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DECEMBER 27, 2023- JANUARY 2, 2024 VOLUME 19, NUMBER 52

10 s m l i F The 23: of 20 st...

5500 Adams Farm Lane Suite 204 Greensboro, NC 27407 Office 336-316-1231 Fax 336-316-1930

e t B e h T e Res & Th Publisher CHARLES A. WOMACK III

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IT’S TIME!

NOMINATIONS OPEN JAUNARY 7

THE FILMS OF 2023

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EDITORIAL

Editor CHANEL DAVIS chanel@yesweekly.com

I can’t say I’ve seen every film released this year — some, in fact, have yet to be released theatrically or made available – but I saw enough to do a Top-10 list for the year. Here then are my selections …

YES! Writers IAN MCDOWELL MARK BURGER KATEI CRANFORD JIM LONGWORTH NAIMA SAID

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DALIA RAZO LYNN FELDER PRODUCTION Senior Designer ALEX FARMER designer@yesweekly.com Designer SHANE HART artdirector@yesweekly.com

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North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University alumnus, former Mister A&T and Mister HBCU Reginald N. Johnson ‘13 has a featured role in what may well be the biggest movie release of 2023: THE COLOR PURPLE, a star-studded musical reimagination of the classic film by the same name from 1985.

4 A NON-PROFIT downtown booster organization and an unnamed team of investors plan to re-open the building that once housed Triad Stage, but it is unclear if it will again produce classic and new plays.

5 Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County and Activate Entertainment are excited to welcome the return of “Solstice: A WINTER CIRCUS EXPERIENCE,” to Winston-Salem this February.

The production blends dance, theatre, music, and circus into a storytelling experience about self-discovery.

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Acclaimed filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s fact-based biographical blockbuster OPPENHEIMER was the big

DECEMBER 27, 2023-JANUARY 2, 2024

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winner in the Southeastern Film Critics Association’s 2023 end-of-year honors, earning eight SEFCA awards including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for Cillian Murphy, who portrays physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer in the historical saga, which is widely touted as an Oscar frontrunner.

7 The self-explanatory racing melodrama FERRARI marks producer Michael Mann’s first directorial outing since the disappointing Blackhat eight years ago.

7 The events depicted in WONKA, which stars Timothée Chalamet in the title role of chocolatier Willy Wonka, take place before he has constructed his magic factory and established himself, thus making this something of an origin story.

14 Still packing their fuzzed-out brand

of Rock’n’Roll, the OLD ONE-TWO are pleased as punch to welcome a new year and their new album, “Cropduster Stunt Show,” with a release show at the Flat Iron on January 6.

Marketing ANGELA COX angela@yesweekly.com TRAVIS WAGEMAN travis@yesweekly.com Promotion NATALIE GARCIA

DISTRIBUTION JANICE GANTT ANDREW WOMACK We at YES! Weekly realize that the interest of our readers goes well beyond the boundaries of the Piedmont Triad. Therefore we are dedicated to informing and entertaining with thought-provoking, debate-spurring, in-depth investigative news stories and features of local, national and international scope, and opinion grounded in reason, as well as providing the most comprehensive entertainment and arts coverage in the Triad. YES! Weekly welcomes submissions of all kinds. Efforts will be made to return those with a self-addressed stamped envelope; however YES! Weekly assumes no responsibility for unsolicited submissions. YES! Weekly is published every Wednesday by Womack Newspapers, Inc. No portion may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. First copy is free, all additional copies are $1.00. Copyright 2023 Womack Newspapers, Inc.

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[SPOTLIGHT]

N.C. A&T ALUM SHINES IN FINAL SCENE OF REIMAGINED MOVIE MUSICAL THE COLOR PURPLE PRESS RELEASE

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University alumnus, former Mister A&T and Mister HBCU Reginald N. Johnson ‘13 has a featured role in what may well be the biggest movie release of 2023: The Color Purple, a star-studded musical reimagination of the classic film by the same name from 1985.

The film premiered nationwide on Christmas day, and industry experts predict a huge debut, with advance sales driving expectations steadily higher.

Johnson shines as the principal dancer in the final scene of the film, which is set to a reprise of the song, “The Color of Purple.” During the scene, the main character, Celie, performed by awardwinning singer and actress Fantasia Taylor, finally gets her whole family to sit at the same dinner table in love and harmony. “[The movie was] a very spiritual environment. It was a testament to the director [Blitz Bazawule] and the precedent that he set for this reimagined version,” said Johnson. “Fantasia is a huge inspiration for me, especially from her time on [American] Idol to all the work she is doing now. Growing up in North Carolina, she’s just an inspiration.”

In addition to Taylor, the film features Taraji P. Henson (who attended A&T before graduating from Howard), Whoopi Goldberg, Hallie Bailey, Ciara, Colman Domingo, David Alan Grier, Jon Batiste, Louis Gossett Jr., H.E.R and many others.

Based on the novel by Alice Walker, the film is produced by Oprah Winfrey.

This is not Johnson’s first experience with The Color Purple: He also acted and danced in a stage version while an undergraduate at A&T. In the 10 years since his graduation,

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Taraji P. Henson and Reginald N. Johnson he’s been busy as a professional actor and dancer. For the new musical, the climactic scene featuring Johnson was filmed in picturesque Savannah, Georgia, providing an elegant backdrop for the 1930s period setting.

“It was a beautiful and spiritual experience all around,” said Johnson.

This isn’t the only connection A&T shares with the upcoming movie. During the university’s 2023 Homecoming, Oct. 29 - Nov. 4, a team from film distributor Warner Bros recorded with the A&T Blue and Gold Marching Machine (BGMM) and included the band in a special trailer featuring A&T and 10 other HBCUs. BGMM also performed “Push the Button” from the movie soundtrack during halftime at the Greatest Homecoming on Earth.

Additionally, the current Mister and Miss North Carolina A&T, Marcus Scott Jr. and Torree Theodore, respectively, were selected to attend the movie’s purple carpet premiere, even participating as guest hosts. !

Enchanted Waters Saturday, Jan 6, 2024 & Sunday, Jan 7, 2024

Debussy’s ever-popular La Mer paints a vivid sonic portrait of the ocean’s vast beauty and mystery.

GRAMMY®-winning saxophonist Joe Lovano joins forces with the Symphony for a spellbinding performance of Doug Cuomo’s a raft, the sky, the wild sea, a concerto that combines improvisation and gripping melodies to depict the perilous journey of those seeking refuge and hope on the open water. Finally, lose yourself in the intoxicating waves of rhythm in Ravel’s La Valse as the orchestra whirls you through a mesmerizing dance of light and shadow.

