2016 Year in Reviews

This past year has been notable for its multitude of down notes, but it wasn’t all bad. Lost within the mire of scandals, celebrity deaths, and political breakdowns were the following highlights.

Food

Favorite New Restaurant in Greensboro: Taaza Bistro 

This stylish Indian eatery offers an outstanding $10 lunch buffet. See the review here.

Local Eatery I Wish I Had Tried Sooner: Dame’s Chicken and Waffles

Crisp, juicy chicken + generously sized waffles + appealing sides, syrups, and schmears = satisfied customers. See the review here.

Favorite Food Finds outside the Triad: a.)The Shoppe Bar & Meatball Kitchen and b.) Luna Rotisserie (tie)

a.       Customizable combinations of meatballs and sides (including a killer risotto) are offered in this cozy Carrboro space. See the review here.

b.      Friendly service and a diverse round-up of flavorful South American dishes make this Durham spot a winner. See the review here.

Most Memorable Meal: Undercurrent

A night-before-wedding dinner in the company of family was bound to be memorable regardless, but Undercurrent’s culinary chops, excellent service, and attention to detail made for one hell of a meal. 

Most in Need of an Overhaul: Café Pasta

The food here is solid, but the menu is limited, pricing offers no great value, and the establishment lacks an edge over competing eateries.

Movies

NOTE: Most of 2016’s prestige pictures (Silence, Fences, Nocturnal Animals, etc.) are late-year releases that won’t hit Netflix until 2017. This list reflects only those 2016 releases that I’ve had a chance to see.

Five to Watch

1. Captain America: Civil War: Though not necessarily an improvement over the previous entry in the series, this film deftly integrates compelling new characters (Black Panther and Spider-Man) into a well-established world. An absolute must for Marvel fans. See the review here.
2. The Nice Guys: 70s nostalgia, buddy cop hijinks, plot twists, crazy dream sequences, and more all come together in Shane Black’s highly entertaining neo-noir mashup that reluctantly pairs a heavy-handed enforcer (Russell Crowe) and a squeamish investigator (Ryan Gosling) to find a missing girl
3. Midnight Special: Jeff Nichol’s heartfelt, atmospheric, low-key sci-fi drama sees a boy with special powers (Jaeden Lieberher) on the run from both the government and a religious cult with his father Roy (Michael Shannon, in a change-of-pace role) and Roy’s friend Lucas (Joel Edgerton) as protectors.
4. Rogue One: A darker, more mature Star Wars film, this taut sidequel bridges the gap between the first and second trilogies as a Rebel faction of defectors, criminals, and wanderers aims to disrupt the Death Star. See the review here.
5. Three-way-tie: Deadpool, Doctor Strange, and Ghostbusters. All three of these movies engendered controversies for different reasons. Deadpool, the family unfriendly R-rated superhero comedy, tosses any semblance of tact out the window, but the uneasily offended can enjoy gory visual humor as a deformed, unkillable mercenary (a perfectly cast Ryan Reynolds) seeks revenge on those who wronged him. See review here. Meanwhile, Doctor Strange, targeted by whitewashing accusations, adds Benedict Cumberbatch’s surgeon-turned-mystic into the Marvel Cinematic Universe in an origin story that isn’t afraid to get weird. See the review here. Lastly, Paul Feig’s reboot of Ghostbusters, which caught flack for going with an all-new, all-female cast more than holds its own, delivering fitfully funny dialogue and impressive visuals as a well-matched ensemble of Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones answer the proverbial call.

Honorable Mention: Hail, Caesar! The Coen Brothers take down the studio system in this nostalgia-laden dramedy that sees fixer Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) attempting to put out one fire after another in hardboiled fashion. See the review here.

Three to Avoid

1. Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice: Zak Snyder’s Man of Steel follow-up attempts to build a cohesive DC cinematic universe by putting the two title characters on a path toward collision, thanks to some behind-the-scenes manipulation courtesy of Lex Luthor. While the premise is a winning one and while Ben Affleck (as Batman) and Gal Godot (as Wonder Woman) are welcome additions here, Jesse Eisenberg is miscast as Luthor, and the plotting, pacing, and dialogue all leave a lot to be desired. See the review here.
2. Batman: The Killing Joke: Batman may have been one of the previous entry’s saving graces, but this animated adaptation of Alan Moore’s classic Joker origin tale is definitely a letdown. Despite featuring familiar voice actors Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill, the addition of a prologue to give Batgirl more screentime needlessly sexualizes her and complicates her relationship with Batman.
3. Barbershop: The Next Cut: This latest entry in the Barbershop series suffers from a bloated cast and re-hashes themes (a battle of the sexes, shop owner Calvin’s dwindling enthusiasm, etc.) that were handled better in previous installments. The Next Cut certainly has its moments – and wisely retains Cedric the Entertainer’s cantankerous Eddie – but it doesn’t hold up well compared to the original. 

Dishonorable mention: Suicide Squad. Yet another poorly plotted DC offering, this tale of government-sanctioned criminals and misfits on a heroic quest at least manages to be entertaining, giving us quality quips from Will Smith and Margot Robbie even if Jared Leto’s bizarre take on the Joker never quite works. See the review here.

