tre

Director Eric Byler's Tre may seem like your typical drama about attractive 20-somethings stumbling through life, but the strength of the performances and writing make for an affecting, insightful experience. My review appears in L.A. Weekly.

cloverfield = scary

In this week's Consumables, I have glowing things to say about Cloverfield, Woody Allen's Cassandra's Dream, and Steve Martin's memoir, Born Standing Up. Plus, I catch up with two of the most acclaimed indie-rock albums of last year.

the best movies of 2007

Near the end of last year, I contributed a ballot to the Village Voice/L.A. Weekly film poll. Here are my picks, but before you click, can you guess what movie I picked for Worst Film? (It was a close race, believe me.)

MLK

There's a news story out today, in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, about how little people remember about the man's legacy.

"Everyone knows, even the smallest kid knows about Martin Luther King, can say his most famous moment was that 'I have a dream' speech," said Henry Louis Taylor Jr., professor of urban and regional planning at the University of Buffalo.

"No one can go further than one sentence," he said. "All we know is that this guy had a dream, we don't know what that dream was."

In case anyone out there is wondering, here's that dream in its entirety.

i don't get juno

Juno leads my latest Consumables, but it's one of the weakest movies on a list of mostly great films, which includes There Will Be Blood, Persepolis, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. You can read about those and others at The Simon.

anybody but the patriots

In today's column, the L.A. Times' Christine Daniels addresses all of us who are praying that somehow the undefeated, seemingly invincible New England Patriots don't win the Super Bowl in three weeks. And her advice? Don't get your hopes up.

chris cooper speaks

Chris Cooper, the star of last February's Breach, is a thoughtful, somber interview subject, but what else would you expect of such a calm, authoritative actor? I interviewed Cooper for L.A. Weekly, where we discussed his preparation for playing Robert Hanssen, his earliest filmic heroes, and the lost art of the everyman.

one missed call

Two things happened on January 4: my birthday and the release of One Missed Call. One event was more memorable than the other.

tila tequila and me

MTV and internet sensation Tila Tequila may not have found love on her self-titled reality show, but she gives a great interview. My conversation with Ms. Tequila can be found at Blender.

top ten albums of 2007

Happy New Year, everyone. 2007 was a great movie year but only a so-so music year. First up, let's count down the music year. Here are my Top Ten records of '07, complete with a pithy sentence or two about each entry.