The Zombies - "This Will Be Our Year"

See everybody in 2012.

Radiohead - "Lotus Flower"

Happy holidays, folks. This isn't the best or worst video of 2011, but it's the one I'll probably remember the most as feeling ...

'The Flowers of War' review

The Flowers of War is the second Chinese production to hit the U.S. this year about the Nanjing Massacre. The first was the brilliant, unfor...

Wye Oak - "Holy Holy"

With Pazz & Jop just around the corner, I'm working on my list of the year's best albums and songs. Which led me back to Wye Oa...

'Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked' review

The day before this year's LAFCA awards vote , I spent time watching Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked. Well, you can't say I...

'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' review

Yup, that's Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander in the American version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo , a movie I liked quite a lot. I ...

Albert Pujols Is No Longer a Cardinal

The news I'd been expecting since the final out of the World Series happened Thursday: Albert Pujols left the St. Louis Cardinals to si...

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - "No One Is (As I Are Be)"

Yeah, I still love the guy after all this time. And who can resist these lines: "I cannot even do one sit-up. Sit-ups are so bourgeoisi...

'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol' review

To call the new Mission: Impossible the best of the series isn't that much of a stretch. To be honest, I've never really loved any ...

'New Year's Eve' review

For what it's worth, I didn't think Valentine's Day was the worst thing in the world. Now, that's not to say that I liked it...

Saying Goodbye to The Projector

Today, I got the sad news that Yahoo is pulling the plug on The Projector , the film site I ran with Will Leitch . As many of you know, Will...

Chic - "I Want Your Love"

Seriously, see Shame as soon as you can. A fantastic film. In honor of Shame , let's do some "I Want Your Love," which shows ...

'coriolanus' review

Ralph Fiennes is an absolute monster in the bloody, gripping Coriolanus . It's the sort of Shakespeare adaptation that inspires "th...

'the lady' review

Having action filmmaker Luc Besson direct a biopic about Aung San Suu Kyi might seem like an odd pairing, but The Lady .... well, yes, it is...

madvillain - all caps

One of the tough things about picking a single track off Madvillainy to spotlight is that there isn't exactly a standout track: It'...

'hugo' review

Martin Scorsese is known for his dark tales of New York City life, but he heads off to 1930s Paris for "Hugo," his first family fi...

'arthur christmas' review

I'm in the minority on Arthur Christmas , an animated family movie I thought was merely OK. What can I say, my heart is three sizes too ...

u2 - numb

You know, I still really dig Zooropa .

'the muppets' review

For the first several reels, The Muppets is very nearly perfect. It slows down after that, unfortunately, but its cheerful, idealistic spiri...

'tyrannosaur' review

Actor Paddy Considine makes his feature directorial debut with Tyrannosaur , the sort of tough, bleak film that lives or dies by the strengt...

'beginners' writer-director mike mills speaks

Beginners is a small little gem. It's out on DVD now, and I interviewed writer-director Mike Mills to talk about the movie. It was a ver...

'happy feet two' review

Happy Feet has a permanent place in my heart, and not just because my wife adores the movie. But Happy Feet Two isn't nearly as special...

'the adventures of tintin' review

It's not high praise to say that Steven Spielberg has rebounded from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull with his new fil...

matthew sweet - into your drug

I got into a Matthew Sweet kick on Spotify and stumbled across his greatest-hits collection, Time Capsule . Decent overview, but where's...

'immortals' review

Big muscles! Big fights scenes! Big speeches! Welcome to the world of Immortals , which I reviewed for Screen International . I wish I like...

'jack and jill' review

I didn't like Jack and Jill so much, but rather than just ripping on it, I decided to spend some time in my review trying to figure out ...

eddie murphy and brett ratner exit the oscars

For The Projector last night, I wrote about Brett Ratner's resignation as Oscar producer. Then this morning, we found out that Eddie Mu...

'j. edgar' review

It's practically stop-the-presses news to announce that I didn't hate J. Edgar . A lot of folks do , but I actually think it's a...

