Lifestyle - The Salt Lake Tribune

Movie review: ‘Hangover Part III’ more violent, less funny

Thu, 23 May 2013 18:55:22 MDT

Movie review: ‘Hangover Part III’ more violent, less funny

by Sean P. Means The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 23, 2013 06:55PM MDT

The only surprising thing about “The Hangover Part III” is that it isn’t as blatantly offensive as the first two films. It is, however, more violent than the previous outings, as director Todd Phillips and his co-writer Craig Mazin replace the shocking stuff with a nasty gangster plot and other gory touches. The first bit of violence is committed on a defenseless giraffe, decapitated when our cluelessly self-absorbed friend Alan (Zach Galifianakis) buys it and then drives it home under an over...

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Faith in action: Youth art & Mormon founder’s presidential run

Thu, 23 May 2013 18:08:41 MDT

Faith in action: Youth art & Mormon founder’s presidential run

the Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 23, 2013 06:08PM MDT

Weathering the Storm “Weathering the Storm” is a 20-minute gallery walk that highlights 10 works of art from the International Art Competition for Youth. The theme of weathering life’s storms is discussed as visitors see depictions of rough seas, lighthouses and other types of storms. Visit history.lds.org/event/weathering-the-storm?lang=eng for information. When • Tuesday, May 28, 2 p.m. Where • LDS Church History Museum, 45 N. West Temple, Salt Lake City Tickets • Free Joseph Smit...

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On Mormon church’s Jerusalem set, the end (of filming) is nigh

Thu, 23 May 2013 18:08:41 MDT

On Mormon church’s Jerusalem set, the end (of filming) is nigh

the Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 23, 2013 06:08PM MDT

It’s the last days in “Jerusalem” — the last days of filming, that is, for a series of New Testament videos on the Mormon church’s Jerusalem movie set near Goshen, about 60 miles south of Salt Lake City. The Utah-based faith will wrap up shooting in the next few days. The massive facility — the size of two side-by-side football fields — was completed in 2011. The New Testament project is just one of many of church productions that have been shot on the movie set.

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James Franco builds a bookish filmography

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:13:02 MDT

James Franco builds a bookish filmography

by Jake Coyle The Associated Press

Published May 23, 2013 05:13PM MDT

James Franco’s filmography is starting to look like a book shelf — and a very respectable one, at that. The 35-year-old American has already played poets Allen Ginsberg (“Howl”) and Hart Crane (“The Broken Tower”). He recently finished directing an adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s Child of God (having first flirted with doing McCarthy’s novel Blood Meridian), as well as a biopic of the late poet and novelist Charles Bukowski. But this week at the Cannes Film Festival, he premiered his version of ...

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Darius Rucker rides ‘Wagon Wheel’ to top of charts

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:10:02 MDT

Darius Rucker rides ‘Wagon Wheel’ to top of charts

by Chris Talbott The Associated Press

Published May 23, 2013 05:10PM MDT

Nashville, Tenn. • Darius Rucker is a fan of Old Crow Medicine Show, but says he didn’t really get what was so infectious about the string band’s signature hit “Wagon Wheel” at first. Then he heard the faculty band at his daughter’s school play the song and it all started to open up for him. “I’m sitting there listening to it and I say to myself what I always say to myself, ‘I want to cut this song,’ ” Rucker said. “I say it all the time but I never end up cutting anything. But with this song it...

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Writers @ Work conference at Alta Lodge

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:05:03 MDT

Writers @ Work conference at Alta Lodge

the Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 23, 2013 05:05PM MDT

Michael Martone said one of the most useful pieces of advice he received about writing was “to lower my standards.” “Wanting only to write what is good or great or perfect leads to not writing,” said the award-winning author and University of Alabama professor. “I am all for quantity, not quality. And the act of writing, the practice of writing is the end in itself, not the means to an end.” Practical writing advice will be plentiful June 5-9 during the 2013 Writers @ Work conference, an annual ...

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New music to premiere at arts fest

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:01:02 MDT

New music to premiere at arts fest

Published May 23, 2013 05:01PM MDT

The Utah Arts Festival has commissioned two compositions to premiere at this summer’s event. Russell Schmidt, director of jazz studies at the University of Utah, will present “Patience” during a concert June 21. The recipient of the National Composer Commission is Don Freund, a professor of composition at Indiana University. A small ensemble of Utah musicians will premiere Freund’s “Mixed Blood” on a concert that also includes music of Jeff Stadelman, John Kennedy and Utah composers Steve Roens ...

