The emperor is still nekkid

Let's not forget how George Bush won the presidential election or the inanities he's uttered before or since. Despite the war, despite everything, the man is a chucklehead.

Gentrify this

Wayne State conference addresses gentrification issues and concerns.

Free Will Astrology

Airing a grievance

Hamtramck, Windsor and 14 enviro-groups join forces to reduce incinerator emissions.

Don't bogart that vote

City Clerk wants medical marijuana initiative thrown out; proponents will take it to court.

Ferdinand redux

'By any scam necessary'

The federal government isn't paying reparations to black folks in the form of a special tax rebate ... but there are thousands of people asking for it on their returns.

Greening the recession

The mayor takes on the budget deficit and hopes to punish polluters while he's at it.

Helping the handicapped

There's hope for disabled folks who want to score, although they might have to lower their standards a bit. Dan's not afraid to give it to 'em straight (or bi, or whatever).

Lovin’ velvet

Pauline and Paulette

Watching the feature debut by Belgian director Lieven Debrauwer, one becomes increasingly dismayed at the gap between what the film aspires to be and what's actually on the screen. It plods along with steady and shallow steps, alternately clichéd, cute and appallingly sentimental.

Frailty

Directed by and starring Bill Paxton, Frailty has a weakness for perversely parodying ’60s TV shows and Christian family values. The title may be the only perfect thing in this changeling of a horror flick that ends up shifting its bad religion from the psychological to the supernatural.

Changing Lanes

Random chance or divine intervention puts two men on a literal crash course. But car crashes don’t drive this flick; they just start it up and shift it into high gear as it breaks open a view of an America where races, classes, and power and ethics clash. For a Hollywood movie, that’s a welcome change — with Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson.

Behind the Sun

Brazilian director Walter Salles' film is a visual step up from his last (and Oscar-nominated) feature, Central Station, while again sentimentalizing its story by having a young boy as a central character. It's an entertaining little tale, if you like the lavishly downbeat.

Taking a chance on love

Andie MacDowell goes for a walk on the young-stud side.

The Sweetest Thing

In this romantic comedy, romance is just an excuse for a string of very funny shtick — featuring the dazzling Cameron Diaz and Christina Applegate as her best friend. It’s a lot of laughs, poking fun at both men and women, with a split-your-gut dream sequence (girls, you gotta see this one).

Here Be Monsters

Psychedelic Furs

Talk Talk Talk

Forever Now