The Office Review: "Mafia" (Episode 6.05)
Oscar said it best during last night’s “Mafia” episode, describing the unavoidable bedlam in the office when the nucleus pair of characters, Jim and Pam, are away on their honeymoon. It was overwhelming entropy at its finest, headed by the overactive, ungoverned imaginations of Michael, Dwight and Andy.... read more
New York, I Love You Review
Like Paris je t’aime, its similarly titled forerunner... read more
Black Dynamite Review
It may seem to be a bit late to spoof the blaxploitation films of the 1970s, but don’t tell the guys who made _Black Dynamite_... read more
Tegan and Sara: Sainthood
Canadian pop duo stays scrappy despite polished, mature sound “I miss the days when Tegan & Sara were little Ani DiFrancos in training,” said a poster on Prefix’s website. That person is going to hate Sainthood, which is too bad—some of their best work is here. The Quin twins are now pushing 30, and they’re no longer flirting with mainstream pop sounds; they’re reveling in them.... read more
Headlights: Wildlife
There is absolutely nothing to dislike about the latest album by Champaign’s fizziest indie rockers... read more
Where the Wild Things Are Review
Release Date: Oct. 16 Director: Spike Jonze Writers: Spike Jonze, Dave Eggers Cinematography: Lance Acord Starring: Max Records, Catherine Keener, James Gandolfini Studio/run time: Warner Bros./100 min. A classic paean to childhood imagination fails to turn into an imaginative film... read more
Daniel Johnston: Is And Always Was
Cult figure gets a guitar pop overhaul It’s been quite a journey for Daniel Johnston. The fragile, Beatles-obsessed songwriter began the ’80s releasing primitive cassettes of his direct, tuneful songs, leading to an erratic career as a cult recording (and visual) artist, punctuated by his famous struggles with manic depression and resulting in an unsparing documentary film. Now Johnston wraps up 2009 by working with an actual Beatles associate. On Is And Always Was, Jason Falkner, the guitarist from Paul McCartney’s band, handles the production chores (and much of the musical accompaniment, save ace session drummer Joey Waronker) and the... read more
Bob Dylan: Christmas in the Heart
With visions of dollar signs dancing in their heads, record companies greet the holiday season... read more
Araya
Why Venezuelan director Margot Benacerraf’s lone film has remained unreleased on video for 50 years might never be answered... read more
Robert Earl Keen: The Rose Hotel
Robert Earl Keen practices two very different kinds of... read more
Brooke Waggoner: Go Easy Little Doves
On Go Easy Little Doves, poignant orchestrations reflect Brooke Waggoner’s classical training... read more
The Flaming Lips: Embryonic
Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne proclaimed that their... read more
Thao with the Get Down Stay Down: Know Better Learn Faster
It begins with a threat, bare and ominous... read more
Erin McKeown: Hundreds of Lions
It can be hard to stand out in today’s landscape of female songwriters... read more
Whip It
Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut starts with a chain of clichés... read more
Shadow Complex (Xbox 360)
Developers: Chair Entertainment / Epic Games Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios Platform: Xbox Live Arcade Mesmerizing side-scroller blends elements of Die Hard and Super Metroid When it was released in mid August, Shadow Complex became the fastest-selling downloadable title in the history of Xbox Live Arcade, moving roughly 200,000 units in the first week. The game is based on Orson Scott Card’s novel Empire and follows an all-too-familiar Hollywood action trope—a mild-mannered, John Cusack-ian everydude stumbles unwittingly across a terrorist plot and must avert a nuclear holocaust before 4pm, at which time he’s supposed to pick up his daughter from soccer practice... read more
Dollhouse Review, "Belle Chose" (Episode 2.3): On Chaucer; gender, sex, and power; and a postmodern concept of self
With the third episode of _Dollhouse_’s second season, the show has hit its stride... read more
Nellie McKay: Normal as Blueberry Pie: A Tribute to Doris Day
Sweet as pie, or pie in the sky? Two writers debate... read more
The Clientele: Bonfires on the Heath
“Late October, sunlight in the wood / Nothing here quite moves the way it should,” sings Clientele frontman Alasdair MacLean... read more
The Office Review: "Niagara" (Episode 6.04)
We can all breathe a collective sigh of relief as arguably the most anticipated Office event has passed without any major snags or notes delivered down the center aisle. Jim and Pam's tying of the knot was a bit of a snafu, perfectly molded to the show's erratically gawky standard: Pam's torn veil, Jim's clipped tie and Kevin shuffling down the aisle with shoes fashioned from tissue boxes. The only tradition the show follows is the one it invents for itself, so it should have been no surprise the ceremony would let loose a "JK Wedding" reenactment, the perfect breakdown... read more
The 20 Best Gadgets of the Decade…
The 17 Best Romantic Comedies This Decade
The 50 Best Albums of the Decade…
The 25 Best Movie Performances of the…
The 20 Best Live Acts of the…
Kim Taylor - Days Like this
Gregory Alan Isakov - The Moon Song
Blind Pilot - The Story I Heard
Fanfarlo - I’m A Pilot
Punch Brothers - Punch Brothers at CMJ
David Bazan - Hard To Be
Anya Marina - Whatever You Like
