Screenwriter S. Craig Zahler imbues his first crime fiction with elements of a Western as an honest police detective tries to clean up a town that oozes corruption. But relentless violence heavily...

A cheeky provocation wrapped in a zingy punchline, Justin Simien's "Dear White People" recalls other memorably promising debuts - by filmmakers named Spike, for instance, whether Lee or Jonze. An...

G.M. Malliet continues to update the traditional British village mystery in her highly entertaining "A Demon Summer." While the village of Nether Monkslip is typical, the twist that Malliet spins so...

After playing the cowboy artist Charlie Russell, some called him Kid. After "Brigadoon" in summer stock, his cast mates called him Tommy. "J.K., Jake, Kim, Kimble. Never my first name. Never Jon...

Hank Phillippi Ryan's latest entry to feature investigative reporter Jane Ryland showcases the author's ability to balance humor, gripping drama, romance and contemporary issues. In "Truth Be...

The movie poster for "The Good Lie" features a smiling Reese Witherspoon, front and center. But, truth be told, neither Witherspoon nor her character is the film's star - not in the essential sense....

"Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She's 'Learned'" (Random House), by Lena Dunham In her new memoir, "Not That Kind of Girl," Lena Dunham relays a charming story about meeting...

A spooky surrealism has been the specialty of the Oregon-based animation studio Laika, the Pacific Northwest purveyors of 3-D stop-motion. The self-stylized descendants of the Brothers Grimm and...

Looking for Easy Street? Just follow the horned Hellboy, badass biker Clay Morrow or Vincent the lion man from "Beauty and the Beast." The guy behind the facades is Ron Perlman, whose...

"Nora Webster" is a compelling portrait of a grieving widow's interior life as she slowly emerges from the pain of her husband's death. The story is filtered so completely through Nora's point of view...