Towering performance elevates Downsizing
DOWNSIZING *** (out of four) DIRECTED BY Alexander Payne STARS Matt Damon, Kristen Wiig The latest effort from the team of writer-director Alexander Payne and writer Jim Taylor (the Oscar-winning scribes behind Sideways), Downsizing initially feels like a gimmick more than a movie. The downsizing in the title is meant to be taken literally —…
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle swings and scores
JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE *** (out of four) DIRECTED BY Jake Kasdan STARS Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black No one was exactly clamoring for a sequel to 1995’s Jumanji, yet here comes Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle — and the holiday season just became a bit brighter. Arguably even more engaging than its predecessor, this…
Molly’s Game worth playing
MOLLY’S GAME *** (out of four) DIRECTED BY Aaron Sorkin STARS Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba As a writer, Aaron Sorkin has been such an important and enduring fixture on the film and TV fronts (Oscar for The Social Network, Emmys for The West Wing) that it’s a wonder he waited this long before making his…
PREMIERE: Jon Lindsay Confronts Racism and Homophobia in “Zebulon”
Former Charlotte musician collaborates with members of the Mountain Goats and Sarah Shook’s Disarmers on new single.
Dunkirk, Election, mother! among new home entertainment titles
(View From The Couch is a weekly column that reviews what’s new on Blu-ray, DVD and Streaming. Ratings are on a four-star scale.) DOC HOLLYWOOD (1991). The venerable “fish out of water” plotline is handily employed in Doc Hollywood, a lightweight comedy that proved to be a modest box office hit back in the summer…
Listen Up: Nige Hood Gets Folky on ‘Local Vibes’
What is folk rap, exactly? Charlotte’s resident folk rap leader Nige Hood came by the studio to talk about what influenced this genre of music and how he mixed different styles to create his aptly titled EP, This is Folk Rap. As always, catch up with past episodes on iTunes or Stitcher. Related Stories
The Hidden Gems of NoDa Nightlife
In last week’s column, I talked about my first trip to Hoppin’, the first self-pour beer hall located in the Gold District of South End. On the first Wednesday following their grand opening, it was lit! After one great first new impression in the Q.C., I didn’t want to end the night’s adventure. The night…
Carey J. King’s ‘Photo Walks’ Bring Photography Scene Together
A crowd of 80 might not look like much in a 240,000-square-foot warehouse, but to the photographers, models and other creatives who gathered at Camp North End on Sunday, December 17, it was everything. The group had convened on the sprawling north Charlotte campus for a “photo walk,” an event hosted by local photographer Carey…
Kim Smith’s Mission to Help Daughter Feel Valued Has Wide-Reaching Impact
Kim and Chris Smith’s daughter, Reagan, was diagnosed with autism at just 18-months old. The couple went through the waves of emotion that come with raising a child with special needs – disbelief, anger, sadness and acceptance. Through the roller coaster of emotions, Kim knew she wanted to do something to make a difference, but…
News of the Weird: Paint the Town
Bright Idea Cai, a 28-year-old man in Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, China, had plenty of time to consider traffic patterns as he waited for the lights to change during his daily commute. So much, in fact, that he decided to take matters into his own hands on Sept. 27 and paint new traffic arrows on the…
Best of The Blotter 2017
It’s that time of year again when we look back on the shitshow that was 2017 and feel thankful that at least we didn’t have it as bad as some of the folks in The Blotter. Some themes prevailed as we sifted through the entire year of bizarre crime. As politicians, Hollywood big wigs and…
Musicians Find Their Jam at Smokey Joe’s Cafe
I’m the organist for the Charlotte Checkers,” Jason Atkins says. “They call me Greazy Keyz.” Atkins is onstage at Smokey Joe’s Café, making final adjustments on his keyboard as patrons filter into the beloved dive bar on Briar Creek Road. “As soon as the games finish up [at nearby Bojangles’ Coliseum] on Tuesday nights, I…
Hiding on the Backroads: Lang Van and Smokey Joe’s
It had been at least five years since I last stepped foot in Lang Van, the Vietnamese restaurant on Shamrock Drive near the Charlotte Museum of History. I’d loved the restaurant’s food and service when I first arrived here in the early 2000s, having initially checked it out on a tip from former Levine Museum…
Anthony Hamilton’s Old Singing Partner, Eliah, Releases Sophomore Album
When Anthony Hamilton left his old Charlotte R&B quartet in the early 1990s to head up to New York City and eventually become a star, one of his hometown singing partners, Eliah Keaton, took a different path. Keaton joined the military, went to college and became an account executive for a large bill payment firm.…
Lang Van’s Dan Nguyen Is a Bright Light on Charlotte’s Culinary Scene
Dan Nguyen had been living out of her car when the original owner of Lang Van, the popular Vietnamese restaurant on Shamrock Drive in Charlotte, scooped her up and put her to work. That was 17 years ago, just after Nguyen arrived here from Saigon to join her husband, Tuyen Tran, who had already been…
