Lunch Break (6/1/16): Dreams of getting to work on time shattered on I-77 this morning
The morning already passed us by. What the hell happened?
Lunch Break (5/31/16): School bus runs off road into home and tree, 14 kids hospitalized
The weekend already passed us by. What the hell happened?
The Blumeys turn five
And it’s louder and more spirited than ever.
Plenty to enjoy at Spoleto Festival USA
Celebrating 40 years with more than 150 performances.
Lunch Break (5/27/16): Arrests made in some violent crimes, other violent crimes committed, around we go
The morning already passed us by. What the hell happened?
Alice Through the Looking Glass: The Mirror Crack’d
ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS *1/2 (out of four) DIRECTED BY James Bobin STARS Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska The Walrus and the Carpenter are nowhere to be found in Alice Through the Looking Glass, meaning audiences will have to make do with the addition of Marty McFly and Captain Jack Sparrow. Those popular celluloid characters…
X-Men: Apocalypse: Action Slacked
X-MEN: APOCALYPSE **1/2 (out of four) DIRECTED BY Bryan Singer STARS James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender The third time’s certainly not the charm when it comes to the X-Men film franchise. After the giddy heights of 2000’s X-Men and 2003’s X2, 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand registered as a major disappointment. And after the brainy thrills…
A Bigger Splash settles for ripples
A BIGGER SPLASH **1/2 (out of four) DIRECTED BY Luca Guadagnino STARS Ralph Fiennes, Tilda Swinton If I’m feeling particularly lazy next week when Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Lobster opens locally, I might just cut and paste the line I’ve assigned to Luca Guadagnino’s A Bigger Splash: “An English-language art-house effort that’s positively drenched in thick,…
Lunch Break (5/26/16): The crime has hit the white neighborhoods, get ready for panic
The morning already passed us by. What the hell happened?
Bizarre crime from Charlotte police files (May 26)
School Daze Spring fever has officially ensnared the public school population. The assistant principal at Tuckaseegee Elementary School called police after an incident involving multiple students and a teacher playing Hulk. The police reports states that the teacher had to restrain several students at once during an incident in the music classroom. In an unrelated…
How to Be Single, Manhunter, Risen among new home entertainment titles
(View From The Couch is a weekly column that reviews what’s new on Blu-ray and DVD. Ratings are on a four-star scale.) DARK PASSAGE (1947). Just because Dark Passage is considered the runt of the Humphrey Bogart-Lauren Bacall litter doesn’t mean it lacks its own measure of shaggy-dog charm. While certainly no classic like their…
Get tickets to these Charlotte summer shows early
While some of Charlotte’s longtime venues have closed and others are struggling to stay open, we’re reminded that getting out and going to see live music is one of the best ways to show support. That’s an easy task when there’s enough music to sustain you through the summer — as is the case this…
Danica Patrick hasn’t received the same patience afforded to other NASCAR drivers entering the sport
Twenty five years after the release of Susan Faludi’s book, Backlash: The Undeclared War on American Women, the backlash she spoke about remains, even as women around the world continue to shatter glass ceilings. Just as in the years following Faludi’s book, when millions of Americans believed that Anita Hill lied or Nicole Brown Simpson…
The show must go on for Charlotte women in theater
Lorraine Hansberry, one of a handful of legendary American female playwrights, said, “The thing that makes you exceptional, if you are at all, is inevitably that which must also make you lonely.” She probably was lonely. As not just a woman playwright — but an African-American playwright — she had few peers in the 1950s…
The Everymen discover comfort in Carolina living
When the Everymen went into the studio to make These Mad Dogs Need Heroes, their latest record, the New Jersey-formed outfit knew they wanted the music to come from a different place — literally and figuratively. They traveled to the legendary groove hub of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and worked with Alabama Shakes touring keyboardist and…
The five-year proliferation of Charlotte’s food truck scene didn’t come without struggle
Looking back now, there are multiple ways the Great Recession, which officially ended in 2009, helped bring the food truck culture to Charlotte in 2011, eventually leading to its rapid growth in the years following. Dave Stuck moved to Charlotte from Portland, Oregon, where he had worked in the restaurant industry in late 2009. He…
Finding home in Faded Gloryville
For many folks, the old idiom “home is where the heart is,” rings true. Home is where you want to be. It’s a place where you’re surrounded by the people, places and things that give you security and satisfaction. For Canadian country artist Lindi Ortega — who’s coming to Charlotte for a performance that’s part…
Weekly horoscope (May 26-June 1)
For All Signs: Mercury turned direct last week on May 22. It is remaining in what is called “stationary” position. This means that we will continue to have effects of the April retrograde until early June. It is still a challenge to get things off the ground. The closer we are to mid-summer, the easier…
Summer Guide 2016
MAY Comedy Bonkerz Comedy Club May 27-28: Adam Avitable. Hilton Charlotte Executive Park, 5624 Westpark Drive. bonkerzcomedyproductions.com. The Comedy Zone Charlotte May 26-29: Craig Robinson; May 31: Fight Night Comedy Competition (Season 9, Round 3). The Comedy Zone, 900 AvidXchange Music Factory Blvd., Suite B3. 980-321-4702. www.cltcomedyzone.com. Warehouse PAC Now Are The Foxes. Improv comedy.…
