AP - "The Healing" (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday), by Jonathan Odell: Set in the darkest heart of plantation-era slavery, "The Healing" is a remarkable rite-of-passage novel with an unforgettable character, a forceful medicine woman named Polly Shine......»»

Reuters - "A Different Kind of Truth" is a pretty ponderous name for a not very ponderous album -- Van Halen's first in 28 years with David Lee Roth as frontman. If they'd been in as cheeky a mood titling it as they were in recording it, maybe they could .....»»

AP - "The Lost History of 1914: Reconsidering the Year the Great War Began" (Walker & Co.), by Jack Beatty:.....»»

Reuters - Over the last 25 years, there's been a real boom in feature animation, from Disney's re-emergence with "The Little Mermaid" to the rise of Pixar and Studio Ghibli to the mainstream distribution of adult-targeted films like "Persepolis" and "Walt.....»»

Reuters - Oscar-winning documentary maker Kevin Macdonald has made what critics are calling the definitive biography of reggae legend Bob Marley, aided by the singer's family and record label who have given the project their blessing......»»

Reuters - Does Sinead O'Connor still have a major problem with the papacy?... Come on. Is the Pope Catholic?.....»»

Reuters - Wasn't it enough that the duo known as Sleigh Bells were already attempting a tricky mixture of sugary pop, indie rock, and dreamy electronic textures on their celebrated debut album? On the followup, "Reign of Terror," they throw caution and li.....»»

AP - "Wanderlust" would provide an intriguing double feature with the acclaimed indie drama "Martha Marcy May Marlene.".....»»

AP - Is there a place in the consciousness of the average, all-American worker for pure Emersonian idealism — a linchpin in the shaping of American thought and identity?.....»»

AP - Associated Press movie writers David Germain and Christy Lemire are boringly in lockstep on their picks for this season's top Academy Awards categories, depriving them of their usual snide debate over who's going to win......»»

AP - The PlayStation Vita won't replace your smartphone......»»

AP - Just barely a movie, "Act of Valor" is more like a high-quality recruitment video with interstitial acting......»»

AP - "Act of Valor" — In this high-quality recruitment video, sissy things like plot and character development have been chased out of the theater as if by a barking drill sergeant......»»

Reuters - The U.S. Navy should slash its recruiting budget and just schedule screenings of "Act of Valor.".....»»

Reuters - If you think all Best Foreign Film Oscar nominees are whispery meditations on the nature of mortality or earnest dramas set against a conflict between two rubble-strewn countries, rest assured that the Belgian import "Bullhead" falls in neither .....»»

Reuters - "Act of Valor," an action movie starring actual Navy SEALs, is poised to be the top movie at the box office this weekend......»»

AP - Theatergoers arriving at Classic Stage Company's new off-Broadway production of Bertolt Brecht's "Galileo" might feel like they instead wandered into a space show at the Hayden Planetarium......»»