'Haywire' review

Man, oh man, Haywire is a lot of fun. This is Steven Soderbergh just rolling up his sleeves and having a blast, and while the movie does eve...

lou reed - baton rouge

Because I've been concentrating on Lulu a lot lately, I've been thinking about Lou Reed's career some. So here's a personal...

lou reed and metallica - 'lulu' review

Oh, Lulu , why does everyone hate you so ? You're not that bad at all, actually -- just a little misunderstood. I reviewed the record fo...

'a very harold & kumar 3D christmas' review

I really enjoyed the first Harold & Kumar and didn't care much for the sequel . Now we have A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas ,...

'charlotte rampling: the look' review

I've always liked Charlotte Rampling as an actress, but I gained a new appreciation for her after watching Charlotte Rampling: The Look ...

'killing bono' review

U2 fans who want to know about the band's early days in Dublin will get a kick out of Neil McCormick's memoir, I Was Bono's Dopp...

'janie jones' review

I'm still trying to catch up after being gone for a few days, but I reviewed Janie Jones , the low-budget indie starring Abigail Breslin...

massive attack - protection

OK, not the full-length version off the album. But nonetheless, still a total killer.

'anonymous' review

Probably like you, I didn't have much faith in Roland Emmerich making a movie about the conspiracy theory that argues that William Shake...

'like crazy' review

This year's Sundance dramatic competition turned out to be a pretty strong one. Higher Ground , Take Shelter , Martha Marcy May Marlene ...

Coldplay - 'Mylo Xyloto' review

Apparently, any intelligent person worth his salt absolutely hates Coldplay. You wouldn't want to be caught dead liking these guys -- it...

'father of invention' review

Were you aware that Kevin Spacey has a movie out? Well, too late, it's already gone from theaters. Father of Invention is a comedy in wh...

uncle tupelo - new madrid

It's now been 18 years since the final Uncle Tupelo album, Anodyne , was released. Here's "New Madrid" off it. Yes, a Jeff...

'le havre' review

The latest from filmmaker Aki Kaurismaki, Le Havre , opens this weekend in New York and Los Angeles. I reviewed this gentle, likable fable f...

'being elmo' review

I can't be the only person who finds Elmo kinda annoying, right? But even if you are like me, you may still very much enjoy Being Elmo ,...

'oranges and sunshine' review

Oranges and Sunshine is based on the true story of Margaret Humphreys, a social worker who exposed a horrible secret about child deportation...

'paranormal activity 3' review

Has a franchise other than Paranormal Activity ever gotten progressively better with each installment? (Maybe The Lord of the Rings .) Much ...

'The Catechism Cataclysm' review

The Catechism Cataclysm played as part of Sundance's Park City at Midnight section, but it's not nearly weird and/or offensive and/o...

'martha marcy may marlene' review

One of the big sensations at this year's Sundance, Martha Marcy May Marlene is pretty much as good as advertised. Even if Elizabeth Olse...

jane's addiciton - 'the great escape artist' review

Don't tell anyone, but I was never a big Jane's Addiction fan. (Too hippie-dippy mystical for me.) But, hey, I am a man with open ea...

'the rum diary' review

Johnny Depp's second adaptation of a Hunter S. Thompson novel, The Rum Diary , is more effective than his first, Fear and Loathing in La...

bon iver - beth/rest

The final track off Bon Iver's new self-titled album is some sort of throwing down of the gauntlet. "You think I'm a sappy wimp...

'the big year' review

Marley & Me got me but good -- it's that rare tearjerker that's actually well-done -- but director David Frankel's new film,...

'footloose' review

There's cheesy-good and cheesy-bad, and then there's Footloose , which is cheesy-so-so. I reviewed the film for Yahoo , where I can ...

'trespass' review

In 2011, a movie starring Nicolas Cage and directed by Joel Schumacher shouldn't inspire much confidence in anyone. And, alas, Trespass ...

