Eyes on Miami: Nicki Minaj, Rick Ross, Gucci Mane, and Others

It’s not easy having eyes all over the scene, being around to take in all the wild visuals at all the worthwhile places in the city. There are, however, those parties and gallery openings where a fortunate photographer can point and shoot. Every week, in collaboration with WorldRedEye, New Times…

Artist Jen Clay on Nearing, Sesame Street, and Ghosts in the Woods

In Jen Clay’s universe, nothing is quite what it seems. Her creativity thrives in the gap between real and imagined worlds. The multimedia artist explores that tension in Nearing, a multidisciplinary performance taking place Saturday, June 3, at ArtServe. It’s the third of four events courtesy of the Girls’ Club series Offsite Performances, which presents the work of local female artists in nontraditional locations.

Again With the Sad Clowns: The Missed Opportunities of I’m Dying Up Here

Mythologies are built on pain. It’s why nations remember the invasions they’ve suffered better than the ones they’ve perpetrated, why religions celebrate their martyrs, and why Disney princesses — among the most privileged individuals in their respective kingdoms — sing about wanting more. Comedians have their own mythology, too —…

Churchill Squanders History and an Ace Brian Cox Performance

There will always be, it’s become clear, one more Winston Churchill story to tell: one more slant on a weekend, a summer, a year in the life of the 20th century’s most formidable leader, a man whose history includes two world wars and speeches so glorious that future dramatizations were…

The 21 Best Things to Do in Miami This Week

Coral Gables has more restaurants per square mile than almost any other neighborhood in Miami, so deciding where to eat when you’re there can be daunting. If you’re more of a toe-in-the-water type than a dive-in-headfirst person, Taste of the Gables might help with your dining dilemma. A dozen…

Give a Chance to Hank Azaria’s Brockmire, That Prick

For some reason, I can’t bring myself to hate Jim Brockmire. Played by comedian Hank Azaria, best known for his voice work on The Simpsons, Brockmire wears a perpetually wounded and somewhat confused expression, the look of a man coming off a bender who can’t find his car. His loud,…

Wonder Woman Emerges to Save the World but Risks Losing Herself

Perhaps Wonder Woman’s greatest superpower is enduring for the past 75 years as a wildly unstable signifier. Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman, starring Gal Gadot in the title role, further adds to this complicated, contradictory cluster of signs and symbols. Forged from deeply feminist sympathies, the character debuted in All Star…

Thomas Vinterberg’s The Commune Loses Sight of the Individual

Thomas Vinterberg’s The Commune is partly autobiographical: The Danish director of The Celebration and The Hunt lived in a commune between the ages of 7 and 19, at a time when collective living had become popular in Scandinavia. (The phenomenon also inspired Swedish director Lukas Moodysson’s 2000 masterpiece, Together.) Maybe…

A Bellydancing Festival Brings Havana Women an Empowering Experience

Awash in sunlight, around 50 women stand in a circle on the rooftop performance space of Casa Gaia in Old Havana, Cuba. Karen Rodríguez guides them through a series of improvisational movements. Soft spoken and radiant, Rodríguez encourages the participants to walk around freely, dancing and moving as they wish…

The Elián González Doc Is a Time Capsule of Bad Behavior

The documentary Elián posits the story of 5-year-old Elián González, who was rescued off the coast of Florida in 1999 after attempting to leave Cuba with his mother (who drowned) — a long with its aftermath — as the birth of the 24-hour news cycle. More striking here, though, is…

Black Butterfly Fruitlessly Mashes Up Stephen King’s Greatest Hits

English 101 instructors sometimes combat plagiarism by having students read a piece and then write a summary from memory, in their own words. Most of the time, the resulting papers hit the beats of the originals, the paraphrased passages wallowing in humdrum vocabulary because the students haven’t yet developed their…