Cover Stories
Spectrum Center NBA All-Star Game Headliners: Rappers J. Cole and Meek Mill
Rappers J. Cole and Meek Mill, both GRAMMY award winners, will headline the performances at the 2019 NBA All-Star game, which is coming to Charlotte on Feb. 17. Meek Mill will open the ceremonies with a performance before the all-star lineups are introduced, while J.Cole, a Fayetteville native, will perform at halftime. Charlotte’s own Anthony Hamilton,…
Charlotte Shines in 2018
Another year has come and gone in the Queen City, and we have so many reasons to be proud of this city since our last Best of Charlotte issue came out. The music scene has continued its forward momentum, the visual arts scene has blossomed into a burgeoning community that won’t let the city streets…
Critics’ Picks: City Life
“Still humping the Amerian Dream.” The folks here are out there fighting the good fight on a daily basis, and deserve a tip of the cap for it. Local Hero – David Tepper When details about Jerry Richardson’s sexual harassment of his employees came out in April, it became cringe-worthily clear that he had to…
Non-Profit Connects Freshly Prepared Food to Those in Need
CHARLOTTE, NC -In the last two months, over 1,000 pounds of freshly prepared meats, vegetables and whole grains fed the Queen City’s hungry instead of feeding local landfills. Food Connection, Inc., an Asheville-based nonprofit, has expanded to Charlotte, and has partnered with area colleges and universities to rescue leftover fresh meals from their dining halls…
Repticon Charlotte: February 23-24
One of America’s foremost exotic animals shows is coming back to the Charlotte area on February 23-24. “Repticon brings the amazing world of reptiles and exotic animals back to Charlotte on February 23 & 24, 2019, opening to the public at 10 a.m. with a fun and educational exposition suitable for all ages and personalities,”…
Sustainable Agriculture Conference Coming to the Queen City in March
The Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA (RAFI-USA) will be holding a conference from March 12-13 in Charlotte. “The purpose of this conference is to bring together faith leaders and laypeople, hunger relief advocates, farmers, farm workers, community organizers, community gardeners, food council members, extension agents, and others to find mutually beneficial solutions to relieve hunger and…
The good humor men
Among the eight Academy Award nominations recently earned by Vice is one for Best Makeup and Hairstyling, honoring the team that helped turn Christian Bale into Dick Cheney. Perhaps not as many prosthetics were needed to turn stout John C. Reilly into stout Oliver Hardy — or skinny Steve Coogan into skinny Stan Laurel, for…
Breaking Glass
Forget about trying to ascertain whether Glass (*1/2 out of four) is a theatrical experience that should be viewed as either half-full or half-empty. Instead, the latest headache-inducer from writer-director M. Night Shyamalan is such a parched project that viewers will leave the auditorium with the irritable sensation that there’s sand trapped in their shorts…
Paging Oscar
The weather outside might be frightful (at least to those with aversions to whooping coughs and soaked shoes), but the multiplex roster can be so delightful. True, early January is often the stomping ground of the studios’ tax write-offs and/or dreadful-looking projects (e.g. 2014’s The Legend of Hercules, 2016’s Monster Trucks, this week’s Keanu Reeves…
The Best and Worst Films of 2018
It was just last month that Mary Poppins returned to movie theaters across the globe, accompanied by a classic phrase that was immortalized when she first hit the screen back in 1964. But while the no-nonsense nanny remains “practically perfect in every way,” the same can’t quite be said about the cinema of 2018. Make…
Little sting to Bumblebee
I suppose after a steady diet of moldy-green, one-month-old bread, even a bite of slightly stale, one-week-old bread would taste delicious. After beating the world into catatonic submission with one acceptable Transformers flick in 2007 and four atrocious sequels in the decade that followed, Michael Bay has relinquished the director’s chair for Bumblebee, opting instead…
