck finding a long-term relationship with a girl from the vanilla world. So long as she’s GGG, I can live with it. As much as…
This Little Underground: The Space Station, Orlando’s next DIY mission
As ganglia for some entire underground scenes, DIY venues are a vital incubating component to any broader scene worth its salt. Now imagine if they were sustainable. The Space Station (lowerearthorbit.com), recently covered in Orlando Music News (“DIY venue and art studio the Space Station welcomes outsiders to catch live music and collaborate,” March 25),…
Dennis Giacino and Fiely Matias, creators of ‘Disenchanted!,’ show how far Orlando Fringe fame can take you
There’s just over a month left before the 2015 Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival, with this coming Monday’s local artist preview kicking off the final pre-fest countdown. For many area performers, the point of producing a show at the Fringe is to have fun with friends and hopefully make a few more bucks on tickets…
Waves of homophobia are crashing through the Florida House in an effort to guise bigotry as religious freedom
Quote of the Week: “But in the end, the continued view of gays, lesbians and bisexuals as sinners is a decision. It’s a choice. It prioritizes scattered passages of ancient texts over all that has been learned since – as if time had stood still, as if the advances of science and knowledge meant nothing.…
How Bruce Johnston helped shape the long-term success of the Beach Boys
On April 9, 1965, the second wave of the Beach Boys began. The first wave had crashed, leaving the brothers Brian, Carl, Dennis, their cousin Mike and neighbor Al to serve as ripples that reached every shore in the world. Hit after hit blasted the Boys into stardom with their signature sound, but inevitably the…
Some highlights and lowlights from this year’s FFF short film selections
The shorts are often the most rewarding watches, and this year’s festival is packed with 120 of them. While you probably shouldn’t choose a program based on a review of just one film in that block, I nevertheless present some brief critiques – from worst to best – of the shorts I’ve seen. In Haze…
Picks This Week: Matt Pond PA, the Avett Brothers, Brillz and more
Yogurt Smoothness With a new EP due out soon, we’re hoping to hear new songs from grungy duo Yogurt Smoothness, who thicken a beefy lineup that includes Brooklyn’s Baby Erection and Melbourne’s the Dull Blades. 9 p.m. Wednesday, April 8, at Will’s Pub, $5 Brillz The EDM artist has collaborated with greats like Diplo, but…
Local filmmaker spotlight: Short film ‘My Verse’ gives voice to the voiceless
Local filmmaker, writer and educator Wilson Santos should not be here. He wriggled through the net that ensnares many children living in environments plagued by poverty. His parents, immigrants from the Dominican Republic, moved to a rough area in the Bronx. “We grew up on welfare,” Santos says. “My mother raised eight children in a…
Accidentally on purpose: Accidental Music Festival presents three free shows this weekend
Another show as part of UCF Celebrates the Arts brings together two creative music presenters, the UCF-based Collide Contemporary Music Series and Accidental Music Festival. Christopher Belt and Beatriz Ramirez, organizers of AMF, have commissioned a new work by New York composer Joseph Di Ponio for oboe, guitar and electronics, which they will perform at…
