This week in T.V.

“I Just Want My Pants Back” Thursday 11pm, MTV They may act like they’re too cool for it, but hipsters need love too. Thus this new so-clever-it-hurts sitcom. The attention-grabbing title stems from lead character Jason (Peter Vack, basically an amalgam of Owen and Luke Wilson), whose favorite pair of jeans go missing after a one-night […]

Review: The Iron Lady

The latest Meryl Streep showpiece of biographical impersonation is not a Marvel Comics property, mercifully, but a portrait of the former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who took that office, as the first woman ever to do so, in 1979. Meryl Streep was nominated for a best actress Oscar for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher […]

UVA Art Museum’s new run covers ground

The UVA Art Museum unveiled four new shows earlier this month that cover a breathtaking expanse of ground and make for an enjoyable afternoon of fine art. Curated by Paul Barolsky, Commonwealth Professor of Italian Renaissance Art and Literature, “Master Printmakers: The Italian Renaissance and its Modern Legacy” features engravings, woodcuts, and etchings by artists […]

Review: Richard III at Blackfriars

William Shakespeare’s Richard III is the study of how a politician’s over-developed ego drives the dark deeds he executes towards the attainment of high position. The play itself is a tidy piece of propaganda, according to Ralph Cohen, American Shakespeare Center’s director of mission, who described it as a reinforcement of Queen Elizabeth I’s legitimacy […]

This week in T.V.

“Touch”  Wednesday 9pm, Fox Kiefer Sutherland returns to television with this new drama-mystery from the mind of Tim Kring. You might recognize that name as the creator of NBC’s “Heroes,” which could be a good thing if this turns out like “Heroes” Season 1, or a terrible thing if it turns out like any other […]

Review: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Adapted from the 2005 novel by Jonathan Safran Foer, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close evokes the recent literary wave of self–conscious precocity probably begun with Dave Eggers’ A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. Such titles, stacking up adjectives and adverbs like stones in fortress walls, have a common angle on grappling with grief: the will to outthink it. […]

Songwriter Michael Coleman hears drums in the guitar

Ten minutes north of the Downtown Mall the land changes all at once as the suburbs fade into pastureland. Longhorn cattle chewed the grass stubbornly, looking like they had just stepped out of Lonesome Dove, as I drove to my interview with Michael Coleman, a 23– year-old singer/songwriter whose musical influences bridge the city/country divide […]

Who/What/Wear

I ran into MORGAN, an art student at Virginia Commonwealth University, on the Downtown Mall wearing an oversized coat by Sessun paired with a dress she’d borrowed from a friend. Her outfit was grounded by Frye boots and accessorized with Academy jewelry by Rachel Albright, Karen Walker sunglasses, and a vintage Coach bag. I loved […]

Local girl gets Bachelor boot, aims for law career

There are fairy tale endings like you see in the movies, where the girl gets the guy and trots off into the sunset with a smile on her face. Then, there’re the endings on “The Bachelor,” the ABC television show now in its 16th season, where the girl ends up getting embarrassed in front of […]

Carolina Chocolate Drops drop by the Jefferson

In 2011, the Carolina Chocolate Drops—a traditional string band out of North Carolina – won a Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album for their first full-length effort, titled Genuine Negro Jig. The group will play a live set on WTJU-FM at 1pm on Tuesday, January 31 in advance of their full-length show at the Jefferson […]