The afterlife is a pretty mysterious thing, even for those of us who have a good idea of where we’re going. What will our ultimate destination look like? Feel like? Will it have lots of harps? Could it spiral through nine circles? We read our Bibles and listen to the experts and maybe even watch

Caleb Smith has just won the lottery. It’s not the kind of lottery most people ever have a chance to play. The 26-year-old coder at the world’s largest search engine, Bluebook, has won a company-wide contest to spend a week with their famously reclusive president, Nathan Bateman. How reclusive? Well, to get to the guy,

As this seventh story starts, Dominic Toretto and his makeshift family of hotshot hot rodders and heavy-fisted rumblers are all focused on personal pursuits. Former undercover cop Brian, for instance, is gearing up to be a carpool dad and attentive hubby. And Dom’s love interest, Letty, is still trying to regain her memories—lost in a

High school coach Jim White has had his share of troubles. And most of them have sprung from his own actions. You could say he’s got a bit of a temper problem. I mean, he’s never beaten anybody up or anything. But he’s certainly never backed down from a shouting match if some other teacher

Nicky knows his stuff. It’s not the sort of stuff you’d teach your kids or talk about in mixed company. But it’s a certain well-practiced knowledge that only comes after a great deal of hard work and only, really, to a choice few. It’s like that light-footed grace some athletes have on the sports field.

Most queens don’t clean toilets. I just can’t imagine Elizabeth II scrubbing the ceramic thrones at Buckingham Palace. Queens likely have someone else do that sort of thing—someone like Jupiter Jones. Jupiter’s a toilet-cleaning professional—a pro bowler, if you will. She, her mother and her aunt provide maid services for Chicago’s upper class, ensuring that

Considering how many things could have gone wrong, it’s amazing just how many things go right in James Marsh’s absorbing drama “The Theory of Everything.” Though it never really penetrates the theories behind legendary theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, or really tries, “The Theory of Everything” is a naturally uplifting film about a gifted scientist who

Flinging itself into darker territory than the previous entries, “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1” is another impressive chapter in a series that has proven to be much more complex and thoughtful than the genre typically allows. Though it’s certainly much lighter on the action than previous entries, “Mockingjay” still brings a compelling story

Don’t let the routine premise of “Gone Girl” fool you. Though there have been plenty of thrillers about husbands and wives, “Gone Girl” isn’t really like any of them, blazing off into new territory with the dark satirical vision of director David Fincher and the cynical wit of novelist Gillian Flynn. Here is a pitch

If the preview for director Roger Donaldson’s “The November Man” made you feel like it was going to be a lazy R-rated James Bond experience, the movie itself does little to suggest otherwise. With Pierce Brosnan in the lead as a scorned special agent with a quick trigger finger, “The November Man” shows a little