Film review: Will Smith continues his magical ride in Focus

No movie star is as big as Will Smith, and nobody knows that better than Smith himself. With a swagger that rarely plays as charming, and the most enviable blockbuster-to-bomb ratio in Hollywood, Smith has carried duds to box office success through sheer star power and willed megabudget vanity projects into existence for the sole […]

ARTS Pick: The Fantasticks

“It is September, before a rainfall…a perfect time to be in love,” sets the stage for The Fantasticks, the world’s longest-running musical. The show, which ran off-Broadway for 42 years, portrays the machinations of two feuding fathers and the love story that unfolds between one’s son and the other’s daughter. The tale is humorous and […]

ARTS Picks: BANFF Mountain Film Festival’s World Tour

BANFF Mountain Film Festival’s World Tour is the greatest trip you can take without leaving your seat. Presented by Blue Ridge Mountain Sports, the two-day event features 18 films that span the worlds of skiing, climbing, kayaking, mountain biking and more. Though each film is unique, they all strive to protect the planet. Proceeds benefit […]

ARTS Pick: JJ Grey & Mofro

Over the past decade, swamp-funk outfit JJ Grey & Mofro has built a solid following and a reputation for intense, intimate performances. The Florida-based band incorporates soul and jazz into tight, guitar-driven original grooves, backed by bluesy basslines and bold brass. Though the group’s latest album Ol’ Glory, has garnered a slew of rave reviews from […]

A funny thing: Jordan Rock brings fresh comedy to the family name

If you’ve never heard of Jordan Rock, who’ll take the stage at Piedmont Virginia Community College on February 28, you can be forgiven. He’s never played Charlottesville, and his Web presence isn’t exactly on the level of an “Ultimate Split.” Come to think of it, his Web presence isn’t really on the level of an […]

ARTS Pick: Edwidge Danticat

Author Edwidge Danticat weaves stories of strong women overcoming hardship and forging new identities in unfamiliar places. Born in Haiti, Danticat moved to Brooklyn when she was 12 years old, and the experience of transporting from one culture to another has since informed her writing, which is dominated by characters that have their feet in […]

Winning it back: Songwriter Robin Wynn returns with a musical departure

Robin Wynn said Google might lead you astray if you’re looking to find out what she’s up to these days. A C’ville-based songwriter who toured extensively from 2005 to 2008 and saw one of her songs get attention from NPR’s “All Songs Considered,” Wynn recently licensed a tune to the CW show “Vampire Diaries.” Put […]

Film review: The DUFF lacks too many laughs to be funny

Why is popularity always the reward for quirky high schoolers in movies where the whole plot is about learning to be happy without it? You don’t celebrate your twelfth step with a shot, you don’t get a mansion after reaching nirvana, but somehow our teenage morality scripts are still peddling the idea that trying to […]