Cuomo’s piece was co-commissioned by the London Philharmonic, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, and the Winston-Salem Symphony.

WE’RE NOT CHEAP, WE’RE FREE !

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Box Office: 336-464-0145 wssymphony.org

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Triad Stage building may re-open, but as what?

A

nonprofit downtown booster organization and an unnamed team of investors plan to reopen the building that once housed Ian McDowell Triad Stage, but it is unclear if it will again produce clasContributor sic and new plays.

On December 18, Downtown Greensboro Inc. (DGI) sent out the following statement from Melanie Jennings of the Raleigh-based publicity firm M. Jennings & Company: “Downtown Greensboro, Inc. is excited to announce a partnership of local investors with deep ties to the community and the arts will purchase the former Triad Stage building located at 232 South Elm Street.” According to Jennings, new owners intend “to bring energy and a creative vibe back to Elm Street in this historic building that has given so much to the community over the years.”

The announcement also attributed the following quote to Zack Matheny, the DGI CEO who is also the District 3 representative on city council: “The revival and reimagination of this unique cultural asset in the heart of Greensboro is an important social

Assistant Teaching Professor

(Winston Salem, NC) Teach 6 courses /year at the graduate level, incl. supervising internships & students’ research projs., & contribute to the curriculum dvlpmt in the Interpreting & Translation Studies (ITS) prgm. Reqs. PhD in Translation Studies, and native or near-native proficiency in Chinese (Mandarin).

Send CV to Wake Forest Univ., 1834 Wake Forest Rd., Winston-Salem, NC 27109, Attn: K. Hubbard.

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investment for our community and our future. We appreciate the vision and leadership of the local ownership group and are excited about the opportunity to revitalize this fixture for the arts in our community.”

The press release concluded by stating that the “reimagined Triad Stage will join a burgeoning arts scene in Greensboro, complementing the nearby Tanger Center for the Performing Arts and Carolina Theatre, as well as various live music performance venues.”

“Thanks for reaching out,” replied Jennings when queried as to the identity of the investment team. “We don’t have more to share beyond the news release at this time, but will be providing updates in the new year.”

Matheny said that the team is “choosing not to be named until closing is complete.” The News & Record has quoted him as saying “most of them have some type of property in downtown” and that “every form of art is on the table.”

The sale is not expected to be finalized until the first quarter of 2024.

When bidding began on the property, it started at $300,000.

In 1998, Triad Stage was founded as a nonprofit theater company by Preston Lane and Richard Whittington, graduate students at the Yale School of Drama before relocating to Greensboro. Together, they raised more than $5 million,

DECEMBER 27, 2023-JANUARY 2, 2024

and in 1999, purchased the five-story former Montgomery Ward department store erected on that block in 1936.

Extensive renovations began in 2001.

After the theater’s successful 2002 opening with Tennessee Williams’ “Suddenly, Last Summer,” it was hailed as a symbol and anchor of downtown Greensboro’s commercial and artistic rebirth, a reputation it maintained for almost two decades, during which it regularly produced classic plays and premiered new ones.

But in 2020, what had become an Elm Street institution was rocked by the double impact of the pandemic shutdown and the ouster of co-founder and artistic director Lane, who resigned after several UNCG students alleged sexual abuse in a Zoom meeting with board members and a Triad Stage attorney.

The theater reopened with new leadership in the Fall of 2022, but its accumulated deficit of $1.5 million resulted in its permanent closing in June of this year. The sale of its building is part of the liquidation process.

Deborah Hayes, co-chair of the Triad Stage Board of Trustees, gave YES! Weekly the following statement: “I really am not well-positioned to be the spokesperson for the new venture, but I do believe the purchasers intend to turn Triad Stage into a vibrant space where art will thrive, and I am very

excited about that prospect. I think that having this kind of life in the building will be good for downtown and for the community as a whole.”

Co-founder and former managing director Whittington, who resigned in 2019 after 20 years with Triad Stage and was succeeded by Lane, said that he is excited that the building will remain locally owned.

“I look forward to seeing what unfolds. Part of our original dream when we secured the building in 1998 was to help revitalize downtown through the arts and I’m glad to see that vision continue.”

Local actor, filmmaker, and professor Michael Tourek, who got his start with Triad Stage before appearing in such TV shows as Ozark and The Walking Dead, said he hopes that it will continue to nurture local talent and produce new plays: “Triad Stage has proven time and time again to be a place that fosters local actors, artists, and musicians. I hope and trust that the new organization taking over Triad Stage will continue to do so.”

YES! Weekly asked the following question to Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan, who in the past has issued multiple statements about her hope that Triad Stage could be revived, and Matheny: Triad Stage based its brand on being not just a performance space, but a production company. Rather than simply providing a venue for touring plays and musicals originating elsewhere, it was a nurturing space for playwrights, directors and actors, both local and visiting, that became one of the most acclaimed regional theaters in the state and South.

Is the new incarnation going to continue that tradition?

“It is a flexible space,” replied Vaughan. “It has great sight lines. It can be used for many purposes.”

At press time, Matheny had not responded to the question. !

IAN MCDOWELL is an award-winning author and journalist whose book I Ain’t Resisting: the City of Greensboro and the Killing of Marcus Smith will be published in September by Scuppernong Editions.

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PHOTO BY JENNIFER SCHEIB

[ WEEKLY ARTS ROUNDUP] BRASS UNDER THE BIG TOP: A SPECTACLE OF MUSIC AND MAGIC

“Solstice: A Winter Circus Experience” Returning to Winston-Salem PRESS RELEASE Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County and Activate Entertainment are excited to welcome the return of “Solstice: A Winter Circus Experience,” to Winston-Salem this February. The production blends dance, theatre, music, and circus into a storytelling experience about self-discovery. Five performances will take place at Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts February 16-18, 2024, prior to a tour across two other North Carolina cities.

This family-friendly show is 75 minutes long and includes interactive and immersive elements to plunge the audience into the world of nostalgia. The show will feature eight talented artists, with a mixture of local and international performers including Dom Sebastian, Toni Cannon, Sierra Rhoades Nicholls, Kevin Flanagan, Liam Bradley, Elly Craig, and more. Acts will include Chinese Pole, Bboy, Handbalancing on Canes, Juggling, Cyr Wheel, and more.

“We look forward to sharing “Solstice” again with Winston-Salem and Forsyth County and adding additional cities across North Carolina,” said Houston Odum, Show Director of Solstice. “After our highly successful run in 2023, we can’t wait to return and give our audiWWW.YESWEEKLY.COM

ences an even more magical show. This will be a production not to be missed by anyone in the Triad!”

