“Grey’s Anatomy,” “The Fair Jobmother,” “The Walking Dead”

“Grey’s Anatomy” Thursday 9pm, ABC The doctors of Seattle Grace have spent the first few episodes of this seventh season dealing with the aftermath of last season’s shocking finale, when a gunman shot up a bunch of docs in the surgical wing. Tonight’s episode, shot in documentary style, is designed to bring closure to many […]

RED; R, 111 minutes; Carmike Cinema 6

RED stands for “Retired, Extremely Dangerous,” and refers to a once-elite team of aged and variously cuddly trained killers. The comedy comes from Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner’s graphic novel for DC Comics. There is oldness even in its adolescent fixations: the soundtrack rawk throb and stunty slo-mo set pieces, the squall of semiautomatic weapons […]

“Raising Hope,” “Family Game Night,” “Dexter”

“Raising Hope”  Tuesday 9pm, Fox Nobody paid much attention to this new comedy by the creator of “My Name is Earl,” but it has quietly emerged as one of the few bright spots in Fox’s fall schedule. Much of that has to do with the strong “Glee” lead-in, but the show has its own charms. […]

Checking in with Rob Tarbell

What are you working on right now?  Artist Rob Tarbell harnesses the power of smoke with tools of his own design to create images that boast a surprisingly rich pallette. Tarbell’s work is currently showing at Mary Baldwin College and Hunterdon Art Museum in New Jersey. I figured out how to capture smoke on paper. […]

Conviction; R, 107 minutes; Opening Friday

Yes, the title has two meanings: Conviction refers to the guilty verdict that put a man in prison for many years, and to the certitude with which his sister then devoted her life to proving his innocence. But that just makes things doubly obvious. Well, if this ain’t love: Hilary Swank goes through the trouble […]

“30 Rock,” “Fatal Attractions,” “Sanctuary”

 “30 Rock”  Thursday 8:30pm, NBC This should be fun. My favorite comedy is putting on a live episode, and who better to conquer live television than that UVA alum and former “Saturday Night Live” head Tina Fey? I have no doubt that Fey, co-star Alec Baldwin, and Broadway vet Jane Krakowski can pull off a […]

The Social Network; PG-13, 120 minutes; Regal Downtown Mall 6.

Isn’t it too soon for a movie about the making of Facebook? Probably. But life and all its weird facsimiles come at us so quickly nowadays, which is partly why you know you want to see The Social Network anyway: to process.  Jesse Eisenberg plays Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network, which aims to expose […]

“Project Runway,” “Sister Wives,” “The Making of Jackass 3D”

“Project Runway”  Thursday 9pm, Lifetime We’re getting close to Fashion Week, and overall I think the Season 8 designers have acquitted themselves adequately. All of the remaining contestants have the potential to put together solid final collections, although I’m specifically pulling for hyper-creative Andy and goth pixie Mondo. I’m fairly certain the third spot will […]

Checking in with Abel Okugawa

What were you doing right before we called?  I was in the process of coming up with a gear list for this recording and live music video that a producer friend of mine, Raphael Wintersberger, and I are trying to do. It’s actually in New York City, so it’s going to be a big trip. […]

Capsule Reviews

Alpha and Omega (PG, 88 minutes) Two wolves try to find their way home after being shipped by park rangers across the country in this animated romp. Voices by Justin Long, Christina Ricci and Dennis Hopper. Carmike Cinema 6 The American (R, 105 minutes) An American assassin (George Clooney) heads to Italy for one last assignment […]