ghosts of cite soleil

This documentary about power, poverty, and gangs in the Haitian slums opens today in New York. It's not a pretty picture, but it's one worth seeking out.

the hidden gems of elvis costello

Elvis Costello is on the road this summer to promote his new reissues, The Best of Elvis Costello: The First 10 Years and Rock and Roll Music. Over at VH1, I take a look into his lesser-known but still worthy album cuts and outtakes. It was hard cutting my list down to just 10 tracks.

white stripes

Icky Thump is easily the band's loudest record. It's also one of their best. Elsewhere in Consumables, I take on Wilco, Bruce Springsteen and R.E.M.'s cover of a John Lennon song.

los angeles film festival

While we can lament that 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days was a last-minute scratch, the Los Angeles Film Festival starts tonight and there are plenty of worthy films to see. Here's but a sampling.

you kill me

Ben Kingsley and Tea Leoni make for a fun (if unlikely) romantic pairing in You Kill Me, an offbeat hit-man comedy from director John Dahl.

evan almighty

At last. A comedy about a flood wiping out humanity.

casting about

Actors' audition tapes for a fiction film instead become the raw material for Casting About, a documentary about the auditioning process itself. I thought it was thought-provoking, but I wonder what actors will think of it.

eagle vs. shark

This Sundance romantic comedy doesn't know if it loves or hates its nerdy characters. I feel the same way about it.

brand upon the brain!

The Guy Maddin silent-film spectacular hits Los Angeles. I cover the event in Consumables, and also tackle Arcade Fire, Knocked Up, Once and a litany of other delights.

hostel: part ii

Give writer-director Eli Roth credit for adding some new wrinkles to his Hostel sequel. But not too much credit.

chris cornell

The onetime frontman of Soundgarden is back with his second solo album. I don't dislike Cornell in his introspective guise, but Carry On could have used a little more muscle. And fewer Michael Jackson covers.

paprika

The newest animated film from director Satoshi Kon is beloved by everyone. Except me.

gracie

Based on Elizabeth Shue's childhood experience of playing soccer in boys-only leagues, Gracie is a bit of a family affair. After watching this sports film, I'm assuming the real story was a little more interesting.

the police

Well, the long wait is over. The Police's reunion tour kicks off this weekend. To get you in the mood, here's a list of 10 hidden gems from the band.

zz top takes the rock honors

VH1's annual Rock Honors program airs tonight, which includes a tribute to ZZ Top, who will be performing. For VH1's website, I looked back on the band's now 30-plus-year career. Click on this link and play along at home.

pirates of the caribbean: at world's end

This third Pirates is more ho-hum than yo ho ho.

maroon 5 return

Make snide jokes all you want, but Maroon 5's new album, It Won't Be Soon Before Long, is actually pretty good.

the corporation

Having recently seen No End in Sight, the terrific Iraq War documentary by Charles Ferguson, I was reminded of The Corporation, an equally meticulous and riveting nonfiction film from 2004 about the roles of corporations in our daily lives. It's been a while since I've seen it, but Jonathan Rosenbaum's terrific review brought it all back. What a great movie.

wilco v. son volt

I never thought I'd live to see the day when a music critic would actually dare to say he preferred Son Volt to Wilco. Bless you, Mark Mauer.

even money

A drama starring Forest Whitaker, Danny DeVito, Ray Liotta, Tim Roth, Carla Gugino, Kelsey Grammer, and Kim Basinger comes out today. Why have you not heard of it? Because it's not very good: Even Money is the Crash of gambling-addiction movies, for better and certainly for worse.