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Movie review: ‘Fast & Furious 6’ throws coherence out window

Thu, 23 May 2013 15:42:29 MDT

Movie review: ‘Fast & Furious 6’ throws coherence out window

by Sean P. Means The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 23, 2013 03:42PM MDT

No moviegoer is walking into “Fast & Furious 6” expecting to have their wits expanded — but could the filmmakers try not to be quite so stupid? The latest installment in the automotive action franchise gets the gang, led by longtime criminal Dominic Torretto (Vin Diesel) and cop-turned-fugitive Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker), back together with their last nemesis, federal agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson). Hobbs needs the street-racing experts to catch Owen Shaw (Luke Evans), an ex-military Eurot...

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Take a peek ‘Behind the Candelabra’

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:26:03 MDT

Take a peek ‘Behind the Candelabra’

by Scott D. Pierce The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 23, 2013 02:26PM MDT

If the idea of Michael Douglas playing Liberace seems somewhat surprising to you, it was also somewhat surprising to Douglas. Director Steven Soderbergh raised the possibility while the two were working on the 2000 movie “Traffic.” “Somewhere early in the shoot, Steven said, ‘You know, have you ever thought about Liberace?’ ” Douglas said. “And I looked at him and I thought, ‘Is this guy messing with me?’ ” No. He was just being Steven Soderbergh. “I don’t know why that popped into my head, but ...

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Movie review: ‘Epic’ is a snooze in the forest

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:10:02 MDT

Movie review: ‘Epic’ is a snooze in the forest

by Sean P. Means The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 23, 2013 02:10PM MDT

The computer-animated adventure “Epic” matches artistic visuals with a story that’s like watching paint dry. Based on “The Leaf Men” books by children’s author William Joyce (whose books also inspired “Rise of the Guardians” and “Rolie Polie Olie”), “Epic” tells of an eternal struggle in a forest. Representing life is Queen Tara (voiced by Beyoncé Knowles), a powerful and wise ruler guarded by the Leaf Men. The forces of decay are led by the nasty Mandrake (voiced by Christoph Waltz). When Tar...

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Movie review: Tough times on the farm in ‘At Any Price’

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:08:02 MDT

Movie review: Tough times on the farm in ‘At Any Price’

by Sean P. Means The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 23, 2013 02:08PM MDT

To call “At Any Price” a “farm drama” is misleading. Yes, it is a drama about farm life, but it has none of the fuzzy morning-in-America nostalgia the phrase might suggest. Director/co-writer Ramin Bahrani has created a modern story of a farm family, which means it has one foot in today’s headlines and the other in a classic father-son conflict. The Whipple family has farmed the same land in Iowa for four generations, as the current head of the family, Henry Whipple (Dennis Quaid), mentions pr...

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Movie review: ‘Renoir’ sumptuous, but without tension

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:06:03 MDT

Movie review: ‘Renoir’ sumptuous, but without tension

by Sean P. Means The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 23, 2013 02:06PM MDT

In the sumptuously filmed French drama “Renoir,” a muse arrives to inspire two generations of artists — while the audience is left wishing a similarly gifted muse had helped director Gilles Bourdos develop a more compelling narrative. It’s 1915 on the French Riviera, where a young actress/model, Andrée (Christa Theret), gets a job posing for the aged painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir (played by the veteran actor Michel Bouquet). Renoir is an invalid with arthritic hands, but Andrée’s beauty compels ...

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Movie review: ‘Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf’s’ a frenetic look at fashion’s home

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:04:02 MDT

Movie review: ‘Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf’s’ a frenetic look at fashion’s home

by Sean P. Means The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 23, 2013 02:04PM MDT

The frenzied, fast-paced documentary “Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf’s” can be seen as either a valentine to high living or Prosecution Exhibit A at the tribunal when the revolution comes. The movie chronicles the glamorous life at Bergdorf Goodman, the department store on New York’s Fifth Avenue that has been a fashion destination for movie stars, society mavens and first ladies. Jacqueline Kennedy, Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama are all name-dropped. A parade of fashion designers (including...

