Arts & Lifestyle

When you think of some of the big names in literature you probably think of authors like Aristotle, William Shakespeare and Leo Tolstoy. All of them are coincidentally men. Here is a top ten list of influential women writers in honor of National Women's History Month.

The new thriller from "Training Day" director Antoine Fuqua takes the viewer on a journey through the lives of three unconnected New York City cops. The drama does not let up from beginning to end, making for a suspenseful ride.

"The Crazies" is a twisted horror film that wasn't half as bad as I expected. This remake of the 1973 classic features violent freaks, action sequences and an anti-government sentiment. A few stars, an interesting plot and down-to-earth characters really pull this movie together.

In their debut album, Titus Andronicus may have went into hipster overload with spoken word Albert Camus and Shakespeare. But with their release of "The Monitor," these Jersey kids prove that they've grown up and moved on to more mature territory.

Haiti has been in the news a lot lately, mostly because of the earthquake and the extensive recovery effort afterward. But that is not a complete picture of Haiti. Warm up those earmuff headphones - here are five Haitian musicians who you should be on your radar.

As part of the Independent's coverage of Black History month, here is a list of black artists who helped shape the history (and future) of rock music.

The second coming of Matt Skiba is here; the band has finally made it out of their goth kid phase and gone back to their roots of slick (but sincere) pop punk.

Who is Patient 67? In "Shutter Island," it is all Leonardo DiCaprio cares to find out. Based on the book by Dennis Lehane, this Scorsese adaptation delivers over two hours of mind-twisting suspense. While it has its flaws, the film is definitely worth a look.

Introducing the Mish-Mash, a chronological playlist of outstanding recordings by my favorite black artists. In honor of Black History Month, plug in those headphones, turn up the volume, close your eyes and drift away. You won't be disappointed.

Fan Death, a Brooklyn born, Canadian based band, released their five-track EP “A Coin For The Well", a subpar release that is comparable to a forgetful 19-minute faux-rave.

I just pulled a record off the back shelf from the kings of extraneous punctuation, You Say Party! We Say Die!. It’s their newest album, "XXXX", and if you’re wondering why you forgot about it or never heard of it, it’s because the album is, quite frankly, terrible.

Watch This, Not That" is a regular guide that saves you the trouble of suffering through the bad movies to get to the good ones.

"The Wolfman", which hit theatres on Feb. 12th after a number of delays that kept it from its original November release, sports an incredibly dynamic cast of well-decorated actors. However, not even Academy Award winning Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins were able to pull it out from the depths of mediocrity.

It’s almost Valentine’s day, and in this most sexy of holiday seasons, it is often hard to ignore the fact that while there are tons of romantic playlists for Barry White fans, there is very little out there for those of us who prefer a louder, faster soundtrack to their Valentine smoochin’.

San Francisco-based band, Girls, fall into the category of overhyped college music despite their best attempt to stand out from the grain.