honeydripper

John Sayles is one of America's real filmmaking treasures. His newest film, Honeydripper , isn't one of his finest, but it's wor...

national treasure: book of secrets

More of the same from Nicolas Cage and the gang as they run around the world lookin' for clues. My review appears at Screen International .

daft punk

Bummed you missed Daft Punk on their latest highly-praised tour? Want to know what it was felt and sounded like? You might try Alive 2007 , ...

hal holbrook speaks

The veteran character actor gives one of his best performances in writer-director Sean Penn's Into the Wild . In the midst of the Oscar ...

rosa parks

The song, not the woman. Anyway, if you're curious how Outkast came up with their signature tune, wonder no more: I profile its origins ...

christopher plummer's oscar grab

Man in the Chair is one of those mediocre films which only seems to exist so as to give some venerable actor an outside shot at an Academy A...

the walker

One of Woody Harrelson's best performances goes to waste in writer-director Paul Schrader's new mystery-drama.

simon lebon is the man

That was my impression, anyway, after interviewing him for Blender .

chris brown

R&B singer Chris Brown, a tape recorder, and I all got together down at the Venice boardwalk to take a little Blender personality test. ...

divine intervention

If a movie has its heart in the right place, does that make up for a miniscule budget, so-so acting, and a weak script. In the case of Divin...

bob dylan or amy adams?

I'm Not There or Enchanted ? I say try 'em both. The two films lead my latest Consumables column , which also features reviews of Ma...

hitman

The Timothy Olyphant action movie (based on the popular Hitman video game) is decent, but not great. Its core audience will eat it up, but n...

bob dylan on film

In L.A. Weekly , I discuss the movies Dylan has made about his own legacy: Eat the Document , Renaldo and Clara , and Masked and Anonymous ....

lcd soundsystem

45:33 was a project LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy put together for Nike: a long instrumental suite of songs that joggers could listen t...

mr. magorium's wonder emporium

The movie's title is a mouthful, but Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium is a really special family film, anchored by a terrific performa...

me on no country for old men

My review appears here as part of my Consumables column. Also in there: my thoughts on Lars and the Real Girl , The Assassination of Jesse ...

no country for old men and the coen brothers

After you've seen No Country for Old Men and digested it fully, proceed immediately to David Edelstein's terrific dissection of the...

afi film festival: the final weekend

AFI wraps up on Sunday, but there are still some worthwhile films left on the slate. Here's a rundown at the L.A. Weekly , including tw...

radiohead's new album

Has the hype over In Rainbows died down yet? Can we discuss the album on its own terms? Great -- here's my review.

somebody help martin freeman

Martin Freeman, you may recall, was the lovelorn nice guy in the original version of The Office . He seemed destined to break out after that...

michael clayton and the amazing george clooney

If you want proof that I'm not one of those critics who hates everything that comes his way, check out my latest Consumables column , wh...

saw iv

At this point, you're either someone who watches ever Saw sequel or someone who badmouths the whole franchise. That sorta makes a film c...

roger ebert nails grindhouse

It's been a delight to have Roger Ebert back reviewing movies every Friday; we had lost his distinctive critical voice for several month...

black irish

Writer-director Brad Gann's Black Irish takes on one of the cinema's most overdone dramatic territories: the suffering Irish family....

a film about jimmy carter

Man From Plains , a Jonathan Demme documentary about Jimmy Carter, is one of the best films of the year. But it's about more than just t...

the season of joy division

Ian Curtis has been dead for 27 years now, but his old band's legacy still looms large. Control , a film about Curtis directed by Anton ...

ac/dc: their hidden gems

If you just know "You Shook Me All Night Long" and "Back in Black," then enjoy my analysis of some of AC/DC's lesser...

joni mitchell

Shine , her new record, isn't a galvanizing return to form, but if you give the disc some time, its beauty can sneak up on you .

chamillionaire doesn't drink or smoke

Those were just two things I found out about the "Ridin' Dirty" rapper in my recent interview with him for Blender .