'fireflies in the garden' review

Did you know there's a movie coming out on Friday that stars Julia Roberts and Ryan Reynolds? Well, there is, and it's called Firefl...

tom petty - i'll feel a whole lot better

The Byrds originally recorded "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better," which you can hear here , but I've always been partial to To...

blink-182 - 'neighborhoods' review

Just catching up on this, but for About I reviewed Blink-182's big comeback/reunion album, Neighborhoods . I never loved them back in th...

'1911' review

Jackie Chan gets serious for 1911 , a war drama tied to the 100th anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution. As someone who doesn't pretend t...

'dream house' review

How can a movie that stars Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, and Naomi Watts (and is directed by Jim Sheridan) not be screened in advance for crit...

fruit bats - you're too weird

I am shocked and embarrassed that I have yet to pick up the new Fruit Bats album, Tripper . I also can't believe I hadn't seen this ...

'margaret' review

It's hard to say what's the saddest thing about Margaret . Is it that it's the long-delayed follow-up film from Kenneth Lonergan...

'sarah palin: you betcha!' review

Sarah Palin: You Betcha! is not grade-A Nick Broomfield, but it's still an engaging, breezy documentary into the former Alaska governor...

'take shelter' review

Yeah, Take Shelter is terrific. Writer-director Jeff Nichols and star Michael Shannon performed their magic first in 2007's Shotgun Stor...

'the whale' review

So, Ryan Reynolds' best movie of 2011 definitely isn't Green Lantern or The Change-Up . It's the documentary The Whale , which h...

'my joy' review

My Joy is a Russian drama that calls to mind the bare-bones stories popular in Romanian cinema, but it's more existential and mysterious...

wilco - 'the whole love' review

I'm one of those weirdos who has preferred Wilco's post- Yankee Hotel Foxtrot / A Ghost Is Born period to all the ones that came bef...

'thunder soul' review

On Friday, I reviewed Thunder Soul , a documentary about the Kashmere Stage Band. It's a very likable film that isn't quite as deep...

r.e.m. - try not to breathe

Yeah, I'm still bummed out about the R.E.M. news . So here's a little "Try Not to Breathe."

'weekend' review

If it's playing in your area, seek out Weekend , a sweet, simple drama directed by Andrew Haigh. If you're the type to be unnerved b...

'machine gun preacher' review

Gerard Butler gives one of his better performances -- which, I realize, isn't saying all that much -- in Machine Gun Preacher , an inspi...

'puncture' review

Chris Evans goes dark and indie for Puncture , a legal drama based on a true story. Turns out the true story is more interesting than the mo...

toronto film festival 2011, from worst to best

If it hadn't been for a nasty cold that wiped out the last two-and-a-half days of my trip, I would have easily logged over 30 films duri...

'your sister's sister' review

Humpday is one of my favorite recent American indies, so I was excited to see what writer-director Lynn Shelton would do next. That turns ou...

'twixt' review

Francis Ford Coppola continues his late-career adventurousness with Twixt , a moody, loopy horror thingy starring Val Kilmer. And parts of i...

trent reznor and atticus ross - in motion

If I had to list my 10 happiest film moments of the year, I think one of them would be Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross winning the Oscar for t...

'take this waltz' review

One of the happier surprises at this year's Toronto Film Festival has been Take This Waltz , the follow-up film from Away From Her direc...

'rampart' review

Director Oren Moverman reunites with Woody Harrelson, his star from "The Messenger," for his new film, "Rampart." It...

'alps' review

Dogtooth was a disturbing, original drama. (Or was it a dark comedy?) Regardless, director Yorgos Lanthimos is back with a new film that...

'into the abyss' review

Werner Herzog's latest documentary is one of his strongest in years, mostly because he stays out of the way. It's called Into the Ab...

'the descendants' review

Alexander Payne's new movie, The Descendants , sneaks up on you. It's not quite as sharp as his About Schmidt , but it's in the ...

the sundays - here's where the story ends

Dreamy folk-pop modern rock circa 1990 for your Friday morning. I was about the only person I knew who owned Reading, Writing and Arithmetic...

