A Book Review of “Last Night at the Viper Room: River Phoenix and the Hollywood He Left Behind”

A Book Review of “Last Night at the Viper Room: River Phoenix and the Hollywood He Left Behind”

If like the show Entourage, imagine it starring River Phoenix and that's the kind of book you get here. It's all highly entertaining and full of juicy Hollywood backstories and gossip.

What I Liked Least about Oz the Great and Powerful

What I Liked Least about Oz the Great and Powerful

This ain't yo mama o yo papa's Oz. Prior to seeing Oz the Great and Powerful today, I was aware that my favorite reviewer, Dana Stevens of Slate, had given it a terrible review. Her devastating headline: "No brain, no heart, no courage."  After seeing such a scathing (and effective!) headline, I decided not to read the [...]

My Favorite (and Least Favorite) Movies of 2011

With the Oscars coming up tomorrow, I finally decided I needed to finish up this article that I have been slowly working on for a while. Rather than talk about who's likely to win the Oscars, it seems more worthwhile to stick to my guns and just provide a list of my favorite films from last year.

Movie Review: Dolphin Tale

Movie Review: Dolphin Tale

As a crowd-pleasing family film, Dolphin Tale takes few risks but will still most likely be enjoyed by its target audience. It tells the "based on true events" story of Winter, a dolphin that lost its tail after getting caught in a crab trap off of the Florida Gulf Coast. After rescue and recovery, Winter learns to swim anew, in part thanks to a first-of-its-kind prosthetic dolphin tail.

Praying Mantis Escapes Death on Windshield, Now Beloved / Endangered Pet

A couple days ago we hopped into our car and pulled out of the driveway. Moments later, I saw an interesting looking insect clinging to our windshield. I thought it looked like a praying mantis, and sure enough Alicia thought it was too.

Rating the Top 13 Contestants on Season 10 of American Idol

Season 10 of American Idol is terrific. Whereas previous seasons have lost viewer interest and enthusiasm, I personally think that this might be the best season so far. In short, the contestants are much, much stronger as a group than in previous seasons. They also have some of the most unique and diverse styles of singing and performing ever seen on American Idol. I think a lot of credit should be given to new judges Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez for helping to make this happen. While such a declaration may provoke chuckles, there are some numbers to back it up.