band of horses

Cease to Begin is the South Carolina band's second album -- it's even more lovely than their first. My review appears at Blender .

the kite runner

The award-seeking adaptation of the Khaled Hosseini novel won't be arriving in theaters until December, but my review is up now at Scr...

kid rock talks to me

To promote his new album, Rock N Roll Jesus , Kid Rock sat down for an interview with me. The results can be found at Blender .

the final season

Another inspirational baseball film? I'm afraid so, but The Final Season has its heart in the right place at least. If it's on cabl...

baby elephant

Turn My Teeth Up! is the name of the new album from Baby Elephant, a collaboration between hip-hop producer Prince Paul (of De La Soul fame)...

blender's 40 worst lyricists in rock

Yup, Blender magazine picked Sting as rock music's worst lyricist. But who were the other 39? The link to the piece, which I helped cont...

bergman at the new beverly

If you've never seen Cries and Whispers or Autumn Sonata , now's your chance: Ingmar Bergman's harrowing family dramas screen at...

lake of fire

Filmmaker Tony Kaye's abortion documentary Lake of Fire opens this weekend in New York. It's an affecting but imperfect work. My rev...

bruce springsteen returns

The Boss is back with his new album, Magic . In honor of the occasion, I look back at Springsteen's greatest non-hits for VH1 .

kanye west

Graduation , the new record from Kanye West, heads my latest Consumables column. Also included: reviews of Into the Wild , Justice, Beck...

will.i.am and blackstreet in blender

The new Blender with Kanye West on the cover has hit newsstands. I've got three pieces in there, but two are online currently: my inter...

feast of love

Director Robert Benton (Kramer vs. Kramer ) returns with Feast of Love , a serio-comic look at relationships across age, race, and gender. ...

trade

Just a reminder that a truly terrible movie can be made about a very important subject, Trade , a horrendous drama about underground sex tra...

good luck chuck

Dane Cook looks uncomfortable, Jessica Alba is no comedienne. At least the penguins are cute.

in the shadow of the moon

The documentary about NASA's '60s adventure is worth seeing. So are a bunch of other goodies included in this week's Consumables...

moving mcallister

Some might say I was overly harsh in my review of Moving McAllister , a feeble road movie that represents all that's wrong with so-calle...

great world of sound

Great World of Sound , a smart sad little indie about con men trying to trick aspiring musicians into forking over their hard-earned money i...

the brothers solomon

Will Arnett, Will Forte and Kristen Wiig have all been funny in the past, and they'll be funny in the future. But in The Brothers Solomo...

earlimart

The duo Earlimart specialize in a studio-enhanced indie pop. Their latest album, Mentor Tormentor , evokes the dreary side of L.A.'s sub...

ben affleck: director

Gone Baby Gone is the directorial debut of Ben Affleck. If you're someone who automatically dismisses him as a lightweight, you probably...

ladrón que roba a ladrón

This Spanish-language heist film is targeted toward mainstream Latino audiences, but I can't help but think, "Hey, couldn't you...

shoot 'em up

This ultraviolent, cheekily irreverent action thriller starring Clive Owen is strictly a love-it-or-hate-it affair. I'm with the lovers.

war

Congratulations: You've come to the blog of the only film critic in the world who actually liked War , the not-screened-for-reviews acti...

balls of fury

Perhaps you're on the fence about whether to invest your hard-earned dollars on Balls of Fury . Let me help make up your mind for you.

kinski

Kinski are a band from Seattle that specializes in instrumental avant-rock. Don't be scared by that description: They're actually pr...

closing escrow

When on vacation, my wife and I have a guilty pleasure: watching HGTV in our hotel room for hours. (Scandalous, I know.) It's easy to un...

the new pornographers' new album

Challengers is the fourth album from the Canadian power-pop collective. My review appears in the new issue of Under the Radar , the indie-mi...