Television

Favorite New Series: Stranger Things

An ode to the 1980s, the Duffer Brothers’ Netflix hit tells the story of a girl with telekinetic powers (Millie Bobby Brown) who appears in a small Indiana town in 1983 shortly after a boy (Noah Schnapp) goes missing. The boy’s friends, family, and the local police chief all try to piece together what happened while a shady scientist with government ties (Matthew Modine) tries to contain the situation. Featuring strong performances (from Winona Ryder as the missing child’s mother and David Harbour as the alcoholic chief), a period-appropriate look and feel, eerily suspenseful pacing, and homages to everything from Stephen King to John Carpenter to Steven Spielberg, Stranger Things offers a lot to like.

Honorable Mention: Luke Cage

Another Netflix series, Cheo Hodari Coker’s winning adaptation of a Marvel property gives us a compelling title character (ably played by Mike Colter): a wrongfully convicted prison escapee with super strength and unbreakable skin who would prefer to be left alone but finds himself drawn into heroics when his Harlem neighborhood is threatened. Timely, relevant, and paired with excellent music, the series also showcases the talents of Simone Missick (as justice-seeking detective Misty Knight), Alfre Woodard (as scheming, two-faced politician Mariah Dillard), and Erik LaRay Harvey (as wily charismatic psychopath Willis “Diamondback” Stryker). Unfortunately, it also gives us Rosario Dawson’s nurse Claire Temple performing unpleasant medical procedures and occasional bits of clichéd dialogue.

Three Others to Watch

1. Better Call Saul: Vince Gilligan’s Breaking Bad prequel continues to make the most of its premise: charming con man Jimmy McGill’s (Bob Odenkirk) gradual transition to sleazy criminal super-lawyer Saul Goodman. The second season explores his complicated relationships with his resentful, more accomplished brother (Michael McKean) and his colleague/occasional girlfriend (Rhea Seehorn) in more detail while also giving fan-favorite fixer Mike (Jonathan Banks) more to do and introducing Breaking Bad baddie Hector Salamanca (Mark Margolis) to the fold.
2. Bosch: Eric Overmyer’s Amazon-produced adaptation of Michael Connelly’s titular LAPD detective (brought to life by Titus Welliver) takes the police procedural formula and twists it, making the obstructive bureaucrat deputy chief (Lance Reddick) into a more sympathetic figure, setting up red herrings, and improving upon the first season’s somewhat exacting pace.
3. Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD: Joss Whedon’s adaptation of Marvel’s premier spy organization has had its ups and downs, but give it credit for continuing to find new ground. The end of Season 3 (2015-2016) saw the demise of longstanding foe Hydra while newly recruited Inhumans teamed up to take down otherworldly monster Hive. The first half of Season 4 (2016-2017) introduced Ghost Rider (Gabriel Luna as the Robbie Reyes version of the character), who teamed with the agents to combat a supernatural threat. The second half then looks to show us what happens when an artificial intelligence gets too intelligent for its own good. The one constant in all of these permutations is Clark Gregg’s commendable work as erstwhile team leader Phil Coulson, the organization’s tactical brains and heart.

Honorable Mention: The Arrowverse. The CW’s four-show (Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and Supergirl) DC comics collective is uneven but is a lot more entertaining than DC’s cinematic outings. After being mired in melodrama, Season 5 of Arrow has returned to the show’s gritty roots, The Flash continues to cram in new concepts (alternate timelines) while maintaining humor and character development, and the time-hopping Legends, though cheesy, at least manages to be fun.

Music

Favorite New Release: Hardwired…to Self-Destruct

Metallica’s thrash-laden throwback double-album doesn’t hit quite as hard as their 80s prime material, but the 50-something rockers play with gusto and cover a lot of lyrical ground. See the review here.

Honorable Mention: Dystopia and For All Kings

Metallica wasn’t the only Big Four thrash band to enjoy a bit of a resurgence in 2016. Megadeth’s Dystopia gains a shot in the arm courtesy of new members Chris Alder (drums) and Keiko Louriero (guitar). Dave Mustaine is in good vocal form, and while his lyrics are as paranoid and conspiratorial as ever, they seem apropos in a Wikileaks world. Meanwhile, Anthrax, sporting a new guitarist as well in Jon Donais, gets serious and eulogizes the victims of terror with tight compositions well-suited to Joey Belladonna's voice.

A Note on Books

The overwhelming majority of books that I read this year were published in prior years. I look forward to digging into 2016 releases from Stephen King and Michael Chabon when time permits.

The Traveled Farmer

Located at 1211 Battleground Avenue in midtown Greensboro, The Traveled Farmer serves international cuisine using local ingredients. There is a full bar with rotating seasonal cocktails and a market area that offers produce and ready-made meals. Patio seating is available during warmer months, and The Traveled Farmer can also cater.

