Dead ending: ‘The Mummy’ gets too wrapped up in subplots

Well, the good news is that The Mummy is not a remake of the 1999 Stephen Sommers film starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz (itself a remake of the 1932 film by Karl Freund starring Boris Karloff). The bad news is, well, everything else. Where the 1999 film was self-serious and knowingly preposterous in equal […]

‘Drugsong’ crosses new thresholds in stage performance

A mysterious woman named Iz arrives at a sanatorium-cum-medical spa, completely mute. She’s brought in by her husband who explains that one night, while putting their son down to sleep, Iz stopped singing mid-lullaby and hasn’t uttered a word since. Everyone at the sanatorium/spa finds Iz—and her silence—compelling. So begins Drugsong, theater and performance artist Jennifer […]

Album reviews: Justin Townes Earle, Lil Yachty, Woods, Kevin Morby and Blondie

Justin Townes Earle Kids in the Street (New West) Being Steve Earle’s son and Townes Van Zandt’s namesake unfairly provokes expectations of preternatural songwriting gifts. Happily, on Kids in the Street, oft-troubled Justin Townes Earle lives up to his lineage. It kicks off with the Stones-y stomp of “Champagne Corolla”—the band sounds great, horns nestling […]

ARTS Pick: The Legwarmers

There’s no lack of love for ’80s pop culture these days, and no one covers it better live than The Legwarmers. Chet Reno, Lavaar Huxtable, Roxanne Rio, Captain Morgan Pondo and Clarence McFly proudly champion the top hits from a decade that’s grown more rad through romantic nostalgia. Still, nobody can defend the shoulder pads […]

‘Housing2Home’ connects through the power of art

Sometimes art is so public—in galleries, in gardens, on exterior walls of buildings—that unless we purchase it ourselves, we forget that it may go on to live a private life inside a home, becoming part of the fabric of lived human experience. In the case of “Housing2Home,” this month’s exhibition at New City Arts Initiative’s […]

‘Wonder Woman’ flips the script on the DC Universe slump

It was never fair that Wonder Woman would have to carry the burden of rescuing DC’s entire cinematic future from the obnoxious, overlong, joyless clunkers that came before it. Thankfully, it not only rises to the occasion of being the best movie of this series, but is an enjoyable and thoughtful film in its own […]

Haircut’s perspective strikes a hot chord

On a recent Friday night, a bunch of punk rockers in patch- and pin- covered jean jackets, cutoff shorts and moth-eaten band T-shirts packed into the front room at Magnolia House. Some donned well-worn baseball caps, two wore dreadlocks, one wore a dangly yin-yang earring. Charlottesville punk band Haircut had second billing on the hardcore […]

ARTS Pick: Mighty Joshua

African percussionist Mighty Joshua raises consciousness while glasses clink and the sun slips down behind pastoral, sloping vineyards at the Sunsets Become Eclectic music series. As a founding member of Richmond’s reggae scene, Joshua has performed with a number of bands, including Jah Revelations, Richmond Dub Collective and Antero. He steps forward with a new […]

ARTS Pick: National Theatre Live in HD Presents: Peter Pan

A classic story hits the stage as National Theatre Live in HD Presents: Peter Pan. See Neverland like you’ve never seen it before, with a recording that gives you front-row seats to London’s sold-out production. From the sparkling Tinker Bell to the villainous Captain Hook, characters come to life in a vibrant live-action tale that […]