Aug 6-12, 2014

Aug 6-12, 2014 / Vol. 28 / No. 24

Cover Story

The Education Issue

Morale is lower than ever in public schools across the state. Teachers aren’t being paid enough, lawmakers seem eager to privatize the system, and less is being spent on resources for students than in years past. The solutions to these problems are often messy and complicated. So when CL decided to tackle education, focusing on…

Shakespeare meets Superfly in Measure for Measure

Whether you’re experiencing how Johann Strauss the Younger extols Vienna’s vitality or how Shakespeare dissects its decay, Die Fledermaus and Measure for Measure share a key orientation that dominates the stories they tell. Looking at the Austrian capital 270 years apart, the two masters view Vienna as a city of rampant sensuality, licentiousness and moral…

Perry Tannenbaum

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Harebrained

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES *1/2 DIRECTED BY Jonathan Liebesman STARS Megan Fox, Will Arnett There’s a moment late in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles when one of our shell-stocked heroes woos plucky reporter April O’Neil (Megan Fox) by playing the song “Happy Together.” The joke, of course, is that the group behind that classic song was…

Matt Brunson

The Hundred-Foot Journey: The Ron Jeremy of food porn

THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY **1/2 DIRECTED BY Lasse Hallstrom STARS Helen Mirren, Om Puri Films that place more of an emphasis on lovingly photographing culinary treats over anything else are often tagged “food porn,” and The Hundred-Foot Journey is the latest example of this mouth-watering sub-genre. But if towering works like Babette’s Feast and Eat Drink…

Matt Brunson

Into the Storm: Playing Twister

INTO THE STORM ** DIRECTED BY Steven Quale STARS Richard Armitage, Sarah Wayne Callies For a movie that feels like an also-ran afterthought in this blockbuster summer season, Into the Storm features some excellent visual effects that, in their own way, are about as impressive as anything else I’ve seen created by CGI wizards over…

Matt Brunson

When Clapton crumbled down

When I was 15, I got to see Eric Clapton play live. Well, that’s actually just an expression. I did see Eric onstage. But live? In terms of energy, movement and raw passion, I think Mitch Albom saw more of this on his Tuesdays With Morrie. The show was a lean, mean 54 minutes long.…

Peter Gerstenzang

Weekly horoscope (Aug. 7-13)

For All Signs: We have the full moon in Aquarius on Sunday. It adds to the tension of the larger square of the sun and Saturn. Old, festering resentments between people or nations could result in explosive behavior if we act on our more childish impulses. The danger of this full moon is that we…

Vivian Carol

Police presence in CMS schools has increased 300 percent in 10 years

Deforeyea Walker, 17, sits outside his west Charlotte home after just completing another year of high school. A puppy tied to a thin rope jumps playfully toward anyone who gets close in the patchy front yard. Walker looks on as he discusses his relationship with police, specifically the ones he has had run-ins with at…

Ryan Pitkin

Tiptoe through the tacos at Fonda la Taquiza

Fonda La Taquiza turned out to be short on charm — some booth cushions were split and the dining room has a thrown-together look — but the food, ah, the food. As Charlotte’s Latino community grows to 13 percent of the population, more Latino restaurateurs, like Mexican-born Taquiza owner Ruben Granados, can boldly offer a…

Tricia Childress

7 Reasons to boo up Aziz Ansari

Imagine a more serious Aziz Ansari, his big brown eyes gazing upwards as he rests on bended knee. He’s wearing a sharp, custom suit and he pulls a wedding ring out of its front pocket and pops the big question — and he’s not joking! Don’t worry, ladies: Aziz Ansari is not getting married, but…

Anita Overcash

Ceschi out on parole

Julio “Ceschi” Ramos has played the Milestone plenty — the Queen City punk and metal institution has been a natural fit for the Connecticut rapper for years. Yet his Aug. 8 show there is his first back since his late 2013 imprisonment stemming from a massive pot bust on Christmas 2010 — one he maintains…

Corbie Hill

When school administrators go rogue

Fuck you, Mr. Wilson.” The slight, dark boy shifted from groggy to confrontational in a flash, embarrassed and angry at being awakened, and enjoying the focus of 30 pairs of eyes. A small smile played around his mouth as all chatter ceased. “Sorry Randall, I don’t go that way.” The classroom exploded in laughter and…

Emiene Wright

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