“Home for the Holidays” Friday 8pm, CBS Even in death Dave Thomas is making the world a better place. I’m not talking about Wendy’s’ Jalapeno Cheddar Double Melt or the Vanilla Frosty (although, now that I think about it, those count too). This special is sponsored by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, which Thomas—an […]
“Home for the Holidays” Friday 8pm, CBS Even in death Dave Thomas is making the world a better place. I’m not talking about Wendy’s’ Jalapeno Cheddar Double Melt or the Vanilla Frosty (although, now that I think about it, those count too). This special is sponsored by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, which Thomas—an […]
Apocalypto (R, 138 minutes) For the follow-up to his worldwide smash, The Passion of the Christ, Mel Gibson has chosen this dark adventure drama set in the fading days of the Mayan empire. The story centers around Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood), a young man chosen for human sacrifice who flees the kingdom to avoid his […]
If you’re a gamer—or, more pointedly, one the friends and family members who’ll be buying gifts for one in the next three weeks—you might be pardoned for feeling like one of the hapless burglars in Home Alone whose face just met the business end of MacCaulay Culkin’s swinging paint can trap.
It used to be that when Christmas holidays approached, many in the music industry celebrated the success of the CD box set. It was the gift that said both, “I tried to be more thoughtful than a gift certificate,” and “I knew you would never spend 60 bucks on yourself, so Merry Christmas.” In the […]
“The Lost Room”Tuesday 7pm, Sci Fi Channel Look at little Sci Fi go! A couple of years ago, the cable net was a dumping ground for “Stargate” repeats and crappy made-for-TV movies starring, like, Kari Wuhrer. Now thanks to cult hits like “Battlestar Galactica” and “Who Wants to Be a Super-Hero?” it’s getting some cred […]
One of the main reasons to be in a band (apart from the money and the girls, of course) is the opportunity to travel and play gigs in interesting places. As our friend Dave Grant used to put it, to go drinking in different languages. Jodie Foster’s loss is Bill Gates’ gain when Big Ray […]
Anathallo, with Shapiro and Page FranceStarr Hill Music HallThursday, November 30 Performing like a well-oiled machine, Anathallo disappointed. music When a band introduces its second song of the evening as “a song for the heavy-hearted”—as Anathallo did Wednesday night at Starr Hill—you have a pretty quick idea of what you’re in for. While most […]
“Top Chef” Wednesday 10pm, Bravo I skipped Season 1 of this chef-based reality show, but caught up during one of Bravo’s countless marathons. It’s not nearly as engaging as its fashion-minded sibling, “Project Runway,” but it’ll do. My main issue is that it’s tough for the audience to get a real sense of the contestants’ work. […]
Typically, I wait until December 23 to try and put myself in the holiday spirit, but some people prefer to take their time with the holidays. Get in the spirit: Debbie Hunter and her group will present medieval English carols and more at St. Paul’s Memorial Church. Debbie Hunter’s early music vocal group, Mira, will […]
Arms and the ManUVA Drama DepartmentThrough December 2 Autumn Shiley and Joel Grothe star in UVA’s production of Shaw’s "Anti-Romantic Comedy," which seethes with bitterness behind its jaunty humor. Stage Watching a play by George Bernard Shaw is a double pleasure. On the surface, he dabbles in formula, producing effects that are heavenly for being […]