Salon: Arts & Entertainment

Big Think: The evolution of the World Bank

Mon, 12 May 2008 03:43:00 PDT

Former World Bank vice president Jean-François Rischard talks about the libertarian culture of the institution and the differences between business in the U.S. and Europe.

Hip-hop is no longer cooler than me

Paul Kix — Mon, 12 May 2008 03:00:00 PDT

It's a sad day when a farm boy from Iowa can say that about a musical genre he once loved. When will the awful dance crazes end?

Critics' Picks

Sat, 10 May 2008 04:00:00 PDT

What you need to see, read, do this week: A lavish gay TV wedding, a moving movie memoir, the sound of schoolyard heartbreak.

If Austin Powers were French -- and funny

Andrew O'Hehir — Fri, 09 May 2008 09:58:00 PDT

He might be the star of "OSS 117," a deadpan, borderline-brilliant satire of postwar spy movies and preening Euro-idiocy in the Middle East.

"Speed Racer"

Stephanie Zacharek — Fri, 09 May 2008 04:01:00 PDT

You know a movie's heading nowhere fast when even its monkey doesn't make you laugh.

"What Happens in Vegas"

Mary Elizabeth WIlliams — Fri, 09 May 2008 04:00:00 PDT

This Ashton Kutcher-Cameron Diaz romantic comedy needs fewer sunsets and more lap dances and tequila shooters.

Double shot of gloom for indie fans

Andrew O'Hehir — Thu, 08 May 2008 13:15:00 PDT

Leading film-blogger Glenn Kenny is out at Premiere; Warner Bros. to fold its Picturehouse and Warner Independent subsidiaries.

Building a road from Bollywood to dullsville

Andrew O'Hehir — Thu, 08 May 2008 12:50:00 PDT

How can a gorgeous-looking movie about an adulterous interracial affair in 1930s India be so boring? Plus: The amazing Juliet Stevenson, sex symbol at age 51.

A star is born (at age 51)

Andrew O'Hehir — Thu, 08 May 2008 09:23:00 PDT

As a married woman meeting her ex-lover 25 years later, Juliet Stevenson transforms a Lifetime-level middle-aged rom-com into delirious comic magic.

The Iraq movie we've been waiting for

Andrew O'Hehir — Thu, 08 May 2008 03:43:00 PDT

Nick Broomfield's pulse-pounding "Battle for Haditha" turns the infamous 2005 civilian massacre into a haunting classic about the inhumanity of war.

Indie box office: "Mister Lonely" finds friends

Andrew O'Hehir — Wed, 07 May 2008 03:39:00 PDT

Harmony Korine's latest thrives in the shadow of "Iron Man," but this year's indie failures include some of the year's best films.

10 to watch from Tribeca

Andrew O'Hehir — Mon, 05 May 2008 03:11:00 PDT

A hot Swedish girlfriend (who's undead), a Spanish math thriller, getting high with Ben Kingsley and the rest of the best from NYC's spring fest.

Che anything

Amy Reiter — Mon, 05 May 2008 04:00:00 PDT

The filmmakers behind "Chevolution" explain how Che Guevara's face ended up on all those T-shirts, posters, beer bottles and bikini bottoms.

Big Think: Would you break the law for your pet?

Mon, 05 May 2008 02:18:00 PDT

PETA president Ingrid Newkirk on morality, responsibility and animal rights.

Critics' Picks

Sat, 03 May 2008 03:30:00 PDT

A full-tilt, pulse-pounding Iraq-war movie; deep thoughts from Jack Handey; a site for old Suck fans and more.

Marilyn, Michael and the flying nuns

Andrew O'Hehir — Fri, 02 May 2008 13:02:00 PDT

Harmony Korine, the skate-punk Fitzgerald of the '90s, is back for his second act -- with a sweet and surprisingly lovely film, believe it or not.

The girl who's also a boy

Andrew O'Hehir — Fri, 02 May 2008 02:05:00 PDT

A nifty Gothic fable about an intersex teen in a desolate coastal town is among the year's most striking debuts.

I dated Cindy Sherman ...

Joy Press — Fri, 02 May 2008 04:00:00 PDT

And all I got was this documentary. Paul H-O on his film about the iconic photographer and the perils of being an art world sidekick.

"Made of Honor"

Stephanie Zacharek — Fri, 02 May 2008 03:40:00 PDT

This formulaic romantic comedy starring Patrick "McDreamy" Dempsey leaves us McCold.

"Iron Man"

Stephanie Zacharek — Thu, 01 May 2008 04:00:00 PDT

Robert Downey Jr. gives this inventive superhero blockbuster its warm, glowing heart -- and makes it soar.

Three films about poverty, murder and Coca-Cola

Andrew O'Hehir — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 03:56:00 PDT

Take a rattle-trap road trip with a trio of Romanian losers, a haunting cruise "Up the Yangtze" and a silky slide into a Hitchcock-lite thriller.

Does Madonna still matter?

James Hannaham — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 03:21:00 PDT

On "Hard Candy," the 49-year-old disco queen gracefully walks a tightrope between sex, motherhood and aging.

No "Sex" on the beach at Cannes

Andrew O'Hehir — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 11:33:00 PDT

Fernando Meirelles' "Blindness," starring Julianne Moore, to open Cannes fest, with Barry Levinson's "What Just Happened?" as the closer.

Legal appeal

Louis Bayard — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 04:00:00 PDT

Long before there was "Law and Order," a TV criminal defense attorney named Perry Mason brought high courtroom drama to the masses.

He conquered the World Trade Center

Andrew O'Hehir — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:45:00 PDT

"Man on Wire" and its daredevil star thrill Tribeca, but Mamet's "Redbelt" is a jiu-jitsu pratfall. Plus: Is Brecht still relevant?

Finale wrap-up: "Big Brother 9"

Heather Havrilesky — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 06:06:00 PDT

The finale demonstrates how just a spoonful of sugar helps the mediocrity go down in the most delightful way!

Big Think: Beyond a "protectionist-only" environmentalism

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 02:57:00 PDT

Surfrider Foundation's Jim Moriarty on the role of the government, the individual and business in protecting our oceans.