No film could ever capture the inner despair and hopelessness that pervades Cormac McCarthy's magnificent novel, The Road. Still, the film is a despondently faithful adaptation that should please -- if depress -- cineastes. Never before has society's apocalypse felt so hauntingly real. There's only one, maybe two good reasons to watch HBO's moronic True Blood, right? Of all the classic authors I read in college, I return to D.H. Lawrence more than any other. Why hasn't there been a fantastic film adaptation of Sons and Lovers? more ›

FILM To anyone who has ever had a dream and seen that dream gone unfulfilled, I implore you to see Anvil!: The Story of Anvil and perhaps re-discover the inspiration to continue pursuing that elusive prize. Some have described Sacha Gervasi's hilarious doc as a real-life version of Spinal Tap, but the reality goes much deeper. So many would-be artists pursue success only to give up after a few years of failure. The boys of Anvil demonstrate how a true love of your craft compels you to never quit. Oh, and did I mention it was also fucking funny? more ›

A wise man was once misquoted: "Beer is proof that God loves us". May I further bastardize: "And so are horror movies!" It's no coincidence both are celebrated in October, the most wonderful month of the year. Par ejemplo: long-awaited horror anthology Trick 'r Treat. Scheduled for release years ago, the film was instead shelved in a nasty trick, despite a bankable cast (headlined by the fang-banging, award-winning Anna Paquin & all-around-awesome character actors Dylan Baker & Brian Cox) and unanimous acclaim from the few who have seen it. Which is why it's such a treat that there are two screenings this week before its descent into direct-to-DVD hell. The Cinefamily has Trick 'r Treat's writer-director Michael Dougherty as special guest on Friday, while the New Bev unearths Stephen King's Creepshow on Sunday. Be scared or be square! more ›

The Emmys were announced this morning, and you can check out the complete list here. "30 Rock" came away with a record-breaking 22 nominations and "Mad Men" garnered the most nominations for a drama, with 16. Despite the Academy tinkering with the process, all the actor nominees are virtually the same as last year other than Jeremy Piven (finally) not making the list. Creative Arts Emmys will be presented on September 12th while the big primetime show will be on September 20th. more ›

Here's the damn shame of it all: Bryan Singer is a super filmmaker and the "Valkyrie" story is a fascinating piece of German history. That said, Tom Cruise should never have been the cornerstone of this film. A potentially great movie was rendered into something that was merely okay. Then again, "merely okay" would have been a triumph for the awful Paul Blart: Fat Guy Acting Stupid. I originally saw Made in America at Sundance in 2008. It is a must-see documentary that details the rise of gangs in South Central Los Angeles. Stacy Peralta may not have the chops of an Errol Morris, but he is a consistently engaging documentarian. more ›

At 5 p.m. last Tuesday, the line for the True Blood panel at PaleyFest snaked around the Cinerama Dome toward the Arclight entrance. Many of the predominantly female fans of the HBO series had been camped out since early afternoon, traveling from as far as Texas and New York. more ›

HBO's new series True Blood is based on the series of books by Charlaine Harris, about a world where vampires have emerged from the shadows to claim equal rights in human society, prompted by the invention of a synthetic blood drink that removes their need to hunt humans. In this world, vampires are exciting and intriguing, dangerous but sexy, and their blood has enjoyable drug-like effects on humans, so we now have people who actively try to seduce vampires, and even people who attack them to drain their blood and sell it. The story is set in a small imaginary town in Louisiana called Bon Temps (as in Laissez les Bon Temps Roulez), and features a bleached-blond Anna Paquin as Sookie, a young waitress with the inexplicable ability to read minds, who falls in love with Stephen Moyer's chivalrous, brooding vampire named Bill. Yes, Bill. It beats Sookie... more ›