Entertainment

Let’s flip the script a bit. Instead of our usual themed list of best-evers, let’s weather the quarantine with the best films that included actors from Iowa. A little Hawkeye State pride, if you will. There are hundreds to choose from (including three former Storm Lakers earning mention). Here’s our best of the best...

Due to COVID-19 concerns, the upcoming performance of the Sons of the Pioneers in the Community Education Performing Arts Series will be rescheduled. The show was to have been April 3. The group is looking to rebook in June. With many other performances to reschedule, the group has not been able to set a firm date yet...

The wine movie is not exactly known for a bouquet of tasting notes. From “Wine Country” to “Bottle Shock,” they are usually light, amiable movies that amble through sunny fields of vines. “Sideways,” of course, is the choice vintage, but most come and go about as quickly and breezily as a bottle of pinot...

The stars of the 2011 virus thriller “Contagion” — a prescient film these days — have reunited for a series of public service announcements to warn about COVID-19. Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Kate Winslet and Jennifer Ehle have teamed up with scientists from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health to offer four individual homemade videos...

It wasn’t Judith Heumann’s first standing ovation, but it might have been her loudest. Heumann, who had polio as a baby and uses a wheelchair, has for decades been one of the leading figures of the disability rights movement. When the Brooklyn native, after graduating from college, was denied a teaching license by New York City’s board of education because her wheelchair was declared a fire hazard, she sued and won. ...

Trust Pearl Jam to still surprise us in 2020. The Seattle rock gods have made an album we didn’t know we needed. “Gigaton” is a fascinating and ambitious 12-track collection with a cleaner, crisper sound that is studded with interesting textures, topped by Eddie Vedder’s still-indignant voice...

The Walt Disney Co. will release “Frozen 2” on Disney Plus several months early to give families cooped up by the coronavirus a welcome distraction — and give its streaming service a boost. Disney announced Friday that “Frozen 2” will begin streaming on Disney Plus Sunday, three months earlier than expected. In some countries, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands, the movie will start streaming Tuesday...

The Cherokee Symphony Young Artists Concert scheduled for April 19, 2020, has been cancelled. The Symphony Board of Directors is following the recommendations of the President and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) as well as the Iowa Governor.  People gathering in confined space is limited and the Symphony orchestra alone exceeds these numbers.  The Board regrets the need to make this decision, but does recognize the importance of considering the health and safety of musicians and audience...

Granted, the last thing you might want to see just now is a horror story about infectious sickness, since you are living one. In these times, Hollywood’s take on pandemics is a lot less frightening and surreal than the nightly news, however. There are a surprising number of films that have explored the topic. We suppose people are drawn to them by the vulnerability they recognize: even war is more containable than a virus, it seems...

Unraveling the dusted bandages of H.G. Wells’ classic 1897 science-fiction novel, writer-director Leigh Whannell has refashioned “The Invisible Man” as a bracingly modern #MeToo allegory that, despite its brutal craft, rings hollow. Our image of Wells’ villain — the white wrappings, the dark sunglasses — comes largely from James Whale’s also-classic 1933 film. ...

Working from home, and tired of taking your break time to watch video? It might be time to go old school, and pick up a book. Either on Kindle, or the old-fashioned way of getting a physical copy, a book might be a great refuge, from the new norm. Here are some random selections that might be of some help...

For a revolutionary animation studio, Pixar has been surprisingly wary of advancing technology. The company may be at the forefront of digital animation, but for 25 years, its spiritual DNA has been decidedly nostalgic. It’s the old-school new school...

Gaelic Storm has added an August 7 concert at the Roof Garden in Arnolds Park to their tour schedule. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available now starting at $25. It’s hard to imagine a band just coming into their own after 20 years of success, but that’s exactly what makes a true anomaly. ...

A book demands a sequel when that sequel focuses on a different set of characters. That’s what happens in Eight-Five and Eight-Five . . . Still Alive by Bruce, Wis., writer Arian Knops. In this duology, Knops traces the crimes of serial killer Avarde Kolt, alias Michael Barrett, who is relentlessly pursued by Minneapolis homicide investigator Dan Costello...

Buoys Bar & Grill at Storm Lake Marina has announced its first musical performance for the coming season. Kick off the Memorial Day weekend with Switch Road Band playing Saturday, May 23 8 p.m.-midnight. The event will be held rain or shine. The Switch Road Band is a six-piece band forged from the back roads of southern Minnesota, specializing in new and classic county covers mixed with a few ‘80s rock anthems...

