Subject: Will Smith

• The 2008 MTV Movie Awards Turn Back the Clock

  June 2, 2008

• Houstonians Think They're Great, Unlike All Those Other Houstonians

  October 17, 2008

• Guilty Pleasures, Part II

  More music figures confess their deep, dark secrets

  January 6, 2005

• Ralph Macchio: The One and Only Karate Kid

  No, my God, NO! There is only one Daniel LaRusso and his name is Ralph “Stone Fox” Macchio! Such was my reaction when I heard word this week that Will Smith’s nauseatingly adorable son Jaden is scheduled to remake the classic 80s film The Karate Kid. Now I have nothing against Will Smith’s kid (although I do think a little nepotism must be at work here), but such news is enough to make me want to crane kick my computer (or at least drink a little sake).

  November 20, 2008

• Five Spot: Prince Drives Us to Distraction

  Welcome back to The Five Spot, another new Rocks Off recurrent. Every Friday (but sometimes Monday), we'll examine a recent bit of music news and list five reasons why it's either brilliant or dumb-assed. Send tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. So we were all pumped about the songs that the enigmatic Prince leaked from his upcoming album - essentially, he called up some personnel at an L.A. indie-rock station, brainstormed about a possible non-record-label release with them, then offere

  December 22, 2008

• Anatomy of a Scam

  January 20, 1994

• Short People

  July 14, 1994

• Action by the Book

  April 13, 1995

• Turning the Screw: Soulbrotha, Slim Thug, Will Smith, Lil Wayne/Michael Phelps, Jodeci, DMX, MC Hammer, Yungstar and More

  Welcome back to Turning the Screw, Rocks Off's weekly rap post. It probably won't rhyme, at least most of the time. E-mail tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Thanks, homies. Single of the Week: "Viva La Revolucion," Soulbrotha Wire To Wire Slim Thug says March will be highlighted by the release of Boss of All Bosses. Scarface is on there, which is great. Paul Wall is on there too, which makes us want to run through a wall.  Will Smith, the greatest actor of all time, would like to po

  January 19, 2009

• The Houston Suburb Known As The Hill Country

  The LBJ Ranch, just minutes outside the 610 loopThings we learned today: The Hill Country is a suburb of Houston. At least to Canadians.The National Post, a Canadian newspaper, took note that Barack Obama was the first "urban" president in a long while.They had to stretch things a bit, saying that JFK "made his primary home at the six-acre Kennedy Compound in small-town Hyannis, Mass.," even though he's thought of pretty much as a Boston guy.They tried to make their point by noting where preside

  January 23, 2009

• Beat the Heat!

  May 23, 1996

• Alienating

  July 4, 1996

• Good-bye to Summer

  September 5, 1996

• Galactic Mediocrity

  July 3, 1997

• Static

  January 1, 1998

• Movie Starr?

  December 3, 1998

• Tommy Davidson

  February 26, 2009

• Moments the Grammy Awards Would Rather Forget

  February 5, 2009

• It's a Miserable Life in Seven Pounds

  Will Smith encores his Pursuit of Happyness

  December 18, 2008

• The Day the Plot Stood Still

  Sci-fi remake misses the point, and that's a Klaatu barada no-no

  December 11, 2008

• The Karate Kid

  Web exclusive!

  November 20, 2008

• Hancock Is A Superzero

  The movie squanders potential greatness with lame humor and a half-baked hero

  July 3, 2008

• Last Comic Standing Auditions and Showcase

  NBC’s comedy reality show hunts Houston for humor

  February 21, 2008

• I Am Legend

  That old "last man on earth" setup? It really works

  December 13, 2007

• Jada's Wicked

  May 18, 2006

• Rich Man, Poor Man

  Rags-to-riches flick declares: Money does indeed buy happi(y)ness

  December 14, 2006

• The Hipster's Guide to Rock and Roll Vendettas

  And you thought rappers were the only ones who had beefs

  August 11, 2005

• Just One Hitch

  Will Smith helps others find love, though probably not with this movie

  February 10, 2005

• Method Rocking

  Minnie Driver and Juliette Lewis have started bands. Come on, you know you're curious.

