Pierced and tattooed beauties of the SuicideGirls breathe new life into stripping

Do you remember that scene from "Reservoir Dogs" where Mr. Blonde cuts off the cop's ear to the tune of "Stuck in the Middle With You?" Have you ever thought about making that sexy?

Chances are that making classic dismemberment movie scenes titillating hasn't crossed your mind, but for the SuicideGirls that represents one of their best acts in their upcoming burlesque tour. [Read article]

Today

Henry Rollins - The former Black Flag vocalist is raising red flags by ditching his hardcore punk band to go on a spoken word tour. Find out if he's gone soft, or just rollin' in the dough. Celebrity Theatre. 440 N. 42nd St. 8 p.m. $20

Kenny G - His hair may not be very smooth, but his jazz definitely is. Desert Diamond Casino. 1100 W. Pima Mine Road. 7 p.m. $35 to $55. $5 more day of show [Read article]

Gripe of the week

Why is it that Century Theatres doesn't take credit or debit cards? What year is this? Even hot dog stands are starting to take cards. Get with the program. Oh, but they do have an ATM inside that will make you late and charge you an extra $2 for your movie. Which brings me to my next point: the cost of movies for students. Newsflash! Students are poor. Give us a student discount and it might be worth it to see "Deuce Bigalow 2." They give a discount to the old people, why not the semi-young? Start taking cards and giving discounts and business will boom. It's for your own good, Century. [Read article]

Why does this sound like the premise to a really bad movie?

Busty blonde ex-stripper with a heart of gold and a Vicodin habit the size of Qatar seeks to receive the money rightfully accorded to her from her late husband in compensation for her loving and devoted care for him during their four months as man and wife.

However, the only roadblock that stands between her and taking a hefty $474 million inheritance from his estate is her scheming former son-in-law. [Read article]

On Saturday Club Congress will provide some unique pre-show entertainment before the tastefully, bawdy burlesque SuicideGirls' show in the form of four Texan singer/songwriters. Though it's just coincidence that Adam Carroll, Beaver Nelson, Steve Polz and Scrappy Jud Newcomb are playing the early show the same night the SuicideGirls invade Club Congress, the lineup is perhaps fitting.

After all, the thing that best separates these four Texans with guitars from the masses is their knack for injecting witty humor into their songs. And there's nothing funnier than opening for a burlesque show. Who knows, it might just prove inspiration for a future song. Recently, Adam Carroll discussed the tour, including the use of humor in his songs. [Read article]

Dat Phan took the world of stand-up comedy by storm when he won first place on the NBC television series "Last Comic Standing." Since then he has been traveling across the country with his comedy tour, the West Coast Funnies, which is a sketch comedy/stand-up comedy hybrid, of sorts. While on his tour, Dat Phan was able to take time out to talk to the Arizona Daily Wildcat.

Wildcat: What's the crowd like in Tucson? [Read article]

Tim Burton gave the children of the world quite a gift with "The Nightmare Before Christmas."

Distinctive and daring, it was a visual spectacle that most children had never seen brought to life. Perhaps the most amazing of many amazing worlds that Burton has created, it is a classic children's film as imaginative as "The Wizard of Oz."

From the same minds that brought the world "Nightmare" comes another fractured fairy tale, "The Corpse Bride." And while it would be impossible to match what "Nightmare" did to an audience nurtured on light Disney pictures, "Bride" is perfectly executed dark fun. [Read article]

"Getting to Know You" is a film with some unique qualities. It is an independent film with actors who were relatively unknown when the film was made, but have since been catapulted into fame. It received critical acclaim but could not find a distributor, so it ended up being shown in art houses and festivals all over the country. Actually, that describes almost every independent film ever made. [Read article]

In a world of bang-for-your-buck storytelling, interesting characters seem to always take a back seat to bestsellers with fast plotlines and contrived romances.

It almost seems like the serious literary novel has been shot in the head by its archenemy or run over by a freight train and gone up in a ball of flames.

But that's not the case with "¡Caramba!," the first novel by our protagonist, Nina Marie Martinez. She may be an author, not a literary character, but she's just as interesting and talented as anyone you could read about in a book. [Read article]

Clap your hands and say "whatever" because the '90s are back. Sort of, because Blessid Union of Souls returns to the public consciousness with a new album, Perception, and a tour.

If you don't recall the name, chances are good you will remember the shiny glean of their '90s alt-rock hits "Leonardo (She Likes Me for Me)" and "I Believe." Although Blessid Union of Souls wasn't a '90s scene stealer like Nirvana or Pavement, interestingly they have outlasted both. [Read article]

Muscles are funny things; if you don't use them, they just go away. As I get older, I wonder if the ability to have fun works in the same manner

If I pass on opportunities for a good time, will they just stop coming my way? When I trade drinks with a friend for homework that doesn't even interest me, am I increasing the odds that I'll never have fun again? Conversely, does too much fun lead to too little reality? I'm not really sure, but I know that as the semester has progressed my fun-o-meter has dropped to record lows, and I'm far too young to feel this old. [Read article]

A passing glance to the cover of the Happy Tree Friends "Overkill" DVD set may cause you to think that this box set is just for kiddies. Cute and cuddly creatures with heart-shaped noses abound, and it just may be the sort of saccharine-sweet cartoon you liked when you were 5 but have since moved past to bigger and better things. Like movies with partial nudity. Or subtitles. Or both at the same time. [Read article]

RATING: 5 out of 10

With Jodie Foster and Peter Sarsgaard at the helm, "Flightplan" seemed like a sure bet to fly. But thanks to a boring script and an implausibility factor that makes it hard to suspend disbelief, it gets about as high as a paper airplane.

Foster plays Kyle Pratt, whose husband has just mysteriously died by falling off the roof. She and daughter Julia are taking an emotional flight from their home in Berlin to New York with his coffin. [Read article]

Rating: 7/10

Danny Elfman teams up with director Tim Burton again to create a grim and enchanting movie soundtrack to accompany the spooky and bittersweet movie "Corpse Bride."

Elfman has done music for many of Burton's movies, including "Batman Returns," "Edward Scissorhands" and "A Nightmare Before Christmas."

Because "Corpse Bride" is following the success of Burton's "A Nightmare Before Christmas," it is almost impossible to not compare the two. Although "Corpse Bride" delivers a boldly somber soundtrack, which is entirely appropriate for an eerie love story about a dead bride, the music and songs lack the amount of energy (considering all the characters are dead) and creativity that "A Nightmare Before Christmas" gives. [Read article]