Superman Returns PG-13, 157 minutesNow playing at Seminole Square Cinema 4 He’s been called “the ultimate immigrant,” “a secular messiah” and “the world’s most boring Boy Scout,” but to those of us who’ve worshipped him our whole lives, he’s just Superman, as familiar to us as George Washington, Abe Lincoln, Daniel Boone or Babe […]
Shorter film reviews
The Break-Up (PG-13, 106 minutes) Peyton Reed’s “anti-romantic comedy” about a mismatched couple (Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston) is often funny, sometimes uncomfortably so. Vaughn plays a guy’s guy, the kind who’d like to put a pool table in the living room, and Aniston is a version of her sweet, spunky character from “Friends.” (Kent […]
Reynolds’ rap
Talking to Tim Reynolds, you get the sense that he eats, sleeps and breathes music, and in reality his whole life, family, politics and everything else gets reflected back into his art form.
This week’s galleries and exhibitions
C-VILLE Weekly defines an exhibition space or gallery as a venue that displays art and is either nonprofit, donates space to artists or hosts regularly rotating exhibitions. Gallery listing is at editorial discretion. To have your show considered for inclusion, please provide the names of artists and shows, media used, contact information and show’s beginning […]
Capshaw back in Ten
When a rumor comes home to roost, it’s nearly as satisfying as a perfect cup of miso soup. For many a month, Restaurantarama has been hearing these whispers: Sushi this, Blue Light Grill that. It made perfect sense to us that Coran Capshaw’s restaurant empire, which is already six properties strong, would expand before too long, and the idea of a second-floor eatery above Blue Light seemed plausible enough. But we couldn’t get Capshaw’s restaurant director, Michael Keaveny, to spill the beans (cue movie-trailer voice)⦠until now.
Reviews: music, stage and comics
Jefferson’s last stand On Wednesday, June 21, a mid-size throng piled into the back of the Downtown Mall’s historic Jefferson Theater to bid a fond adieu (for now) to Charlottesville’s favorite purveyor of $3 movies, which is closing for at least a year to undergo “massive” renovations. Amid flyers proclaiming “Good-bye old Charlottesville: The last […]
Splendora’s
At 3 o’clock in the afternoon, most civilized nations are sleeping. Since we live in America, however, we have to consume stimulants and power right through those afternoon doldrums like the dedicated capitalists that we are. A cappuccino and a cookie from Splendora’s made one recent afternoon a little less woozy. As we chewed, we […]
Shorter reviews
The Break-Up (PG-13, 106 minutes) Peyton Reed’s “anti-romantic comedy” about a mismatched couple (Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston) is often funny, sometimes uncomfortably so. Vaughn plays a guy’s guy, the kind who’d like to put a pool table in the living room, and Aniston is a version of her sweet, spunky character from “Friends.” (Kent […]
It’s all in the mix
There are those who view hip-hop as a commercial entity, and those who see hip-hop as a way of life. The latter is how Rob Jackson, a.k.a. Blue Black, looks at hip-hop culture in his own life. Jackson, who grew up in The Bronx, met fellow MC Asheru when they both lived in Charlottesville and they began recording together as The Unspoken Heard. The Heard released two CDs that were well received. While Asheru and Black have relocated to the D.C. area, they have landed some great gigs. Asheru has written the theme song for “The Boondocks” TV show now airing on the Cartoon Network, and also has a new mix-tape release, While You Were Sleeping, which is available online.
Interview with Robin Tomlin
Apart from the music, of course, the best thing about Robin Tomlin’s "Soulful Situation" show on WTJU (every Monday from noon to 2pm), is the amount of history that he provides with the music. "Bad musical history really pisses me off," he says. Tomlin moved to the States from England in 1986 to see live […]
You’re not in Kansas anymore
Yet another sign that our cozy little town is, in fact, big-city material: the notorious online swap meet (and meat market) Craigslist has finally come to Char-lottesville. The popular online classified site is the brainchild of Craig Newmark, who started the service in 1995 in the San Francisco area. Five years later, Boston got its […]
Galleries and exhibitions listings
Abundant Life 201 E. Main St., Suite Q (Above Zocalo). Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, 9-11am; Monday and Thursday, 1-5pm; Tuesday and Wednesday, 1-6pm. 979-5433. Through June 30: “Going with the Flow,” watercolors by Leslie Allyn.
