"Mud" has the feel of a classic, although it's perhaps not enthralling enough to be one. The third and most elaborate feature to date from writer-director Jeff Nichols seems to have been adapted from a novel that doesn't exist -- something by James Lee Burke, perhaps, or Cormac McCarthy, or some other specialist in frequently violent tales about the challenges to masculinity and the forging of new identities that face rural people who belong to a sprawling modern world -- who might be hanging out in a supermarket parking lot one moment and falling into a creek full of deadly cottonmouths the next.

With a reputation for being innovative and versatile, Dante Ariola made a name for himself directing commercials for the likes of Coca Cola, Nike and Lexus. What began as a substantial career in graphic design morphed into a myriad of film work, including music videos for bands like Cake and Cypress Hill, and a documentary short about wildlife conservationist Dr. Alan Rabinowitz, entitled “Man & Beast.”

The Montessori Exploratory Committee has moved forward in its year-long proposal to build a stand-alone Montessori high school within Tempe Union, gaining added support from parents.

Riveting, intelligent and a masterclass in acting, “Beyond the Hills” is likely to be the best film you’ll see this spring or maybe even this year.

The Ahwatukee Swim and Tennis Center has many options to help beat the heat this summer by jumping into the pool.

Summer is coming up and the school year is coming to an end. Parents will face the inevitable question, what to do with the kids?

The way Andy Lane reacted it looked as if he just came up short in the biggest at-bat of his life.

Representing the state, Desert Vista High School sophomore Gen Fitzgerald will compete in Washington D.C. next month for the National Brain Bee.

Director Kief Davidson’s journey through Rwanda and Sudan was not only a filmmaking venture, but a life-or-death trek for eight Rwandan children afflicted with rheumatic heart disease. A firsthand look into their lives and the high-risk surgical procedures they must endure, “Open Heart” is a powerful documentary bringing much-needed attention to a disease that affects nearly 18 million people worldwide.

‘Broken City’

Until the very end, she is described as “The Girl.”

Registration is under way for a new class at the Ahwatukee school starting in January.

A Phoenix sergeant who blew the whistle about inaccurate kidnapping statistics is facing termination for writing a series of memos that criticized the Phoenix Police Department.

As the country prepares to enjoy the 108th Baseball World Series, even those who may not be true baseball fans are often caught up in the spirit of America’s national sport. If you are indeed a die-hard baseball fan, “The Art of Fielding,” by Chad Harbach might be just the book for you. But don’t discount it even if you don’t know first base from a knuckle-ball pitch. Described by one critic as the “greatest baseball novel in a generation,” the sports theme is metaphorically much grander — that of the human condition.

Students and faculty at Arizona State University are hoping to invent not only the technology of the future, but also the narrative that accompanies those advances.

What if I told you that a fundamental component of our success is the ability to “unlearn” various things that we’ve already learned? I know. I know. You’d probably say I was crazy, right? Let me explain.

What if I told you that a fundamental component of our success is the ability to “unlearn” various things that we’ve already learned? I know. I know. You’d probably say I was crazy, right? Let me explain.

Many people like the idea of cooking with whole grains — They are so healthful! — but refrain from actually plunging in because so many of them are unfamiliar.

If you were to go into a bookstore to find “Marcelo in the Real World,” by Francisco X. Stork, it would be shelved in the young adult section and while it is an excellent choice for young readers (receiving 15 awards since its publication in 2009), it is also a story that will touch adult hearts and keep them turning pages to see how a 17 year old deals with a moral crisis that deeply affects the adults in his world.

Shark Week isn’t just on TV. The popular Discovery Channel celebration of the ocean’s most notorious predator is also happening at Sea Life Arizona in Tempe.