Clint Eastwood

How to Spot Hollywood’s Nonthreatening Black Man (NTBM)

Pope Francis Who?

Five who might have inspired the name.

Pope Francis I: Who Could The Name Really Be Honoring? Five Possibilities

Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio surprised a lot of people yesterday when he chose the name he'd be using as leader of the Catholic Church: Pope Francis I. As the "I" indicates, he's the first to ever use Francis, and there have been a hell of a lot of popes before him who could have done so. About ( ... More >>

Friends In High Places: 5 Weird Actor/Musician Friendships

You or I may not be a fan of Justin Bieber, but you know who is? Mike Tyson, that's who. As Iron Mike explained a little while ago, he thinks Bieber is "pretty awesome." Apparently the ex-heavyweight champ got turned into a Belieber through his wife, who hooks Tyson up with most of his music. This ... More >>

Defending Tarantino

What critics who attack the director's borrowings miss.

MTV: Beyonce Headlining Super Bowl XLVII Halftime Show

Beyonce, native Houstonian, role model, Tumblr-keeper, wife of Jay-Z, friend and favorite of President Obama, supposedly has yet another feather to add to her headdress come February: Super Bowl Halftime headliner. According to MTV.com, the 31-year-old HSPVA alumna will be the featured entertainmen ... More >>

Which Fake Randy Travis Should You Follow?

The passion of Randy Travis has been one of the saddest and most compelling musical dramas of the past year. One of Nashville's most beloved and seemingly mild-mannered singers (now a North Texan) has suddenly gone full-on Johnny Paycheck, brawling in church parking lots, popping out to buy smokes w ... More >>

Julian Castro: Three Things We Learned About San Antonio's Mayor At Last Night's DNC

At first, it seemed strange that, on one of the most important nights for Democrats, they would open with a a guy with a sprawling white smile who no one had heard of before. But hey, Dems must have thought, it worked in 2004 -- why not play this hand again? So they did, trotting out Julian Castro ... More >>

A CHL Instructor Weighs In on the Colorado Shooting

A CHL Instructor Weighs In On The Colorado Shooting And Dispels The Claims Of Would-Be Heroes

Since Friday morning we have been inundated with opinion and speculation about the movie theater massacre in Aurora, Colorado. Yesterday the suspect James Holmes was brought before a judge, and the nation got its first look at the gunman, with his mop top of dyed orange hair and dazed -- almost care ... More >>

I Don't Know How She Did It

Margaret Thatcher as victimized woman in The Iron Lady.

The Film Issue

Looking back on the year in movies, and what's coming in 2012.

Sundance Cinemas Houston Opens Today

In a speech at last night's private grand opening party for downtown's new Sundance Cinemas, Mayor Annise Parker expressed sentiments echoed by many Houstonians, saying, "When the [Angelika Theater] closed its doors, it was like a light went off downtown." The Mayor felt the Angelika's sudden and ... More >>

Your 2011 Fall/Winter Movie Preview - Part 2

​You know the drill: the fall movie season starts today, my pretties (my review of Contagion will be up soon...there's a reason it didn't make the preview). Yesterday we covered the first half of 2011's most anticipated upcoming releases, determined through a rigorous scientific analysis consi ... More >>

25 Essential Eponymous Albums

​Eponymous: (of a literary work, film, etc) named after its central character or creator: The Stooges' eponymous debut album. On this day in 1983, a young woman from Michigan who had recently given up on a career as a hard-rock singer released her first album of electronic dance-pop, an album ... More >>

Jerry Eversole's Trial: The Winners and Losers

The youthful Eversole, before the feds started pestering him.​Jerry Eversole surprised a lot of people when he escaped conviction on bribery charges. A hung jury ended in a mistrial, but prosecutors expect to take another swing at it soon. In the meantime, everyone is poking through the wrec ... More >>

Last Night: Gorillaz At Toyota Center

Photos by Jim Bricker​ Gorillaz Toyota Center October 19, 2010 For more photos from the show, see our slideshow here. Gorillaz may have overspent on their first-ever extended tour. True, the entire concept is that the group is officially made up of four cartoon characters, so there kind of ... More >>

A Behanding in Spokane

Alley brings on the gore.

Green Zone: Win A Free DVD, And Learn Why Matt Damon Is The Best Of The Ocean's 11 Actors

Thank God Brad Pitt didn't star in this​Green Zone, by shaky-cam master Paul Greengrass, is the latest movie to try to buck the trend of box-office poison that is the Iraq War.Many have tried, but even the most celebrated of the Iraq War flicks, The Hurt Locker, wasn't a blockbuster. (Maybe ... More >>

Masters of the Universe

Two artists explore pop culture and space imagery at Art Palace.

Astro Memories, Part Two: Author/ Supermodel Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top

Photos by Bob Merlis​As we mentioned earlier, today's issue -- our annual look at Astros' Opening Day -- takes what Sarah Palin would no doubt call a "hopey-changey" approach to the 2010 season.Not for us to wallow in despair; instead we asked prominent Houstonians for their favorite Astro memorie ... More >>

Twilight Saga: New Moon: Mopery Abounds

​This review by Village Voice Media's Ella Taylor came in too late for our print edition, but we don't want you making any fang-film decisions with insufficient knowledge. So here it is:Moping at the MoonToo much angst, not enough saga in the wholesome Twilight 2By Ella TaylorBella: I'm coming.Ed ... More >>

Oh, Canada

Midway through the Toronto film fest, and things are looking bleak

Visual Overload at the Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston

"Design Life Now" showcases some interesting items — if you have the patience to find them

In the Valley of Elah

Don't let Paul Haggis's heavy hand stop you from seeing his latest

Top DVDs

Our picks for the week of May 3

Way Out of Sync

Hard Ride

Stuck with Bruce Willis in rush-hour traffic? You could always walk

Jesse Dayton

Banjo & Sullivan -- The Ultimate Collection 1972-1978

Sleep

Dopesmoker (Tee Pee Records)

Johnny's Show

Depp saves the day in Once Upon a Time in Mexico

Into the Sunset

The beautifully done Open Range still has to graze on the western's leftovers

Think Different

Could it be that this year's crop of summer movies requires a brain cell or two?

Dreaming of Bigger Things

One woman's quest for breasts

Bridges II the Bend

Two tiny publishers from Houston land the sequel to Madison County

Dead Last

Redford and Lurie wave the flag but fail to earn their stripes.

A River Ran Through It

A historic Hill Country road brought Texans to the Blanco. Then came John O'Quinn.

The Great EscApe

In two decades, Wally Swett's sanctuary has become a place of peace for primates - it's the humans that have him going bananas

Cranky Customers

Misbehaving diners

Dream On

Filmmakers responsible for the gimmicky Passion of Mind should have slept on the concept a little longer

Mission 2: Successful

With a head full of Notorious thoughts, director John Woo leads the charge in the visceral M:I-2

A Dog's Life

A former Houston Post writer recalls how she pawed her way

to the top in Hollywood

The Steve McQueen Affair

The "Steve McQueen: The King of Cool" film retrospective

Terminate This

Returning to the apocalyptic theme of T2, End of Days doesn't stand a chance in hell

Megascreen Cinemas March In

Big complexes threaten end to neighborhood era

Cryin' Shame

Too sweet tears turn Message into mush

Vile and Viral

Dead Bang

Gonzo Western The Quick and the Dead is ludicrously entertaining

End Games

Director Boaz Yakin gives a Fresh twist to tales of the drug trade

Violence, TV and Demagoguery

Congressional attempts to ax TV violence may put the First Amendment under the gun