Forget all of the hype surrounding Noah. What really matters is whether the movie is any good. It isn’t. To paraphrase Edward Burns, it is dull, dreary, dry and a bore. Noah—and by implication its director and co-screenwriter Darren Aronofsky—can’t decide whether it’s a big head trip (an Aronofsky specialty) or an action picture or […]
Forget all of the hype surrounding Noah. What really matters is whether the movie is any good. It isn’t. To paraphrase Edward Burns, it is dull, dreary, dry and a bore. Noah—and by implication its director and co-screenwriter Darren Aronofsky—can’t decide whether it’s a big head trip (an Aronofsky specialty) or an action picture or […]
First Fridays is a monthly art event featuring exhibit openings at many Downtown art galleries and additional exhibition venues. Several spaces offer receptions. Listings are compiled in collaboration with Piedmont Council for the Arts. To list an exhibit, please send information two weeks before opening to arts@c-ville.com. First Fridays: April 4, 2014 BON 100 W. […]
It may seem ironic that an Irish band would name itself The Teetotalers, but the name makes sense as soon as the tranquil and sobering melodies start flowing from the band’s fiddles and guitars. The trio is led by Paddy Keenan, a legendary Irish musician who has dedicated his life to the preservation of classical […]
As a tale that frames a thousand tales, clever Sheherazade escapes impending doom night after night by relating compelling and cliffhanging stories to her murderous husband Shahryar. Arabian Nights, a stage adaptation by Mary Zimmerman, is the monumental compilation of folk tales from the Islamic Golden Age being performed by UVA’s Spectrum Theater. The production is set with original composititions, but […]
A rich and deeply satisfying show, “Joseph Cornell and Surrealism” at the Fralin Museum explores Cornell’s work in the context of the Surrealist movement of the 1930s and ’40s. Prior to seeing it, I had the common, yet incorrect impression, that Cornell was a hermit-like creature akin to Henry Darger who created his work in […]
Erica Arvold is seated in a D.C. auditorium awaiting the start of the first episode of AMC’s new show “Turn,” a suspenseful drama chronicling the movements of America’s first spy ring during the Revolutionary War. It’s a suspenseful moment in itself for Arvold—this is the first time viewers will lay eyes on the cinematic serial […]
Philip Glass, lauded by musical scholars and misunderstood by the sugary, pop-saturated mainstream, is certainly one of the most famous contemporary American composers. Eschewing the minimalist label that is easy to ascribe to his music, Glass refers to himself as a “classicist,” citing his formal training at Juilliard in harmony, counterpoint, and in key […]
It’s the distant future. The citizens of what was once Chicago live in a dystopian society—is there any other kind of post-apocalypse?—that is divided into five factions. Members of Erudite are intelligent. Amity are peaceful farmers. Candor speaks truthfully and handles the law. Abnegation is selfless and runs the government. And then there’s Dauntless, the […]
Revive your passion for American rock ‘n’ roll with three acts armed to the teeth with rhythm, twang, and pompadours. Tristan Thorndyke leads The Savages in self-described “psychobilly swing.” Ginger & the Castaways craft garage rock filled with bluesy soul, and Madison, Virginia’s Cashless Society rocks out family style with James Tamelcoff III sharing lead […]
John Lindaman hasn’t lived in Charlottesville for years, but he’s fondly remembered by many for his seminal late-’90s band True Love Always, a regular on the old Tokyo Rose stage (more recent Charlottesville transplants may recognize Lindaman for his central role in The Parking Lot Movie). Over the course of three albums (and one singles […]