Steven Spielberg

Men in Black Goes Back in Time

For President's Day: The Best Movie Portrayals of 15 Presidents

Portraying presidents on screen is always tricky. Crass imitation makes the thing look like a comedy skit, but completely ignoring the mannerisms and voice that people know doesn't work either. There have been some laughingly inept acting jobs when it comes to the 44 people who have been the countr ... More >>

Pop Rocks: Why Was I Not Informed of Halle Berry's Straight-to-DVD Shark Attack Movie?

It isn't often (well, not often enough) that a movie comes along that combines two of my favorite things. In the case of Dark Tide -- debuting On Demand March 8 and on DVD March 30 -- those things would be great white sharks and Halle Berry in a bikini. Why yes, there is a synopsis: Kate (Halle Ber ... More >>

NBC's Smash Just Might Be a Hit

Smash, the newest hopeful for an NBC success, premiered last night, and the Peacock network may have a potential hit on their hands. The show attempts to capitalize on America's latest (returned) obsession with the musical genre and has brought in some heavy hitters to assist. That it's produced by ... More >>

Pop Rocks: George, We'll Always Have The Star Wars Holiday Special

After much soul searching and agonizing (and in no way an attempt to drum up publicity in advance of his new movie), George Lucas has decided to retire from big budget movies: George Lucas's cinematic tribute to the Tuskegee Airmen, Red Tails, opens in theaters on Friday, and it might be the last ... More >>

Pop Rocks: Why the Long Face? Eight Famous Horses We'd Like to Eat

Were you thinking horse meat was going to stay off the menu in American restaurants indefinitely? Neigh: Horses could soon be butchered in the U.S. for human consumption after Congress quietly lifted a five-year-old ban on funding horse meat inspections, and activists say slaughterhouses could be u ... More >>

Pop Rocks: The "Mane" Course -- Eight Famous Horses We'd Like To Eat

Were you thinking horse meat was going to stay off the menu in American restaurants indefinitely? Neigh: Horses could soon be butchered in the U.S. for human consumption after Congress quietly lifted a 5-year-old ban on funding horse meat inspections, and activists say slaughterhouses could be up a ... More >>

Real Steel

Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Love 'Em Robots

We Want to Dine with These Five Dead Famous People

Consummate hostess: Dolley Madison.​5. Dolley Madison. Forget about Martha Stewart. As First Lady, Madison took the role of hostess to a whole new level, earning accolades for her brilliant dress, witty conversation, and terrific dinner menus. And she had moxie as well domestic graces: She off ... More >>

Leadbelly's "Midnight Special" Prison in Sugar Land Closing (Although It Might Not Be the Prison He "Wrote" It in)

Texas legislators are likely to agree to closing the century-old Central Unit prison in Sugar Land, mostly because it sits on land near the airport that can be developed. It's one of several Texas Department of Criminal Justice units in the area; a compound of four units is nearby in unincorporated ... More >>

Planet of the Aping

Too much sci-fi, not enough SNL in Paul.

“Manuel Miranda: Nearly Human. Nearly Animal”

Too much sci-fi, not enough SNL in Paul.

Death by Eastwood

Saint Clint chokes the life out of Hereafter.

Pop Rocks: It's All Michael Bay's Fault

​Most of my life has been spent seeking out a unifying theory of suckitude in the entertainment universe, "entertainment" in this sense meaning movies, music, and television. Originally, I'd hoped to find someone whose utter horribleness spanned the entire artistic firmament (including literat ... More >>

A Preview Of The 2010 WorldFest, And A Chance To Win Big And See Stuff For Free

The 43rd annual WorldFest kicks off this Friday. The "fiercely independent" film festival is one of the oldest international fests in the country, and the oldest independent festival in the world. Many directors you may have heard of received their first awards here, including Steven Spielberg, Joh ... More >>

The Week in TV: We Can Only Mock the Living

​It's almost Christmas, I'm tired of shopping, and I keep yelling "sharkfarts" at everyone. This was the week in TV Land: • Most of the major shows and networks were in repeats this week, which threw my viewing habits off a bit. It's not like I only watch the big four networks; in fact, I ... More >>

No Exclamation Point Necessary

The Informant! gets cute with massive corporate scandal and blows the story.

The Color Purple Comes Back To Finish Its Ike-Shortened Run

Photo by Paul KolnikHSPVA's Kristopher Thompson-Bolden, on the far left with the white neckerchief. Last year, one of the casualties of Hurricane Ike was The Color Purple's national-tour stopover in Houston. It was supposed to be here for a two-week run, but that was halved thanks to the post-s ... More >>

The Curious Case of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Old Man Pitt

The Top Five Ballsiest Actors From Texas

Old Man Pitt

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Julian Schnabel sees only treacle in the story that inspired his Diving Bell

The Force Is Strong With This One

Julian Schnabel sees only treacle in the story that inspired his Diving Bell

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.

Christian Bale

What won't the best actor of his generation do for a role? Not much.

Transformers

As giant robots transform all around us (!), it's good to know Michael Bay won't ever change

Magic Touch

Fantastical meets political in this stunning for-adults-only fairy tale

Tube Boobs

American Dreamz's nation of idiots lands a little close to home

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

American Dreamz's nation of idiots lands a little close to home

Get Gertie

A man wants a Date with Drew, and he's not a stalker ... really

Walking Tall

Jack Massing of the Art Guys sports a new pair of kicks

Do the Indie Thing

WorldFest celebrates the obscure

Dead-On Dead End

Quiet, quirky Morvern Callar chases her freedom

Old News

Reissues dominated, but an international crop of films yielded a good harvest

Joystick Cinema

It's man vs. machinima when video games become, ahem, movies

Eyes Half Open

Cameron Crowe takes Jerry Maguire on a dizzy trip through dreamland

War on War Books

Donald Miller has (re)written one of the best books on World War II, but will anyone care?

Kiss of Death

A needless love triangle deflates the tense sniper showdown in Gates

Los Gringos Locos

Julia Roberts's and Brad Pitt's performances go straight south in The Mexican

Broken and Battered

How the twist ending left M. Night Shyamalan twisting in the breeze

Roadkill

Remember American Pie? This is the same Trip.

The Sound of Money

Remember American Pie? This is the same Trip.

Moved by the Spirit

Post-slavery Beloved unleashes emotions

Letters

Post-slavery Beloved unleashes emotions

Tube Message

Everyman's Jim Carrey examines TV's omnipotence in The Truman Show

No Going Forward

Edward Burns hasn't improved with practice

Sound Check

Edward Burns hasn't improved with practice

New Studio, Same Old Stuff

DreamWorks's first film is a conventional tale of glam and guns

Going Down

Air Force One nose-dives into an ocean of ennui

Galactic Mediocrity

Men in Black thinks small and tries too hard

Prisoners of Bore

Bruce Beresford's Paradise Road ends up leading nowhere