Aquaman AQUAMAN (2018) Starring Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Nicole Kidman, Temuera Morrison, Ludi Lin, Randall Park, Michael Beach, Graham McTavish, Natalia Safran, Sophia Forrest, Leigh Whannell, Robert Longstreet, Andrew Crawford and the voices of John Rhys-Davies, Djimon Hounsou and Julie Andrews. Screenplay by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Will Beall. Directed by James Wan. Distributed by Warner Brot

David Paich of Toto David Paich of Toto Whispers of Some Quiet Conversation by Jay S. Jacobs 36 years is a huge chunk of anyone’s life, particularly if you are just about to turn 60 at the end of the upcoming month.  Keyboardist David Paich was in his mid-twenties when he hooked up with a bunch of high school friends to create the session musician super-group Toto, including guitarist Steve Lukather and brothers keyboardist Steve Porcaro, drummer Jeff Porcaro and bassist Mike

Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Sarah Paulson, Lupita Nyong’o and Alfre Woodard Looking Back on 12 Years a Slave by Jay S. Jacobs Director Steve McQueen's film version of former slave Solomon Northrop's autobiography 12 Years a Slave takes an eye-opening look at one of the great shames of American history, the prevalence of the violent slave trade in the 1700s and 1800s. Northrop was a free man who was claimed as a slave and had to spend over a decade in forced servitud

David Oyelowo at New York press day for “96 Minutes.” David Oyelowo Is Enjoying a Championship Season by Brad Balfour Born in Britain, part of a royal Nigerian family, raised there and in England, 36-year-old actor David Oyelowo is enjoying a remarkable run – garnering more prominent roles and rising billing in films with bigger and bigger actors. This increasingly favorable career surge doesn’t seem like it’s going to abate any time soon. Within this last month, two of his r

Derek Luke and Tim Robbins star in “Catch a Fire.” TIM ROBBINS AND DEREK LUKE THE TWO SIDES OF CATCH A FIRE BY JAY S. JACOBS In any revolution, there are many foot soldiers – normal people who are pushed too far and play a vital role in the changing world values.  The people like Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Tutu may have played a larger role, but there were many others who helped them get their word out to the people. Patrick Chamusso is one of these small, vital stories wh

Rachel Weisz in “The Constant Gardener.” RACHEL WEISZ STEPS THROUGH THE GARDEN By Brad Balfour Though Rachel Weisz has received accolades before, none are more appreciated than an Academy Award nomination. And given that she dies a few minutes in the film The Constant Gardener, it’s even more appreciated she got this attention. But the film is a powerful statement – about drug company manipulations to create a powerful AIDS drug in Africa – in a year of powerful statements. S

Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Out of the Van by Ronald Sklar “I could grandstand and tell you I’m The Man, but I basically don’t have a life,” Henry Rollins tells me in a recent phone interview. As usual, The Man is being too hard on himself. The rock legend, now in his early forties and still as tough as a fifty-cent steak, has it for sure going on. He recently completed an 88-show spoken word tour, two USO tours — one to Iraq and Kuwait, the other to Honduras — and flexed his