Action overload: Lack of cohesion deflates Jupiter Ascending

Every Wachowski movie, for better or worse, is a passion project. There is no theme, visual detail, character or line of dialogue to which the sibling duo does not have a deep personal attachment, from the hopeful nihilism of The Matrix to Cloud Atlas’ meditation on reincarnation and the risk and reward of realizing your […]

ARTS Pick: The Saturday Giant

In the vein of Keller Williams and other one-man bands, Philip Cogley, a.k.a. The Saturday Giant, produces three, four, sometimes five separate tracks at a time during live performances using a guitar, a drum machine, keyboards, and a loop machine. Atop all of his instruments, he adds warm vocals that overlap as harmonies above the […]

Warrior pose: Genghis Khan and inner peace at Second Street Gallery

Aspiring yogis and curious connoisseurs of contemporary art, unite! Second Street Gallery is hosting another installment of the monthly Second Saturday Yoga Art Grooves series that launched in the fall of 2014. A collaboration between Opal Yoga and Second Street Gallery, each event in the series is “its own unique happening, a collusion of artist, […]

ARTS Pick: Treasure Island

Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island gets an update in a new stage adaptation broadcast from London’s National Theatre. Adapted by Bryony Lavery and directed by Polly Findlay, the well-known tale of money, murder and mutiny uses wit and casting twists to keep the energy on high. The Guardian gave it four stars, and The Observer […]

Album reviews: Punch Brothers, Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors, The Vespers

Punch Brothers The Phosphorescent Blues/Nonesuch Records This is some glorious music. If you aren’t wholly mesmerized by the end of the epic 10-minute opener “Familiarity”—complete with three movements, spellbinding mandolin work and the group’s stunning ability to harmonize—then you are likely dead inside. The sweetly rapturous chamber folk of “My Oh My” has a goosebump-inducing […]

ARTS Pick: Crooked

Catherine Trieschmann’s earnest coming-of-age story Crooked sees teenagers Laney and Maribel wrestle with self-discovery, chronic illness, family tragedy and fierce faith in the Deep South. This powerful production directed by Kate Adamson relies on a minimal cast of three and strips away all distractions to expose the true vulnerability of adolescence. Through 2/21. $20-25, times vary. […]

February First Fridays Guide

Crozet natives Kathleen and Minal Mistry get close to nature in their duo show “Wood and Wings” at C’ville Arts Cooperative Gallery. Kathleen pairs colorful bird paintings with mixed metal jewelry such as pendants displaying miniature versions of her aviary artwork. Meanwhile, Minal’s woodwork upcycles industrial products like pallets and construction waste to become one-of-a-kind […]

ARTS Pick: Nettles

The Kickstarter funded album Locust Avenue, by local folk group Nettles, is a rural Virginia creation through and through. The record was made in a farmhouse in Waynesboro that the band rented in exchange for a six-pack of Heineken. Led by Guion Pratt on acoustic guitar and vocals, Nettles went into seclusion for four days […]

Film review: Black or White lacks clarity on the big screen

“It’s not about black and white. It’s about right and wrong,” pleads wealthy lawyer Elliott Anderson (Kevin Costner) before a courtroom in defense of maintaining sole custody of his biracial granddaughter Eloise (Jillian Estell). Up until this moment, Black or White almost works. The entire film has been building to this moment, the linchpin of […]