Most people probably know Buddy Holly but not a single member of his backup band, the Crickets. Backup bands and other support acts make the stars possible, and seldom—if ever—get the recognition they deserve. Teen a Go Go goes behind the scenes to bring some of these unsung heroes into the light. Delving deep into the Sixties’ music scene of Ft. Worth, the documentary includes a ... more >
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BRINGING ROCK’S UNSUNG HEROES INTO THE LIGHT: Teen A Go Go
Doc explores the teenage scene of the Sixties
Joni Ashworth and Bobby Barnes
Directed by Melissa Kirkendall
The help
Change begins with a whisper
Emma Stone, Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer
Directed by Tate Taylor
Tate Taylor’s adaptation of Kathryn Stockett's The Help filled me with a wonder similar to that I felt watching—and relishing—Mad Men. There, the three-martini lunch, the 1960 men and women boozing and smoking themselves to death had me aghast. Same here. This was Jackson, Mississipi, fifty years ago? It’s beyond racism, unless racism means considering people so far below you that no one ... more >
The debt
New drama from Focus Features brings back dark era
Jessica Chastain, Helen Mirren, Sam Worthington and Tom Wilkinson
Directed by John Madden
Split between two settings, two time periods, and two casts, it’s no wonder that John Madden’s The Debt divides so easily into two levels of quality. There’s one part that I like to call a classy, sexy Cold War spy thriller. There’s another part that I like to call “the ending.” Three Mossad agents share an apartment in East Berlin in 1966; two men and a young woman. The cramped ... more >
Black death
The plague is back, run!
Eddie Redmayne, Sean Bean and Carice van Houten
Directed by Christopher Smith
The new film “Black Death,” now out on DVD, is billed as a “horror-thriller,” and while it certainly has moments of gross-out gore, there’s not as much thrill to it as you’d hope. Set during the first wave of the bubonic plague in England, “Death” stars Sean Bean (“The Lord of the Rings”) and Eddie Redmayne (“The Pillars of the Earth”) as a hired gun and a monk, ... more >
Midnight in Paris
Grand cru from Allen should charm for sure
Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams and Kathy Bates
Directed by Woody Allen
Yes, you can believe what you’ve been reading – "Midnight in Paris" really is the best Woody Allen film in a long time. It’s a love letter to Paris, an ode to the Jazz age and the writers of the Lost Generation, and a romance with the past. It’s also the handoff of the baton of cinematic neurosis between Woody Allen and the film’s star, Owen Wilson. Allen and Wilson have both ... more >
Kung Fu Panda 2
Sequel genre is becoming lazy we think
Jack Black, Angelina Jolie and Jackie Chan
Directed by Jennifer Yuh
"Kung Fu Panda 2" breaks new ground in the history of cinema. Everyone knows you can’t use 3-D in the second movie in a series. You have to wait until the third one. Then again the second movie strategy makes sense. All the better to hold up helpless parents at the box office, I suppose. Breaking the 3- D sequel custom appears to be "Panda"’s lone innovation. Otherwise this is one of the ... more >
No strings attached
Rom-com right out of the Big Ten
With Natalie Portman, Ashton Kutcher, Kevin Kline and Cary Elwes
Directed by Ivan Reitman
When does “No Strings Attached” lose all credibility? When its second scene allegedly takes place at a frat house at the University of Michigan and the frat house is loaded with pretty California girls. I went to Michigan. There’s a longstanding saying at Michigan. Nine out of ten girls in the Big Ten are attractive. And the tenth goes to Michigan. How do I account for Lucy Liu? I suspect ... more >
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