the simpsons movie

At long last, after much worrying and cynical naysaying, The Simpsons Movie comes to us. So what did I think? Check here -- and also see my...

foo fighters: a fond look back

The Colour and the Shape just celebrated its 10th anniversary with a new reissue, including bonus tracks. Idolator may not see the point , b...

death at a funeral

Discriminating comedy audiences may be hoping that Death at a Funeral , director Frank Oz's British farce, will be a respite from dumb H...

howards end

The Academy, as part of its "Great To Be Nominated" series, will be showing a 70mm print of Howards End on Monday, August 20 . My ...

daddy day camp

It's not a question of whether or not Daddy Day Camp is good -- it's a matter of just how bad it is. The answers are here .

looking ahead to football season

With the St. Louis Cardinals' chances for making the playoffs looking dimmer and dimmer, let's focus on the St. Louis Rams for a mom...

rush hour 3 and rocket science

Both films open this Friday, catering to much different audiences. But these two movies suffer from the same problem of diminishing returns:...

harry potter versus el-p

It wouldn't even be a fair fight: El-P would pound that sniveling little wizard. Both reside in this week's Consumables , as do revi...

no end in sight

At long last, No End in Sight , the exceptional documentary about the failures of the Bush administration in Iraq, comes to Los Angeles. My ...

underdog is here

If you have small children in your life, the chances are good they're dying to see Underdog , the new Walt Disney movie based on the old...

woody allen, ace film critic

Ingmar Bergman died this week, and of all the terrific appreciations of the filmmaker that have popped up since, the best probably comes fr...

moliere

The Shakespeare in Love of romantic comedy-dramas about the young life of the French playwright Moliere. But not as good.

no end in sight: the interview

Charles Ferguson, the writer and director of the great new documentary No End in Sight , talks to me about the film in this week's LA We...

manhattan

The greatest movie Woody Allen ever made returns with a new print for one week in New York starting today . The Village Voice 's J. Hobe...

snow patrol

The Glasgow band is taking one more trip across America this summer. I preview their latest tour.

falling out of love with the simpsons

I ask every Simpsons fan in my life the same question: How do you think the movie will be? They all have the same response: They grimace, fe...

talk to me

Don Cheadle and Chiwetel Ejiofor are both quite good in this filmic re-creation of the life of 1960s DJ Ralph Waldo “Petey” Greene Jr., but ...

Top 10 Smashing Pumpkins Songs

Yup, they're back. Billy Corgan is taking the '90s alt-rockers back on the road in support of a new album. Thanks to the fine folks ...

ratatouille

I taste-test the latest Pixar film in Consumables . I also take on Interview , Ocean's Thirteen , and the new albums from Amy Winehouse ...

the bitter truth

"Someday, the Bush era may come to seem like a bad dream, a shameful, inexplicable interlude in American history. We're right to be...

introducing the dwights

Happy 4th, everyone. If you're in the mood for an Australian coming-of-age dramedy about a crazy showbiz family, you're in luck .

license to wed

It's John Krasinski vs. Robin Williams in this painfully unfunny romantic comedy . And I have a question to all the married/engaged coup...

edward yang, 1947-2007

There are two movies I adore that I won't let my wife watch until they run on the big screen. In the time we've been together, they&...

ghosts of cite soleil

This documentary about power, poverty, and gangs in the Haitian slums opens today in New York. It's not a pretty picture, but it's o...

the hidden gems of elvis costello

Elvis Costello is on the road this summer to promote his new reissues, The Best of Elvis Costello: The First 10 Years and Rock and Roll Mu...

white stripes

Icky Thump is easily the band's loudest record. It's also one of their best. Elsewhere in Consumables , I take on Wilco, Bruce Sprin...

los angeles film festival

While we can lament that 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days was a last-minute scratch, the Los Angeles Film Festival starts tonight and there are...

you kill me

Ben Kingsley and Tea Leoni make for a fun (if unlikely) romantic pairing in You Kill Me , an offbeat hit-man comedy from director John Dahl.

evan almighty

At last. A comedy about a flood wiping out humanity .

casting about

Actors' audition tapes for a fiction film instead become the raw material for Casting About , a documentary about the auditioning proces...

eagle vs. shark

This Sundance romantic comedy doesn't know if it loves or hates its nerdy characters. I feel the same way about it.

brand upon the brain!

