"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.

Some of the most interesting movies are the ones that simply follow characters at their places of work. Male stripping is an especially interesting profession for a movie to explore.

Some of the most interesting movies are the ones that simply follow characters at their places of work. Male stripping is an especially interesting profession for a movie to explore. “Magic Mike” looked like it might tell the definitive male stripper story just as “Boogie Nights” told the ultimate tale of the porn business. Sadly, “Magic Mike” doesn’t say anything very fascinating about the day-to-day lives of strippers. In addition to offering no new incite regarding this occupation, the film features no interesting characters for the audience to engage with. The end result is an unfortunate missed opportunity.

LOS ANGELES — The waxing, the thongs, the perils of topless typecasting: Playing strippers taught the men of "Magic Mike" something about women.

Steven Soderbergh makes movies about sexy subjects, then strips away the sexiness about them. He is fascinated by process, often to a clinical extent.

Forget those nauseating TV spots drenched in the sugary pop songs of Rihanna and Maroon 5, with images of shirtless men parading down the beach. If you come to “Magic Mike” expecting the senseless ladies’ night out the advertisements promise, you might be dissatisfied. Although stripping plays a key role, it is merely a jumping off point for a much darker, bleaker film.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced on Tuesday that Matthew Allen will be the new special agent in charge for the agency's Arizona operations.

When the Arizona Cardinals played the Carolina Panthers at University of Phoenix Stadium last Sunday, one of the Cards’ most faithful followers — Matthew Errico of Scottsdale — told his father he was in too much pain to attend.

Gary Matthews Jr. swiped home and hit a three-run double, Juan Rivera, Jeff Mathis and Maicer Izturis homered and the Los Angeles Angels cashed in on four Arizona errors to defeat the Diamondbacks 12-8 on Sunday afternoon.

Mesa police arrested an 18-year-old man and two juveniles a woman said she saw break into a vacant house she was watching on Thursday that had been broken into before.

Mesa police arrested an 18-year-old man and two juveniles a woman said she saw break into a vacant house she was watching on Thursday that had been broken into before.

Mesa police arrested an 18-year-old man and two juveniles a woman said she saw break into a vacant house she was watching on Thursday that had been broken into before.

A Chandler man who manufactured and sold steroids over the Internet was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison for his role in operating www.anabolic-superstore.com, the United States Attorney’s Office in Connecticut announced Thursday.

Scottsdale police arrested a man on suspicion of aggravated assault and violating a protection order after he was found hiding under a pile of clothes in his ex-girlfriend's closet early Saturday.

Mesa Skyline easily won its home opener Friday, shutting out San Luis 34-0 in a 5A Division II nonregion game in Mesa.

Chris and Mike Rounis wanted to leave the corporate world behind them and spend more time with their son, Matthew.

OFFENSE

Complete list of players mentioned in the Mitchell report:

A man who died after crashing his Ford pickup truck into a barrier on the entrance ramp of the Loop 101 from the U.S. 60 near the Tempe-Mesa border Thursday morning was identified as a 20-year-old from Tempe.

The U.S. Marshals Service in Phoenix announced late Thursday that it had tracked down two convicted child molesters after they fled from Mesa to Mexico, according to authorities.