Idol Chatter

It’s high time you see “Superman Returns” if you haven’t already, especially if your pastor is telling you so. Don’t be super surprised if at church one Sunday in the near future, the sermon revolves around a Superman theme–I already heard one last week that explored how the superhero movie of the moment helps us…

By Hollywood standards, Philip K. Dick’s “A Scanner Darkly” might be the eccentric author’s most inadaptable work. The robotic intrigue of “Blade Runner” and the crime-stopping fortune-telling of “Minority Report” attracted studios and audiences alike, but this time the challenge lies in producing 100 minutes of palatable cinema with only Dick’s piecemeal storytelling and bizarre…

Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of…fun. The only movie I have been anxiously waiting to see this summer is “Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest.” And I was not disappointed. Bigger, bolder and funnier than the original “Pirates,” I have not had this much fun at a movie since the old-fashioned comedic action adventure…

Since their American reissue in the 1970s, the Adventures of Tintin comic books have been dogged by the supposed racism and even downright Fascism of their pseudonymous author, Hergé. Relax, everyone: a documentary to be shown on PBS Tuesday explains that Roman Catholicism was the force behind Hergé’s controversial early comics—and his lifelong battle with…

“Good Morning America’s” new series-within-a-show, “What’s Your Sign?” debuted today with my fave astrologer Susan Miller (check out her eerily prescient ‘scopes at: astrologyzone.com). She talked about things like why most billionaires are Virgos. Turns out Virgos and Pisces are common superrich signs; Miller says it’s because they care more about doing for others and…

“Everyone take a look, see I’m doing fine/Put me and my box on the 309.” The stark symbol of a coffin being placed on a train bound for some unknown location is only one of the many allusions to love, death, and the afterlife on Johnny Cash’s posthumous recording “American V,” released last week. The…

Whatever happened to music that can change the world? I’m talking about folk music, music with roots and wings and a message. Folk music is dead, you say? Tune in to your local PBS station starting July 5th for Bruce Springsteen’s “We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions” on Great Performances to hear music with more…

The end of Seinfeld was the kiss of death for just about its entire cast–save Jerry Seinfeld of course. Will the similar end of power house drama “The West Wing” mean the same for its long time actors and actresses, who have walked away with armfuls of Emmys but not necessarily a future career? Emmy…

This Sunday’s New York Times Magazine article “Her Lonely Voice” features Katell Keineg–the singer-songwriter that could’ve been a star but didn’t become one (even after she was signed to a six album contract with Elektra). When reporter Darcy Frey asked the still aspiring Keineg why she still wrote and played despite over a decade of…

Last Thursday night, NYC’s flagship Barnes & Noble in Union Square held a special event featuring a conversation about faith between the eclectic, very successful Moby (musician, vegan, tea entrepreneur, and self-proclaimed Christian–sort of), and Chicago Sun Times religion reporter Cathleen Falsani, in honor of her new book, “The God Factor.” The book is a…

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