Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886

Entertainment


Sorted by date  Results 26 - 50 of 221

Page Up

  • In the Dark Reviews

    Kirk Boxleitner|Jul 25, 2024

    The first third of the sixth and final season of "Cobra Kai" started streaming on Netflix on July 18, and the seams are showing in this latest version of the 40-year-old "Karate Kid" franchise. Considering that this all started with a rousing but unambitious young-adult riff on "Rocky" in 1984, it's amazing "The Karate Kid" sustained five feature films, and an animated series, even before "Cobra Kai" launched, originally on YouTube, in 2018. While "Cobra Kai" hasn't been flawless, it's a...

  • In the Dark Reviews

    Kirk Boxleitner|Jul 18, 2024

    When a film includes a conspiracy theory about the Apollo 11 moon landing being staged, one wouldn't expect it to get a thumbs-up from NASA, but according to Greg Berlanti, director of "Fly Me to the Moon," NASA shared real-life footage from the Apollo program for the film. This speaks to how gravity-defying "Fly Me to the Moon" is. It entertains a long-held paranoid fantasy about the space program while wholeheartedly honoring the real achievements of the men and women who worked to get us to...

  • Getting Out

    Gordon Weeks|Jul 11, 2024

    Author and healer Heather Hawk, an artist in residence at Hypatia-in-the-Woods outside Shelton, will read from her memoir "What is Still Wild" at 4:30 p.m. July 25 at the Shelton Timberland Library, W. 710 Alder St., Shelton. In her book, Hawk chronicles her diagnosis of a massive uterine fibroid and three-year healing experience while navigating grief and divorce. Her story also illustrates larger social issues related to the body, such as menstruation, virginity, female agency, pleasure and...

  • In the Dark Reviews

    Kirk Boxleitner|Jul 11, 2024

    Streaming shows for fans of mature legal thrillers and all-ages superhero adventures are reaching the peaks of their season arcs. "Presumed Innocent" on Apple TV+ When I was in high school, I saw the 1990 big-screen adaptation of Scott Turow's novel, which boasted acting heavyweights Harrison Ford, Brian Dennehy and Raul Julia, so this latest adaptation was up against stiff competition to impress me. Fortunately, legal dramas lend themselves to expanded treatments, as Steven Bochco proved when...

  • In the Dark Reviews

    Kirk Boxleitner|Jul 4, 2024

    For as much as action thrillers such as "Mission: Impossible" aim to put audiences on the edges of their seats, I have rarely felt secondhand tension as uncomfortable as the opening sequence of "Thelma," in which an elderly widow falls prey to a phone scammer. The scene has a pitch-perfect suspense-building lead-in, as we see 93-year-old Thelma (June Squibb) receiving gentle guidance on navigating the internet from her doting 24-year-old grandson Danny (Fred Hechinger), who's so good to his...

  • Getting Out | Events

    Compiled by reporter Gordon Weeks|Jul 4, 2024

    Grapeview Water & Art Festival July 27 The 28th annual Grapeview Water & Art Festival is hosted from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 27 at Fair Harbor Marina and the Port of Grapeview on Grapeview Loop Road in Grapeview. Admission is free. Offerings include live music, free children’s activities, and arts and crafts created by local artists. From the shore, patrons can test their golfing skills by trying to sink a ball in a hole on a floating dock. Frito’s chili pie and steamed clams are among the food offerings. Parade, vendors at Tahuya Day Fes...

  • Comic murder mystery on Harstine Island

    Gordon Weeks|Jun 20, 2024

    The Harstine Island Theatre Club stages the comic murder mystery "You Have the Right to Remain Dead" at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday, and 7:30 p.m. July 5-6 and 2 p.m. July 7 at the Harstine Island Community Hall, 3371 E. Harstine Island Road N. Admission is $10. Tickets are sold at the door, at Olympic Bakery on Pickering Road and Williams Gifts and Flowers in downtown Shelton. To get to the theater, take a left after driving off the bridge to the island and drive about 3 miles. In the...

  • In the Dark Reviews

    Kirk Boxleitner|Jun 20, 2024

    For a concept that was coined by a 1985 New York magazine cover story, the appeal of "The Brat Pack" has proven more enduring than a number of major political movements, and now, nearly 40 years later, "Brat Pack" member Andrew McCarthy has returned to the well, to wonder what it all meant, by directing the documentary "Brats" for Hulu. The good news is that McCarthy, who was notable for his characters' kvetching introspection, weaponizes that contemplative streak really effectively as a...

