Nicolas Cage

10 Iron Maiden T-Shirts Sure to Prove Your Metal Cred

According to the unwritten laws of concert etiquette, it's generally unacceptable to wear a band's T-shirt to their performances. It just makes you look as if you're trying a tad too hard. A notable exception to this rule, however, is the legendary Iron Maiden, who just so happen to be taking over t ... More >>

Congrats, J: 10 Graduation Gift Ideas for Justin Bieber

Teen pop sensation Justin Bieber managed to graduate from high school recently, earning his diploma from St. Michael Catholic Secondary School in Stratford, Ontario, a school that was kind enough to offer him electronic courses uncontaminated by loathsome U.S. politics. Bieber moved to Atlanta with ... More >>

Rap Round Table: Who Is the Greatest Movie Villain of All Time?

Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Each week, Rocks Off will have some of them here discussing issues relevant to their culture. This Week's Panel: E.S.G., Marcus Manchild, Renzo, Kyle Hubbard, Purple Bastard, Preemo, Mic Skills, Mac, more. Not Invited: Michael Myers, becau ... More >>

10 Bob Cratchits, Ranked from Worst to First

God bless us, everyone.​Every fan of A Christmas Carol has their favorite Scrooges -- whether it's George C. Scott, Patrick Stewart or Mr. Magoo. But the role of Bob Cratchit is also crucial, and a slew of big names have taken their shot at it, with mixed results. It can be a tough role to p ... More >>

Honey Honey: Banjos Plucked Like Foreplay

It's a well-known fact that band names are essentially gobbledygook, but here at Rocks Off we're working hard to find meaning in the oddest monikers. Trang An​Publicist Renee Harrison has a knack for finding us at our most vulnerable (hint: it's when we've almost reached the answer at the bot ... More >>

Houston Rappers Jump On Planking Craze

Uzoy, our eighth-place planking finisher.​So "planking" is an actual thing now, it appears. Great. Here's how you plank: Lie flat on something. Take a picture of it. Post it on the Internet. Here's how you plank in Houston: Lie flat on something. Take a picture of it. Send it to Slim Thug ... More >>

GT Garza Tastier Than Free Fajitas On @ItzGarza

Photos by T. Gray​Thursday evening, perennially (and unjustifiably) overlooked rapper GT Garza held a release party for his latest tape, @ItzGarza. Sponsored by Jose Cuervo, the event was held at SF2 South, a store that has suddenly become a juggernaut within the Houston hip-hop community. ... More >>

Pop Rocks: Lights, Camera, Osama

It'll be the feel-good movie of the year.​On the Geologic Internet Time Scale, the news of Osama bin Laden's death took place almost a century ago. We're already fondly recalling our whereabouts when we heard the fateful news (drinking beer and watching The Killing...NEVAR FORGET) and relivi ... More >>

Cognitive Dissonance

Unknown is yet another empty-headed vehicle for Liam Neeson.

Playing Favorites

HISD partners with the Chronicle on magnet report

If More Gary Kubiak Is Inevitable, Why Not Just Sit Back And Enjoy It?

Bob McNair: It's on him, now​"If there's a way to solve the problem without it being so traumatic -- and if you do it in a traumatic fashion, I believe it sets you back two years. So is your situation so bad that you think there's no other recourse and the only way you can solve it is to tear ... More >>

Five More Heavy Metal Christmas Carols

​Last year's unholy Christmas metal list was so popular, we decided to reach back into our quasi-Santanic bag and find five more songs for you to blare while trimming the tree and wrapping presents. We made our list too late to catch Rob Halford's Christmas album, Winter Songs. Otherwise it ... More >>

SUMMER GUIDE: (100) Days of Summer Movies

Enjoy the great indoors!

Faster Than a Speeding Internet

Superheroes in the YouTube age.

Uncle Charlie, In Considerably Fewer Words Than We Expended

www.unclecharlieart.comThis is not the Uncle Charlie art illustrating the artist's "Six Word Tale." This is.​They say less is more, and in this case they're probably right. Houston poster artist Uncle Charlie, the subject of one of Rocks Off's recent columns in his ink-and-paper Noise persona, is ... More >>

John O'Quinn's Death By Speeding On A Rain-Slicked Road A Mystery, National Enquirer Reports

​We have become all too lax in keeping up with the National Enquirer; most of the "celebrities" who are getting fat, having affairs or going to rehab in its pages are pretty much unfamiliar to us. (We know there's a dude named Gosselin who's very bad, but we don't know why, nor care.)Luckily, the ... More >>

Magical Gardens

The Edies mesmerize all at Stages Repertory Theatre in Grey Gardens.

Best Films of 2008

Looking back at Che, The Dark Knight, Milk, Slumdog Millionaire, Wall-E and many others, and looking ahead to 2009

Miss Pop Rocks Has the Flu

The Popcorn King

Rush Hour 3 director Brett Ratner has been called a fauxteur, a womanizer and, worse, over budget. Why you should take him seriously anyway.

The Metamorphosis

Boy turns bug in redemptive kiddie-lit adaptation

Houston Resolutions

Ten ways to make our town a better place

Leaning Sideways

In a year when small movies came up big, picking the best was a Payne

Film Buff

The naked truth about why Houston isn’t the third coast

Gale Farce

Kevin isn't the only thing Spacey in this overlong death penalty drama

Adapt This

If being Charlie Kaufman is no fun, watching Charlie Kaufman is a real drag

The Year of Living Dangerously

Cinema 2002 counterbalanced a treacherous world

Devil's Advocate

Audiences love Jerry Bruckheimer. Critics don't. Like he cares.

Going for the Jugular

Shadow of the Vampire explores the parasitic impulses common to bloodsuckers and moviemakers

Empty Innocence

Pretty images and sound can't overcome a pointless film

Falling in Love

Barnett Garrison had a way with women. And women had their way with Barnett Garrison.

User-Friendly Farce

Mr. Jealousy hits the mark for director Baumbach

Howler

The Jackal is a dog of a movie

Going Down

Air Force One nose-dives into an ocean of ennui

Beat the Heat!

1996 Summer Guide

Living With Lies

Cameron and Schwarzenegger take action movies in a new, and interesting, direction

The Raising Arizona Proxy

The Coen brothers' best movies couldn't make it, so they sent this one instead