The Guy Maddin silent-film spectacular hits Los Angeles. I cover the event in Consumables , and also tackle Arcade Fire, Knocked Up , Once a...

hostel: part ii

Give writer-director Eli Roth credit for adding some new wrinkles to his Hostel sequel. But not too much credit.

chris cornell

The onetime frontman of Soundgarden is back with his second solo album. I don't dislike Cornell in his introspective guise, but Carry On...

paprika

The newest animated film from director Satoshi Kon is beloved by everyone. Except me.

gracie

Based on Elizabeth Shue's childhood experience of playing soccer in boys-only leagues, Gracie is a bit of a family affair. After watchin...

the police

Well, the long wait is over. The Police's reunion tour kicks off this weekend. To get you in the mood, here's a list of 10 hidden ge...

zz top takes the rock honors

VH1's annual Rock Honors program airs tonight, which includes a tribute to ZZ Top, who will be performing. For VH1's website, I look...

pirates of the caribbean: at world's end

This third Pirates is more ho-hum than yo ho ho .

maroon 5 return

Make snide jokes all you want, but Maroon 5's new album, It Won't Be Soon Before Long , is actually pretty good .

the corporation

Having recently seen No End in Sight , the terrific Iraq War documentary by Charles Ferguson, I was reminded of The Corporation , an equally...

wilco v. son volt

I never thought I'd live to see the day when a music critic would actually dare to say he preferred Son Volt to Wilco. Bless you, Mark M...

even money

A drama starring Forest Whitaker, Danny DeVito, Ray Liotta, Tim Roth, Carla Gugino, Kelsey Grammer, and Kim Basinger comes out today. Why ha...

luke wilson is wendell baker

The Wendell Baker Story , written and co-directed by Luke Wilson (who also stars), starts off so promisingly that it's even more disappo...

michael keaton returns

Michael Keaton is the star of The Last Time , a mediocre film that doesn't have enough confidence in its central theme and instead reso...

roger ebert teaches a lesson in class

As film critic Roger Ebert continues to recover from surgery, he tells of a bouquet of get-well flowers that came from a most unlikely pers...

28 weeks later

Loved the first one. But the new one is just so-so. Also in Consumables, I discuss Away From Her and new singles by the White Stripes, Avr...

chalk

It's done like a mockumentary, but there's a lot of heart to Chalk , a great look inside the demanding world of high school teachers.

the salon

Hoping to grab the crowds who liked Barbershop , The Salon offers a similar milieu. If you can't get enough jokes about how white peopl...

the hip hop project

The documentary The Hip Hop Project operates in the inspirational, make-a-difference genre. Savvy rap fans may quibble with some of the ass...

steely dan: hidden gems

Steely Dan , the crown princes of '70s snark, just kicked off another summer tour. In honor of that wonderful news, here is a salute to ...

another sad end to a lakers season

The Los Angeles Lakers lost in the first round, for the second straight year, to the Phoenix Suns. Two years into the new Phil Jackson era, ...

hot fuzz

I loved Shaun of the Dead , but Edgar Wright's new film, Hot Fuzz , isn't up to the same level. Also in Consumables , I review Jinda...

waitress: adrienne shelly's unexpected swan song

Waitress , starring a terrific Keri Russell, turned out to be writer-director-actor Adrienne Shelly's last film. (She was murdered in Ne...

the condemned

The Condemned is recommended to fans of bad reality television and professional wrestling. Hey, you've been warned.

anniversary

When I got married a year ago, several of our great writers at The Simon offered me wedding advice . It was a real surprise and a treat at ...

vacancy

Usually, describing a movie as a "creepy cockroach of a thriller" isn't high praise, but in the case of Vacancy , it's a ...

what does jackie robinson day have to do with barry bonds?