“After a great first year of “Solstice,” we are eager to welcome Activate Entertainment back in February 2024 for another round of magical performances,” said Chase Law, President and CEO of Arts Council. “It has been an honor for Arts Council to play an active role in ensuring that this production could come to life and the artists be supported through it all.”

Solstice is a sponsored project of the Arts Council of Winston-Salem & Forsyth County and funded through ARPA supported by the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners. !

ARTS COUNCIL OF WINSTON-SALEM & FORSYTH COUNTY is the chief advocate of the arts and cultural sector in Winston-Salem and Forsyth County.

Arts Council’s goal is to serve as a leader in lifting up, creating awareness, and providing support to grow and sustain the arts and cultural offerings throughout our region, ultimately bringing our community together and making it a great place to live, work, and play.

WANNA go?

Tickets start at $24.50 and are on sale now at www.ActivateNC.com/Solstice.

BY JOE MOUNT The Arts Council of Winston-Salem & Forsyth County has awarded Music Carolina’s program “Brass Under the Big Top” a Wells Fargo Arts-In-Education Grant to visit Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools in 2024.

Young audiences will have the opportunity to experience the mesmerizing world of “Brass Under the Big Top,” a thrilling and high-energy performance that weaves together the timeless elegance of classical music with the enchanting artistry of circus performance.

Launched in 2004, this innovative program has become a staple in WinstonSalem, reaching over 3,000 students in grades K-3 each year and leaving an indelible mark on the community.

This fast-paced and dynamic performance brings together the talents of the Giannini Brass, a quintet comprising two trumpets, French horn, trombone, tuba, and percussion, with the magical touch of Dikki Ellis. As the musicians play classical pieces like the “William Tell Overture,” “Shoutin’ Liza Trombone,” and excerpts from the Rossini opera “William Tell” Dikki takes center stage, performing one mesmerizing feat after another. Mr. Ellis, a visiting faculty member at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) and a former member of the Big Apple Circus, is the mastermind behind the magical elements of the performance. His captivating tricks, from disappearing balls to spinning

plates and flags being pulled out of musical instruments, create a seamless blend of music and illusion. Dikki’s presence adds an extra layer of excitement and wonder, turning each performance into a spellbinding spectacle.

At the heart of the performance is Giannini Brass, a quintet of professional musicians based in Winston-Salem.

Their skillful interpretation of classical repertoire not only complements Dikki’s act but also elevates the overall experience, creating a harmonious fusion of music and circus arts.

Since its inception, “Brass Under the Big Top” has been dedicated to reaching young audiences, particularly in the Winston-Salem Forsyth County schools.

The program has proven highly successful in engaging and inspiring students in grades K-3. Its focus on underserved populations underscores the commitment to making the arts accessible to all, fostering a love for music and performance in the hearts of young audiences.

The Wells Fargo Arts-In-Education Grant connects artists and arts organizations with elementary, middle and high school students, by funding programs designed to awaken their intellectual and creative curiosity. Additional support is provided by the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School System and the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

Arts Council is the largest funder of arts education in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School System. !

DECEMBER 27, 2023-JANUARY 2, 2024

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SEFCA salutes Oppenheimer as the best film of 2023 Acclaimed filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s fact-based biographical blockbuster Oppenheimer was the big winner in the Southeastern Film Critics Association’s 2023 end-of-year honors, Mark Burger earning eight SEFCA awards including Best Picture, Best Contributor Director, and Best Actor for Cillian Murphy, who portrays physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer in the historical saga, which is widely touted as an Oscar frontrunner.

Oppenheimer also won SEFCA’s awards for Best Supporting Actor (Robert Downey Jr.), Best Adapted Screenplay (Nolan), Best Cinematography (Hoyte Van Hoytema), Best Score (Ludwig Goransson), and Best Ensemble, as it boasts a star-studded cast including Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Kenneth Branagh, Josh Hartnett, Alden

Ehrenreich, Jason Clarke, Tom Conti, Casey Affleck, and Florence Pugh.

“This fall features three big films from three grandmasters of cinema,” said Scott Phillips, president of SEFCA. “Martin Scorsese released Killers of the Flower Moon, Ridley Scott brought Napoleon to the big screen, and Michael Mann hit theaters with Ferrari. Despite this bumper crop from heavy-hitting auteurs, Christopher Nolan’s film from six months ago is walking away with eight SEFCA awards. Oppenheimer is a stunning cinematic achievement. Our members recognized that in July, and they are rewarding it in December.”

Regarding the overall cinema year, “2023 will be remembered by many as the year that featured the commercial, critical, and cultural phenomenon known as ‘Barbenheimer,’” said Jim Farmer, SEFCA’s vice-president. “But it was also a season that offered a stunning amount of high-quality films, with master filmmakers near the top of their games, fresher faces making strong impressions, and performers showing new dimensions. It was a pleasure to take in

all that 2023 had to offer.”

Lily Gladstone won Best Actress for Killers of the Flower Moon, Da’Vine Joy Randolph won Best Supporting Actress for The Holdovers, and that film also won Best Original Screenplay for David Hemingson. Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie was named Best Documentary, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse won Best Animated Film, and Anatomy of a Fall copped Best Foreign-Language Film.

SEFCA’s top 10 films of 2023 were as follows: (1.) Oppenheimer. (2.) Killers of the Flower Moon. (3.) The Holdovers.

(4.) Past Lives. (5.) Barbie. (6.) Poor Things. (7.) American Fiction. (8.) SpiderMan: Across the Spider-Verse. (9.) Anatomy of a Fall. (10.) The Zone of Interest.

The Southeastern Film Critics Association boasts a membership of 89 film critics across nine states in the southeastern United States, and yours truly is a long-time member and voter. !

See MARK BURGER’s reviews of current movies. © 2023, Mark Burger.

WANNA know?

You can follow SEFCA on Twitter at @SEFilmCritics, and the official SEFCA website is https://www. sefca.net/.

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DECEMBER 27, 2023-JANUARY 2, 2024

Emma Langford in Concert

SATURDAY, JANUARY 13, 2024 DOORS @ 6:30PM // SHOW @ 7:30PM

Emma Langford is a Limerick-based songwriter with strong traditional influences. Storytelling sits at the heart of everything she does, interweaving her live performances, and shining through her recorded works.

Hers is an inimitable, dreamy voice in the new wave of Irish folk. Emma’s music focuses on fascinating women in Irish history, bringing Ireland’s past into the present through modern interpretations of these stories.