Bale bails out Vice
The new seriocomedy Vice (*** out of four) is up for a half-dozen Golden Globes and will probably nab a handful of Academy Award nominations as well. What it doubtless won’t be snagging, however, is any sort of “Truth in Advertising” honors. The tagline for this biopic of former Vice President Dick Cheney partly reads…
Mary Poppins Returns: A success, to be Blunt
While millions of moviegoers both young and old continue to find 1964’s Mary Poppins a motion picture that’s practically perfect in every way, the dirty secret for those not completely invested in its nostalgic pull is that it’s ofttimes arid and unwieldy. It’s packed with delightful songs and electrifying interludes, but it’s also frequently lumbering…
Aquaman: Soggy superhero saga
A nautical tale such as the superhero saga Aquaman (** out of four) naturally lends itself to all manner of water-based putdowns when it comes to describing its rampaging mediocrity. “Waterlogged.” “Washed up.” “All wet.” I’m sure there’s even a “seaman” quip if one cares to wander in that direction. At any rate, such groan-worthy…
Welcome to Marwen should be vacated
Based on a true story that was previously related in the 2010 documentary Marwencol, Welcome to Marwen (** out of four) casts Steve Carell as Mark Hogancamp, who was savagely beaten in a hate crime (his crime: wearing women’s shoes) and thereafter stripped of most of his memory. As therapy, he creates a model-size, WWII-era…
The Favourite: Royal rewards
The Favourite (***1/2 out of four) is basically All About Eve with corsets, with Rachel Weisz starring as Bette Davis’ Margo Channing, Emma Stone cast as Anne Baxter’s Eve Harrington, and Olivia Colman appearing as the Sarah Siddons Award. Set during the kickoff of the 18th century, this historical seriocomedy unfolds in the court of…
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse swings and scores
The moldy adage “You won’t believe your eyes” takes on new life in the wake of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (*** out of four), which is pretty good as a superhero saga but absolutely phenomenal as an animated feature. Employing animation in ways not usually found on the big screen – but definitely found inside…
Mortal Engines loses steam(punk)
The title might be borrowed from Shakespeare, but the aesthetic is pure Miyazaki. Based on the first in a series of Young Adult novels by Philip Reeve, Mortal Engines (**1/2 out of four) is yet another film set in a post-apocalyptic future wherein food and water are scarce, the strong prey on the weak, and…
The 2018 Holiday Film Preview
Will moviegoers be facing a winter wonderland or merely a big chill? That’s always the question asked at this time of year, when the holiday film season begins its sprint toward the finish line of December 31. It’s that window of opportunity when studios hope their year-end movies will be successful enough to rake in…
Robin Hood: Hoodwinked
Taron Egerton in Robin Hood (Lionsgate) In Robin Hood (*1/2 out of four), you can’t see the forest for the cheese. That’s right: The mighty Sherwood Forest, home of many previous Robin Hood screen incarnations, doesn’t make an appearance until the waning moments of the film. Before then, this hokey and hyperactive undertaking starts off…
Creed II: Rocky return
Sylvester Stallone and Michael B. Jordan in Creed II (MGM) The release of Creed three Thanksgivings ago allowed me to role-play as The Grinch throughout the 2015 holiday season, as my mixed review was in contrast to the sizable box office it enjoyed from audiences and rave reviews it garnered from most other critics. As…
You’re the Best… of Charlotte
It was the Best of Charlotte, it was the worst of Charlotte. But mainly just the former. I couldn’t be happier to be sending off Creative Loafing’s 2018 Best of Charlotte issue, my first as editor-in-chief of the paper. That being said, we got through the process without anyone jumping from the roof of our…
Hunter Killer: Butler Did It … Again