A lot, says author Zev Chafets, and I have to agree with him . Jackie Robinson Day is an exercise in racial public relations. Baseball despe...

disturbia

Rear Window for the teen set? Probably, but it's an effective thriller with a surprising amount of brains and heart.

grindhouse: bloody, long

Grindhouse tops the list of items in my latest installment of Consumables . Also, I show much love to Killer Sheep and The Host and !!!.

j. hoberman on killer of sheep

Charles Burnett's rarely-seen 1977 movie Killer of Sheep is finally getting a proper theatrical release. (It's playing at the Nuart...

fighting words

The world of spoken-word slam poetry is too interesting for filmmakers to resist, but thus far they've yet to do it justice. Fighting Wo...

kurt cobain: still dead, still missed

This piece was written for The Black Table three years ago to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Kurt Cobain's suicide. I still agree w...

cinnamon

"My artwork and films are about responding to daily materials, conditions, tasks and/or gestures of people of African descent," ex...

the tv set

Another satire on the banality of the entertainment industry? Yes, but writer-director Jake Kasdan's The TV Set has more depth than you...

let's go sailing

Her name is Shana Levy. She fronts a band called Let's Go Sailing. She lives in Los Angeles. Her new album, The Chaos in Order , is out ...

after the wedding

I loved Susanne Bier's last film, Brothers , but her latest -- After the Wedding , which was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Fil...

do film critics matter? (part 653,363)

I tend not to care too much about articles debating the relevance of film critics -- if you read film criticism, they are relevant; if you d...

peyton manning, comic genius

Yes, Peyton Manning, a football player, was hilarious on Saturday Night Live this past weekend. I sing his praises in Consumables ... and ...

the hills have eyes 2

The sequel to last year's remake of the 1970s Wes Craven horror classic is a stunning artistic statement. OK, maybe not.

usc in the sweet sixteen

After impressive wins over Arkansas and Texas in the first two rounds of the NCAA college basketball tournament, the Trojans take on the Nor...

the prisoner or: how i planned to kill tony blair

It's hard to say when audiences' saturation point for Iraq War documentaries will come -- if it hasn't come already -- but The P...

adam sandler gets serious for reign over me

I loved Adam Sandler's dramatic turn in Punch-Drunk Love and I adored writer-director Mike Binder's prickly, moving The Upside of ...

color me kubrick

Based on the true story of a Londoner's successful attempts during the 1990s to pose as famed film director Stanley Kubrick, Color Me Ku...

billy zane, odd as ever

Perhaps the only reason to see the silly thriller Memory , which opens this Friday, is to catch Billy Zane at his ironically loopy best. But...

teenage mutant ninja turtles

Yup, they're back -- and their new film, the animated TMNT , isn't half bad.

tortilla heaven

George Lopez, Miguel Sandoval, and Lupe Ontiveros star in this low-budget religious comedy. Avoid like the plague.

r.e.m. enters the rock and roll hall of fame

Looking around the Web for an appropriate piece that paid homage to R.E.M.'s greatness, I was left unsatisfied. So I turned to my man Ro...

fight on, trojans

USC's men's basketball team starts its NCAA tournament play Friday against the Arkansas Razorbacks. Here are three tidbits about the...

caffeine, the movie

Katherine Heigl fans may be curious to check out Caffeine , the 20-something ensemble comedy in which she co-stars. I'd advise against i...

time for a nap

I need no convincing about the importance of midday naps, but Louisa Thomas, part of the editorial staff of The New Yorker , lays out the a...

fall out boy

Dedicated to always keeping an open mind, I review Fall Out Boy's new album, Infinity on High . The results? Read here .... along with ...

captain america, RIP

Maybe only comic-book aficionados cared about the recent murder of Captain America in issue No. 25, but commentator Jacob Heilbrunn sees the...