2023-24 Season

JANUARY

11 Cirque International

FEBRUARY

17 Take 6 in Concert

MARCH

07 The Tartan Terrors 14 Comedy with Cathy Ladman 25 BANFF Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour Acts and dates subject to change.

For a full line up of events, and up to date news, visit our website.

VISIT: HighPointTheatre.com for more information | FOR TICKETS CALL: 336-887-3001

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flicks

SCREEN IT!

Ferrari: The man, the myth, the machine

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he selfexplanatory racing melodrama Ferrari marks producer Michael Mann’s first directorial outing since the disappointing BlackMark Burger hat eight years ago.

Long considered a Contributor passion project for the filmmaker, Ferrari is based on the 1991 biography “Enzo Ferrari: The Man, The Cars, The Races, The Machine” by Brock Yates and adapted by screenwriter Troy Kennedy Martin, who died in 2009.

The paramount irony of Mann’s film is that passion is one aspect it lacks. It’s crisp, polished, and very professional — as Mann’s films tend to be — but despite some eye-catching racing sequences (and some of the weirdest CGI imagery

in memory) and a solid cast, the narrative simply goes through the motions.

Mann’s directorial output in the 21st century — which includes Ali (2001), Collateral (2004), Miami Vice (2006), and the aforementioned Blackhat — have all been disappointments to varying degrees, not up to par with Heat (1995), The Insider (1999), or even his feature debut Thief (1981).

The pattern does not reverse itself in Ferrari.

Having already portrayed a legendary real-life figure in House of Gucci (2021), Adam Driver trots out his very respectable Italian accent once more as Enzo Ferrari, the legendary auto racer-turned-auto magnate. The film is set in 1957 when Ferrari was at a proverbial crossroads in life.

His company is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy and he’s still grieving the death

of his son Dino the year before. This has put further strain on his marriage to Laura Ferrari (Penelope Cruz), who happens to be a principal in his company.

Laura is further aggrieved

by Enzo’s extra-marital relationship with Lina Lardi (Shailene Woodley), with whom he has a young son, Piero (appealing Giuseppe Festinese).

Ever the gambler, Ferrari is hell-bent on winning the 1957 Mille Miglia, and has even stacked the deck by hiring some of the most successful drivers of the day, including veteran Carlo Chiti (a bleach-blond Patrick Dempsey). Yet there is a price to be paid, both financially and in terms of human life. Driver, doubling as an executive producer, lends his charismatic, even commanding presence to his real-life character, yet Ferrari tends to react to things with controlled stoicism. So too

does the film. Not unlike its title character, it’s emotionally detached. Then again, even Mann’s best work is hardly renowned for warmth, much less sentiment.

The film aspires to an operatic grandeur — there’s even a scene at the opera, for those who haven’t gotten the hint — but rarely achieves it. Driver does his level best and Cruz tears into the role of the wronged Laura with relish. The two share some powerful domestic scenes, which the film could have had more of, as they are forced to reexamine their relationship and the circumstances that both brought them together and are now tearing them apart.

Yet they must maintain a united front, of sorts, lest they lose the company that they built together. As for Woodley, she’s a pleasant participant, even if her Italian accent is merely passable.

Racing enthusiasts may well enjoy those scenes, but on the whole, Ferrari shapes up as a missed opportunity. It’s competent and well-made, to be sure, but rarely compelling. !

Chalamet scores, but Wonka goes willy-nilly The events depicted in Wonka, which stars Timothée Chalamet in the title role of chocolatier Willy Wonka, take place before he has constructed his magic factory and established himself, thus making this something of an origin story. The film won’t erase fond memories of the earlier film versions of Roald Dahl’s classic 1964 novel — 1971’s Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory and 2005’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but it doesn’t besmirch them either.

The eager, industrious, and admittedly naïve Wonka soon discovers that there is an established “chocolate cartel,” the members of whom are determined not to let him gain a foothold, no matter how delicious or magical his candy is, and will utilize means both fair and (mostly) foul to thwart him, so this is also an underdog story — although it should be noted that the outcome is never in doubt.

The film bears the imprint of producer WWW.YESWEEKLY.COM

David Heyman’s Harry Potter/Fantastic Beasts franchise. It’s elaborate, expansive, and filled with all sorts of gadgets and gizmos, some of which would not be out of place in a Guillermo del Toro film. Yet it also tries too hard to achieve a lightness of spirit. Director Paul King, who penned the story and co-wrote the screenplay with Simon Farnaby, has a tendency to rush things, before the viewer really has had the time to absorb the various sights and sounds. A more laid-back approach might have been more effective.

Any admirer of Dahl’s work knows that his stories, even those ostensibly written for children, had a dark, even scary edge.

Nowhere was this more evident than in Nicolas Roeg’s 1990 adaptation of The Witches, which remains the best screen interpretation of his work. Jim Carter and Rowan Atkinson, who appeared in that film, are also on hand here. Carter is quite good as Abacus Crunch, but Atkinson barely registers as the resident vicar,

Father Julius. It is, however, interesting to note that both the church and the police are held in the iron grip of the cartel and are therefore corrupt. As one character remarks, “greedy beats needy.” (A bit of contemporary commentary? Perhaps.)

There’s nice chemistry between Chalamet and young Calah Lane as Noodle, the orphaned urchin he takes under his wing. Olivia Colman amps up the Cockney quotient as the seedy and sinister landlady Mrs. Scrubitt, even if she bears a striking similarity to Sweeney Todd’s murderous Mrs. Lovett. Hugh Grant brings a dry drollness to the resident OompaLoompa, although the part isn’t very large (no pun intended). Keegan-Michael Key plays the local chief of police, although the “Noo Yawk” accent he adopts seems out of place. As Willy’s late mother, seen in flashbacks, Sally Hawkins is utterly wasted.

Like the earlier films, Wonka is a musical.

Some of the songs are catchy and some are not, but not one qualifies either as a classic or a showstopper. Nevertheless, it does afford the talented and versatile Chalamet the opportunity to add singing and dancing to his already formidable repertoire. Indeed, it’s his spirited and

slyly ingratiating performance that makes Wonka worthwhile. Whatever the film’s faults, Chalamet’s turn is not one of them. !

See MARK BURGER’s reviews of current movies. © 2023, Mark Burger.

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VOTED BEST CHICKEN WINGS IN GUILFORD COUNTY

OOPS!

Matt Hightower of Overland Park, Kansas, was home alone with his three kids in mid-December 2020 when he switched on the oven in preparation for making dinner. Inside, unfortunately, were the family’s three Elves on the Shelf, who had been put there the night before to “warm up” after a day of being held captive in the refrigerator by the “bad milk,” KCTV reported. “Babe ... I cooked the elves,” Hightower confessed to his wife, Chelsea, who was out Christmas shopping.

