Home Video Review: Oscar Winner 'A Fantastic Woman' Is an OK Film With a Fantastic Lead Performance

May 22, 2018 11:00  |  Bob Grimm

Transgender actress Daniela Vega delivers a great performance in an OK film from Chilean director Sebastian Lelio.

In A Fantastic Woman , she plays Marina, a club singer at night and waitress by day who has a boyfriend twice her age in Orlando (Francisco Reyes). After celebrating her birthday, Orlando ...

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Home Video Review: A Sense of Dread and Martin Freeman's Great Work Bolster Netflix Zombie Movie 'Cargo'

May 21, 2018 16:00  |  Bob Grimm

I’ve had it up to here with zombies (I stopped watching The Walking Dead after Season 2)—but Cargo , set in the Australian Outback, is actually pretty good.

Martin Freeman stars as a man who is surviving a zombie apocalypse on a houseboat with his wife and baby daughter. Things go very badly not long after...

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What a Waste of Talent: Melissa McCarthy and a Lot of Other Great Actresses Founder in 'Life of the Party'

May 17, 2018 09:30  |  Bob Grimm

The great Melissa McCarthy suffers from the Ben Falcone curse yet again in Life of the Party , a shitty Back to School rip-off—which makes it double-shitty, because Back to School sucked.

Falcone is McCarthy’s husband, and he has now directed her in three movies, all bad. Tammy was one of McCarthy’s worst fi...

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Voting for Their Lives: After the School Shooting in Parkland, Fla., Students Took to the Streets. Now They're Registering to Vote.

May 21, 2018 08:40  |  Brian Blueskye

The Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Fla., in February changed something among many young people in the United States.

First came the March for Our Lives protests on March 24, with teens around the country organizing and speaking out in favor of tighter gun-control laws.

Now those sa...

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Cannabis in the CV: It's Time to Take Farmers' Market Values and Apply Them to Marijuana

May 14, 2018 14:45  |  Charles Drabkin

I have long proclaimed the greatness of using local produce grown and picked at the height of ripeness—something I learned after working in the restaurant industry.

I visit the farmers’ market in Palm Springs every week. The example I use to justify the extra expense and time it takes to shop at a fa...

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Democracy in Crisis: The Case of Mexican Journalist Emilio Gutierrez Soto Portends a Grim Future for Press Freedom

May 12, 2018 14:30  |  Baynard Woods

Emilio Gutierrez Soto had to flee Mexico a decade ago to seek asylum in the United States—because people there took his journalism too seriously.

He may get sent back because an American judge does not take it seriously enough.

In 2005, on page 10 of El Diario , a Juarez daily, Gutierrez published a sto...

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The Weekly Independent Comics Page for May 17, 2018!

May 17, 2018 07:00  |  Staff

On this week's weekly Independent comics page, coming to you live from a Palm Springs vacation rental: The K Chronicles brings us an episode of Black Eye for the White Guy ; This Modern World asks you to spot the mistakes; Jen Sorenson examines the phenomenon of Bourgeois Bubbas; Red Meat forces Milkman...

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Know Your Neighbors: Meet Tom Davis, the Agua Caliente Tribe's Longtime Planning Officer—and a Cancer Survivor

May 16, 2018 14:30  |  Anita Rufus

Tom Davis is philosophical regarding his work: “I wouldn’t change a thing. I enjoyed having my own business, but when it became tedious, my attitude was, ‘I’m outta here.’”

That attitude was a lucky break for the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians .

Davis, 68, a Rancho Mirage resident, was born in T...

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Savage Love: Quick Answers to Yet More Left-Over Questions From Savage Love Live!

May 16, 2018 11:00  |  Dan Savage

Savage Love Live at Denver’s Oriental Theater last week was epic. I fielded sex questions in front of a sold-out crowd; singer-songwriter Rachel Lark performed amazing news songs; comedian Elise Kerns absolutely killed it; and Tye—a token straight guy plucked at random from the audience—joined us on...

