Film & TV
July 2, 2021
Texas Executed Carlos DeLuna for Murder in 1989. A New Documentary Says He Was Innocent.
The Phantom stylishly portrays what most everybody knows: the 27-year-old Texan didn’t kill Wanda Lopez.
By
Michael Hall
![Michael Hall's Profile Photo]()
Film & TV
Incisive criticism, features, and news related to Texans on the screen—and behind the camera
Film & TV
July 2, 2021
It’s Too Soon for ‘The Forever Purge’
The horror franchise attempts to skewer Trumpism, but the result makes for uncomfortable viewing.
By
Cat Cardenas
![Cat Cardenas's Profile Photo]()
Film & TV
June 28, 2021
Is the World Finally Ready to See Selena Gomez as an Actor?
As the Grand Prairie native readies Hulu’s ‘Only Murders in the Building,’ her acting career seems primed for rebirth.
Film & TV
June 25, 2021
A Scintillating but Uneven New Documentary Probes the Life of Trini Lopez, a Legend in Plain Sight
The Dallas native was a live-wire entertainer who never shied away from his Mexican American roots.
By
Paula Mejía
![Paula Mejía's Profile Photo]()
Film & TV
June 24, 2021
The Year Woody Harrelson Finally Became a Movie Star
Early in his career, Woody Harrelson couldn’t shake his reputation as the country rube from ‘Cheers.’ Here’s how that changed, starting 25 years ago.
Books
June 22, 2021
Texas Monthly Recommends: An Engrossing East Texas Novel
Stacey Swann's ‘Olympus, Texas’ is the read of the summer. Plus: a so-bad-it's-good reality show and Megan Thee Stallion on ‘Legendary.’
Film & TV
June 22, 2021
Hollywood Honors Texas’s Biggest Movie Star: The Chevy Suburban
The SUV will get a star in Arlington commemorating its thousands of movie and TV appearances.
Film & TV
June 16, 2021
Unsung Music Legend Tom Wilson Is Finally Getting His Own Movie
The Waco-born producer, instrumental to the careers of Bob Dylan, The Velvet Underground, and Frank Zappa, is the subject of an upcoming biopic.
Film & TV
June 16, 2021
Renée Elise Goldsberry Talks ‘Girls5eva,’ ‘Hamilton,’ and Her Renaissance-Woman Career
The Houston-raised actress has conquered Broadway and television. Now she’s about to smash music—and Marvel’s ‘She-Hulk’ series.
By
Cat Cardenas
![Cat Cardenas's Profile Photo]()
Film & TV
June 14, 2021
Donny Cates’s ‘God Country’ Movie Will Bring Superheroes to Texas
The Austin-based artist is adapting his West Texas–set tale for the screen.
Film & TV
June 11, 2021
Chris Harrison Was Part of the Bachelor Franchise’s Problem
The Dallas native’s departure as host is the end of an era. And a welcome start to a new one.
By
Cat Cardenas
![Cat Cardenas's Profile Photo]()
Film & TV
June 11, 2021
‘12 Mighty Orphans’ Is the Cornball Texas Football Movie We Need Right Now
The film, based on a true Fort Worth story and starring Dallas native Luke Wilson, is a welcome post-pandemic balm.
By
Dan Solomon
![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Film & TV
June 10, 2021
Bachelor Franchise Host Chris Harrison Was Great Until He Wasn’t
The Dallas native’s departure as host of the ABC reality series is a shake-up that viewers didn’t know they needed.
Film & TV
June 10, 2021
Jensen Ackles Is Finally Realizing His Superhero Dreams as Soldier Boy
The Richardson-bred actor and former ‘Supernatural’ star has two major roles this year, after a lifetime of near-misses.
Film & TV
June 9, 2021
Jeff Nichols Is the Perfect Director for the Next ‘A Quiet Place’
The Texas filmmaker has built his career on escalating tension and dread.
By
Dan Solomon
![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Film & TV
June 7, 2021
Everything We Know About Robert Rodriguez’s Austin Film With Ben Affleck
Prepare for paparazzi photos of Ben wistfully vaping near Lady Bird Lake.
Film & TV
June 4, 2021
Texas Monthly Recommends: A Farm-to-Table Fredericksburg Restaurant
Plus, a really good lemon cookie and an upbeat musical on Netflix.