When The Marshall Free House opened in this space in 2014, I was skeptical given how long the restaurant was in development. Despite that – and high pricing - it won me over with well-appointed décor, excellent service, and tasty food. Well, the Free House closed this September, and after a few weeks of redecorating and rebranding, The Traveled Farmer opened in its stead. Welcome back, skepticism. Since my doubts were ultimately misplaced the last time around, however, I felt it only fair to give The Traveled Farmer a try. Ultimately, it amounts to another victory for the Kotis restaurant empire, but not an unblemished one.

Thematically and aesthetically, The Traveled Farmer is a strange and somewhat contradictory place. The interior keeps much of the Free House’s refined pub look: brick, long tables, and handsome dark woods. This still makes for attractive décor, but it doesn’t exactly suggest a farm motif. To remedy that, they’ve added some green paint and bucolic pictures of fields, which leaves you feeling like they’ve split the difference between the past and present concepts. The somewhat limited menu also speaks to a bit of an identity crisis. Though there are a few “global” offerings (a schnitzel, linguine and meatballs, a Korean rice bowl), “local” (as in Southern) takes precedence here. This is a lot closer to Lucky 32 than it is to Crafted, not a bad move given the commendable incorporation of locally sourced ingredients, but a bit of a confusing one.

For our first visit, my wife and I opted to start with one of the few Free House holdovers: Scotch eggs, a dish we had both enjoyed previously. They came plated differently (atop a bed of greens) but tasted as good as ever. Though the fried chicken proved tempting, we ended up with a blackened catfish and a low country shrimp bowl respectively. Both dishes were composed and presented well. The fish was buttery, and my wife, who usually disdains collards, found The Traveled Farmer’s rendition (sweetened with a hint of carrot) to be to her liking. My bowl featured perfectly cooked shrimp, and an accompanying broth imbued richness. However, despite the presence of andouille, it could have definitely used more spice. As it was my birthday, The Traveled Farmer was kind enough to offer a free dessert. The bread pudding with apple miso sauce was excellent: sweet, but not cloyingly so and moist without being mushy.

Compared to the previous concept, The Traveled Farmer’s prices leave less room for complaint. Many of the appetizers (including our Scotch eggs) come in at $5.95 while the non-steak entrees range from $11.95 to $15.95. Portions aren’t huge, but they are filling enough. The service, as was the case with the Free House, is on-point. Our server had a number of tables to cover but didn’t seem frazzled, and though The Traveled Farmer was clearly having a busy night, we didn’t have to wait long for anything.

Overall, The Traveled Farmer has promise. The concept doesn’t quite gel, but the food featured more highs than lows, and the pricing is reasonable enough to allow for future exploration. Don’t let whatever reservations you may have about this place stop you from making reservations for it.

8/10

Rogue One

After sending his daughter Jyn into hiding, scientist Galen Urso (Mads Mikkelsen) is forcibly recruited by Imperial weapons developer Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn) to work on the Death Star. Years later, Jyn (Felicity Jones) is freed from prison by Rebel Cpt. Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) and his droid K2SO (voice of Alan Tudyk), who need her to forge an alliance with Rebel extremist Saw Gerrera (Forrest Whitaker), who is holding an Imperial defector (Riz Ahmed) carrying a message from Galen. En route to Gerrera, the Rebels join up with Chirrut (Donnie Yuen), a pious blind warrior, and Baze (Jiang Wen), his cynical mercenary friend. Meanwhile, Krennic is facing increased pressure to prove the Death Star’s effectiveness in the face of skepticism from his rival, Grand Moff Tarkin.

Given the renewed interest in the Star Wars franchise stirred by the success of Episode VII, it is easy to see Rogue One, a side story, as an unnecessary attempt to keep milking the cash cow. However justified this cynicism may seem, for a placeholder (until Episode VIII arrives next year), Rogue One is a lot better than it needs to be. For Star Wars fans, it bridges the gap between Episode III and the original/Episode IV, adding context to the earlier stories while bringing back some familiar names and faces (such as Jimmy Smits as Bail Organa and, notably, James Earl Jones as Darth Vader). For those who typically find Star Wars silly or are simply not well-versed in its mythology, Rogue One works well enough as a stand-alone film featuring a darker tone and a lack of annoying kid-appeal characters.

Though it clocks in at over two hours, Rogue One moves briskly with no real lags. Director Gareth Edwards previously helmed 2014’s Gozilla reboot, and he seems to have ironed out the pacing problems that plagued that film. Edwards brings to Rogue One a sharp eye for stylized action, deftly blending martial arts, shootouts, and spacecraft battles. The latter remain a bit visually disorienting – too many objects on screen to keep track of at a time – but no moreso than previous Star Wars films, and the battle that takes up the last half-hour of the movie (during which dogfights play a key role) is executed impressively well. Edwards also helps bring to life new planets, and the changes of scenery are refreshing even if some of the locales are destined to be fodder for the Death Star’s devastating power.

