The most surprising thing about Mary J. Blige's new album, Growing Pains (), isn't that she still gets angry -- and corporeal. She is human...
In today's multi-media world, an album is only one measure of impact, especially in today's pop music scene. Compelling concerts, videos, remixes, covers, cross-promotions --...
Tim's Best Good movies make you cry, or laugh, or jump out of your seat in fear. Sometimes they just make you think. What makes...
GIVING ULTRA IN 2008... It's only days away now, and the excitement is palpable. The year 2008 holds oodles of promise for pop music in...
Attending a performance of the Washington Shakespeare Company feels a little like getting admitted to a very hip club. Like the hole-in-the-wall bar that always...
It's been said imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If that's the case, then Rufus Wainwright's live double-disc recording Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie...
Sweeney Todd It all seems so familiar. The first few notes are reminiscent of a tune you've heard before. Then Edward Scissorhands appears -- he's...
At first glance, Atonement appears to be your garden variety Merchant Ivory-style epic. It begins in the 1935 English countryside, all glowy and green and...
I'm not someone who cries easily. So when I do, and when I feel like it's because of some heavy-handed movie making, I get a...
When the term ''flautist'' came along -- 1860, according to Merriam-Webster -- the traditionalists, that bunch who'd been using ''flutist'' since 1603, may have been...
It's safe to say that I'm the Scrooge in any holiday gathering. (Hey, it's better than being Tiny Tim.) Christmas spirit -- limited. Holiday cheer...
Alex Sanchez, the former metro Washingtonian who has made a name for himself writing a number of novels dealing with gay teens coming of age,...
Gifts to dance by... Looking for the perfect gift for your dance-music lover -- or even just yourself? Happy Holidays are here. Joe Bermudez Mainstream...
Never mind her new album's title. Celine Dion doesn't know from chances. Oh sure, she strays a little from her Titanic-sized sentimental journeys. She rocks...
Great expectations can lead to great disappointments. As a fan of Philip Pullman's ''His Dark Materials'' series, I eagerly awaited the theatrical release of the...