“Thankfully,” said Chelsea, after a frantic search around town, “Jingle, Belle and Magic have made a miraculous recovery and are back to their silly ways.”

WEIRD CHRISTMAS TRADITION

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Since 1966, the city of Gavle, Sweden, has erected a huge straw goat in its downtown square at Christmastime. The goats are pagan symbols that preceded Santa Claus as a bringer of gifts, the Associated Press reported. But in what has become an adjunct to the town’s tradition, the goats have been torched dozens of times during the past 55 years, including on Dec. 17, 2021. Police arrested a suspect in his 40s who had soot on his hands and matched a description from witnesses.

YIKES!

Rob and Marcela Wild of Robertson, South Africa, figured there might be a mouse in their newly decorated Christmas tree when their cats started watching it intently on Dec. 10, 2021. Instead, they found one of the most venomous snakes in Africa: a boomslang, CNN reported.

The Wilds called on snake catcher Gerrie Heyns, who used “snake tongs” to put it on the floor. “Once I had it under control, the family came right up to see the snake,” Heyns said. “A scary moment turned into an exciting moment for the children.” Heyns released the female snake, about 4 1/2 feet long, back into the wild a couple of days later.

CHRISTMAS MADNESS FROM 2006

— In November, the upscale New York City menswear and accessories store Jack Spade removed from its holiday catalog a $40 frog-dissection kit (with a real carcass) after numerous queries from people wondering what in the world the store was thinking.

— A holiday party for inmates at Britain’s Peterborough Jail promised a fun time with Xbox consoles and PlayStations, along with cash gifts of 5 pounds

each (about $9 U.S.), which is greater than the value of the candy boxes the jail will give its guards for Christmas.

— Police in Rock Hill, S.C., put a 12-yearold boy under arrest at the insistence of his mother after he had defied her and opened his Christmas gift three weeks early.

PRECOCIOUS

Justin and Nissa-Lynn Parson of McKinney, Texas, were all in when their son Cayden, 12, asked for a magnifying glass for Christmas. “We thought, ‘Oh, he wants to magnify something’” to read, NissaLynn told KDFW. Instead, Cayden and his brother, Ashton, used the glass to light a newspaper on fire on the family’s front porch, which soon spread to the yard, eventually destroying the lawn and some of the family’s Christmas lights. “We ran inside and started screaming,” Cayden said. The family doused the fire with “pitchers of water, blankets smothering it, sprinklers turned on, hose turned on,” Nissa-Lynn recounted, adding that now Cayden “will definitely have yard work to do once spring comes.”

SOUR GRAPES

Japanese YouTuber Marina Fujiwara has harnessed the pain she feels when she sees couples basking in their love at the holidays and developed a sort of schadenfreudian device: a light that turns on whenever anyone breaks up on social media. Oddity Central reported on Dec. 27, 2019, that Fujiwara’s device is connected to the internet through a “bridge” and is set to light up whenever a breakup status is posted on Twitter. “I want to celebrate Christmas,” she said. “But when you see a couple in the world going on a Christmas date and doing something like that, I am attacked by a huge sense of loneliness.”

While her machine is not available commercially, Fujiwara says it’s easy enough to set one up for yourself.

I HAVE A MESSAGE

Sarah Childs won a restraining order in Denham Springs, Louisiana, in December 2012, forbidding the town from shutting down her “Christmas” lights decoration.

The large outdoor display (in a neighborhood with traditional Christmas displays) was the image of two hands with middle fingers extended. !

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NTR “Peek- —!”

Classic comic Martha Uplifting poems Place full of video games UBL Chicken cordon — British chums Stars and Stripes’ nation —’wester (certain storm) “Oh, God!” actress Garr Cousins of aves.

Name of some newspapers GHTE Actors Fiennes and Macchio Very top Flying TRONI Cast out of the country Official helper Pays out

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121 Cozy corner 122 Pierce player Alan 123 Cast off hair 124 Swan constellation 125 Forest sight 126 Saclike growth

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s m l i F e : 3 h 2 T 0 2 of The Best...

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I

f last year’s Top Gun: Maverick helped resuscitate the film going experience — i.e. going to the movies — following the COVID pandemic, this year’s Mark Burger one-two punch of Barbie and Oppenheimer (referred Contributor to in the trades as “Barbenheimer”) was a further boon to cinemas. The two films, which opened simultaneously, brought audiences to theaters in droves. Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer was touted as a likely Oscar contender almost as soon as it was announced, but Barbie was the real surprise, inspiring as much debate (!) as Oppenheimer and becoming — no joke — the highest-grossing film in the history of Warner Bros., outdistancing even Batman, Harry Potter, or any other franchise produced by the studio.

Given the more youthful diversity in today’s Academy, to say nothing of its financial success, it would hardly be a surprise to see Barbie vying for a position at the 2023 Academy Awards.

Who could have predicted that? In recent years, the Academy also decided to allow films streaming on Netflix and other outlets be eligible for Oscar consideration, which proved mighty handy during the pandemic, when everyone — including Academy voters — could

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watch these films in the comfort and (at the time) safety of their own homes.

All told, it was a pretty good year at the movies. Not surprisingly, many of 2023’s best films were released late in the year, all the better to keep them fresh in the minds of critics and Academy voters. Again, it was no surprise that some of the year’s best films were from the independent sphere. What was surprising, however, was that big-buck comic-book blockbusters weren’t the instant moneymakers they used to be, due in large part to oversaturation.

I can’t say I’ve seen every film released this year — some, in fact, have yet to be released theatrically or made available – but I saw enough to do a Top-10 list for the year. Here then are my selections …

1 Godzilla Minus One. On the eve of Godzilla’s 70th birthday, Toho Studios and writer/director Takashi Yamazaki have conjured up a classic installment in the venerable franchise, one that resonates with respect and affection for its titular firebreathing monster while utilizing him

DECEMBER 27, 2023-JANUARY 2, 2024

as a symbol of Japan’s post-war grief and despair. The human characters are credible, the special effects are spectacular, and the Godzilla scenes deliver everything a fan could hope for — and more. This is sheer entertainment at its best. Oscar consideration isn’t likely, but it doesn’t matter. As I said in my review, this critic hasn’t had a better time at the movies all year.

2 Maestro. The life and career of legendary conductor Leonard Bernstein is given lavish, loving treatment in this sweeping drama co-written, produced, and directed by Bradley Cooper, who proves that his version of A Star is Born (2018) was not first-timer’s luck. Cooper is an assured, confident filmmaker, and his stellar turn as Bernstein is matched by Carey Mulligan’s equally moving performance as his wife, the Broadway star Felicia Montealegre.