HUNTER KILLER ** (out of four) DIRECTED BY Donovan Marsh STARS Gerard Butler, Gary Oldman If the new motion picture Hunter Killer were real life, it would merit four stars. The U.S. President is a smart, compassionate and progressive woman who prefers to spend her time governing effectively rather than sending out factually challenged tweets…
Johnny English Strikes Again strikes out
JOHNNY ENGLISH STRIKES AGAIN ** (out of four) DIRECTED BY David Kerr STARS Rowan Atkinson, Emma Thompson As fans of James Bond wait impatiently for the next installment, they can at least take (quantum of?) solace in the fact that there’s a new Johnny English film hitting theaters. Then again, Johnny English Strikes Again, the…
Get Shorty, Schlock, Trick ‘r Treat 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.) BLOOD AND BLACK LACE (1964). After making a name for himself with a pair of exquisite horror flicks, 1960’s gothic-infused gem Black Sunday (reviewed here) and 1963’s trippy anthology opus Black Sabbath…
Critics’ Picks: Consumer Culture
“In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity.” Capitalism may be dying, but while it’s on its last legs, we suggest you spend your hard-earned bucks on the following businesses and services… Best Video Store – VisArt Mickey Aberman paraphrases Mark Twain when he looks at the ups and downs of owning…
Critic’s Picks: Arts and Entertainment
“Maybe it meant something. Maybe not, in the long run, but no explanation, no mix of words or music or memories can touch that sense of knowing that you were there and alive in that corner of time and the world.” It’s been a hell of a year for music, arts and theater in Charlotte,…
Critics’ Picks: After Dark
“Too weird to live, too rare to die.” It’s time to get out there and have some fun. Best New Nightlife Spot – Skylark Social Club Just as Warren Stiles, owner of Midwood Country Club in Plaza Midwood, was beginning to turn the neighboring Station into a legit rock club for indie rock and punk…
Readers’ Picks: City Life
Best Hero/Heroine Braxton Winston Best Local Sports Figure Cam Newton Best Local Sports Team Carolina Panthers Best Local Mascot Sir Purr Best TV Station Fox46 Charlotte Best TV Personality Page Fehling, Fox46 Best News Anchor Morgan Fogarty, WCCB Best TV Sportscaster Delano Little Best Podcast WFAE’s She Says Best Radio Personality Mike Collins Best Radio…
Readers’ Picks: Consumer Culture
Best new Store (Last 2 Years) CLT Find Best Local Product Powder Studio porcelain Best Clothing Store Boris + Natasha Clothing Boutique Best Consignment Shop Buffalo Exchange Best Place to Buy Vintage Stash Pad Best Gift Shop Paper Skyscraper Best Jewelry Store CLTCH Best Fashion Designer Royal Peasantry Best Home Accessories Store TUFT Best Furniture…
Critics’ Picks: Food and Drink
“Good people drink good beer.” We all like to eat, drink and be merry. These are our food & drink choices and we’re sticking to them. Best Beer Labels – Bold Missy Brewing This female-owned brewery also features a female brewmaster, which we think is pretty cool in an industry saturated with male-owned and male-run…
Readers’ Picks: Food and Drink
Best New Restaurant The Stanley Best Late-Night Eatery Midnight Diner Best Chef Julia Simon, Nourish Charlotte Best Farm-To-Table Restaurant Heirloom Best Vegetarian/Vegan Friendly Food Nourish Charlotte Best South End Restaurant Yamazaru Best noDa Restaurant Haberdish Best West Charlotte/Steele Creek Restaurant Pinky’s Westside Grill Best Plaza Midwood Restaurant Dish Best SouthPark Restaurant The Cowfish Best East…
Readers’ Picks: After Dark
Best New Nightspot Tommy’s Pub Best Weekly Nightlife Event Knocturnal at Snug Harbor Best Karaoke NoDa 101 Best Annual Party Yelp Charlotte Christmas Party Best Club Dj Justin Aswell Best Dance Club Roxbury Nightclub Best Dog Bar Lucky Dog Bark & Brew Best Bartender Jamie Starks Best Bar to People-Watch Snug Harbor Best Hookup Bar…
Readers’ Picks: Arts and Entertainment
Best Museum The Mint Museum Best Art Gallery Goodyear Arts Best Exhibit The Mint Museum: The Glamour and Romance of Oscar de la Renta Best Visual Artist Arthur Brouthers Best Muralist Osiris Rain Best Graffiti Artist Abstract Dissent Best Display of Public Art Murals at Camp North End Best Photographer Brian “BT” Twitty Best Performing…