  January 13, 2005

• Floundering

  Cruel, vapid and unfunny, this Shark bites

  September 30, 2004

• Beautiful Music

  The young and the younger flock to John Mayer and Maroon 5

  July 22, 2004

• Jersey Hurl

  For Kevin Smith, growing up means selling out

  March 25, 2004

• Teenage Wasteland

  Two artists ask how boys become men in a videocracy

  March 11, 2004

• Bash-ing the Bigwigs

  Come Super Bowl week, you can still party downtown, even if you're not very important

  January 22, 2004

• Computer Error

  When it comes to local facts, don't rely on Allmusic.com

  November 27, 2003

• Think Different

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

  May 29, 2003

• Black Gold

  A gusher lay beneath the surface, but you had to drill deep

  December 26, 2002

• Bet on Black

  If there's a sure crowd-pleaser this summer, it's the fast-paced spectacle that is MIIB

  July 4, 2002

• Sting Like a Bee

  Ali lands some solid blows, but sadly it's no knockout

  December 27, 2001

• A Snooze Runs Through It

  Redford's Bagger Vance substitutes pretty for powerful

  November 2, 2000

• Fresh Princess

  Tatyana Ali's back, all right, along with more face stars than you can shake a booty at

  July 15, 1999

• Shake a "Legg"

  An odd Dallas dance has completely taken over Main Street.

  May 7, 2009

• Turning the Screw: Bun B, Trae & Lil Keke, Rihanna, Snoop, Eminem vs. Nick Cannon, Jay-Z, T.I., E-40, South Park Mexican and More

  Welcome back to Turning the Screw, Rocks Off's weekly rap post. It probably won't rhyme, at least most of the time. E-mail tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Thanks, homies. Single of the Week: "Grey Cassette," Trae feat Bun B and Lil Keke Wire To Wire Ummm, we're not going to link to them, but should you be curious to see some pictures of Rihanna sans clothes, you presumably know how Google works. (And, wow.) All is not well in the house that Run built: Jo-Jo arrested. Snoop Dogg does not ha

  May 11, 2009

• Five Songs For That Glorious Last Day Of School

  As Alice Cooper once sang, "School's out for summer." And we've heard that song played again and again and again on the radio on the last day of school ad infinitum every year since. And I'm sure we'll here it today, somehow, someway, somewhere...And just as you can't really avoid putting "Rock You Like a Hurricane" on your storm-party jam list, you really can't have an end of the school year playlist without "School's Out," so yeah, there it is. The same goes for Green Day's "Good Riddance (T

  May 28, 2009

• Five Songs For That Glorious Last Day Of School

  As Alice Cooper once sang, "School's out for summer." And we've heard that song played again and again and again on the radio on the last day of school ad infinitum every year since. And I'm sure we'll here it today, somehow, someway, somewhere. And just as you can't really avoid putting "Rock You Like a Hurricane" on your storm-party jam list, you really can't have an end of the school year playlist without "School's Out," so yeah, there it is. The same goes for Green Day's "Good Riddance (The

  May 28, 2009

• Aftermath: Common and The Roots Crew's Private Engagment at the Corinthian, With Special Guests (Cough, "Nite and Day")

  Photos by Larami Culbertson​ 9:10 p.m.: We pull up to the front of The Corinthian and hand the car off to the valet. He says, "It's $20 plus tip." Oh, so it's $20, then? Got it. Thanks. 9:20 p.m.: Common just walked in. He's way more stout than we imagined him to be. His skin is also less clear than we were anticipating. Not sure which one is more surprising, or even why we feel the need to write this down. Is this what our life has become? Taking notes about the girth of someone's chest and t

  October 6, 2009

• Inside the Rappers Studio

  October 8, 2009

• Kick 'em While They're Down: The Worst Songs Ever Recorded For Charity

  Please take this thing away from me. Please.​ When Rocks Off received an email touting Sting's new MySpace charity video for the Prince of Wales' Rainforest Project, we almost chipped a fingernail hurriedly clicking on the link, which promised oodles of celebrities such as Olivia Newton-John, Richard E. Grant and, of course, Pelé. Naturally, we were hoping for a new godawful charity song to horrify co-workers with; Hlavaty especially can only hiss and crawl under his desk when confronted with

  October 13, 2009

• Pop Rocks: New Blood For Hollywood. Please

  ​I used to review movies (over here, if you care), an endeavor I had to quit for a variety of reasons: my hectic neurosurgery rotation, for one, as well as the increasing physical demands of the new Mrs. Vonder Haar, Carla Gugino. But among the non-imaginary factors influencing my decision was the way all those movies were starting to blur together. I attended, at most, three screenings a week, so it wasn't oversaturation. Early onset dementia? An attention span whittled to nothing by decades

  October 22, 2009

• Five Spot: Congratulations to Trae and His Family on the Birth of His New Son

  Welcome back to Five Spot. Every Friday, we'll examine a recent bit of music news and, sometimes awkwardly, tie it to a bit of Houston rap. It's five videos and occasional cussing. Send tips to introducingliston@gmail.com.​In June 2007, we became papa to twin boys. It was wild. And they were so, so beautiful the first time we saw them. Actually, "beautiful" isn't the right word; at least, not literally. That's just something fathers get used to saying because it's easier than explaining the tr

  October 23, 2009