Film & TV
June 3, 2021
All Hail Jesse Plemons, King of the Soft-Boy Sociopaths
The actor from Mart, Texas, is becoming a full-fledged leading man in Hollywood.
Film & TV
May 29, 2021
Since U Been Gone, Kelly Clarkson Has Taken Over Daytime TV
The Burleson native will inherit Ellen DeGeneres’s time slot, and the future of daytime talk.
Film & TV
May 26, 2021
‘High on the Hog’ Rewrites Food History On-screen
The new Netflix documentary series reclaims African American culinary and cultural contributions to the U.S. with the utmost care.
Film & TV
May 26, 2021
Port Neches’s Andrew Dismukes Had a Great First Year on ‘SNL’
The hero of every small-town Texan class clown has blazed a new path to 30 Rockefeller.
Film & TV
May 18, 2021
‘The Get Together’ Throws a Party Even Shakey Graves Can’t Save
Texas filmmaker Will Bakke’s latest movie offers only a glimpse of the joys and pains of young adulthood.
By
Cat Cardenas
![Cat Cardenas's Profile Photo]()
Film & TV
May 18, 2021
Eva Longoria’s Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Movie May Be Based on a Frito-Lie
Plano probably had more to do with the invention of the snack than Richard Montañez's inspirational tale did.
Film & TV
May 7, 2021
Historic 6666 Ranch Almost Twice the Size of Chicago Gets the Perfect Steward
Imagine all the westerns filmmaker Taylor Sheridan could shoot on 266,000 acres of property.
By
Dan Solomon
![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Music
May 7, 2021
50 Cent Is Texas’s Newest Celebrity Transplant
Plus, Megan Thee Stallion talks to pets, Shea Serrano turns his childhood into a sitcom, and Eva Longoria brings Flamin’ Hot Cheetos to the big screen.
Art
May 7, 2021
TM Recommends: See Modern Art (and Eat Delicious Food) at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Plus: a nine-year-old Texan steals the show in ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ and a podcast revisits the 2003 backlash against the Chicks.
Film & TV
May 6, 2021
Selena Deserves More Than Netflix Kitsch
Part two of Netflix's Selena series delivers a more confident version of the Tejano icon than part one, but fails to portray the late singer as the nuanced person she was.
By
Cat Cardenas
![Cat Cardenas's Profile Photo]()
Film & TV
May 3, 2021
HBO Max Orders ‘Love and Death’ TV Series Inspired by Texas Monthly Articles
The limited series, from Lionsgate Television, will star Elizabeth Olsen and be written by David E. Kelley.
Film & TV
April 30, 2021
Is Randy Quaid Serious About Running for California Governor? His Tweet Sounds Like It.
Plus: Texas transplants Elon Musk and Joe Rogan attract yet more controversy, Ted Cruz gets into it with ‘The Daily Show,’ and Selena Gomez explores her dark side.
Film & TV
April 23, 2021
Gabriel Luna and Pedro Pascal Will Star in HBO’s ‘The Last of Us,’ Bringing Texan Authenticity to the Apocalypse
Plus: Matthew McConaughey leads Greg Abbott in the polls, Hilary Duff will lead a ‘How I Met Your Mother’ spinoff, and Post Malone makes music history.
Film & TV
April 20, 2021
What ‘Cruel Summer’ Gets Right About Texans
The soapy teen drama takes place in a fictional Texas town that—aside from an extravagant kidnapping plot—looks like home.
By
Cat Cardenas
![Cat Cardenas's Profile Photo]()
Film & TV
April 16, 2021
Can Selena Gomez and Matthew McConaughey Persuade Texans to Get Vaccinated?
Plus: Demi Lovato has an unusually good week, Spoon and ‘Shameless’ come full circle, and viewers demand the FCC do something about Megan Thee Stallion.
Film & TV
April 6, 2021
Sesame Street’s Newest Muppet Is Played by a 22-Year-Old Texan
As a kid in Brownsville, Bradley Freeman Jr. taught himself puppeteering. Now he’s educating preschoolers about race through his role on the beloved PBS show.