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Bird Festival art winners announced

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:55:03 MDT

Bird Festival art winners announced

the Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 23, 2013 01:55PM MDT

Brooklynn Harris, a student at Legacy Elementary in American Fork, was the Best of Show winner in the 15th annual Great Salt Lake Bird Festival Student Art Contest. Brooklynn, who entered in the fourth-through-sixth-grade category, received her award earlier this month during a ceremony at the Davis County Events Center in Farmington. Artists were asked to draw the long-billed dowitcher, which will be the featured bird at the 2014 Great Salt Lake Bird Festival next May. The shorebird has a disti...

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Indie rockers Vampire Weekend top Billboard album chart

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:24:02 MDT

Indie rockers Vampire Weekend top Billboard album chart

reuters

Published May 23, 2013 01:24PM MDT

Indie rock band Vampire Weekend on Wednesday grabbed the top spot on the weekly Billboard 200 album chart, besting new albums from country legend George Strait and pop singer Demi Lovato. “Modern Vampires of the City” sold 134,000 copies in its first week, according to figures compiled by Nielsen SoundScan, and became the second album to debut at the top of the weekly Billboard 200 for the New York-based rockers. It was also the first independently distributed album to debut at No. 1 on the char...

Planes, trains and orangutans: 12 distinctly Utah things to do this summer

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:53:41 MDT

Planes, trains and orangutans: 12 distinctly Utah things to do this summer

by Scott D. Pierce The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 23, 2013 12:53PM MDT

Summertime is almost here. Kids will be looking for fun things to do, while their parents will want them to do something interesting and educational. While there’s always a park or swimming pool, we suggest trying one — or all — of these 12 adventures that are distinctively Utah. Antelope Island State Park This island filled with bison, pronghorn and bighorn sheep is a Utah treasure. There’s a great visitor center, hiking, biking, backpacking. And it’s the best way to see the Great Salt Lak...

2013 summer music preview: Nearly 150 acts will perform

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:53:41 MDT

2013 summer music preview: Nearly 150 acts will perform

by David Burger the Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 23, 2013 12:53PM MDT

With nearly 150 pop and rock concerts scheduled through September, Wasatch Front music fans have some tough decisions to make. On Aug. 1, for example, they have to choose among Bob Dylan at Usana Amphitheatre, The Cult at The Depot, The National at the Twilight Concert Series in Pioneer Park, Megadeth at the Maverik Center or the country rockers Due West at the Ed Kenley Amphitheater in Layton. The decisions are just as tough on July 19, when Steve Martin performs at the Deer Valley Music Festi...

Washington’s National Zoo welcomes Bozie the elephant

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:40:03 MDT

Washington’s National Zoo welcomes Bozie the elephant

by Michael E. Ruane The Washington Post

Published May 23, 2013 12:40PM MDT

WASHINGTON • The unmarked truck bearing the secret package bound for Washington picked up a security escort when it hit Connecticut Avenue Wednesday afternoon. It had made the clandestine 1,100 mile journey almost without incident. Few knew what time it had departed. Few knew its time of arrival. Its 7,500-pound cargo remained intact. But as the small motorcade, which included a chase car, weaved through the afternoon traffic with lights flashing, a long, mysterious object curled out the back wi...

Live chat: Restaurant critics: Behind the scenes

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:18:54 MDT

Live chat: Restaurant critics: Behind the scenes

Digital First Media

Published May 23, 2013 12:18PM MDT

Ever wonder what goes into reviewing restaurants? Join St. Paul Pioneer Press restaurant critic Jessica Fleming, Denver Post restaurant critic William Porter and Bay Area News Group food and wine writer Jessica Yadegaran for a behind-the-scenes look at reviewing restaurants on Thursday, May 23 at noon.

Kirby: Note to self: I’m as weird as everyone else

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:20:02 MDT

Kirby: Note to self: I’m as weird as everyone else

by Robert Kirby Tribune Columnist

Published May 23, 2013 10:20AM MDT

One of the primary goals of any church is to convince its members that the manner (and what) they worship isn’t every bit as strange as other people’s ways of worship. A great way to test whether this goal is being accomplished is to visit another church. If you’re Mormon, I don’t mean another LDS ward. I mean a whole other church. A Mormon visiting another LDS ward is like moving from one McDonald’s to the next. The menu and pricing are identical. Only the faces change — and around here that’s...