A new offering of Free Movies by the Lake is planned at Arnolds Park Amusement Park. The movies are rated G, PG or PG-13. They will be shown on the Preservation Plaza, bring your own lawn chair or blanket. Showtime will be at sunset each Wednesday. The lineup includes:...

After the unfortunate cancellation of a concert by the Hall Sisters Saturday due to coronavirus concerns, the Storm Lake Community Education Performance Series looks to get back on the trail with a show by the Sons of the Prioneers, Friday, April 3. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. at the Storm Lake High School auditorium...

The Crooners have decided to cancel this year’s Easter concert that was to have been held April 5 in light of concerns surrounding coronavirus/COVID-19.

Fittingly, few films in recent memory arrive with a bigger target on its back than “The Hunt.” Our quick advice? Lower your weapons. The horror-thriller with a healthy side of political commentary was pulled from release last summer following backlash to its trailer depicting a group of wealthy, liberal Americans kidnapping and hunting down red-state stereotypes for fun...

Arnolds Park Amusement Park has announced acts for its concert series at the Roof Garden Ballroom. On tap is an eclectic collection of bands that run the gamut from metal to country, rap to big band sound. Doors open for each show at 6:30 p.m., with the shows starting at 7:30. Ticket prices increase $5 on the days of the shows...

The Spencer Performing Arts Coalition announces The Ulysses Quartet at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 28. The Ulysses Quartet is sponsored by Winther, Stave & Co. Founded in the summer of 2015, the group won first prize in the 2018 Schoenfeld International String Competition and the grand prize and gold medal in the senior string division of the 2016 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. ...

The entertainment industry prepared Thursday for an unprecedented shutdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus, canceling upcoming movies, suspending all Broadway performances and scuttling concert tours until it’s safe to welcome crowds back. To accommodate calls for social distancing, Hollywood moved to pause the normal hum of TV productions and the bustle of red-carpet movie premieres. ...

“It’s looking to be another awesome hit from our young performers.” - Director Jolene Schaefer

The gallery’s first class of the month is perfect for children or creative animal lovers of any age. Attendees will create a fun collage of their favorite animal. Their collage could be inspired by your pet, a cool animal them saw at the zoo, or an animal you wish you had as a pet. ...

The lineup is set for the 10th anniversary season of the Stone Pier Concert Series at Black Hawk Lake and Lake View. All the concerts are free, and concessions are available at the site. Things get underway Saturday, June 6 with The Pork Tornadoes and special guest Joshua Sinclair. ...

Visitors to the small northeastern Iowa city of Dyersville can soak up all the Americana that embodies a baseball diamond built amid cornfields for the 1989 movie “Field of Dreams.” At Fort Dodge, they can experience a replica of 19th-century fort life. And in tiny Cushing, they can have a cold brew and tacos at the Old 20 Bar and Grill...

Here is a recipe for a wild evening of wine, women, and uproarious laughter. The Sioux City Community Theatre is serving “The Wild Women of Winedale” from Thursday, March 12 through Sunday, March 22. The Siouxland cast includes Tammy Summers, Beverly Roth, Leslie Werden, Amy Kimbell, and Heather Tolvanen...

Buena Vista University will stage the thriller, “Wait Until Dark” this spring, with rehearsals underway. A mysterious doll, a trio of shady characters, a young girl, and a woman who is blind make for a highly suspenseful evening of theatre. The basement Greenwich Village apartment of Sam Hendrix and his blind wife, Susy is the setting for a deadly game of intimidation orchestrated by three con men, but she turns the tables on the worst of the criminals and survives their deadly game...

Winter weather is on the way out, and as further proof that spring is coming, “Touch of Broadway” will be performing at the Fonda Arts Center on Sunday, March 22, at 3 p.m. Touch of Broadway is the traveling part of the Buena Vista Community Theater, and has been on the road for almost two decades, sharing its impressive talent in an uplifting, family oriented show. ...

The Crooners will present their annual Easter concert on Palm Sunday, April 5 at 2 p.m. The concert will be presented at Faith Lutheran Church, on 6th Street in Early. The choir will be singing “He Is Not Here.” Following the performance, guests are invited to join the choir for refreshments. No admission is charged though a free will offering will be received. All are welcome and encouraged to attend...