Film & TV
April 2, 2021
Film Buffs Are Fighting to Save Houston’s Historic River Oaks Theatre
"We have to do whatever it takes" to preserve the 82-year-old indie cinema, Richard Linklater said in a panel event this week.
Film & TV
April 2, 2021
Can Woody Harrelson Bring Good Vibes to Nazi Germany?
Plus: Lizzo and Megan Thee Stallion headline Bonnaroo, the Austin Film Festival puts the pandemic behind it, and Jason Statham shoots Post Malone in the head.
Books
March 26, 2021
The Larry McMurtry I Knew
I caught my first glimpse of the 'Lonesome Dove' author on the streets of Archer City when I was a teenager. It was an encounter that shaped the rest of my life.
Film & TV
March 26, 2021
‘King of the Hill’ May Get a Dang Ol’ Revival
Plus: Matthew McConaughey and friends raise millions for storm relief, Lizzo’s TV show launches a model search, and Jamie Foxx rings in as Mike Tyson.
Film & TV
March 26, 2021
‘Boyhood’ Star Ellar Coltrane Is Leaving Texas—But Staying Far From Hollywood
The actor stars as a gun-toting Smiths fan in ‘Shoplifters of the World.’
Film & TV
March 25, 2021
‘The Last Blockbuster’ Is a Fond Farewell to the Nearly Defunct Video Chain
Each blue VHS box was a transmission from another planet that promised there were others like me somewhere.
Film & TV
March 24, 2021
A New Genre of Film Is Already Here: COVID Movies
The first COVID films are poised to address a pandemic that isn't through with us yet. Here's why these early, imperfect takes on the past year are still worth watching.
By
Dan Solomon
![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Film & TV
March 23, 2021
Alan Tudyk Is Ready to Be Taken Seriously
After decades of playing goofy sidekicks, the El Paso–born, Plano-bred actor finally has a leading role.
By
Dan Solomon
![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Film & TV
March 19, 2021
Guy Clark’s Wife, Susanna, Tells Their Story in a Contemplative New Film
He was more famous, but she was a talented artist and songwriter too—and ‘Without Getting Killed or Caught’ finally puts her in the spotlight.
Film & TV
March 19, 2021
‘Language Lessons’ Nails the Art of Zoom-Era Filmmaking
In this feature-length series of video calls, Natalie Morales and Mark Duplass manage to create a relationship with lightness and heart.
By
Cat Cardenas
![Cat Cardenas's Profile Photo]()
Film & TV
March 19, 2021
Who Is Demi Lovato’s Honesty For?
For a decade, the pop star has made openness about mental health and addiction a core part of her brand. With ‘Demi Lovato: Dancing With the Devil,’ she’s finally embracing honesty on her own terms.
By
Anna Walsh
![Anna Walsh's Profile Photo]()
Film & TV
March 19, 2021
Liz Lambert’s Documentary on the San José Motel Offers a Glimpse at South Congress Before Gentrification
Before she revamped one of Austin’s seediest motels, kicking off the neighborhood’s transformation, Lambert spent three years running the place—and filming her interactions with customers.
Film & TV
March 18, 2021
On Texas Time: Filmmaker Channing Godfrey Peoples
The director and producer talks about how growing up on Fort Worth's Southside shaped her work, including her new film, ‘Doretha's Blues.’
Film & TV
March 16, 2021
Hayden Pedigo Ran for Amarillo City Council as a Joke. A New Film Captures Why He Was Worth Taking Seriously.
The then-24-year-old musician’s campaign started as satire and grew into a rare opportunity to change the conversation around local politics.
Film & TV
March 12, 2021
No, Really, Matthew McConaughey Might Run for Governor
Plus: Megan Thee Stallion spices up the Grammys, Selena Gomez considers giving up music, and Post Malone gets in on the NFT craze.
Film & TV
March 11, 2021
How SXSW Transformed a 280,000-Person Festival Into a Virtual Extravaganza
With no long lines, no traffic, and no parties, South by Southwest is going to look a lot this different this year. Here’s how organizers pulled it off.
By
Dan Solomon
![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Business
March 5, 2021
Alamo Drafthouse’s Founder Vows to Protect What Makes It Special
Yet, in an interview two days after the beloved cinema chain’s pandemic-induced bankruptcy filing, Tim League also says he can’t guarantee changes aren’t coming.