the mummy: tomb of the dragon emperor review

The buzz has been very bad for the new Mummy movie with Brendan Fraser and (in the Rachel Weisz role) Maria Bello. Well, I saw it, and Tomb ...

photo op

In case anyone out there wonders what I look like, here's a picture of me from my About.com page.

the bronx speaks, and i marvel at slipknot

In the new issue of Kerrang , I interview Joby Ford of the critically acclaimed punk band the Bronx. If that's not enough for you, I al...

the dark knight: my take

Most concede that The Dark Knight is quite good, but just how good is it? I weigh in over at my Consumables column . And if you're sick ...

john prine and iris dement: in spite of ourselves

"In Spite of Ourselves" is the title track from John Prine's 1999 comeback album, a collection of country covers. This song (a...

step brothers review

Will Ferrell and director Adam McKay have been on a hot streak since Anchorman and Talladega Nights , but with their latest, Step Brothers ,...

ebert looks back on his life in the balcony

As you've probably heard, Ebert and Roeper is no more. For me, after Gene Siskel died, there was simply no way to carry on -- there was...

electoral college: the time-wasting game

If you haven't seen this on 270towin.com, you really need to: It's a computer simulation that plays out all the different electoral...

asian stories (book 3)

Asian Stories (Book 3) is getting a brief L.A. theatrical run, presumably thanks to the fact that its star, James Kyson Lee, plays Ando on H...

buckcherry and norma jean speak to me, separately

I have two features in the new issue of Revolver . I interviewed Buckcherry about their forthcoming album, Black Butterfly , and I profiled ...

david bowie: live in santa monica 36 years ago

Live Santa Monica '72 is the finally officially released live album from David Bowie during his Ziggy Stardust period. I have a brief w...

brideshead revisited

The new adaptation of Brideshead Revisited starring Emma Thompson and Matthew Goode looks great and has several good performances, but its u...

the band: it makes no difference

It's Friday, it's been a long week, let's enjoy a little of "It Makes No Difference" from The Last Waltz . Deal?

ebert remembers la dolca vita

Roger Ebert writes very well about a few classic movies -- not only that, he keeps revisiting them over time, and writing more about them as...

beck: modern guilt

My review of Beck's Modern Guilt is up at Metro Times . What can I say? On the whole, I've really liked his recent stuff, and the ne...

hancock is underrated, wanted is terribly, terribly overrated

So says I in my latest Consumables column for The Simon. Also included are reviews of Garden Party , R.E.M.'s Accelerate and Erykah Bad...

meet dave: a surprisingly not-bad eddie murphy film

Meet Dave is a perfectly respectable kids' movie, and Eddie Murphy is genuinely funny for the first time in a long while. But don't ...

contempt: i remain unmoved

There are few cinematic classics that leave me so divided as Godard's Contempt . It's one of those films where I enjoy its lovely-wo...

the stone angel

The Stone Angel , a tearjerker adaptation of the Margaret Laurence novel, would have benefited from a harder-edged approach, but nonetheless...

my new gig at about.com

In early June, I was selected to be the Rock Music guide at About.com . Organizing a site from scratch, under the direction of the great peo...

pixar's short films

They're available online now -- even the new one, Presto , which plays in front of Wall-E . Let the productive time-wasting begin.

kenneth turan on criticism

Kenneth Turan, film critic of the Los Angeles Times , writes today about the nature of being "right" in one's opinions. It...

george carlin proposed to this guy's wife

This is terrific .