Killing of John Lennon Is So-So

Mark David Chapman will stay at Attica

(USER SUBMITTED) - It's been 30 years since John Lennon was shot to death outside his New York apartment, and in that time his killer has applied for parole six times. Once again, his plea for release has been rejected. Mark Chapman, now 55, was given a 20-years-to-life sentence for the December 1980 murder of the former Beatle. The Daily Mail reports that the New York State Parole Board declared that Chapman will remain in maximum security at Attica until at least August 2012. More»

In failed bid for release, gunman says he had been in search of fame

(NEWSER) - Mark David Chapman told the parole board that he is ashamed of killing John Lennon, according to transcripts of the hearing released yesterday. "I feel now at 53 I have grown into a deeper understanding of what a human life is. I have changed a lot," he said in his failed bid, the AP reports. More»

Chapman remains behind bars for 1980 murder of ex-Beatle

(NEWSER) - The man who murdered John Lennon nearly 30 years ago was denied parole for a fifth time today, the Daily News reports. A state parole board panel blocked the release of Mark David Chapman, who shot the former Beatle outside his New York City apartment building in 1980, because of the premeditated nature of the attack. Yoko Ono had urged the board to keep Chapman behind bars. More»

Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones return for alien flick

(NEWSER) - Sure, no one was that desperate for a Men in Black 3—but it's actually a pretty good summer movie. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are back defending the planet from aliens, and this time, Josh Brolin's along for the ride as a young Jones.

• The movie "turns out to be so much fun," writes AO Scott in the New York Times . While it "carefully fulfills its blockbuster imperatives—with chases and explosions and elaborately contrived plot twists—it swerves into some marvelously silly, unexpectedly witty, and genuinely fresh territory."

Johnny Depp stars in Tim Burton film

(NEWSER) - Critics aren't thrilled with Tim Burton's latest offering, inspired by the late-1960s cult TV show of the same name and starring Johnny Depp as an 18th-century vampire who is buried alive, only to be accidentally dug up in 1972. The film isn't sure what it wants to be:

• Dark Shadows "tries to serve too many masters," writes Joe Neumaier in the New York Daily News . "Initially it’s an epic valentine to the show. Then it’s a vamp-out-of-water story. Soon it’s a gung-ho comedy. Finally it's a monster flick." Still, it "unearths enough fun."