For all the visual splendor and narrative sweep — augmented by Bernstein’s own compositions — it’s the love story (like A Star is Born) that resonates the strongest. A beautiful film.

3 Oppenheimer. Master filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s epic biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the “father of the atomic bomb,” is further proof of Nolan’s virtuoso abilities. The film, in which a first-rate Cillian Murphy plays Oppenheimer, is a persuasive portrait of a complex, often conflicted, genius driven less by patriotism than sheer ego to construct the atomic bomb at Los Alamos. It’s a big film and a long film, but never boring or static. One gains a better insight into the man — and the historical and personal circumstances that surrounded him — by watching Oppenheimer.

4 Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

This first-rate follow-up to 2018’s SpiderMan: Into

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the Spider-Verse, this free-wheeling animated feature is loaded with eyepopping visuals, a non-stop (but always entertaining) barrage of Marvel minutiae, and the sort of trippy narrative in which it’s best to simply hang on and enjoy the ride. What’s remarkable is how much of it works. The film is occasionally overstuffed but it’s never lacking in humor, pathos, and adventure. The filmmakers even utilize different forms of animation from different eras, and for once, the cliffhanger ending works.

One can’t wait to see what happens next (in Spider-Man: Beyond the SpiderVerse, due next year).

5 Air. No matter how much his personal life is scrutinized, Ben Affleck keeps turning out quality work.

He’s developed into a fine filmmaker, and this fact-based drama detailing how Nike nailed down an endorsement deal with a young college basketball star named Michael Jordan in 1984 (before Jordan even played his first NBA game) is remarkably absorbing, particularly given how the outcome is well-known to one and all. In addition to giving a slyly eccentric performance as Nike founder Phil Knight, he freely allows his co-stars their moments to shine, particularly leading man (and long-time friend and collaborator) Matt Damon, as Sonny Vaccaro, the visionary who recognized Jordan’s talents early on and worked tirelessly to win him over.

6 Saltburn.

The sophomore effort from writer/producer/director Emerald Fennell is a savage, scathing satire of the class structure in England, personified by Barry Keoghan’s working-class Oxford scholarship student as he methodically insinuates himself into the life of handsome, hunky

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classmate Jacob Elordi. The lengths to which Keoghan will go form the backbone of this wicked, decidedly unsentimental yarn, which is mighty twisted indeed. Saltburn is not necessarily for all tastes, which is undeniably part of its acidic appeal.

7 American Fiction. Firsttime writer/director Cord Everett’s assured adaptation of executive producer Percival Everett’s 2001 novel Erasure takes aim at cancel culture and racial stereotypes — and hits the bullseye almost every time. Jeffrey Wright plays a middle-aged writer struggling with personal and professional woes who takes out his frustration by pseudonymously writing the “autobiography” of an ex-con and street thug known only as “Stagg R. Leigh.” What happens next? It becomes a best-seller.

This is supremely sublime satire — perceptive and penetrating in equal measure – and what an unabashed pleasure it is to see the gifted Wright front and center in the leading role.

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diminishes Domingo’s dynamic turn. The knockout score by Branford Marsalis is also a major attribute.

Rustin.

Bayard Rustin is something of a forgotten figure in the Civil Rights movement, but director George C. Wolfe’s dramatization of Rustin’s life does much to remedy that. So does the wonderfully feisty performance of Colman Domingo as Rustin, who fought discrimination on two fronts, being both African-American and homosexual. He was constantly marginalized by both groups, despite his tireless efforts on behalf of both, a dilemma made only more ironic (and heartbreaking) that both race and sexual orientation remain hot-button topics in this nation to this very day. If Rustin’s efforts to orchestrate the 1963 March on Washington are slightly exaggerated here, it’s only a minor matter of dramatic license (hardly a new phenomenon in Hollywood), and in no way

10 BlackBerry. Despite widespread critical praise, this fact-based account of the rise and fall of the Canadian tech consortium Research in Motion (RIM) in the 1990s struggled to find an audience. That’s a shame, because it’s a darkly satirical, cautionary parable about being careful what you wish for. Jay Baruchel and co-writer/ director Matt Johnson play the brains behind RIM, which has developed a handy-dandy cellphone called, of course, the “BlackBerry.” Yet with each forward stride toward success, they tend to take two or three steps backward toward the PAGE 12]

8 Dream Scenario. The English-language debut of writer/editor/ director Kristoffer Borgli is an existential, Kafkaesque nightmare — for laughs. Nicolas Cage, in one of his best (and most delicate) performances, plays a middle-aged college professor who suddenly and inexplicably begins showing up in other people’s dreams. At first, he’s hailed as some sort of celebrity, but it isn’t long before the fame fades and infamy, condemnation, and even persecution follow. The film doesn’t quite know how to end, but there are plenty of laughs along the way as Borgli brings a keen outsider’s view to conveying a cockeyed but not inaccurate perception of modern American culture.

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precipice of failure, and the addition of fire-breathing executive Glenn Howerton to the team only hastens the company’s demise. If you haven’t seen BlackBerry yet, it’s worth catching up with, and Howerton’s ferocious performance is one of the year’s best.

Of course, there’s the other end of the spectrum, and despite attempts to carefully pick and choose films to review, there are those times when one must endure, rather than enjoy. Thus, here are the worst five films yours truly has had to sit through during the last 12 months. It isn’t a pretty picture, folks. In fact, none of them are. Yet there is something to be said for reviewing a bad movie. The words just flow, as if by themselves. Besides, the people who made these fiascos earned more money making them than the people reviewing them!

Renfield. There’s an early scene in this gore-soaked horror comedy where the filmmakers digitally superimpose the faces of Nicholas Hoult (as the bug-

eating title character) and Nicolas Cage (as Count Dracula) onto the original 1931 Dracula. It’s a fun touch, and it’s the only one. After that, it’s absolutely all downhill from there. The inspired casting of Cage as Dracula notwithstanding, this is a total waste of time and talent — a schlocky mash-up of Innocent Blood (1992) and From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) with some Matrix-style fight scene tossed in. Hoult, who was so good in last year’s The Menu, tries in vain to inject some energy into the proceedings, while Awkwafina (as a tough New Orleans cop) ranks as perhaps the most abrasive, unlikable movie heroine in recent memory.

If there’s a cult following for this, count me out.

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Expend4ables. The first Expendables (2010) was an enjoyable throwback to the macho action movies of the 1980s and ‘90s, replete with a cast of tough guys familiar to that genre. The second and third films weren’t up to the first film but weren’t bad, but this long-delayed fourth installment should have been delayed indefinitely and remained in “development hell” until it froze over and beyond.