Cars
I’m sure that, the day after the Big Bang, someone looked over at the Supreme Being and said, “Great job, now what have you got for an encore?” So it may not say anything about Cars, Pixar’s latest foray into the bits-and-bytes world of computer animation, that I was unable to summon up quite the enthusiasm I did for Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. (A Bug’s Life and Monsters, Inc.? Eh.)
Evan almighty
Fans of piano jazz know Evan Mook from his gigs tickling the 88’s around town. Mook, who toured with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra for two years, was a student of local Suzuki method teacher Kay Pitt. When Pitt decided not to take on more new students, Mook became the Suzuki instructor for piano in town. Although it’s unusual, he has dedicated himself as much to jazz as classical music. In fact, Mook has gradually spent more time teaching jazz music to advanced classical players and musicians with a rock background. Local rocker Brian Kingston, whose music has appeared on MTV, and also been written up internationally, has been studying jazz with Mook over the past year.
Rockin’ Atomic
The thing about the popular local burritto restaurant Atomic Burrito is that there is often a band, always a crowd, and usually the crowd is as diverse as it gets. Part of the secret to Atomic’s success, according to bartender and music booker Josh Lowry, is that the staff really loves music. Typically, the bartenders will make the call on which band plays the bar on the nights that they work, and the resulting live shows cover everything from country to hip-hop to garage rock. Lowry, who heads The Hillbilly Werewolf and Bucks and Gallants (recently recorded at Monkeyclaus), gave me some of his personal favorites, live
and otherwise.
Short film reviews
The Break-Up (PG-13, 106 minutes) Peyton Reed’s “anti-romantic comedy” about a mismatched couple (Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston) is often funny, sometimes uncomfortably so.
Reviews
Local artists and writers have paired up at the Second Street Gallery to “speak” about loveâand the results are as diverse as the emotional responses to love itself.
We Ate Here!
The only thing better than the verdant, mountainous setting around Nellysford is the fact that it’s home to some pretty outstanding Italian food. We sat on the deck at D’Ambola’s on a perfect June evening, when all we needed was a little appetizer to tide us over. The fried zucchini, despite its unassuming name, was […]
Restaurant Gossip
Lately, Second Street Gallery has been running a rather complicated fundraiser for which 12 local restaurants have developed “Artinis”â variations on the classic martini that have some art-related twist.
Online and doing fine
As the music business continues to inch toward the digital age, both on-line promotion and music downloading seem as inevitable as pizza delivery. Of course, with digital downloading (just like home-delivered pizza), what you lose in sonic quality is reimbursed in convenience.
Enchanting April
April Johnson-Bynes was considering med school, but when she won the school talent show in fourth grade as a singer, she began to think, “Well, maybe I can do this.”
Featured events
Red Stick Ramblers mine the musical history of Louisianaâblues, zydeco, bluegrass and Cajunâand mix it up with traditional ’20s and ’30s jazz as they tour for their fourth album, Right Key, Wrong Keyhole. This young quintet has très strong instrumental and songwriting chops-heir tight Western swing will have you saying, “Laissez les bon temps roulez!” Jolie Fille opens. At Gravity Lounge, Tuesday, June 13. $10, 8pm.
Short film blurbs
The Break-Up (PG-13, 106 minutes) Reviewed in this issue. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6 Cars (G, 116 minutes) Now that Pixar and Disney are playing nice, the never-miss computer animation firm revs up the engine on its latest family outing. We’ve got a cocky stock car (voiced by Owen Wilson) who gets sidetracked on […]