Jan 10, 2010 DVDs Web Exclusive

The past few years has seen the advent of a small underground genre of nerd-themed hip-hop called Nerdcore. Nerdcore Rising specifically profiles MC Frontalot the "Godfather of Nerdcore" as he embarks on a tour of North America with his backing bandmates. More

Jan 05, 2010 Music Web Exclusive

With their third album in their Mach 2 incarnation, swapping out tape manipulator and producer Martin Swope for Shellac's Bob Weston, Mission of Burma have rather implausibly eclipsed their original lineup's quantity of recorded output. More

Jan 03, 2010 Music Web Exclusive

Genesis was a few different bands in its over 40-year history. The Peter Gabriel-fronted early-'70s incarnation was a shape-shifting, progressive rock dynamo, enhanced onstage by Gabriel's penchant for fancy costumes and wacky antics. But when Gabriel left the group in 1975, the band was forced to change its approach. Drummer Phil Collins stepped into the singer role and the band continued on, at first in a similar vein, albeit without all the theatrics, but soon enough changed once again, this time into a chart topping pop machine, with albums such as Invisible Touch and We Can't Dance, and such singles as "Land of Confusion" and the über-dramatic "No Son of Mine." More

Jan 03, 2010 Comic Books Web Exclusive

Writer Brett Lewis and artist John Paul Leon have created a ripping yarn in The Winter Men. It's a shame that this critically acclaimed, yet poor selling WildStorm mini-series slowly leaked out its five regular issues plus an over-sized special over three years. The woes of a protracted print schedule may of hindered this series but that type of gradual build is almost necessary for such an engrossing and dilapidated tapestry of post-Soviet life. More

Dec 22, 2009 Music Web Exclusive

While inherently dark and possibly blasphemous, an album like Six draws its strength not from its lyrical content or its effective incorporation of influences, but from its ability to utilize space and sound together. Of course, the lyrical content and the might of Black Heart Procession's influences all play into it, but the band's latest opus is not simply a sloppy assemblage of the two. More

Dec 21, 2009 DVDs Web Exclusive

Vernon Chatman (PFFR, Wonder Showzen, Xavier: Renegade Angel) wrote an absurd, surreal screenplay, divided it into four parts, and, although his script included no sex, hired four different boutique adult film companies to produce each section. More

Dec 21, 2009 Music Web Exclusive

For people who can't stand Neil Young, who find his voice grating, his guitar screechy and disjointed, After the Gold Rush is the album they should most definitely avoid. Young detractors can also point to the issues with "Southern Man" since, well, Lynryrd Skynyrd already did (and who wouldn't want to be on that side of that argument?). More

Dec 18, 2009 TV Web Exclusive

"Don't drink the water, don't even touch it, not one drop" warns one character in The Waters of Mars, which returns Doctor Who to form after the last two good, but not great, special episodes (The Next Doctor and Planet of the Dead). The welcome dark tone is driven by a moral dilemma faced by The Doctor, one specific to time travelers. It's rare to find The Doctor so indecisive, so reluctant to step in, and David Tennant plays the character with the complexity and gusto we've come to expect since he took over the mantle of the long-running and iconic character in 2005. This is the last of three episodes to star Tennant as The Doctor before Matt Smith takes over the part next year and The Waters of Mars reminds viewers why he's a fan-favorite and how much he'll be missed. More

Dec 18, 2009 Cinema Web Exclusive

Emily Blunt is assured and stately in her role as the British monarch whose accession to the throne in 1837 launched the Victorian era, yet so much is made of Victoria's youth during the early section of the film that the smarts and resolve Blunt brings to her performance becomes a distraction. More