The remaining cast members (Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture) merely go through their familiar motions displacing little enthusiasm. They don’t seem to want to be there, and who can blame them? The story is stupid, the jokes are lame, and the special effects are sometimes atrocious. It’s not even good for dumb laughs.

All About My Father. This summer bummer, in which co-writer/executive producer Sebastian Maniscalco plays a character named Sebastian Maniscalco (imagine that!) who brings his Italian immigrant father (Robert De Niro) to meet his prospective in-laws, plays like a pre-packaged retread of De Niro’s 2000 smash Meet the Parents. It’s yet another comic riff on the class structure — something that Saltburn pulled off far more successfully — and every joke and every touch of sentiment feels stale. The ads proudly touted Maniscalco as “the hottest comic in America,” but the critical and financial reception of this film certainly put those words to rest (or in a deep freeze). The court transcripts of De Niro’s recent lawsuit by a former assistant likely had more laughs, all due respect to the erstwhile Raging Bull.

vidtz (who appeared opposite Neeson in 1993’s Oscar-winning Schindler’s List) and Matthew Modine likewise squander their talents in throwaway roles. It all ends with the expected explosion. The car blows up, not a moment too soon but about 90 minutes too late. At least everyone got a trip to Berlin.

The Pope’s Exorcist. Russell Crowe joins the pantheon of esteemed actors who have donned a priest’s collar for a bad exorcism movie, including Richard Burton (Exorcist II: The Heretic), Gabriel Byrne (Stigmata), John Hurt (Lost Souls), and Anthony Hopkins (The Rite). Crowe fares no better, although he tries to wring a few laughs out of this picturesque but pedantic example of Satanic panic at its most plodding and predictable. Although the film was touted as being based on the actual files of Vatican exorcist Gabriele Amorth, it seems more inspired by previous supernatural shockers, replete with levitation, projectile vomiting, contortionism, and other (overly) familiar trappings.

Crowe, a bit beefy here, looks as if he’s having fun — or trying to. The same can’t be said of the viewer. These devilish doings are more dire than diabolical. !

See MARK BURGER’s reviews of current movies on Burgervideo.com. © 2021, Mark Burger.

Retribution. Liam Neeson found a second career starring in a string of slick action vehicles (Taken, Non-Stop, A Walk Among Tombstones, et al), but the formula ran out of gas (literally) with this lowoctane outing in which he and his children are confined to their car lest a bomb goes off. Who’s behind it and what are their motives? All is revealed in due time, but the audience has long since checked out.

Even Neeson appears bored. Embeth Da-

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tunes

HEAR IT!

S

A New Year and the Old One-Two

till packing their fuzzedout brand of Rock’n’Roll, the Old One-Two are pleased as punch to welcome a new year and their new album, “Cropduster Stunt Show,” with a release show at the Flat Iron on January 6.

Forever the purveyors of “pusselgut blues,” the trio behind the Old Katei Cranford One-Two keep on keeping on with their “dirty electric tones, pounding percussion, and gritty vocals” Contributor to come together in “an inimitable style of spooky lo-fi blues rock.”

“It’s easy to be the world’s leading authority in something when you’re the only one who knows what that thing is,” said Nate, the guitarist. “We just liked the way the word sounded and thought it fit our music, especially the earlier stuff, like ‘I’m Gone’ and ‘Old No Light Blues.‘ But we’ll continue to purvey.”

Looking back over their catalog — and 15-year milestone as a band — the Old One-Two remains rooted as a rock-n-roll family band. With Nate’s older brother, Chadd, on the drum kit; and brother-by-extension, Hawke, in the vocal seat — squirmin’ and beltin’ lyrics like gritty gospel through a harmonica mic.

“Nate and Hawke have always had a real, unique creative synergy together,” Chadd said, reflecting on their early days as teenagers in Hickory. “We were an acoustic, folk kind of band called Felons Rosenburg before we changed gears,” he explained. “We actually opened the first Old One-Two show as Felons Rosenburg.”

Chiming in, “It was at the YMCA in Hickory,” Hawke noted, recalling that Chadd had moved to the Triad for college at UNC-Greensboro by the time they’d “gone electric” as the Old One-Two. “We actually didn’t really have any dedicated lyrics then,” Nate said, joining the memory lane.

“It was in 2008,” he continued. “October of 2008 — and I think at that show we only had three songs. Our second show we had four songs, so we played them all twice. And back then, Hawke would just pull lyrics from our acoustic songs or mumble gibberish. No one seemed to notice the difference though.”

Known for mumbling and a certain kind of stumbling, Hawke’s vocals became more defined over time — with a grit and howl accenting Nate’s guitarwork to fill spaces typically reserved for bass. “I like to play with a fair amount of overdrive and fuzz,” Nate clarified. “I also use an octave doubler to fatten up the sound on certain songs or riffs and an octave shifter to drop down and play basslines.”

Following Chadd, school, and the allure of the Greensboro music community, Nate and Hawke flew the Hickory coop within the year. “It worked out pretty perfectly, because we had a lot of friends from Hickory who had relocated to Greensboro and were already part of the music scene,” Nate explained, shouting out Jack Carter and Jacob Darden — the latter of whom’s band, Israel Darling played the Old One-Two’s debut album release, “Soulful

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DECEMBER 27, 2023-JANUARY 2, 2024

& Small,” way back at the Walker Avenue era Blind Tiger in 2010.

“It’s nuts,” Nate said, referencing the ways years have rock-n-rolled by. “I guess it’s been easier for us to keep the band going just having three people, two of whom are brothers and one who might as well be a third, compared with other bands who maybe have to work harder to keep everyone together. Plus it’s cool we’re able to keep pushing ourselves and making music that gets us excited.”

Chadd agreed. “To say we’ve been a band for 15 years definitely doesn’t seem real. Nate wasn’t terribly much older than fifteen years old when we started!,” he said.

“But once the band was formed…it’s just part of life now.

Forever in the present.”

And in that present, things both change and stay the same. “We’re always trying to balance between grit and groove,” Nate explained, turning to their sound. “I think our earlier stuff skewed a little grittier, and our more recent stuff tends to skew groovy. Our main goal remains to keep it pretty high-energy. We don’t like to waste a lot of time talking. Just get in, lay it down, and get out.”

“As time has worn on, the scale’s probably tipped a little bit from the role our musical influences play to the role our philosophical influences play,” he continued, tracking their development. ”We’ve always been drawn to artists with a mad scientist ethos: Tom Waits, Captain Beeheart, Beck, or David Byrne. And that’s playing a bigger part in our music now than it used to.”

