band of horses

Cease to Begin is the South Carolina band's second album -- it's even more lovely than their first. My review appears at Blender.

the kite runner

The award-seeking adaptation of the Khaled Hosseini novel won't be arriving in theaters until December, but my review is up now at Screen International.

kid rock talks to me

To promote his new album, Rock N Roll Jesus, Kid Rock sat down for an interview with me. The results can be found at Blender.

the final season

Another inspirational baseball film? I'm afraid so, but The Final Season has its heart in the right place at least. If it's on cable, give it 15 minutes or so. My L.A. Weekly review appears here.

baby elephant

Turn My Teeth Up! is the name of the new album from Baby Elephant, a collaboration between hip-hop producer Prince Paul (of De La Soul fame) and keyboardist Bernie Worrell (of Parliament-Funkadelic fame). It's an uneasy mixture of oddball humor and sincere testimonials to Worrell's legacy. My review appears in the Metro Times.

blender's 40 worst lyricists in rock

Yup, Blender magazine picked Sting as rock music's worst lyricist. But who were the other 39? The link to the piece, which I helped contribute to, is here.

bergman at the new beverly

If you've never seen Cries and Whispers or Autumn Sonata, now's your chance: Ingmar Bergman's harrowing family dramas screen at the New Beverly this weekend. My musings on both films appear in L.A. Weekly.

lake of fire

Filmmaker Tony Kaye's abortion documentary Lake of Fire opens this weekend in New York. It's an affecting but imperfect work. My review appears here.

bruce springsteen returns

The Boss is back with his new album, Magic. In honor of the occasion, I look back at Springsteen's greatest non-hits for VH1.

kanye west

Graduation, the new record from Kanye West, heads my latest Consumables column. Also included: reviews of Into the Wild, Justice, Beck's "Timebomb" single, The King of Kong and more.

will.i.am and blackstreet in blender

The new Blender with Kanye West on the cover has hit newsstands. I've got three pieces in there, but two are online currently: my interview with the Black Eyed Peas' Will.I.Am and my look back at the making of the great Blackstreet jam "No Diggity."

feast of love

Director Robert Benton (Kramer vs. Kramer) returns with Feast of Love, a serio-comic look at relationships across age, race, and gender. Morgan Freeman and others do decent work, but it's all for naught.

trade

Just a reminder that a truly terrible movie can be made about a very important subject, Trade, a horrendous drama about underground sex trafficking, opens this weekend.

good luck chuck

Dane Cook looks uncomfortable, Jessica Alba is no comedienne. At least the penguins are cute.

in the shadow of the moon

The documentary about NASA's '60s adventure is worth seeing. So are a bunch of other goodies included in this week's Consumables, including Sunshine, 2 Days in Paris, and Deep Water.

moving mcallister

Some might say I was overly harsh in my review of Moving McAllister, a feeble road movie that represents all that's wrong with so-called "independent cinema." I think I was just being honest.

great world of sound

Great World of Sound, a smart sad little indie about con men trying to trick aspiring musicians into forking over their hard-earned money in hopes of a record deal, opens this weekend in New York. My review appears in The Village Voice.

the brothers solomon

Will Arnett, Will Forte and Kristen Wiig have all been funny in the past, and they'll be funny in the future. But in The Brothers Solomon, they're mostly just marking time.

earlimart

The duo Earlimart specialize in a studio-enhanced indie pop. Their latest album, Mentor Tormentor, evokes the dreary side of L.A.'s suburban sprawl in lovely ways.

ben affleck: director

Gone Baby Gone is the directorial debut of Ben Affleck. If you're someone who automatically dismisses him as a lightweight, you probably didn't see his underrated performance in Hollywoodland and you'll probably want to skip this crime drama as well. But while Gone Baby Gone has a strong feel for Boston's working poor, the film overall is a bit of a mixed bag.