"The Butler" brings civil rights era to life
Forest Whitaker Is incapable of anything that isn't stellar. The rest of the cast, basically everybody in Hollywood, Is completely stunning.
From "Reel Bad Arabs" to "Valentino's Ghost"
The group that has been consistently maligned since the days of silent star Rudolph Valentino's portrayal of The Sheik in 1921 are the Arabs. They have now become the caricature of the "terrorist."
Love, war, and hell in a prison cell
The Uptown Players, near the Dallas Arts District, are performing "The Kiss of the Spider Woman."
“Elysium” gives sci-fi twist to immigration, health care
Sci-fi is such a perfect microscope for examining contemporary problems!
"Conduct of Saints”: conscience, crime, and Catholics in post-Nazi Rome
Emanating from a small publishing house, this novel likely has no five- or six-figure advertising budget, and may escape notice. Make sure your local library gets it.
“The Gatekeepers”: brutally frank and powerful
If you have any interest at all in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, "The Gatekeepers" is essential viewing.
“World War Z” as World War Proletariat
If you're tired of hearing about zombies...that's probably too bad. America's most popular monster shows no sign of shambling away quietly.
"Wolverine" sequel is much sharper than the first
The follow-up to the abysmal 2009 X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which royally ticked off fans and critics alike, The Wolverine fixed everything that was wrong with the eponymous character's story.
Cop show reveals the U.S.-Mexico divide
What makes "The Bridge" fascinating is not only its characters, but what is going on behind them.
“Fruitvale Station”: an American tragedy
Ryan Coogler gives us Fruitvale Station as a symbolic recapitulation of the Stations of the Cross, recounting the last 30-plus hours of Oscar Grant III's life.
