There are some performers who make you laugh, some who impress you with how ridiculously talented they are, and some who simply make you feel better whenever you see them. Melissa Villaseñor does all three for me. I was reminded of that again this past weekend when I saw Melissa perform at The Den Theatre here in Chicago, and she was absolutely wonderful. I've seen her live several times over the years, including about five times now at The Den, and she somehow keeps getting

There are moments in an actor's career when everything seems to click. They suddenly hit this stretch where the performances are great, the choices are interesting, the collaborations are exciting, and you start seeing their name in the credits and thinking, "Okay, I'm in." Ethan Hawke is absolutely having one of those moments right now. Actually, he's been having one for quite a while. The latest example is The Weight, the outstanding new movie that's in theaters right now a

There are certain actors and actresses whose names in the credits immediately make me more interested in whatever I'm about to watch. I don't really need to know the plot. I don't need to know who directed it. I don't necessarily need to know whether the movie is any good. If Rebecca Hall is in it, I'm interested. I think Rebecca Hall is one of the best actresses on the planet. She's one of those performers who brings intelligence, gravity and credibility to everything she do

Conan O’Brien is one of my favorite comic voices of all time, and I think at this point we can safely stop referring to him simply as a late-night talk show host. He is certainly one of the greatest late-night hosts ever, but the guy has now been doing this for so long, in so many different forms, that he has become something much bigger than that: a genuine American comedy institution. And the wonderful thing is that he is still really, really funny. With the third season of

There are comedians who make you laugh, there are comedians who make you think, and then there are comedians who do both while simultaneously making a whole room of people incredibly uncomfortable. Ricky Gervais belongs in that last category, and that's one of the many reasons I love him. I happen to think he is one of the most important comedic voices of the last thirty years. Whether he's writing a sitcom, directing a movie, performing stand-up, hosting an awards show, doin

One of the things I love most about having this website is that it gives me an excuse to celebrate the people who have brought me an enormous amount of joy over the years. Sure, I use this space to review new movies, talk about television, recommend books, rant about pop culture, and occasionally climb up on one of my many soapboxes But sometimes it's just nice to say, "Hey, here's somebody I absolutely love," and spend a little time talking about why. Usually there's somethi