Civil Cinema—The Spanish Civil War film series at the National Hispanic Cultural Center fires its opening round salvo on Thursday, March 23, with Julio Medem's 1992 drama Vacas. The film will be presented in Spanish with English subtitles. Screening is free and begins at 7 p.m. in the Wells Fargo Auditorium (1701 Fourth Street NW).

Depression-era melodrama simply depresses

Occasionally, Hollywood filmmakers are allowed to engage in what is known as a “vanity project.” This is normally a film that an actor, writer or director is desperate to make and has typically spent a very long time developing. The basic rule of thumb is this: If a filmmaker has spent more than 10 years working a project, audiences can reasonably assume it's going to suck. Why? Hard to say. Perhaps it's simply that artists lose their perspective when it comes to a project they've invested so much in.

South African gangsta drama more cute than cutting edge

The titular character in the Academy Award-winning foreign film Tsotsi is a dead-eyed teenage thug living the hard-knock life in a crumbling Johannesburg ghetto. (“Thug” being the literal translation of the symbolically sobriquetted “Tsotsi.”) Our protagonist is also the leader of a tight-knit gang of friends/cohorts just big enough to encompass all the usual clichés (one guy is big and dumb, one guy is skinny and violent, one guy is smart and wears glasses).

“Deadliest Catch” on Discovery

Whenever I think I hate my job (which, honestly, isn't all that often--maybe during the rare National Lampoon Presents film or the occasional “Skating with Celebrities” results show), my mind drifts toward the pursuit of other occupations. I'm figuring, at this point, the window of opportunity for “astronaut” and “international super spy” has pretty much closed on me. Of course, the other thing that keeps me safely shackled to my desk here at the Alibi is the realization that it could be a hell of a lot worse. I could make my living tarring roofs or filling potholes or--God forbid--writing scripts for “The Simple Life 4.”

Week in Sloth

The Week in Sloth