'moneyball' review

Hi, everyone. I'm covering the Toronto Film Festival for The Projector , and my first review is up. It's Moneyball , which really sh...

'warrior' review

Miracle is probably the best sports movie of the last 10 years, so I had high hopes for director Gavin O'Connor's latest, Warrior . ...

'shark night 3d' review

Put me in the camp of people who found Snakes on a Plane big, dumb ludicrous fun. That movie was directed by David R. Ellis. His latest is S...

'apollo 18' review

Shock of shocks, I didn't hate Apollo 18 like a lot of folks did. Actually, I found it enjoyable enough. My review is up at Screen Int...

serge gainsbourg and brigitte bardot - bonnie and clyde

The French biopic Gainsbourg , about singer Serge Gainsbourg, is out this weekend, so a little "Bonnie and Clyde" seemed appropria...

'gainsbourg: a heroic life' review

I first saw Gainsbourg back in the spring of 2010 when I was part of the jury for COL-COA . I liked it then, and I liked it again when I re...

'a good old fashioned orgy' review

Jason Sudeikis seems destined to be a movie star, but if that happens A Good Old Fashioned Orgy won't be one of the first films mention...

red hot chili peppers - 'i'm with you' review

Every four years or so, Red Hot Chili Peppers emerge from their L.A. lairs and put out essentially the exact same album. This drives other p...

dj shadow - I gotta rokk

DJ Shadow's new album, The Less You Know the Better , comes out next month. I know a lot of folks gave up on Shadow after The Outsider ,...

'chasing madoff' review

I don't think there would be many people who wouldn't like to learn how Bernie Madoff finally got his comeuppance. So why is the doc...

'higher ground' review

Vera Farmiga's directorial debut, Higher Ground , is really special. Though flawed, it's impressively nuanced in its portrait of a w...

'don't be afraid of the dark' review

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark isn't a great movie, but it's an enjoyably nasty/cheesy/atmospheric one. As I told a friend while wa...

fountains of wayne - michael and heather at the baggage claim

I did some traveling recently, which means getting on an airplane, flying, landing somewhere else, and then waiting for your bags. "Mic...

'amigo' review

John Sayles is a filmmaker I love, but I have to admit that he hasn't made a great film in quite a while. Sadly, his latest, Amigo , is ...

'flypaper' review

Flypaper is a heist-gone-wrong comedy starring Patrick Dempsey and Ashley Judd. Did I mention it's also terrible? Well, it is. Man, is i...

radiohead - codex

I decided to revisit The King of Limbs recently to see if it had grown on me at all. Sadly, it had not. I think it's their weakest albu...

'littlerock' review

Littlerock is a micro-budget indie from director Mike Ott that opens Friday in New York. It's a small film that won the "Someone to...

death cab for cutie - death of an interior decorator

Yes, it's true: Ben Gibbard once wrote a song inspired by Woody Allen's Interiors , which is a pretty underrated film of his. "...

'rise of the planet of the apes' review

I think a running theme in a lot of reviews for Rise of the Planet of the Apes will be "Wow, what a pleasant surprise." That'...

'mysteries of lisbon' review

Director Raul Ruiz's Mysteries of Lisbon is a 257-minute-long soap opera about an orphan boy looking for his parents. That's just on...

'the change-up' review

In theory, I'd watch just about anything with Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman in it. But that theory is tested by The Change-Up , a very...

'bellflower' review

Bellflower is the audacious debut of writer-director-star Evan Glodell. Its first two acts are really terrific, but, man oh man, I wish its ...

drive-by truckers - 'ugly buildings, whores & politicians' review

Drive-By Truckers have never had a hit, but that didn't keep them from releasing Ugly Buildings, Whores & Politicians: Greatest Hits...

george michael - cowboys and angels

Are my wife and I the only ones who have sometimes accidentally called the Cowboys & Aliens movie Cowboys & Angels because of the ...

'the smurfs' review

I really liked the Smurfs as a kid. My hometown barber had little plastic Smurfs all over his shop. (I'm not sure why he collected them....

