Movie review: The Shape of Water flows around distractions

You can always tell the parts of a film that directors feel personally attached to by what hits the viewer on an emotional level—and what doesn’t make sense on any level. With The Shape of Water, Guillermo del Toro transports us to a world where love between two outcasts—a woman and a misunderstood amphibious man-fish […]

ARTS Pick: New Year’s Eve bashes

Sunday, December 31 C-VILLE’s Big Night with casino, dance floor, food, drink and a midnight toast $75, 8pm. 21-plus. Carver Rec Center, 233 Fourth St. NW. c-villetickets.com. First Night Virginia’s 36th annual festival of the arts with family-friendly activities on and around the Downtown Mall $6-38, times and venues vary. Schedule at firstnightva.org. Nelson County […]

ARTS Pick: Taming of the Shrew

Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew is a play within a play that centers on a dysfunctional courtship (defined as misogynistic by modern standards), where subordinate female behavior from leading lady Katherina outsmarts psychological torture by her male suitor, Petruchio, all in the name of comedic farce. Friday, December 29 & Sunday, December 31. $29-54, times vary. American Shakespeare […]

ARTS Pick: Hansel and Gretel

The well-known Brothers Grimm fairy tale Hansel and Gretel becomes an absurd opera in the hands of producer Richard Jones. In a special English-language Met Live In HD presentation, the doomed siblings wander from their home into the dark forest and end up at the Witch’s gingerbread house. With food at its dramatic center, each […]

ARTS Pick: The Steel Wheels

Are you ready for it? The addition of percussion and keyboards to The Steel Wheels’ signature acoustic sound? The Harrisonburg-formed group steers into new territory by beefing up its traditional folk style on the new album, Wild As We Came Here. “I’m excited to see what happens,” says Trent Wagler (guitar, banjo and songwriter). “There […]

Photo project shows people through another lens

As the events of August 11 and 12 unfolded across Charlottesville, photojournalist Sarah Cramer Shields watched it happen on the news. “I was putting two small children down for naps when it happened,” Shields says in an interview with C-VILLE. “I wanted to be on the front lines telling the stories of what was happening, […]

ARTS Pick: Phil Vassar and Kellie Pickler

On their first tour together, Phil Vassar and Kellie Pickler are showcasing their holiday collaboration “The Naughty List,” a single that pairs infectious melodies and soulful lyrics in a swinging new favorite. Each of the country stars has become known for covers of Christmas favorites, and by teaming up in concert, they’re sure to melt […]

ARTS Pick: A Christmas Carol

The publication of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol in 1853 served to revive interest in some long-expired holiday traditions, including caroling and feasts, and generated the iconic tale of personal transformation that’s been replayed in December for more than 150 years. Responsible for imprinting “Merry Christmas,” “Bah, humbug!” and Scrooge on the seasonal lexicon, Dickens […]

Movie review: The Last Jedi is a force to be reckoned with

Not only is Star Wars: The Last Jedi the best entry in the series since 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back, it may well be the first to truly break new cinematic ground since the 1977 original. Writer-director Rian Johnson (Brick, Looper, the best episodes of “Breaking Bad”) employs the full arsenal of what a science […]