  • In the Dark Reviews

    Kirk Boxleitner|Jun 13, 2024

    "Run Lola Run" has returned to select theaters for the 25th anniversary of its American release, and rewatching it reminded me of everything that made the independent cinema wave of the 1990s so special. The period between the fall of the Berlin Wall on Nov. 9, 1989, and the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, stands as a unique island of relative serenity within global political history, because with the Cold War of the preceding four-and-a-half decades seemingly resolved, and the "War on...

  • In the Dark Reviews

    Kirk Boxleitner|Jun 6, 2024

    "Jim Henson Idea Man" sees Ron Howard apply his best directorial strengths to a fittingly heartfelt biography of the man who made his name as the creator of the Muppets, although Howard follows Henson's own example of being quick to credit all of Henson's many creative partners, starting with Jim's since-deceased widow, Jane. Jim Henson was only 53 years old when he died in 1990, and yet, his imagination birthed more characters, television shows and movies than even his more devoted fans can...

  • Getting Out

    Gordon Weeks|May 30, 2024

    The musical "Little Shop of Horrors" spotlights a mutating plant in a skid row florist shop that feeds on human blood and flesh while commanding "Feed me!!" and a sadistic dentist who saves the laughing gas for himself. But the heart of the musical by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken is the love between the hapless florist Seymour Krelborn and his co-worker Audrey, a pretty blonde with a colorful fashion sense who's dating the abusive dentist. "There's authenticity, but with the touch of ridiculous...

  • In the Dark Reviews

    Kirk Boxleitner|May 30, 2024

    "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga" is the direct sequel to 2015's "Mad Max: Fury Road" and the fifth installment in writer-director George Miller's "Mad Max" series, which started with the first "Mad Max" film in 1979. Reports of its apparently underwhelming box office over the Memorial Day weekend leave me wondering whether audiences have grown weary of this 45-year-old franchise. If so, it would be a shame, because "Furiosa" sees Miller firing on all cylinders, not only in staging engagingly elaborate...

  • Carnival fun includes rides, games and food

    Compiled by reporter June Williams|May 30, 2024

    The Forest Festival carnival is open early this year at 1st and Grove streets in downtown Shelton. The company that runs the carnival had a cancellation, so it set up May 24 and will continue operating through Sunday, according to Forest Festival organizers. The carnival has a mini-Ferris wheel, rides "that make your head spin," games with stuffed animal prizes, and food booths offering cotton candy, candy apples and churros. Hours are 5-9 p.m. tonight, 4-10 p.m. Friday, noon-10 p.m. Saturday...

  • Getting Out

    Gordon Weeks|May 23, 2024

    The Shelton-based choir Women of Note, joined by classical pianist Dilyara Oliver, perform classic and modern choral music at two "Origins" concerts this week. The concerts are staged at 7 p.m. Friday at the Bridge Community Church, 500 E. N. Island Drive on Harstine Island, and 3 p.m. Sunday at St. David of Wales Episcopal Church, 324 W. Cedar St. in downtown Shelton. Admission is free and donations are accepted. In a news release, the nonprofit states the audiences will hear different vocal...

  • In the Dark Reviews

    Kirk Boxleitner|May 23, 2024

    I don't know what I was expecting from an extremely loose sci-fi adaptation of Henry James' 1903 novella "The Beast in the Jungle," but I don't think anyone could have expected Bertrand Bonello's "The Beast." When he was 12, Bonello became interested in film after watching horror movies from directors, including David Cronenberg, George A. Romero, Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci. Bonello's taste has always been top-notch. But with "The Beast," Bonello quietly goes for broke in recreating a...

  • Getting Out

    Gordon Weeks|May 16, 2024

    Starting Saturday, nature and train buffs can pedal on railroad tracks on the 13-mile roundtrip from the former Simpson Lumber Camp 1 to Shelton West of U.S. Highway 101 and back, past Dayton farmlands and into the woods along the Goldsborough Creek. Vance Creek Railriders offer trips on the four-seat railriders at 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m. on Thursdays through Mondays, with no service on Tuesday or Wednesday. Patrons are advised to arrive at least 30 minutes before departure to check in at the of...

  • In the Dark Reviews

    Kirk Boxleitner|May 16, 2024

    After a quartet of specials near the end of last year, the latest season of "Doctor Who" is underway on its new American streaming home of Disney+, so with a little more than three aired episodes under his belt, it's time to take stock of the 15th Doctor, played by Rwandan-Scottish actor Ncuti Gatwa. Alert viewers may have already spotted Gatwa as one of the army of Kens who populated the cast of last year's "Barbie" (sporting frosted blond hair, no less), but what strikes me about his...