'the interrupters' review

If you asked me to name the best movie of the last 20 years, I'd probably go with Hoop Dreams , the documentary by director Steve James ...

'cowboys & aliens' review

Cowboys & Aliens has such a fun hook -- it's right there in the title -- that it's a shame the movie isn't more fun than it...

'the guard' review

The Guard is the feature debut of writer-director John Michael McDonagh, who has concocted a minor charmer that's a comedy, a thriller, ...

'the future' review

Miranda July's new film, The Future , is a nice improvement on her debut, the overly cutesy Me and You and Everyone We Know , which ever...

'life in a day' review

Life in a Day has a clever, gimmicky concept: Director Kevin Macdonald asked people around the world to film their lives on July 24, 2010. T...

talking heads - this must be the place (naive melody)

A couple incidents conspired to make this my Friday Video this week. First, I caught (for the first time) Stop Making Sense on the big scree...

'captain america: the first avenger' review

Captain America is a defiantly square, old-fashioned action movie. Others have compared it to Raiders of the Lost Ark , but I see it as anot...

'crazy, stupid, love' review

Steve Carell is the star and one of the producers of Crazy, Stupid, Love. , a disappointingly sitcom-y adult romantic drama. The other trade...

'friends with benefits' review

I enjoyed Easy A , so I had hopes for director Will Gluck's next film, Friends With Benefits , with Mila Kunis and hey-didn't-you-us...

'another earth' review

The Sundance hit Another Earth opens on Friday. It's a mess of a movie ... and yet it still works. Barely. I explain why over at Yahoo .

'the myth of the american sleepover' review

The Myth of the American Sleepover , the debut of writer-director David Robert Mitchell, is a special, understated coming-of-age film. It...

the verve - sonnet

Because I find it pretty and comforting.

'tabloid' review

Errol Morris returns with his latest documentary, Tabloid . I think it's one of his best in recent years. I explain why over at Yahoo .

'harry potter and the deathly hallows - part 2' review

Well, that's it. No more Harry Potter movies ever. I'm not entirely sad about that since I've only really loved two installments...

'the undefeated' review

Last month, I wrote about my genuine interest in The Undefeated , the pro-Sarah Palin documentary that comes out this weekend in select the...

faith no more - midnight cowboy

I was thinking about "Easy," the Commodores' song that's featured in Zookeeper . And I was thinking, "Hey, Faith No M...

'project nim' review

Folks, I thought Project Nim was quite impressive. Director James Marsh has topped his estimable Man on Wire with this new documentary, whic...

'zookeeper' review

I like Kevin James. Really, I do. I thought he was really fun in Hitch , which made me hopeful he could transition from TV to film smoothly....

'a little help' review

Jenna Fischer of The Office stretches her acting muscles a bit with A Little Help , a comedy-drama indie about a young wife and mother whose...

'rapt' review

I first saw Rapt last spring as part of COLCOA . I thought it was pretty great then, and I still think it's pretty great now. My review ...

cee lo green - bright lights bigger city

Have a great Fourth everyone. I picked this song specifically because of how nicely it's used in a movie that comes out this weekend. (H...

'monte carlo' review

Monte Carlo is getting very little buzz, but, honestly, it's better than both Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Larry Crowne . That do...

'larry crowne' review

I've always liked Tom Hanks. That's what made watching Larry Crowne all the more painful. That's not the only reason, though. I ...

'terri' review

One of the best reviewed movies of the summer is Terri , a tart coming-of-age comedy-drama starring John C. Reilly and Jacob Wysocki. I'...

limp bizkit - 'gold cobra' review

Much to my surprise, Limp Bizkit's comeback album, Gold Cobra , is just like the Limp Bizkit of the late '90s: bratty, whiny, and, y...

'transformers: dark of the moon' review

This should explain what an eternal optimist I am: I actually had faith that Transformers: Dark of the Moon might be good. Michael Bay kept...

Derek and the Dominos - "Bell Bottom Blues"

You know, Layla has other great songs than just the title track. "Bell Bottom Blues" is a real standout. (Oh, and that stuff Clapt...