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A Message of Liberation: Juan-Manuel Alonso Celebrates Palm Springs and Those We Have Lost in New Murals at the LGBT Center

May 17, 2018 12:45  |  Stephen Berger

Juan-Manuel Alonso is a familiar figure at Palm Springs art events. He is tall and handsome, usually with shoulder-length silver hair and a beard. He dresses colorfully and is quick with an interesting story or witty remark.

I spent some time with him recently observing his newest creation: a new out...

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Food Trucks, A Classic Film and Lots of Fun: Street Food Cinema Comes to La Quinta

May 10, 2018 11:00  |  Dwight Hendricks

Live music. Food trucks. Massive “Beast” slobber … and baseball, circa 1962. That’s what you’ll find at Street Food Cinema, coming to La Quinta Park on Saturday, May 26.

Street Food Cinema began in Los Angeles in 2012. What is it, exactly? It’s a fun, affordable outside evening activity combining mus...

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A Lovely, Light-Hearted Ride: CV Rep's '2 Across' Is an Upbeat, Fun Success

Apr 28, 2018 11:50  |  Bonnie Gilgallon

What better way is there to deal with heartache on a 4 a.m. subway ride than to immerse oneself in a crossword puzzle?

That’s the mindset of Janet, the female character in Jerry Mayer’s 2 Across , now playing the Coachella Valley Repertory Theatre. But the buttoned-up psychologist can’t seem to get a m...

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The Lucky 13: Desiree McCaslin, Drummer for When Tides Turn

May 18, 2018 11:00  |  Brian Blueskye

When you watch local metal band When Tides Turn, you can’t help but notice drummer Desiree McCaslin—who rivals another local female drummer, KT Cathcart of Bridger, in terms of intensity and technical prowess. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/whentidesturn . Desiree was kind enough to answ...

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The Lucky 13: Esther Sanchez, Frontwoman of The After Lashes

May 16, 2018 12:00  |  Brian Blueskye

Esther Sanchez is known as a Coachella Valley music journalist, but she’s also got another thing going on: fronting the local all-female punk band The After Lashes. These women punk-rockers are mixing it up in an awesome way. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/theafterlashes . Esther was kin...

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Finding Their Voice: The Goal of Local Band Instigator Is to Forge a Musical Movement

May 16, 2018 07:00  |  Brian Blueskye

Last year, a group of teenagers from La Quinta High School became the talk of the local music scene thanks to their unique brand of instrumental music.

The group known as Instigator participated in CV Weekly ’s Battle of the Bands competition, opened for Mondo Generator at The Date Shed, and enjoyed so...

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Restaurant News Bites: Greater Palm Springs Restaurant Week Is Approaching; Tommy Bahama's Marlin Bar Is Open in PS; and Tons More!

May 22, 2018 07:00  |  Jimmy Boegle

Greater Palm Springs Restaurant Week, From June 1-17, Boasts 100-Plus Participants

Hey, foodies: That wonderful time of year known as Greater Palm Springs Restaurant Week is almost here!

From June 1-17—so, yeah, it’s more of a Greater Palm Springs Restaurant 2 1/2 Weeks—restaurants valley-wide will be...

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The Indy Endorsement: The Artisanal Ice Cream at Kreem

May 17, 2018 08:15  |  Jimmy Boegle

What: Ice cream (specifically, the cookies and kreem)

Where: Kreem, 170 E. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs

How much: $6 for two scoops, as shown

Contact: 760-699-8129; www.ilovekreem.com

Why: It’s revelatory … but your favorite flavor may not always be available.

There’s something to be said for mass-produced...

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Vine Social: Wine Scores Are a Scourge on the Industry—and Are No Good for Consumers

May 15, 2018 15:00  |  Katie Finn

Wine is scary and intimidating. I get it; it has its own language full of science-y words. It comes from places we’ve never heard of, from grapes we can’t pronounce.

It doesn’t help, of course, that there is a whole fleet of wannabe wine experts just waiting to correct that word you mispronounced, or...

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