Desperate neither to declare the wonderments of digital 3D nor to debunk them, Martin Scorsese’s Hugo does have some preaching to do, on the director’s pet subject of film preservation. Magnanimously, Scorsese won’t say outright that today’s algorithm-rendered pseudo-epics have nothing on the blood, sweat and practical effects of the very old school. It’s all of a […]
Anne Beattie’s latest book, Mrs. Nixon: A Novelist Imagines a Life, is a work of fiction. Yes, Mrs. Nixon, or Pat, or Buddy, or St. Patrick’s Babe in the Morn, or any other nickname listed on the first page of this hard-to-categorize novel, all refer to a real individual, the taciturn wife of former president Richard […]
"Mystery Movie Night" Tuesday and Wednesday 8pm, TNT Given TNT’s success with original and recycled crime procedurals (“The Closer,” “Bones,” “Rizzoli & Isles,” those never-ending “Law & Order” marathons), it only makes sense that the cable network would stick to a proven formula when making made-for-TV movies. The Mystery Movie Night slate will feature six […]
It will require a certain disposition to see it as such, but in a way, writer-director Lars von Trier’s gloriously glum, robustly romantic new film Melancholia is the perfect post-Thanksgiving movie. It’s the anti-Muppets. Kirsten Dunst received the Cannes Film Festival’s Best Actress award for her performance in Melancholia, director Lars von Trier’s latest beautiful […]
“Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade” Thursday 10am, NBC I still love the Thanksgiving Day Parade. It’s my official kickoff to the holiday season, and I still have vivid childhood memories of being transfixed by it when I should have been getting the house cleaned for the impending Turkey Day festivities (and equally vivid memories of dad […]
“I remember you from my seminar at UVA. You grilled me pretty hard, as I recall, on the bureau’s civil rights record in the Hoover years. I gave you an A.” Leonardo DiCaprio plays the revered and reviled J. Edgar Hoover in Clint Eastwood’s latest biopic on the man who ran the FBI for […]
A harmony of seemingly unrelated elements pervades the prints, sculptures and oil paintings of UVA art professor Dean Dass. When obscure literary allusions or philosophical references appear among his rich textures and earth tones, they seem as natural as the landscapes and figures at the center of his etchings, paintings and lithographs. Born and raised […]
David Bazan has more fanatics than fans. As the songwriter and creative force behind Pedro the Lion, Bazan spent 11 years building a dedicated following that largely pursued him into his solo career. Fans came to Pedro the Lion shows for disarmingly simple rock songs that always seemed to reward another listen, and they stuck […]
“America’s Next Top Model” Wednesday 9pm, CW We’re nearing the end of Tyra Banks’s “all-star” cycle, and this week’s recap episode is the only thing between us and the Final Four. However, the proceedings haven’t been nearly as cracked out as I imagined they would be when the 14 returning contestants were announced. Fully half […]
“Vietnam in HD” Tuesday 9pm, History Channel As President Obama prepares to bring an end to one of the most controversial military engagements of our time, History Channel looks back at an even more contentious deployment with this six-episode mini-series. Following a similar format to 2009’s award-winning “WWII in HD,” “Vietnam” explores the Vietnam War […]