Henry Rollins

This program documents the making of the first album by The Doors. In addition to archival footage exploring the band's early history, the living members of the group demonstrate how the band's sound developed. In addition, Bruce Botnik, the group's recording engineer, explains how their sound was captured for posterity. A number of other musicians weigh in with their explanations of why this record has remained a classic. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

In 1987 Public Enemy emerged as one of the most formidable forces in rap music with the release of their landmark sophomore album It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back; nearly 20 years later, Chuck D and the crew still have what it takes to get their powerful message across while whipping the crowd into an absolute frenzy. On the heels of Public Enemy's 2007 release How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul, a wide variety of musical artists including Henry Rollins, Jonathan Davis, Tom Morello, Talib Kweli, and the Beastie Boys come together in order to reflect on the power of a group whose influence continues to be felt even as they move forward to blaze new trails. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

When a reformed grifter currently running a prosperous alibi service for adulterous husbands inadvertently becomes an accessory to murder, he is forced to execute one last, well-timed con as a means of clearing his name in this lightning fast caper comedy starring Steve Coogan, Rebecca Romijin, Selma Blair, and Sam Elliot. Ray (Coogan) is a smooth operator with a special knack for helping his fellow man dodge the proverbial bullet. When a married man simply can't resist the urge to have a bit of fun on the side, Ray is the man they call to ensure that word of their infidelity never gets back to their unsuspecting wives. When the spoiled son of a high-profile client accidentally kills his clandestine lover on the eve of his wedding, Ray is shocked to discover that he has been implicated in the crime. With a small-town cop targeting him on one side and a mysterious assassin known as "The Mormon" locking him into his sights from the other, desperate Ray must now enlist the aid of his beautiful new recruit Lola (Romijin) in carrying out one last con designed to both clear his name, and save his life. The debut feature from co-directors Matt Checkowski and Kurt Mattilda, Lies and Alibis also features performances by James Brolin, Henry Rollins, James Marsden, Debi Mazar, Jerry O'Connell, and John Leguizamo. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Few artists are quite as outspoken as former Black Flag frontman Henry Rollins, and in this performance captured live at Town Hall during the prolific actor, author, and Rollins Band founder's two month "Spoken Word Tour," fans can take home all of the hard-edged wisdom and humor that have endeared Rollins to generations of punk rockers. At times enraging but always engaging, Rollins' pointed observations about pop-culture, politics, and a quarter-century of life on the road provide an entirely unique perspective on modern American life. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The lost subculture of America's rebellious, Reagan-era hardcore set is explored in filmmaker Paul Rachman's cinematic adaptation of Steven Blush's book. Disillusioned by politics, angered by greedy record labels, and bound together by a powerful antiestablishment sentiment, bands such as Minor Threat, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, and Bad Brains paved the way for such later bands as Nirvana and Pearl Jam by fearlessly questioning -- and frequently mocking -- the status quo, and proving that you don't need radio play to reach an audience. Whether working for a real change or simply attempting to shake things up in the music scene, these bands gave a voice to the legions of youthful fans who felt their opinions had been neglected in mainstream society. In this documentary, concert footage combines with interviews to offer a comprehensive look at the musical revolution that defined an era. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Formed by two childhood friends from San Pedro, CA, D. Boon and Mike Watt, the Minutemen were at once one of the key bands in the Southern California hardcore punk scene of the '80s and a group who flew in the face of all rules, including those of punk rock. Named in part because their early songs usually lasted 60 seconds or less, the Minutemen were a band who stripped their music down to the bone -- short songs with minimal solos and wiry structures -- but at the same time found ways to integrate elements of funk, jazz, and world music into their bubbling aural bouillabaisse. Despite the stark frameworks of their music, no one could argue that the Minutemen couldn't play -- bassist Watt and drummer George Hurley were one of the most potent rhythm sections in underground music, and Boon's guitar work marked the place where Jimi Hendrix and Captain Beefheart's influences met. While many punk bands bellowed harsh political rants, the Minutemen offered pithy but intelligent discourse on the world around them, focusing on how larger issues impacted ordinary folks in a way few people in rock ever managed. And the Minutemen's "econo" philosophy took D.I.Y. to a new level, as they set out to show by example how even the most cash-strapped musicians could bring their music to the people. (Their best album, Double Nickels on the Dime, was a two-record set recorded for less than 2,000 dollars.) The band were critical favorites on the cusp of a new level of popularity following a tour opening for R.E.M. when their career was stopped in its tracks by the tragic death of Boon in a car wreck in late 1985. We Jam Econo: The Story of the Minutemen is a documentary which tells the full story of this unusual and influential group, featuring performance footage of the Minutemen on stage, extensive interviews with Watt and Hurley, and contributions from friends and family members. Interview subjects include Thurston Moore, Ian MacKaye, Flea, Henry Rollins, Keith Morris, Greg Ginn, and many more. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

