Arts and Entertainment

His name is Victor Mancini, and he's a sex addict. He might also very well be the ill-begotten descendant of Christ, but we'll get to that later. Most importantly Victor is the lead character in Clark Gregg's bitingly funny adaptation of the Chuck Palahniuk cult novel Choke. Palahniuk is known for his darkly twisted and heavily satirical social commentary, a la Fight Club, and he makes no exceptions for Choke. The film, which was adapted and directed by stalwart theater and character actor Gregg, remains shockingly faithful to Palahniuk's original work plot wise, but veers off course when it comes to that Palahniuk-patented nihilism and energy fans crave.

In an age where reality TV and celebrity gossip count as “culture,” it’s hard to imagine a quiet, plodding movie like Starting out in the Evening ever reaching the mainstream.

MTV’s longest running television show, “The Real World,” starts its opening credits with: “This is the true story of seven strangers picked to live in a house and have their lives taped…” But “true story” is actually a group of beautiful people with contrasting personalities living under one roof, then mix in drama, hook-ups and backstabbing—and there’s the basic recipe for reality television as we know it.

“Anybody who is on these shows knows the genre and that the camera is on, so they are acting in many ways,” said Ted Mandell Associate Professional Specialist in the

Yes, it’s true: Jay-Z is back with American Gangster, and he’s better than ever.

It’s a brilliant idea really - a concept album from a rapper. What better way to tell a story of struggle than through the poetics of rap? And who better to tell that story than Jay - possibly the best rapper to ever try his hand at the storytelling craft that is hip hop?