December 2nd, 2004 issue #0348

December 2nd, 2004

Frenetic: The Hook's Film Fest Guide-O-Rama

Wasn't it just yesterday that Patricia Kluge started a little film festival in Charlottesville? Nope, that was 17 years ago, and if past years' Southern or film noir fests still seem fresh in your mind, that's an example of how time flies. Which segues nicely into this year's Virginia Film Festival theme, "Speed." And we're not just talking fast cars or methamphetamines– although both certainly have a place in this festival.

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Grisham Kranks: Socko opening weekend defies critics

John Grisham got an early Christmas present. Christmas with the Kranks, the movie based on his bestseller Skipping Christmas, seized the number-three spot in the crowded pool of Thanksgiving releases. A comedy, Kranks delivered $32 million over the five-day weekend to edge out another holiday film, The Polar Express, and trounce Alexander, an epic by Oliver Stone, the director with whom Grisham has publicly sparred.

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Puppy love: Matthews' film career finally takes off

Dave Matthews will soon launch his film career with a supporting role in an earnest puppy-dog tale set in a small town. But the musical superstar's big-screen debut isn't in the production-troubled remake of Where the Red Fern Goes. That film is going straight to DVD. Instead, Matthews' theatrical debut arrives– complete with a new Dave song– in Because of Winn-Dixie, slated for release in February.

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The week in review

Worst weekend for murder: Matt Nelepa, 20, is shot early November 20 at 7-1/2 Street near Cherry Avenue. The body of Sarah Louise Crawford, 33, is found around 1:30am Novem...

All in the family: Willow Coffee joins Magnolia

Dish hopes you're all familiar with Magnolia by now– chef Howie Velie's southern-inspired restaurant that blew into Scottsville's dining scene last year like a warm, ...

'Parahumans': Do chimp/human hybrids cross the line?

Esmail Zanjani, a researcher at the University of Nevada at Reno, has been able to grow mostly human livers in sheep. Zanjani achieved this by injecting into growing sheep ...

What holiday movies do you plan to see?

PHOTOS BY JEN FARIELLO Lee King: "I guess Oceans Twelve. Is that a holiday movie? Polar Express is too creepy. Maybe that Lemony Snicket movie. It looks like a Tim Burton ...

$old

ALBEMARLE 10/4 Glenmore Associates Limited Partnership to Christopher J. and Karen M. Campbell, 0.973 acre lot in Glenmore, $260,000. Wayne K. and Mary Ellen Ford t...

Commercial Construction Permits

ALBEMARLE 11/17/04 Ryder Enterprises LLC, enclosing offices and storage area, $4,500. Innkeeper Properties Inc., c/o Daly Seven Inc., wall sign, replacing existing ...

Pleasing mix: Cruise this old/new cabin

ADDRESS: 1112 Dobby Creek Road ASKING: $238,900 BUILDING: 1536 sq. ft., 247 sq. ft. unfinished (shed) LAND: 7.44 acres YEAR BUILT: 1981 NEIGHBORHOOD: Scottsville CURB APPEA...

Property Auctions

December 10, at 1:15pm, at the Fluvanna County Courthouse Property: 1316 Antioch Road, Scottsville Debtor: Theresa M. Martin Amount owing: unknown Bidder brings: 10 percen...

Regular gal: How often should you 'go'?

Remember Carly Simon's song, "Anticipation"? I never heard of the song until Heinz Ketchup used it in a commercial. (In the commercial, the anticipation of eating the food ...

String-puller: Four of an unkind get <I>Closer

The message I took from Closer is that relationships would be a lot simpler if you had one set of people to love and another set to have sex with. Of course, married men h...

The little things: Impromptu jams unleash magic

Greg Howard, John D'earth, Matt Weiss, Jamal Milner at Gravity LoungeSunday, November 28 It's the little things in life that bring one joy. Things like the squirting sound...
Timeless tunes: Just one big good time

Lester Bowers and Shelton Sprouseat Miller'sFriday, November 26 Summer would be my favorite time to be in Charlottesville, except I hate the heat. The streets are clear, t...

$250 man: Slave auction stirs passions

Visitors to the 11th annual Jeffersonian Thanksgiving Festival, which took place last month at Court Square, came expecting to see Revolutionary reenactments. But this year...
Crawford case: Victim pleaded for protection

Sarah Crawford pleaded with a judge to make her estranged husband stay away from her. Before and during their five-year marriage, she said in court records, he pounded on h...
Lines drawn: Farmington freaks over change

"This is the talk of the soccer fields, I can tell you," says Janet Shobe, president of the PTO at Virginia L. Murray Elementary School in Ivy. She's talking about a redist...
Martians coming? Spielberg scouting Shenandoah

Scenes for the Martian-invasion film War of the Worlds, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Cruise, will be filmed in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, according to a...
No more Moore's: SPCA sale site sold

Take a good look at the old Moore's Lumber building on Pantops– it won't be there much longer. Developer Bill Dittmar purchased the five-acre site from Cosner Brother...
Poker face: How Hutter wins millions

"You have to be a good liar," says Temp Hutter, without a shred of apology. He can surely claim to be a pretty good one, but this time it's clear he's telling the truth. He...

Go to bed: Sleep your way to success

Even though you know you need eight hours of sleep a night, you probably sleep much less than that. Me, too.

SPORTS WRAP

Most Frustrating Loss: The 16th ranked UVA football team concludes the regular season with a bitter 24-10 loss in Blacksburg at the hands of arch-rival No. 11 Virginia Tech...

Pucker up: Just how hot is hot?

DRAWING BY DEBORAH DERR McCLINTOCK Q. How hot can spicy foods get? Could eaters injure themselves in indulging their fiery hot tastes? – E.A. McIlhenny...

Return of the lyric: Leiter's path back to poetry

Sharon Leiter has come back to poetry, and she's bringing Charlottesville with her. Hers has been a circuitous journey, through total immersion in Russia, a stint in army i...

Mr. Smiles: Paramount boss heads for the stars

As he does countless times a day, Chad Hershner grabs a hardhat and speedily strides the short distance from The Paramount Theater's temporary Water Street offices to the t...

Doc's a winner!

I had to write to tell you as a faithful reader of The Hook how much I enjoy your new columnist, John Hong, MD, under the heading of "Dr. Hook." He is so interesting and in...
Limit suffering to one day

Thank you for your story about Kentucky Fried Chicken and animal cruelty. [November 18: " KFC protest: PETA says chix battered then fried"]. All animals, including chickens...
Pricey Presley detour

I am writing in response to Al Zappa's letter in your November 18 issue ["No WMDs behind the razor wire"]. Zappa suggests relocating part of the Rivanna Trail to the East s...

Cultural calendar, December 2-9, 2004

THURSDAY, December 2 WALKABOUT Community Chanukah Celebration: Sing the "Dreidel Song," feast on traditional treats like potato latkes and jelly ...