In the past few weeks, two films have explored the careers of men who have found a place in the pantheon of popular mythology. Critic John Powers says seeing Carlos and The Social Network side by side made him think about how much social values have changed in recent decades.
On Halloween, a new show about a sudden infestation of zombies premieres on AMC. TV critic David Bianculli says the spooky series works because it's "beautiful and foreboding all at once."
The third installment of Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy focuses once again on the corruption-fighting duo of journalist Mikael Blomkvist and cyber-avenger Lisbeth Salander. But as critic David Edelstein notes, an epic devotion to detail makes the movie seem like "an interminable footnote." (Note: Spoilers galore.)
The musical-theater titan tells the stories behind some of his most famous work, from West Side Story to Gypsy. And he offers some surprising criticisms of other theater greats, including his mentor Oscar Hammerstein.
Apple Records released 31 albums and 52 singles from younger acts it hoped would flourish. Ed Ward reviews Come And Get It: The Best of Apple Records, a collection of the label's remastered and re-released tracks.
After the housing bust, banks hired many people to handle foreclosure paperwork -- and many mistakes were made. New York Times columnist Gretchen Morgenson explains what the paperwork mess means for the banking industry and the economy.
Evening Primrose, Stephen Sondheim's made-for-TV musical about a poet and the girl he discovers living after hours in a department store hasn't been been televised since its 1966 premiere. David Bianculli says the musical, out Tuesday on DVD for the first time, showcases Sondheim's "early brilliance."
Neurologist Oliver Sacks is famous for his case studies of people with neurological disorders that cause unusual problems with perception. In The Mind's Eye, Sacks turns to himself, explaining how an eye tumor affected his vision and perception of the world.
The guitarist opens up about his music, his legendary journeys on the road with The Rolling Stones and his occasionally contentious relationship with lead singer Mick Jagger in a new memoir called Life.
What's the difference between wooden and plastic cutting boards? When should you throw out frozen fish? Harold McGee, an expert on the science of food and cooking, untangles these kitchen mysteries and more in his Keys to Good Cooking.
On Oct. 24, a TV drama featuring a modernized Sherlock Holmes is set to debut on the PBS series Masterpiece Mystery. David Bianculli says the newest incarnation of the iconic detective is "terrific and inspired."
After starring in movies like Rushmore and The Darjeeling Limited, Jason Schwartzman decided to move to TV. He talks about playing a novelist moonlighting as a private detective on HBO's Bored to Death -- and details what it was like to work with Wes Anderson on several films.
David Grossman began working on his novel To the End of the Land while his son Uri was in the Israeli Army. He hoped it would protect him. It didn't. Uri was killed, and Grossman's fiction explores the fragility of families, nations and life itself.
The third and final installment of the Toy Story trilogy turned out to have some deep themes: death, abandonment, loss. One inspiration: an incident in which director Lee Unkrich accidentally threw out his wife's toys. Both Unkrich and screenwriter Michael Arndt join Terry Gross to talk about the trilogy, due on DVD Nov. 2.
Bruno Mars is a 25-year-old singer, songwriter and producer who's worked on hit singles for numerous hip-hop and soul artists. Rock critic Ken Tucker says Mars' new album, Doo-Wops and Hooligans, is "an impressive, varied and intense experience."
Comedian Mike Birbiglia has a disorder that makes him sleepwalk. He recounts his worst episode — as well as other painfully embarrassing moments — in his comedic memoir, Sleepwalk With Me.
But the article does. TV critic David Bianculli shares his thoughts on the season finales of AMC's Mad Men and Rubicon -- and wonders whether he should be talking about this at all. Obviously: Spoilers ahead.
Clint Eastwood's latest film is a supernatural drama about a factory worker with the ability to communicate with the dead. Critic David Edelstein says the film is too contrived to tell us anything enlightening about how to live in the shadow of death.
The Dwight Twilley Band scored its biggest hit, "I'm on Fire," in 1975, and then struggled for years to achieve stardom that never arrived. Now the band's lead singer, Twilley, is back. Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews his new album Green Blimp, which also features vocals by Susan Cowsill.
Roth, who has been writing novels for more than a half-century, explains how he comes up with his ideas — and why he continues to write every day. In his latest work, Nemesis, he imagines a fictional polio outbreak set in his hometown of Newark, N.J., during the 1940s.
