Clash of the Titans; PG-13, 110 minutes; Regal Downtown Mall 6

When Ray Harryhausen first heard in 2006 that Clash of the Titans, the 1981 film that he stop-motion animated, was being remade, he had one thing to say: “Oh. I hope not.”  Harryhausen’s contributions to the 1981 film, although impressive for being a more memorable performance than Laurence Olivier as Zeus, also had a way […]

Tiger by the tail

“Chopped”  Tuesday 10pm, Food Network While we patiently wait for a new season of “Top Chef” (the next will be set in Washington, D.C.; in the meantime “Top Chef Masters” returns this week), we have “Chopped,” which is essentially “TC” for the ADD set. Each episode of “Chopped” features four different chefs, who are given […]

Hot Tub Time Machine; R, 100 minutes; Regal Downtown Mall 6

Hot Tub Time Machine is a movie with the courage to ask, “Man, what happened to us?” and the honesty to answer, “Oh, that’s right: We came of age as acid-washed coke fiends during Reaganomics, heavy pastels and Poison concerts.” It’s a movie with the wisdom to remind us that those who don’t learn from […]

Greenberg; R, 107 minutes; Opening Friday

It’s not writer-director Noah Baumbach’s fault if Greenberg, about a guy named Greenberg, makes me wish for a movie called Zoidberg, about the friendless, incompetent, vaguely Yiddish, attention-craving crustacean physician from “Futurama.” “Oh, it’s all so complicated, with the flowers, and the romance, and the lies upon lies,” Zoidberg once lamented, sounding a note that […]

We need help

“American Idol”  Tuesday, 8pm; Wednesday 9pm, Fox There was a moment in the last week of the semi-finals where I thought we could possibly salvage this miserable season. But then Lilly Scott, Katelyn Epperly and Alex Lambert got sent home. They each had flaws, but they were musicians with unique voices and points of view. […]

Checking in with Lincoln Perry

What are you working on right now? We’re in Charlottesville about a third of the year, and when we’re here my wife [Ann Beattie] is teaching and I’m working exclusively on the mural at Old Cabell Hall. I’ve still got another staircase-and-a-half to paint. It’s expected to take about four more years. It’s a full-time […]

Capsule Reviews

Alice in Wonderland (PG, 109 minutes) Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Crispin Glover and Alan Rickman  star in director Tim Burton’s take on Lewis Carroll’s fantasy classics. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6 Avatar (PG-13, 162 minutes) Read C-VILLE’s featured review here. James Cameron’s opus uses brand-new filmmaking technology to tell the story of a Marine (Sam Worthington) sent […]