While two hours of kinetic, aesthetically pleasing combat and mayhem would have been enough to satisfy some viewers, Rogue One also manages, as best it can, to add some complexity to the franchise’s central good vs. evil conflict. The forces of the Empire are as malevolent and foreboding as ever, but they are not a monolithic evil. Here we get a look at the political maneuvering and brinksmanship within the Imperial ranks. The Rebels, for their part, take on a more morally ambiguous role than in previous films: Andor is willing to straight-up assassinate Galen if he believes it will halt the Death Star, and the leadership council is fraught with bickering. Though we know, by virtue of Rogue One’s place in the Star Wars chronology, that the movie will end on a hopeful note, it doesn’t take the easy way in getting there.

Unfortunately, that fixed place in the chronology makes for some stilted character development. There are definitely exceptions to this shortcoming: Jyn transitions from cynical criminal to someone who is willing to take up a cause, Andor rediscovers a measure of idealism after making many coldly pragmatic decisions, and Galen shows that it is possible to serve (however unwillingly) the side of darkness and maintain a measure of humanity. Not surprisingly, these roles were the best-acted, and Mikkelsen’s sympathetic turn is a welcome break from the antagonists he usually plays. Credit too goes to Tudyk, whose K2 is the prissy C3PO’s opposite: a combat capable, brutally honest, and insolent (though ultimately loyal). Beyond that, however, the characters are either static, underdeveloped, or both. Cool as he is, Chirrut is a zatoichi caricature, Baze seems to be just along for the ride, it is never made clear what drove Ahmed’s character to ultimately defect, and Krennic is too much of a one-note career climber to be truly threatening. Lastly, a woefully miscast Whitaker gives a distractingly bad performance. He’s supposed to be the Star Wars equivalent of Che Guevara, but instead he comes across closer to a less sinister Robert Mugabe: an aged, deeply paranoid former revolutionary. The screenplay (by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy) is funny in places, but there is also a fair amount of clichéd/uninspired dialogue and a general lack of quotable lines.

Rogue One lacks the grandeur, memorable characters, and world-building of a “proper” Star Wars film, but in unencumbering itself and accepting its place in the larger scheme of things, it also loses grating sidekicks and plot bloat. It is by no means a vital film, but it is definitely an enjoyable one.

8/10

Taaza Bistro

Located at 1216-M Bridford Parkway off of West Wendover Avenue in Greensboro, Taaza Bistro serves Indian cuisine for lunch (buffet style) and dinner (a la carte). There is a full bar, and catering is available.

When this established Burlington eatery expanded into Greensboro over the summer, it entered a market that already featured a few decent options for Indian food. But whereas some were inconsistent or limited in their offerings or muted their flavors, Taaza has so far managed to avoid all of those pitfalls. As a result, it has emerged as unquestionably the best Indian lunch buffet in Greensboro.

Small but stylish, Taaza ditches a lot of the classic iconography in favor of a more modern look. The bar area is well-lit, and the sleek interior is inviting.

The buffet offers a good balance of vegetarian (pakoras, daal, and curried vegetables) and non-vegetarian (tandoori chicken, chicken tikka masala, and curried mussels) dishes along with chutneys, sauces, salads, a goat soup, and two different kinds of rice. Kheer and mango custard are among the dessert options, and servers deliver complementary naan to each table. Though the buffet offerings rotate, it should still be easy enough to find something to your liking.

The execution is, for the most part, spot-on. Whereas some Indian restaurants will tone down their buffet offerings for mass consumption, Taaza’s curries are aromatic, appropriately seasoned, and deliver the expected complex flavors. The tandoori chicken had a nice char note, as did the buttery naan.  The sauces and chutneys allow you to cool down or heat up as suits your palate.

At $10, Taaza’s buffet is competitively priced. The servers are also attentive: you won’t go long without water. While there are a few minor quibbles – the floor is overly slick in places, some of the buffet items can be better labeled – Taaza otherwise makes for an impressively tasty lunch destination.

8.75/10

Toshi's Cafe

Located in the Adam’s Farm shopping center at 5710 Gate City Boulevard in Greensboro, Toshi’s Café serves coffee drinks, smoothies, breakfast foods, sandwiches, and Japanese fare. It is open from 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day except Sunday. Food and drink specials change daily.

Part deli, part coffee shop, and part Japanese eatery, Toshi’s is a quirky little spot with much to offer. Like a coffee shop, it’s small inside with only a few tables. Shelved lined with manga, mugs, and decorative knickknacks enliven what would otherwise be a sparse interior.

The breadth of the menu is impressive if also a bit confounding. In the mornings, Toshi’s has a full array of breakfast sandwiches, a decent stock of baked goods, and a respectable selection of smoothies and coffee drinks. Come back later in the day, and you can enjoy a salad or sandwich or a sushi roll or a rice bowl or even a slice of cheesecake. This makes for a somewhat nebulous identity but also a convenient one-stop-shop for the hungry and undecided.