When snowboarding first rose to popularity in the 1980s, many people didn't know what to make of it -- taking the thrashed-out style of skateboarding and moving it to the ski slopes, snowboarding was hardly welcomed by the old-school winter sports establishment who regarded 'boarders as punks and misfits. But as more people took up the sport and the extreme sports community developed a following that couldn't be ignored, a grudging acceptance of the sport (and the skills of the best board riders) followed, and now snowboarding is one of the world's leading winter sports. First Descent is a documentary in which some of the pioneers of the snowboarding movement (among them Nick Perata, Shawn Farmer, and Terje Haakonsen) talk about the past, present, and future of the sport with some of the top new riders on the slopes (including Hannah Teter and Shaun White). But along with sharing some friendly conversation, these snowboarding legends get together for the trip of a lifetime -- a journey to a beautiful Alaskan mountain range that has never been skied or 'boarded before, giving the veteran riders a chance to show that they still have what it takes, and the new stars a challenge no one has ever faced before. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Stars Martin Lawrence and Will Smith return along with director Michael Bay and producer Jerry Bruckheimer for this sequel to the 1995 sleeper hit Bad Boys, the film that sparked the careers of both actors, as well as Bay. Once again, Lawrence and Smith play hotshot, wisecracking Miami narcotics officers Marcus Burnett and Mike Lowrey. This time around, Burnett and Lowrey have been assigned to head up a task force to investigate the illegal trafficking of ecstasy into the city. They discover that an underground gang war has been instigated by drug kingpin Johnny Tapia (Jordi Molla). In order to cut off the flow of the designer drug, they have to take down Tapia. Unfortunately, there's a wrench thrown into the gears in the form of Burnett's sister Syd, whom Lowrey takes a liking to and begins a relationship with. Tensions rise between the partners, threatening both their friendship and the investigation and putting Syd in harm's way. Also returning from the first film are Joe Pantoliano as Captain Howard, Theresa Randle as Burnett's wife Theresa, and former-NBA star John Salley as 'Hacker' Fletcher. Among the supporting players new to this entry in the series are Peter Stormare and musician, spoken-word artist, and sometimes-actor Henry Rollins. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Former Prada model and Road Trip co-star D.J. Qualls makes a bid for leading man status in this nerd-makeover comedy. Qualls stars as Dizzy, a dorky but delinquent high school student who's determined to get expelled from his hellish high school -- but ends up landing in jail instead. There he meets the intimidating, street-smart Luther (Eddie Griffin), himself a former geek, who takes Dizzy under his wing to teach him the art of being cool. Soon Luther and his pals have broken Dizzy of his meek, maladroit ways, and Dizzy is ready to start a new life at a new high school under a new name: Gil Harris. When Gil arrives at East Highland High -- his former inmate reputation known to all -- he quickly ingratiates himself with the cool kids and lays to waste any jocks who stand in his way. He even manages to date the school's most coveted girl, Danielle (Eliza Dushku). But when a face from his past shows up, it seems that his facade as the big man on campus may be about to crumble. The New Guy also stars Zooey Deschanel and Lyle Lovett, and features cameos from rockers Henry Rollins, Gene Simmons, and Tommy Lee. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

A retired architect returns to work at the behest of unlikely patrons in this low-key drama. Richard and Kate Banks (Jack Conley and Rebecca Staab) are a well-to-do couple who want to buy a home in Southern California. While house-hunting, Kate discovers the charred remains of a house that was never completed -- and she is highly intrigued by what she's found. Kate discovers the property belongs to Mercedes (Shirley Knight), who informs Kate that the unfinished house was one of the last works from Harry Mayfield (Philip Baker Hall), a once-famous architect who left his career behind when his marriage broke up years before. Kate and Richard buy the unfinished house and contact Harry, inviting him to complete his project for their new home, and Harry agrees. Sensing this could be a major event in contemporary architecture, Kate persuades her friend Gaby (Laura San Giacomo), a filmmaker, to make a documentary about Harry and his new project. As Gaby speaks at length with both Harry and his younger assistant Arthur (Henry Rollins), she and Kate discover just how strong-willed (and how difficult) Harry can be, and as Harry struggles to complete a difficult and deeply personal work, Kate finds a new personal strength through his efforts. A House on a Hill marked a return to dramatic filmmaking for director Chuck Workman after directing a pair of acclaimed documentaries about iconoclastic artists, Superstar: The Life and Times of Andy Warhol and The Source. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In the mid-'70s, skateboarding was widely seen as a fad of the 1960s that had all but died out, except for a handful of committed fans in California. But that began to change with the emerge of the Z-Boys, a team of teenaged skateboarders who emerged from a decaying urban community in Santa Monica, CA. Hard-core surfers who sought to translate the hot-dogging stunts of world-class wave riders onto their skateboards began hanging out at the Zephyr Productions Surf Shop, a store that stocked top-grade equipment for local surfers and skaters, and with the help of the store's owner Jeff Ho, twelve of the skaters organized themselves into a team to compete at local skate events. Soon the radical moves and scruffy-streetwise style of the Zephyr Skate Team -- the Z-Boys for short -- upended public preconceptions of skateboarding as a sport and a lifestyle, and the wild style of Z-Boy skaters such as Tony Alva, Jim Muir, and Jay Adams made them celebrities who blazed the trail for the extreme sports movement. But while the Z-Boys' success brought them a measure of fame and fortune -- lucrative endorsement contracts, deals to manufacture their own custom skateboards, and even movie roles (Tony Alva starred opposite Leif Garrett in Skateboard, while Z-Boy Stacy Peralta was top-billed in Freewheelin') -- their fame proved to be fleeting, and several of the Z-Boys fell prey to drugs, crime, and ego. Dogtown and Z-Boys is a documentary by former Z-Boy Stacy Peralta that chronicles the glory days of the Z-Boys through footage of the skaters in their prime and interviews with the pioneers of the Southern California skate scene. Rock musicians and noted skate enthusiasts Ian MacKaye, Henry Rollins, and Jeff Ament also appear to discuss the importance of the Z-Boys' legacy; Sean Penn narrates. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide