From start to finish, Guillermo Del Toro’s Nightmare Alley is a dreary, plodding, flashy reminder of why filmmakers should leave great movies alone. The William Gresham novel was adapted into a 1947 film noir classic, and again by Del Toro—but Del Toro’s misuse of excellent source material is the real nightmare here. The film follows […]
From start to finish, Guillermo Del Toro’s Nightmare Alley is a dreary, plodding, flashy reminder of why filmmakers should leave great movies alone. The William Gresham novel was adapted into a 1947 film noir classic, and again by Del Toro—but Del Toro’s misuse of excellent source material is the real nightmare here. The film follows […]
Love actually: It’s universally acknowledged that Mr. Darcy is the ultimate swoon-worthy love interest. It’s sometimes acknowledged that Joe Wright’s 2005 film adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is the best, though a few BBC loyalists (and C-VILLE staffers) might beg to differ. Lovers of the iconic hand-flex scene will be pleased to learn […]
Longing for home: As a 21-year-old, Golara Haghtalab immigrated to the United States from Iran after her family was randomly selected to receive diversity visas. They settled in Charlottesville, and Haghtalab went on to receive a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and studio arts from the University of Virginia. Inspired by social justice movements and the […]
Into the groove: Anderson East is known for his careful blend of R&B, soul, and roots rock. East’s powerful vocals and soulful rasp helped him climb the charts and win awards for his 2018 breakthrough album Encore, which includes the Grammy-nominated “All On My Mind.” The Alabama born, Nashville-based singer-songwriter mixes things up on his […]
By Dave Cantor Delving into a Ryley Walker album might offer up some tuneful, ’70s-style folk and rock songs, dispatched in a relatively traditional way. Or you could hear a batch of improvised psychedelia. He’s also got a full-length re-interpretation of a Dave Matthews Band record. The singer-songwriter’s latest—Course in Fable, released in spring 2021—is […]
There might be a few local residents who haven’t yet heard of Victory Hall Opera. But rest assured that opera aficionados nationwide—from the Deep South to the Pacific Northwest—have begun to take notice of the Charlottesville-based company. Victory Hall is turning heads thanks to its embrace of cutting-edge productions, like its latest, a world premiere […]
In the early 1960s, African American Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Gwendolyn Brooks walked past seven boys at a pool hall, an experience she commemorated in the poem “We Real Cool”: We real cool. We / Left school. We / Lurk late. We / Strike straight. We / Sing sin. We / Thin gin. We / Jazz […]
Susan Evans knows nothing is permanent in the theater. Nor should it be—theaters must evolve to stay relevant, says Live Arts’ artistic director. “A successful theater is a theater that never stops examining itself,” Evans says. “I think that many theaters get stuck. And it’s easy to get stuck because of money.” Evans got her […]
Blues breakers: Indie blues-rock artists Jocelyn & Chris are inciting a new rock revival with their high-energy live performances, dominating guitar, and commanding vocals. The sibling act writes all their music together, and even graduated from Harvard a year apart. The duo’s new single “Sugar and Spice” charted on the Billboard Adult Album Alternative Top […]
Stickered past: For author Henry Hoke, stickers do more than just stick—they have the power to recall a variety of emotions and memories. In his memoir, Sticker, Hoke uses several styles (including pink, glittery Lisa Frank, Mr. Yuk, and the bumper favorite “coexist”) to explore queer boyhood, parental disability, ancestral violence, and Charlottesville’s history with […]