As it is on the way to work, Toshi’s has become a weekly breakfast stop for me. More often than not, I opt for the breakfast burrito, which comes stuffed with eggs, cheese, tots, salsa, and sausage (choice of meat is available and there is a vegetarian variant as well). The zest of the salsa and the texture of the tots put it several notches above a frozen or fast-food equivalent, but at $5.75, it’s also rather pricey. The smoothies are a slightly better deal at $3.85 for a small, $4.35 for a medium, and $4.75 for a large. I’ve tried several and have enjoyed some (the Green Machine and the Tooty Fruity) more than others, but none has been a disappointment. Another intriguing – if also overpriced – breakfast choice is Russell’s Rajun Cajun: egg whites, Cajun cream cheese, bacon, and scallion on an everything bagel: definitely tasty, but probably not worth $5.65.

Toshi’s gets its name from owner Toshi Yoshida, who can often be found behind the counter. Both he and his staff are friendly and accommodating, and I’ve yet to see them get an order wrong.

It’s been years since I’ve tried Toshi’s for anything besides breakfast. I remember their sandwiches being OK, and I will have to investigate their sushi and rice bowls some day. As a purveyor of morning munchies, Toshi’s consistently delivers enjoyable food with a smile. There are cheaper options, but what you get here is usually worth the price.

7.75/10

Hardwired...to Self-Destruct!

After more than a decade of alienating fans with behind-the-scenes drama and unpopular stylistic choices, Metallica pulled off a coup with 2008’s Death Magnetic, a triumphant return to thrash marred only by questionable mixing and production. Eight years later, Metallica’s double-disc tenth album manages to continue that march back toward respectability while simultaneously adding a few new wrinkles.

In some ways, Hardwired is very self-consciously a throwback album. The destructive connotation– and punctuation choices – of the title seem to be taking a page from Megadeth’s 80s catalog (ironic, given Metallica’s love-hate relationship with ex-member/Megadeth founder Dave Mustaine) while the radio-unfriendly song lengths call to mind …And Justice for All.  Across the first several tracks, James Hetfield’s snarling vocals and sometimes-juvenile lyrics, backed by hard-hitting instrumentation, would seem right at home on a mid-late 80s Metallica release.

But Hardwired is neither simple repetition nor self-parody, and as it progresses, the album takes a number of unexpected turns. From track to track, lyrics alternate between Biblical and mythological themes (“Atlas, Rise!” and “ManUNKind”) to tributes of sorts to Amy Winehouse (“Moth into Flame”) and Lemmy (“Murder One”). The band also plays with slower tempos on some songs, gradually speeding up to project a sense of growing menace. Metallica may have embraced its roots, but it hasn’t chucked every bit of musical development from the past two decades out the window.

An alternate explanation, of course, is that all of the members are north of 50, and sustaining a 77-minute thrash assault simply is beyond their reach. Yet if Metallica is slowing down, the members mask it well. Robert Trujillo delivers strong basslines while Lars Ulrich’s drumming, always somewhat divisive, is at least well-timed. Ironically, it is lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, usually the most reliable of the bunch, who seems the most noticeably absent here. It isn’t that his guitar is neutered but rather that he doesn’t really get a chance to cut loose, in trademark fashion, until the closing track, “Spit out the Bone.” Whether or not this is related to the fact that Hetfield and Ulrich wrote all of the songs is anyone’s guess. Whatever the reason, it comes as a letdown following the epic riffing found on Death Magnetic.

Hardwired doesn’t pack as much of a punch and won’t turn as many heads as Metallica’s classic albums, but it is a commendably hard-hitting effort from a band that seems to have seen and done it all in three-plus decades.

8/10

Warcraft

When Draenor, the orcs’ homeworld, begins to wither and die, orcish warlock Gul’dan (Daniel Wu) uses life-draining fel magic to open a portal to Azeroth to give the orcs a new land to conquer. Durotan (Toby Kebbel), chieftain of the Frostwolf Clan, is suspicious of Gul’dan and the fel, but he nevertheless joins a raiding party to ensure a future for his wife and child. On the other side of the portal, the use of fel magic is detected by Khadgar (Ben Schnetzer), a young human mage, who persuades military commander Anduin Lothar (Travis Fimmell) to alert his brother-in-law, King Llane (Dominic Cooper) as well as Medivh (Ben Foster), the mystic guardian of the realm. As battle lines are drawn between the humans and the invading orcs, there are those on both sides who realize that things aren’t quite what they seem.

Warcraft has been a popular computer game franchise for more than two decades, and a film adaptation has been in development for nearly half that long. Given the repeated delays, the required budget, the inevitable comparison to Lord of the Rings, and the dismal track record of movies based on video games, it’s a small miracle that a Warcraft movie was released at all. And while that much is a victory, not even the franchise’s most powerful mages can erase this flawed film’s many glaring blemishes.

Though the character design is inescapably cartoonish, on an aesthetic level, Warcraft acquits itself fairly well. The journey to Medivh’s spire in the sky provides some breathtaking views, battle scenes are competently choreographed, and Ramin Djawadi’s score evokes the grandeur of the games’ music without shamelessly mimicking it. On a superficial level, the movie delivers as expected.

