Arts & Entertainment

Chin Up Chin Up This Harness Can't Ride Anything Listening to This Harness Can't Ride Anything, the sophomore album from Chicago's Chin Up Chin Up, is much like a visit to the Midwest - forgettable. This Harness, recorded with producer Brian Deck (Modest Mouse, Iron & Wine), begins with promise.
October 12, 2006 at 12:00 am

In the shadow of the massive success of his former band, Pixies frontman Frank Black has been diligently recording under his own name since 1993.
October 12, 2006 at 12:00 am

In the adaptation of his novel Stormbreaker, screenwriter Anthony Horowitz desperately tries to combine the plot aspects of a James Bond movie and the humor of Austin Powers.
October 12, 2006 at 12:00 am

Perhaps the most frightening movie Americans see this Halloween is neither Saw III nor The Grudge 2 but a documentary about evangelical Christians called Jesus Camp.
October 12, 2006 at 12:00 am

As someone who has made a few horror films, Felix Diaz is a huge fan of the genre. A man who believes that such films give the viewer "something you can't get from real life," Diaz sought to give horror, sci-fi, fantasy and thriller films the credit they deserve.
October 12, 2006 at 12:00 am

Featuring nothing but the gyrations of a particularly impressive female behind, the video for "Backyard Betty," Spank Rock's debut single, has a clear purpose: to get them asses shakin'. But the music is far from standard club hip-hop fare; in fact, the MC at the helm, 24-year-old Naeem Juwan, would rather avoid classification altogether. YoYoYoYoYo, Spank Rock's first full-length album, is a detailed collaborative effort: Naeem raps over beats ranging from Baltimore house to Hendrix, artfully layered by his childhood friend and producer, Alex "Armani XXXChange" Epton. Naeem attributes the eclecticism of the music to his move from Baltimore to Philly to become a Drexel student (and one-time Penn partygoer). "We come from Baltimore," he says, "and the cultures don't really mix up too much." Though early exposure to traditional hip-hop and the ecstatic phenomenon of 'B-more' club house continue to be profoundly influential on the pair, it primed Naeem for a musical awakening. "I really didn't know much about rock or punk or '80s, so when I went to Philly, things were a lot more diverse.
October 12, 2006 at 12:00 am

In 1959, four members of a Kansas family were brutally murdered in their home. The gruesome killings inspired both a media frenzy and a literary classic, Truman Capote's In Cold Blood. Infamous illuminates the motivation behind the murders and Capote's coverage of the story.
October 12, 2006 at 12:00 am

The Last King of Scotland is an intense political thriller that brings to life the mythical figure of 1970s Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. Forest Whitaker's performance as Amin mesmerizes.
October 5, 2006 at 12:00 am

Beck is a man known for wearing many hats at once. He has built his career upon shapeshifting, evading classification, seamlessly blending the unlikely with the illogical.
October 5, 2006 at 12:00 am

In an age when one can't swing a bat in a video store without hitting a biopic, it's easy to get sick of movies that chronicle the lives of famous people, no matter how interesting those lives may or may not have been.
October 5, 2006 at 12:00 am

In the Chinese film Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles, acclaimed director Yimou Zhang (House of Flying Daggers; Hero) presents a compelling meditation on father-son relationships.
October 5, 2006 at 12:00 am

By all accounts, life on the road is nasty, brutish and long. And on the eve of a North American tour, Islands' Nick Diamonds is sick in a Toronto hotel room, speaking in low tones to protect his voice.
October 5, 2006 at 12:00 am

Political activism and artistic integrity go hand in hand," said a calm and composed Salim Washington over the phone from his New York office.
October 5, 2006 at 12:00 am

It's a brave new world for Decemberists fans. The release of their new album, The Crane Wife, marks the group's shift to Capitol Records from indie Kill Rock Stars.
October 5, 2006 at 12:00 am

In his latest triumph, Martin Scorsese succeeds where few before him have: filming a remake that trumps the original in all respects.
October 5, 2006 at 12:00 am

If you asked us which of today's popular young comics most definitely engages in recreational drug abuse, we'd probably say Dane Cook - in about a second.
October 5, 2006 at 12:00 am

Fearless 4 Stars Directed by: Ronny Yu Starring: Jet Li, Shido Nakamura Rated: PG-13 If Fearless truly is Jet Li's last martial arts film, as is advertised, then Li has succeeded in going out on top. It's hard to imagine that this movie could fall short of excellence, given the pedigree of its principles.
September 28, 2006 at 12:00 am

It's ironic that this relatively derivative, though not uninteresting, addition to the dystopian sci-fi genre is titled Renaissance.
September 28, 2006 at 12:00 am

If you thought that the twang of country couldn't be combined with tedious sound effects and mild musical enthusiasm, then the monotonous sounds of Mad Tea Party's latest, Big Top Soda Pop, will quickly prove you wrong.
September 28, 2006 at 12:00 am

Michel Gondry has a knack for taking the banal and making it extraordinary. In Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, the maxim "those who forget their past are destined to repeat it" provided a launching pad for an enigmatic journey to the heart of what it means to be human.
September 28, 2006 at 12:00 am