"Jerichow" is the story of two men and one woman with lots of secrets among them, mostly about things in their various pasts that they would rather remain hidden.

The first time Dave Alvin performed with the Guilty Women, last year at a bluegrass festival in San Francisco, the musicians did not rehearse until an hour before they went on stage. But with this particular group of pros, Alvin didn’t have any fears.

I laughed at some of the gags in Mel Brooks' "The Producers," but I also felt uncomfortable with many of the portrayals. I wrote this in my notebook: “Gay minstrel show.”

As a bank robber, John Dillinger  demonstrated some style. Unfortunately, these scenes don't appear in "Public Enemies." Director Michael Mann focuses instead on Dillinger's physicality as a bank purloiner, leaping on top of counters, threatening bank employees and blasting his way out of jams.

Stock your iPod, MP3 player or stereo with songs perfect for Independence Day celebrations.

When I was a kid, growing up and impressionable, Michael Jackson was the coolest person. I wanted to sing like him, dance like him, dress like him – I wanted to be him. My parents even got me a Michael Jackson coat one year for Christmas. I was the bomb, doing a little dance and turning around.

Dinosaurs, Dillinger, and a pair of films imported from Europe.

Computer animated movies have come a long way. They typically attract top-notch talent for the voice work and, while aimed mostly at children, have enough oomph to keep an adult entertained. That’s why, when a derivative stinker such as the first “Ice Age,” rolls around, it’s almost shocking.

“Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” may start out slow and dumb, but once it finds its feet and begins to evolve and adapt, it grows into something pretty special.

Whoever thought it a good idea to cast Johnny Depp as the infamous John Dillinger should be shot in a dark alleyway, along with director Michael Mann.

It takes a lot to distinguish yourself in the blues world. Rick Estrin & the Nightcats' "Twisted," while it might be revolutionary, hits all the right notes.

For two years, Larry Tye pored through thousands of research pages and wrote hundreds of pages about an often-overlooked American icon: baseball great Leroy “Satchel” Paige. Satchel’s story, said Tye, is about overcoming “every obstacle any human being could ever imagine.”

A short film is tricky. If it has too much story, it feels crowded, and viewers wonder why it wasn’t a full-length movie. But if it’s too slight, it can feel dull no matter how short it is, and viewers will get bored and switch it off.

When Don Brewer looks back on his life with Grand Funk Railroad, he sees 40 years of incredible highs - and plenty of lows, too. But right now, Brewer says, he's somewhere in the middle.

Staind has always been known as a rock band that produces great ballads. Or is it a ballad band that knows how to rock? The Massachusetts-based group, which formed 15 years ago and has topped the charts with hits like "So Far Away" and "Fade," has managed to appeal to all sorts of fans, from the devout heavy metal heads to the fans who are happy to sing along to the heart-wrenching love songs like "It's Been Awhile."