Ironically, some of the film’s problems stem from a desire to transcend that superficiality. Director/co-writer Duncan Jones is an avid gamer, and though by necessity he streamlined and simplified some of the Warcraft mythos, he also showed a lot of reverence for the source material, which broke from some genre clichés (orcs here are a proud warrior society rather than simply dumb muscle for the forces of evil) while reinforcing plenty of others. Unfortunately, instead of 90 minutes of lightweight fun, this fidelity resulted in a solemn, occasionally leaden two-plus hours that still felt underdone.

Jones wasn’t helped by uninspired, cliché-ridden dialogue, thin characterization, and questionable casting decisions. Ethiopian-Irish Ruth Negga and white Australian Travis Fimmell are unconvincing as siblings, and Ben Foster’s American accent sounds very out of place. Among the few cast members who come off well here are those who take more liberties with the source material: Cooper plays Llayne with heroic gusto while Schnetzer’s Khadgar is somewhat bumbling (at first) and constantly disrespected and underestimated, a needed counterpoint to the stone-fisted solemnity.

Ultimately, Warcraft is unlikely to win over anyone who isn’t already a fan of the franchise, and even the latter group may find themselves disappointed. But there between the nostalgia factor and the visual flair, there is enough here to make it worth their time, albeit barely.

6.5/10

Doctor Strange

Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a brilliant but arrogant and egotistical surgeon. When he damages his hands in a car wreck, he is so desperate for a cure that he travels to Kamar-Taj, a hidden Tibetan monastery. There, he is trained in the mystic arts by the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) and her associates Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Wong (Benedict Wong). He soon finds himself draw in to their efforts to thwart Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen), a former disciple whose quest to grant the world eternal life involves turning it over to a malevolent entity, Dormammu. Though reluctant and unskilled at first, the rational Strange eventually becomes a valuable ally.

Let it not be said that Marvel Studios has run out of ways to be different. Though Guardians of the Galaxy, with its genetically modified raccoon and tree-like alien antiheroes seemed as far afield as Marvel could go and remain successful, Doctor Strange introduces a full-on embrace of magic and alternate dimensions. And despite the challenges inherent in adapting Steve Ditko’s trippy 60s creation – like how does one make magic fit within the technology-centric mileau of a shared universe – Marvel has again struck paydirt.

A big chunk of the credit here goes to director Scott Derrickson, who was definitely up to the task. Rather than taking a cartoonish approach, Derrickson aimed to create an awe-inspiring spectacle. The resulting reality-warping visuals favorably invoked Inception rather than traditional wizard fare or the fanciful (and cheesy) Thor. Derrickson was also acutely aware of Marvel’s proclivity for ending movies with big, irresponsible, city-leveling battles, and he and writer C. Robert Cargill engineered a subversion that was still consistent with the demands of character and story. Even the most controversial decision – casting Swinton in the role of a traditionally male, traditionally Tibetan character – proved to be a wise move. Had a more conventional choice been made (say Ken Watanabe), the character may very well have been a regrettable Wise Master cliché. Instead, the witty, androgynous Swinton made the character stand out.

She is far from the only strong performer in the cast, however. Cumberbatch, known for portraying socially awkward geniuses, is a charismatically good fit here, and convincingly portrays the character’s growing sense of obligation and sacrifice. Ejiofor gives Mordo a nobility that the comic book equivalent has often lacked while still foreshadowing his darker nature. Mikkelsen makes for a droll change-of-pace villain, a well-intentioned extremist as opposed to a would-be conqueror, but his character isn’t given enough development, nor is that of Rachel McAdams, who plays Strange’s medical colleague/former lover (and an obvious audience surrogate).

Unexpectedly, Doctor Strange is also frequently hilarious. Midway through the film, Strange acquires his trademark Cloak of Levitation, a sentient garment that proves to be a far better fighter than he is. A seemingly disposable joke made to Wong (a comically serious foil) about one-named musicians gets a callback when the latter can be found listening to Beyonce in the Kamar-Taj library. Even Strange’s inevitable confrontation with Dormammu is laden with dark humor and trolling.

Fittingly, this movie about magic casts such an engaging spell over viewers that it frequently blinds them to some very obvious flaws. In addition to the previously mentioned underdeveloped secondary characters, Doctor Strange features a thin, almost perfunctory plot. And while the film’s visual aspects are often a strength, the depiction of Dormammu falls flat and fails to intimidate. Cumberbatch, who provided the voice and motion capture, did far better villainous work bringing to life monsters like Smaug and Sauron.

Despite these shortcomings, Doctor Strange is an entertaining, visually refreshing origin story that brings a new character into an established fold and lays more groundwork for future MCU entries.

8/10

Sarah's Kabob Shop

Located at 5553 West Market Street in Greensboro, Sarah’s Kabob Shop offers Mediterranean fare for lunch and dinner. Online ordering, delivery, and catering are available.

Sarah’s Kabob Shop is unassuming inside and out. It shares a shopping plaza with a DMV office, and its interior is decidedly more function than flash. As is often the case, however, appearances can be deceiving. This is some of the best Mediterranean takeout in the area.

The menu here is about what you’d expect: gyros, kabobs, shawarma, falafel, burgers, and wings. It is the execution that sets Sarah’s apart. Whereas gyro meat can sometimes be overly dry, here it is tender and well-seasoned. Though the classic gyro was plenty flavorful, a spicy variant is also available. An order of fried fish was crispy and held its breading, and the accompanying parmesan fries were addictive.