'bad teacher' review

After last night's screening of Bad Teacher , my wife commented that the movie wasn't as bad as she was expecting. Sadly, it was alm...

'a better life' review

I know a few critics who have cried at the ending of A Better Life , an illegal immigrant drama set in Los Angeles. I don't deny its imp...

'if a tree falls' review

If a Tree Falls is a documentary that looks at the Earth Liberation Front, a group of radical environmental activists. For Yahoo, I discuss ...

'bernie' review

Last night's opening film for the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival was Richard Linklater's Bernie . Starring Jack Black, it's base...

'green lantern' review

My love for Ryan Reynolds continues. He's a funny, intensely likable actor, which made me even sadder that Green Lantern isn't bette...

paul simon - rewrite

An odd choice for a Father's Day song, perhaps, but I've really been feeling "Rewrite" off Paul Simon's latest album. ...

'the art of getting by' review

You can't really hate The Art of Getting By , a coming-of-age indie film starring Freddie Highmore and Emma Roberts. It's sincere an...

'buck' review

Buck is a documentary about Buck Brannaman, a modern-day cowboy who teaches people how to train their horses. He's a soft-spoken man who...

'page one: a year inside the new york times' review

I found Page One: A Year Inside the New York Times to be a pretty fascinating film. But I'm a bit of a media nerd. Will normal humans b...

best coast - goodbye

"I've had people say, 'Oh, your voice is reminiscent of Liz Phair.' And I take that as a huge compliment, but I don't ...

'the trip' review

Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon play fictional versions of themselves in The Trip , a funny and oddly touching little comedy about two friends d...

'super 8' review

While I was watching Super 8 , I was thinking a lot about Fringe , the sci-fi show J.J. Abrams co-created that I used to recap for Vulture ...

jessica lea mayfield - our hearts are wrong

Jessica Lea Mayfield turns 22 in August. I seem incapable of escaping her new-ish single, "Our Hearts Are Wrong," no matter where ...

'film socialisme' review

You may remember that I first saw Jean Luc-Godard's Film Socialisme last year during AFI Fest . (It didn't go so well: The digital ...

'submarine' review

Submarine is a slight, charming film about a Max Fischer-esque teen trying to find his way. Most critics seem to love it more than I do. My ...

drive-by truckers - goddamn lonely love

Happy Memorial Day weekend, folks. Be safe out there. And may you never feel that goddamn lonely love.

'The Tree of Life' review

The Tree of Life is boldly ambitious, stunning conceived, and occasionally transporting. Unfortunately, it's also probably Terrence Mal...

'tuesday, after christmas' review

At this point, just about any movie from Romania interests me. The Death of Mr. Lazarescu ... 4 M onths, 3 Weeks and 2 Days ... Police, Ad...

'kung fu panda 2' review

The first Kung Fu Panda was a real charmer. After years of "hip" (read: lame) DreamWorks animated films, Kung Fu Panda actually ha...

sebadoh - not too amused

Finally, someone got the bright idea of marrying Sebadoh's wonderfully angst-ridden lo-fi rock to an old Popeye cartoon....

'midnight in paris' review

Midnight in Paris is a real charmer. It's modest and likeable and funny. Is that enough? It is for me: I reviewed the film for Yahoo .

thoughts on terrence malick

On Monday, Terrence Malick's new film, The Tree of Life , premieres at Cannes. I took the opportunity to reflect back on the director...

vampire weekend - giving up the gun

Yes, you've probably already seen this video. But is it not amusing? And, really, "Giving Up the Gun" is something of a time-c...

'pirates of the caribbean: on stranger tides' review

The initial reviews suggest I'm all by lonesome in thinking that Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides stinks. Folks, I think it ...

'dylan dog: dead of night' review

I always thought Brandon Routh got a raw deal with Superman Returns . He played the part perfectly as a loving, dead-on homage to Christophe...

elvis costello and burt bacharach - this house is empty now

Remember when it seemed like Elvis Costello was making every other album with some sort of high-profile collaborator? 1998's Painted Fro...