“We’re just excited that it’s finally done. We started recording it before the pandemic and had to wait a while to finish it,” Nate said, with reverence to Steve Spraggs’ Studio 4 space where recording began. “It was in the back of a warehouse off Prescott Street, but the building owner ended up selling it so they could tear it down and put up that Berkshire Hathaway office building.“ To complete the record, they turned to various “sundry locations” around Greensboro: “a bathroom closet, a

vestibule, several houses. We couldn’t finish all the tracking before Studio 4 closed down, so we had to record a lot after the fact,” Nate explained. “And then it took me forever to mix it because I’m not a mixing engineer,” he added, praising the mastering duties they outsourced to Bill Skibbe at Third Man Mastering in Detroit.

“Bill’s done a ton of work with a ton of artists we love,” Nate explained, dropping a roster including Jack White and the Kills. “All that would’ve been reason enough for us, but the main thing we were looking for was making sure our digital tracks could translate to vinyl, and Third Man are the kings.”

“We approach recording a lot differently than we do our live sound,” Nate continued. ”We wanted these songs to have more complex arrangements than just one guitar, drums, and vocals. The trick is being able to capture the same energy, and I think we were able to.

We also approached the writing as more of a whole than we’re used to, so there was kind of a vision for what the finished product would be early on. From the beginning, this record has felt more like a cohesive project than just a collection of songs.”

Within that collection, elements of influence — from philosophy to technique — are interwoven in the cohesion. “I like how Dougie Poole uses a lot of cassette warble in his music,” Nate said, musing artists that align with the album. “We use a bit of that on the record, so I could see that flavor being a nice connector.”

For Chadd, Hank Williams makes a fitting pre-sequitur.

“I’ve always liked a little Hank to come before us,” he said. A notion Nate echoed: “Heck, I’d even take a little Hank afterward.” To which, as if on scoundrel cue, Hawke responded: “Hell, I’d take him in the middle!”

Unleashing a taste of their latest flavors, the Old OneTwo put out a preview track, “Kicked Up Dust,” available now on Bandcamp. “It felt pretty good from the beginning, and it’s sort of been the one that has stood out to us,” Nate said of its selection. “It actually started as a bass riff I wrote like 10 years ago and we just hadn’t done anything with. Luckily we were able to put it together this time.”

“We’re so excited,” he continued, beaming at optimistic firsts for that first week of 2024. “It’ll be our first time playing the Flat Iron since it reopened and Rabbit Fighter’s first time playing out.” Featuring a new trio from Michael Duehring, Joe Garrigan, and Nicky Trimair. Rabbit Fighter will make its debut in the opening slot. “We have no idea what we’re in for,” he added. “But we know it’s going to be awesome.”

“Cropduster Stunt Show” comes out on CD and digitalrelease on the 6th; with vinyl due later in January. “We’ll be taking pre-orders at the show for anyone interested,” Nate explained. “Also, everyone who pre-orders the digital album on Bandcamp before the release will be entered to win a free copy on vinyl once it’s pressed.”

The Old One-Two punches into the New Year with their new album and release show with Rabbit Fighter at the Flat Iron on Jan 6. !

KATEI CRANFORD is a Triad music nerd who enjoys spotlighting artists and events.

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last call [SALOME’S STARS]

[TRIVIA TEST]

Week of January 1, 2024

[ GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) In true

Gemini Twin fashion, you’re conflicted about a decision that you know you’ll have to make in the new year. Best advice: Get the facts before you make any commitments.

[ CANCER (June 21 to July 22) A friend offers you an exciting opportunity for this new year. Although your positive aspects are strong in most respects, caution is still advised. Investigate before you invest. [ LEO (July 23 to August 22) You can

make this new year a roaring successby readjusting your goals to reflect the changes in the economy. In addition, your denmate offers both wise and loving support.

[ VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) The New Year brings new opportunities for change, but you need to be ready to move on from the comfortable status quo toward the challenging unknown. It’s all up to you. [ LIBRA (September 23 to October

22) Your most important New Year’s

[1. GEOGRAPHY: In which city is the

[ SCORPIO (October 23 to Novem-

catapulted actor George Clooney to fame?

[7. CHEMISTRY: Which chemical ele-

[3. MOVIES: Which department store

[8. HISTORY: Who is the first female

ber 21) The new year has much to offer the intensely determined Scorpian, who isn’t afraid to take on challenges and stay with them until they surrender their rewards.

[ SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to

December 21) You’ll have many fine opportunities in the new year. But be warned: Reject offers of “help.” You work best when you’re free to be your own creative self.

[ CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) The new year offers changes that you might feel you’re not quite ready for. Best advice: Deal with them one step at a time until you’ve built up your selfconfidence. [ AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) Travel is a dominant aspect of the new year. This could mean relocating to another city (or even another country) in connection with your education or your career. [ PISCES (February 19 to March 20) This New Year brings news about a change you’ve been anticipating. You might have a problem persuading a loved one about your new plans, but they will soon go along with them.

BORN THIS WEEK: You have a gift for making people feel safe and protected. You would make an excellent youth counselor. © 2023 by King Features Syndicate

answers [CROSSWORD] crossword on page 9

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[6. LITERATURE: In “The Night Before

Brandenburg Gate located?

Christmas” poem, how many reindeer does Santa Claus have?

[2. TELEVISION: Which 1990s TV show

ment’s symbol is C?

is featured in the 1947 holiday film, Miracle on 34th Street?

chancellor of Germany?

[9. MUSIC: Which female French singer

[4. LEGAL: What kind of legislative

had a hit song with “La Vie en Rose”?

body is bicameral?

[10. SCIENCE: When did the Krakatoa

[5. FOOD & DRINK: What is the main

volcano have its last major eruption?

ingredient in guacamole?

answer 6. Eight.

7. Carbon.

8. Angela Merkel.

9. Edith Piaf.

10. 1883.

[ TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) You have what it takes to set your goals quite a bit higher this year. Learn what you need to know and put what you learn into your efforts. Meanwhile, a partner offers loving support.

resolution should be to work out problems with a family member in order to avoid continuing misunderstandings. Do it soon for both of your sakes.

1. Berlin, Germany.

2. ER. 3. Macy’s.

4. A legislative body with two chambers, like House and Senate.

5. Avocado.

[ ARIES (March 21 to April 19) The new year brings challenges that can change many things in your life. You need to be prepared not only to confront them, but also to deal with what happens afterward.

by Fifi Rodriguez

© 2023 by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

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