Sarah’s is also a good value. A generously sized well-stuffed gyro and chips came to $6.19 while a fried fish and shrimp platter with salad and fries was only $8. Come in for pickup, and you’ll get your food quickly, too: the kitchen is efficient, and the counter staff can definitely keep pace (though they are not the least bit rude).

While Sarah’s won’t outpace Chef Samir or Koshary as a dine-in option, for takeout, it is tough to beat. Tasty food for reasonable prices and very brief wait times makes for a winning combination.

8.5/10

Village Juice Co.

Located at 205 S. Stratford Road in Winston-Salem, Village Juice Co. offers bottled juices as well as house-made smoothies, salads, bowls, and toasts. Most food items are vegan, and many use local organic ingredients. Limited outdoor seating is available.

Having tried and enjoyed their juices at different events and needing a healthy counterpoint to the coffee and chocolate we enjoyed earlier, my wife and I finally decided to give Village Juice Co.’s store a try. It was the classic great on paper/flawed execution through and through.

First, the good: Village Juice Co. shows that healthy doesn’t have to mean boring. The selection of salads includes tropical chicken and herb and pumpkin seed while some of the bowl offerings feature Asian influences (and you can also build your own). We split a Miso Bowl (brown rice, kale, red pepper, avocado, carrot, seeds, and nori strips with a miso ginger dressing) and were not disappointed. The bowl was vibrantly colored, the vegetables were fresh, the textures balanced well, and the dressing elevated the flavors. At $8.95 for 32 ounces, the price paid was not unreasonable.

Now the bad: the ordering experience is chaotic. Though Village Juice Co. appears to be adequately staffed, there is a constant stream of foot traffic and little room to wait after your order is placed (unless you are lucky enough to grab an open table). Moreover, the salads, bowls, and toasts are made in a kitchen whereas smoothies are made in a small prep area behind the registers. Order both, and one may come out quite a bit later than the other.

Speaking of smoothies, they are rather overpriced. While it’s a given that organic ingredients tend to cost more, $7 to $10 for a 16-ounce smoothie is a stretch of Reed Richards proportions.

Given their commitment to fresh, homemade, healthy eats and drinks, it is easy to want to see Village Juice Co. succeed. But high prices and a frenzied dine-in experience make it something better admired from afar.

7/10

Twin City Hive Coffee Lounge

Located at 301 Brookstown Avenue in Winston-Salem, Twin City Hive offers locally made coffees, teas, and baked goods. There is limited outdoor seating, and dogs are welcome.

The Triad has no shortage of coffee shops, but there are still several things that make Twin City Hive stand out. The menu offers a good selection of multi-roaster coffee blends with plenty of syrup options as well as artisanal chocolate truffles at prices (coffees start under $3, truffles are $1.5, muffins are $3.75) that are fair for the quality. Counter staff are friendly and patient. And the ambiance is cozy with comfortable seating and unique wall art.

For our first visit, my wife and I each had a drink (a mocha and a chai latte, respectively) and a truffle and split a pepperoni and cheese muffin. The chocolate was good quality, and it was a shame to see it disappear in so few bites. The muffin was savory and surprisingly filling. The chai latte wasn’t bad by any means, but it isn’t something I would likely get again. Even ordered sweetened, it wasn’t particularly sweet.

All told, Twin City Hive is a welcoming spot that makes local creations shine.

8.25/10

Twin City Hive Coffee Lounge

Located at 301 Brookstown Avenue in Winston-Salem, Twin City Hive offers locally made coffees, teas, and baked goods. There is limited outdoor seating, and dogs are welcome.

The Triad has no shortage of coffee shops, but there are still several things that make Twin City Hive stand out. The menu offers a good selection of multi-roaster coffee blends with plenty of syrup options as well as artisanal chocolate truffles at prices (coffees start under $3, truffles are $1.5, muffins are $3.75) that are fair for the quality. Counter staff are friendly and patient. And the ambiance is cozy with comfortable seating and unique wall art.

For our first visit, my wife and I each had a drink (a mocha and a chai latte, respectively) and a truffle and split a pepperoni and cheese muffin. The chocolate was good quality, and it was a shame to see it disappear in so few bites. The muffin was savory and surprisingly filling. The chai latte wasn’t bad by any means, but it isn’t something I would likely get again. Even ordered sweetened, it wasn’t particularly sweet.

All told, Twin City Hive is a welcoming spot that makes local creations shine.

8.25/10

The Making of Zombie Wars

Aspiring writer Joshua Levin churns through multiple failed screenplay ideas while balancing a relationship with a child psychologist and a job teaching ESL classes. Just when he hits upon a concept with momentum – a zombie-survival action script – his life begins to unravel. His landlord’s behavior escalates from “quirky” to “deranged,” his embarrassing father reveals some depressing health news, and he begins a doomed affair with one of his students, a Bosnian wife and mother. Eventually, Josh’s life, formerly stuck in a comfortable stasis, becomes as manic as one of his treatments.