'something borrowed' review

Oh, Something Borrowed , there's a kernel of a good idea embedded within your movie: Why couldn't you find it? And, seriously, Kate ...

'thor' review

My review of Thor in five words: "Sue me, I liked it." My review of Thor in 860 words you can see over at Yahoo .

beastie boys - ricky's theme

The Beastie Boys are offering a free stream of their new album, Hot Sauce Committee Part Two , so naturally I've been thinking a lot ab...

'jumping the broom' review

Jumping the Broom starts with a promising idea, but then it becomes essentially the African-American version of all those bad, melodramatic...

'prom' review

If I was 13 years old, I wonder what I'd make of Prom , the high school comedy-drama coming from Disney this Friday. The movie sure make...

'the beaver' review

Well, after all the wait, The Beaver will finally be coming out May 6. I just saw the Mel Gibson comedy-drama-satire and reviewed it for Scr...

fruit bats - the earthquake of '73

Five years ago, I got married to an amazing woman. This was the song for our first dance. I still get happy whenever it pops up on shuffle.

'incendies' review

Incendies was the Canadian entry for this year's Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. It's an involving drama, but also a really frust...

'meeting spencer' review

Consider the career of Jeffrey Tambor. Most people my age know him as the obnoxious sideman to Larry Sanders on The Larry Sanders Show and t...

frank ocean - we all try

Frank Ocean is a member of Odd Future, and his new gratis album is Nostalgia, Ultra . (Really, go to his site and download it for yourself ....

'scream 4' review

Wasn't the first Scream really fun? Well, that was 15 years ago, folks. Which brings us to this weekend's Scream 4 . It's better...

sidney lumet has died

Director Sidney Lumet died on Saturday at the age of 86. The first year I was a member of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, we gave ...

de la soul - eye know

You may have read that, among other albums, De La Soul's 3 Feet High and Rising and Steely Dan's Aja were added to the National Re...

'meek's cutoff' review

I first saw Meek's Cutoff in Toronto. Catching it near the end of the festival, I was fully aware of all the praise director Kelly Reic...

'meet monica velour' review

Meet Monica Velour is a low-budget indie about a dorky teenager who's obsessed with a porn star from the 1980s, played by Sex and the Ci...

foo fighters - 'wasting light' review

Being a Foo Fighters fan isn't easy these days. Foo Fighters and The Colour and the Shape are albums that most people can agree are goo...

'hanna' review

Thus far, people seem to be pretty high on Hanna . Me, I think the action sequences are superb, but the rest of it? Ah, that's where thi...

'your highness' review

Defiantly, gleefully vulgar and crass, Your Highness is definitely funny in a "I can't really believe I'm laughing at this...

2011 baseball predictions

I figured I might as well put these up somewhere so that I can have a document of them in case I'm right. I won't be, just so you kn...

sleigh bells - infinity guitars

"Infinity Guitars" is being used in some commercial currently -- I can't remember which one right now, and I don't feel li...

'hop' review

Hop is probably going to do pretty well this weekend. And, hey, it's got a darn cute bunny as its main character. But, lordy, is it gene...

'source code' review

Source Code has a lot going for it, so why isn't it more fun? I examine that question in much detail over at Yahoo .

'in a better world' review

Bad movies win Oscars all the time. Look at Braveheart . Or Crash . And now let us add director Susanne Bier's In a Better World to that...

'trust' review

David Schwimmer's Trust is about a very serious subject: the rape of a 14-year-old girl by an Internet predator. But the movie is one of...

bob mould - sunspots

With Husker Du, Bob Mould was probably best known for crafting corrosive rock songs. But the dude has a gift for the pretty as well. Here...

'sucker punch' review

I think I actually like Sucker Punch more than a lot of my colleagues -- and I don't really like it. My Yahoo review goes into why I th...

'miral' review

I try not to let expectations (high or low) influence my reading of a film, but after all the horrible things I've heard about Miral , I...