the ultimate gift

Fox Faith is a new subsidiary of 20th Century Fox that specializes in religious-themed films that espouse Christian values. The company'...

the brilliant zodiac

It's humbling and frustrating to realize that there's almost no point in writing a review when someone has articulated your points f...

taking the academy to task -- with class

Great piece by John Sinno, producer of the Oscar-nominated Iraq in Fragments , on his disappointment with the Academy that they chose to le...

wild hogs

Tim Allen + John Travolta + Martin Lawrence + William H. Macy + homophobic jokes = a disaster .

a woeful oscar night

I didn't have a problem with the winners, but the broadcast was one of the weakest in recent memory . Elsewhere in Consumables, reviews ...

teach

Back by popular demand, I'll be teaching in March at the Writing Pad. The topic? Getting Your Name in Print.

field music

Two XTC-loving British brothers are the songwriting team behind Field Music. Their new album, Tones of Town , is so endlessly catchy that y...

neko case: live in concert

Fox Confessor Brings the Flood , gorgeous and atmospheric, was my favorite album of last year, but I was curious to hear how Neko Case wou...

babel and for your consideration: two examples of what's wrong with this year's oscar season

Great piece in the Los Angeles Times from film critic Dennis Lim. In his DVD column called "A Second Look," he uses the video rel...

amazing grace

Director Michael Apted's film, Amazing Grace , about Britain's battle to end the African slave trade in the 18th century, boasts a s...

money, baby

Doug Limon and Jon Favreau's (and also, really, Vince Vaughn's) 1996 film Swingers is perhaps the quintessential L.A.-in-the-'90...

the broken west

This Los Angeles-based band has a new record, I Can't Go On, I'll Go On . Let the Big Star and Teenage Fanclub comparisons begin.

oscar-nominated shorts

The five Best Live Action Short and five Best Animation Short nominees will be screening in select theaters this weekend. Here's my review.

a valentine to james brown

In honor of Black History Month, here's my appreciation of the late, great James Brown , who died on Christmas Day, for VH1.

hannibal rising

It's even worse than you imagined.

top ten albums and singles of 2006

The Village Voice 's annual Pazz & Jop music poll is out. My top tens appear here .

foreign-language films that didn't make the oscar cut

France's Avenue Montaigne , Kazakhstan's Nomad (The Warrior) and Bosnia-Herzegovina's Grbavica all missed the cut for this yea...

can mr. smith get to washington anymore?

If you find yourself in downtown L.A. this weekend and you're hungry for a good political documentary, check out Can Mr. Smith Get to Wa...

top ten movies of 2006

I've been meaning to put this up for a week, but writing deadlines and real-life obligations got in the way. But here they are ... links...

jennifer garner has a not-so-good cry

Catch and Release is writer-director Susannah Grant's ambitious attempt at melding the tear-jerker and the romantic comedy. But Alias s...

what do matt damon, david lynch, and darren aronofsky have in common?

None of them got nominated for an Oscar. But they all made great movies in 2006.

the hitcher

Is The Hitcher as bad as you imagine? Honestly, it may be worse.

iraq and darfur: two tales of suffering

What's the difference between Iraq and Darfur? Nothing, says writer David Bosco, and that's the problem : It's natural that Amer...

don't just laugh -- do something

Great piece from Courtney E. Martin in the Baltimore Sun who suggests that, while shows like The Daily Show are a great outlet for our coll...

justin timberlake

It's not an unhealthy obsession -- I just respect the dude. OK?

the new music poll on the block

Idolator's new Jackin' Pop Critics Poll means to dethrone the Village Voice 's annual Pazz & Jop music poll as the authorita...

children of men and letters from iwo jima

Over at The Simon , I review several of the Oscar-hopeful films of the season. Other than Children of Men and Letters From Iwo Jima , though...

robert wilson speaks

The theater director, known for Einstein on the Beach and The Black Rider , stars in a new documentary about his life: Absolute Wilson . I ...