Aleksandar Hemon has a reputation as a “heavy” writer: alienation, loss of identity, and the ravages of war loom large over much of his oeuvre. His first English-language story, on the other hand, presented the (regrettably fictional) life of a legendarily flatulent politically influential nymphomaniac. This strain of dark humor has injected itself prominently into Hemon’s most recent novel, a book that is often savagely violent yet irrepressibly entertaining. The (intentionally?) terrible screenplay ideas that come up from time to time are reason enough to keep reading, but we’re also treated to the spectacle of Josh pondering the implications of toys found in his girlfriend’s closet, of the irony of his domineering sister’s complete lack of control over her own child, and of his landlord’s obliviously creepy offers of friendship while casually brandishing a sword.  

Behind this captivating craziness, however, is another very sobering look at the destructiveness wrought by war. Stagger the landlord is eventually revealed to be deeply affected by his military service during the Gulf War, and Josh encounters several Bosnian War veterans whose lives were similarly upended. Meanwhile, as The Making of Zombie Wars is set circa 2004, the Iraq War is slowly unfolding in the background. If the heroic and resolute soldiers fighting the hordes of undead in Josh’s screenplay depict an idealized war, then the PTSD-afflicted veterans offer a realistic counterpoint. It is also telling that the zombie wars’ architect – Josh himself – is cast as a poor decision-maker.

And this brings us to the book’s biggest liability: Josh is not a likable or terribly interesting protagonist. His aforementioned lack of judgment would be redeemable if he behaved foolishly with gusto, but instead, he makes bad choices seemingly because he lacks the wherewithal not to. While Jozef Pronek, the protagonist of the earlier Hemon novel Nowhere Man suffered from similar rudderlessness and artistic delusions, his status as a quasi-refugee contextualized his disappointment and inspired sympathy. Josh, the product of a comfortably middle-class American family, comes across as a loser in comparison.

Despite this, The Making of Zombie Wars is an apt showcase for Hemon’s many talents: a prose craftsman, a dark satirist, and a chronicler of human misery. There are relatively few actual zombie encounters in this book, but the humans that we are subjected to are, in many ways, amusingly and alarmingly worse.

8/10

Hail, Caesar!

In the early 1950s, Hollywood fixer Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) must defuse a variety of situations while contemplating an offer to become a Lockheed executive. A twice-divorced swimming starlet (Scarlett Johansson) is pregnant, a singing cowboy actor (Alden Ehrenreich) has been shoehorned into a period drama role to which he is ill-suited, and twin gossip columnists (Tilda Swinton) hound him with threats and inquiries. Things go from bad to worse when leading man Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) disappears from the set of a high-budget epic set in ancient Rome and a group called The Future demands $100,000 for his safe return.

Though their oeuvre is definitely diverse, the Coen Brothers have long had an affinity for screwball comedies and old-timey Hollywood. Both are on full display here to the extent that Hail, Caesar! is little more than one long homage. It also happens to be a fitfully funny skewering of many of the same conventions that it seems to praise, something which may have sailed over the heads of dismissive viewers who lacked exposure to the big studio productions of the 1940s and 1950s.

Despite featuring a real person (Mannix was an infamous longtime MGM executive) as its protagonist, Hail, Caesar! is by no means a biopic. It presents an entirely fictional narrative that is laced with shout-outs to real happenings and popular Hollywood myths. The big-name cast, which includes Johansson, Ehrenreich, Swinton, Clooney, Ralph Fiennes, and Channing Tatum, convincingly channels Esther Williams/Loretta Young, Roy Rogers/Gene Autry, Hedda Hopper/Louella Parsons, Charlton Heston/Kirk Douglas/Robert Taylor, George Cukor, and Gene Kelly, respectively. Not only are the mannerisms spot-on, but the film is well-costumed and rich with period detail.

Of course, this wouldn’t be a Coen Brothers film if everything was played straight, and it certainly isn’t here. Witness Ehrenreich’s groan-inducing inability to lose his Southern accent, Tatum’s exaggeratedly homoerotic dance sequence from a Navy musical, or Swinton’s (both of her characters) progressively ostentatious hats, and you’ll get a good idea of Hail Caesar’s sensibility. Even when the film attempts to tackle more serious issues – religious iconography in cinema, Communist influence in Hollywood, the morality of the studio system – it does so mercilessly and irreverently.

And yet, for as fun as this film is, there is no getting around the pointlessness of its convoluted plot. This is less a coherent story and more a collection of shenanigans that Mannix (who is a deadpan tough guy everywhere but at home or in a confessional booth) has to mop up, and little is resolved by the end. A previous Coen Brothers film, Burn After Reading, concluded by having characters wonder aloud what just happened and what they could possibly learn from the experience. Viewing Hail, Caesar! will leave you thinking much the same.

Even viewed charitably, Hail, Caesar! does not rank toward the top of the brothers’ output. However, if you have any appreciation for or recollection of classic Hollywood, this reference-laden send-up is likely to leave you entertained.

7.75/10