Never as exciting as an episode of 24
This Islamic-terrorist thriller takes us halfway around the world before landing on our shores to introduce us to the terrorists in our midst.
By MARK BAZER | August 27, 2008

The play's the thing

Steve Coogan masters tragic irony in Hamlet 2
Like Tropic Thunder , Hamlet 2 makes its satirical intent known straight away with a flurry of phony, funny commercials.
By PETER KEOUGH | August 19, 2008

Springtime for Darwin

The wars of evolution are louder than ever. What Ben Stein, Bad Religion, and a physics professor from Quincy can tell you about where you came from.
There are two stories, and two stories only.
By JAMES PARKER | May 07, 2008

Funny business

As the AltCom Festival arrives at the Somerville Theatre, we look at the roots of the indie comedy boom.
“Ashlee Simpson’s new album sold so poorly,” snorted the headline on Yahoo! this past week, that “it was beaten by a comedy album.”
By MIKE MILIARD | May 08, 2008

Baby Mama

Largely laugh-barren
Not even SNL’s whipsmart Tina Fey and Amy Poehler can save writer/director Michael McCuller’s pregnancy comedy from its fate as another condescending, self-congratulatory fantasy of maternal bliss.
By ALICIA POTTER | April 23, 2008

A philosopher in bunny ears

Steve Martin’s new memoir unlocks the freaky logic of his comedy
Martin’s new memoir, Born Standing Up , grants us our best access yet to this remote and brilliant figure — the cool architect of the comedy.
By JAMES PARKER | December 31, 2007

War, peace, and Robert Pinsky

The season's fiction, non-fiction, and poetry
Every few years, a fall publishing season emerges that should remind us that Boston could be the literary epicenter of America.
By JOHN FREEMAN | September 12, 2007

Masters of Muppets

The 20 best musical moments on the original Muppet Show .
Here are some of our fave muppet musical moments.
By CARLY CARIOLI AND RYAN STEWART | August 27, 2007

Fest or famine?

This year’s Boston Film Festival has a woman’s touch
Women filmmakers dominate this year’s festival, and an unflinching honesty marks their movies.
By PETER KEOUGH | September 08, 2006

Where it was

Boston Movie Tours gets wheels
As a wee lad, Jeff Coveney went down to the sea on Martha’s Vineyard in search of where Steven Spielberg and crew shot bits of Jaws . “Where’s the beach?” he remembers shouting out.
By GERALD PEARY | August 02, 2006

Project adventure

Cyrano at Trinity Rep, Heading for Eureka at Centastage
It’s hard to say which is bigger, Cyrano de Bergerac’s nose or his thesaurus.
By CAROLYN CLAY | June 02, 2006

Snappy patter

Trinity’s Cyrano gives us its words’ worth
The mythic attraction of Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac , with all its fabulous excess, is so enduring because we’d like it to be true to life.
By BILL RODRIGUEZ | May 23, 2006

Words of love . . .

. . . and a love of words in Cyrano de Bergerac
Mauro Hantman sat down heavily at a café table in the upstairs lobby at Trinity Repertory Company after a rehearsal of Cyrano de Bergerac .
By BILL RODRIGUEZ | May 10, 2006

Flashbacks, April 14, 2006

The Boston Phoenix has been covering the trends and events that shape our times since 1966.
These selections, culled from our back files, were compiled by Chris Brook and Jessica McConnell.
By EDITROIAL | April 12, 2006

Frank Smith at Great Scott

A band, not a man
Frank Smith are a band, not a man. At least, that’s what it says on their MySpace page.
By MATT ASHARE | April 04, 2006

Grow jobs

Why penis enlargement is poised to become the next big thing

By CHRIS WRIGHT | March 27, 2006

Spring break

The best of what's to come in March, April & May
Spring rules
By WILL SPITZ | March 09, 2006

The Pink Panther

Steve Martin's bungling gendarme scours Paris for a killer and the mother of all diamonds
The comic-sleuth series has struggled since the 1980 death of Peter Sellers, who incarnated the iconic French nincompoop Inspector Clouseau.
By TOM MEEK | February 15, 2006

Bachelor party

Wedding Crashers comes uncorked on DVD
It's easy to see how Wedding Crashers , the latest offering from the New Comedy Mafia, became the sixth-highest grossing film of 2005 (out-grossing The 40-Year Old Virgin by a cool hundred million dollars).
By AARON SOLOMON | January 31, 2006

Politics as usual?

Or will Hollywood cover the issues in 2006?
Conspiracy, corruption, catastrophe — politics and world events sure can be exciting. Even the mainstream news is taking an interest.
By PETER KEOUGH | January 26, 2006

Live from Denver: Blogs, video, real-time updates at thePhoenix.com/Election2008

More: DNC 2008

HOT TOPICS

Barack Obama , John McCain , Hillary Clinton , Democratic National Committee , George W. Bush , John Baldacci , Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Boston University , American Football Conference , Big East Conference