  • Getting Out

    Gordon Weeks|May 9, 2024

    Set in 1595, the musical "Something Rotten!" follows the Bottom brothers, Nick and Nigel, who struggle to find success in the theatrical world as they compete with the wild popularity of their contemporary William Shakespeare. "They'll lose their financial support if they don't write a hit play," said Michelle Whittaker, who directs the Connection Street Theatre production that opens Saturday in Shelton. "And Shakespeare is like the Elvis of his day." But the brothers are sidetracked by...

  • In the Dark Reviews

    Kirk Boxleitner|May 9, 2024

    It looks like Forks won't be the only corner of the Olympic Peninsula to gain fame from a supernatural entertainment franchise, given the critical and audience acclaim that Netflix's "Dead Boy Detectives" have garnered since all eight episodes of their first season began streaming April 25. The original "Dead Boy Detectives" were co-created by writer Neil Gaiman for his DC Comics Vertigo imprint series, "The Sandman," and just as Netflix began adapting that 75-issue, 1989-96 comic book title wit...

  • In the Dark Reviews

    Kirk Boxleitner|May 2, 2024

    It's a rare treat for me to be able to review the work of a hyper-local filmmaker, at the very least because they tend to be savvy enough to take advantage of the natural landscapes we share here in the Northwest. When Bainbridge Island-based Rachel Noll James wrote, directed, co-produced and starred in "Ingress," she made it practically in her backyard, but the meditative sci-fi film has more than pleasant settings to recommend it. That being said, cinematographer Dan Clarke deserves...

  • Getting Out

    Gordon Weeks|Apr 25, 2024

    In the 2004 movie "Mean Girls," formerly homeschooled Cady Heron (played by Lindsay Lohan) is a hit with The Plastics, the A-list girl clique at her new school - until she makes the mistake of falling for Aaron Samuels, the ex-boyfriend of the alpha Plastic, Regina George. The movie, written by former "Saturday Night Live" head writer and "30 Rock" creator Tina Fey, was transformed into a musical that debuted on Broadway in 2018. The Shelton High School Drama Club brings the story to life in...

  • In the Dark Reviews

    Kirk Boxleitner|Apr 25, 2024

    After seeing her star-making turn in Martin Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon" last year, all that Hulu had to do to get me to watch its true-crime miniseries "Under the Bridge," which began streaming its first two episodes April 17, was to cast Oscar-nominated Native American actress Lily Gladstone as one of its leads. Gladstone plays Saanich Police Officer Cam Bentland, a composite character representing local law enforcement in this miniseries' dramatization of the real-life 1997 murder...

  • Two poets present works at Shelton library

    Gordon Weeks|Apr 25, 2024

    Two poets who combine poetry and their work in psychology, both residents at Hypatia-in-the-Woods in Mason County, will share their works aloud at the Shelton Timberland Library. Kripi Malviya, an existential psychologist and poet from India, reads her poems from 2 to 3 p.m. Friday. Malviya’s work has been published in World Literature Review, the Sky Island Journal, Muse and the Black Warrior Review. She is the winner of the 2017 Rhythm Divine International Poetry Chapbook contest for her first poetry collection, “ale(theia).” Malviya runs...

  • Songs about tangoing Martians and colonoscopies

    Gordon Weeks|Apr 25, 2024

    Seattle singer/songwriter Deb Seymour writes tunes about hitchhiking chickens in electric cars, tango dancing with Martians and the absurd indignities of undergoing a colonoscopy. “Life is so difficult you can’t take it seriously sometimes,” Seymour said in an interview with the Journal from her home in Ballard. The performer one fan described as a combination of Joni Mitchell and Lucille Ball brings her original tunes, a few covers and comic banter to a concert at 4 p.m. Saturday at St. Germain’s Episcopal Church, 600 N. Lake Cushman Road, H...

  • Minneapolis folk duo returns to Hoodsport

    Gordon Weeks|Apr 11, 2024

    In the spring of 1977, a young woman with long flowing hair and a guitar caught the eye of Curtis Teague on a beach in Santa Cruz, California. He ran down a trail to greet the stranger. "I appraised her with loving eyes and said, 'I play guitar too,' " he recalled in a telephone interview with the Journal Monday. "I said, 'That's nice,'" Loretta Simonet remembered. Curtis returned five minutes later with a mandolin. They played together publicly that night at her scheduled gig, and they've been...

Page Down