Tahar Rahim’s first major starring role has launched him into the stratosphere. A Prophet (Un Prophète) follows the rise of, Rahim’s Malik El Djebena, a young French hooligan of Arab descent, who within days of his entry into a Paris prison, is forced to murder another inmate who poses a threat to the Corsican mob. This brutal imperative serves as the springboard for Malik’s own rise to power in the criminal underworld. Embraced across Europe as a masterpiece, the Jacques Audiard-helmed epic is a 2010 Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film, and has earned Rahim the 2009 European Film Award and 2010 Lumiere Award, both for Best Actor. The 28-year-old newcomer from the city of Belfort, in northeastern France, took some time with us to discuss the project that has catapulted him to stardom.

Actress Jasika Nicole is enjoying a good run on one of TV’s more thrilling shows, Fox’s “Fringe.” Originally cast as a peripheral character, Nicole’s Astrid Farnsworth has seen a rise in popularity and storyline on the FBI drama which centers around a team that investigates unexplainable crimes that may be part of a larger and more disturbing pattern.

Hailing from Cardiff, Wales, buzz band Los Campesinos! has just released its third and most ambitious full length release yet in Romance Is Boring, and lead guitarist and principal songwriter Tom Campesinos! (every member of the band has adopted the surname Campesinos ala The Ramones) seems genuinely surprised when I mention that I took to the record right away.

A former war correspondent, journalist and filmmaker Greg Barker has been in some harrowing locations across the globe to get to the truth of the matter. His most recent work, the eye-opening documentary, Sergio, tells the story of the United Nations’ Sergio Vieira de Mello, an intensely charismatic master diplomat whom Barker describes as “the most important guy you’ve never heard of.” The go-to-guy for the world, Sergio Vieira de Mello was a compelling figure with movie star good looks often described as a “cross between James Bond and Bobby Kennedy.”

Being raised by four drunken louts has its ups and downs, and Felix van Groeningen’s The Misfortunates explores them both with equal precision. The Belgian production is concurrently one of the funniest portrayals of rambunctious, profanitystrewn mayhem in years, and an adeptly solemn commentary on the long-term effects of a chaotic childhood.

Ashley Brown has never actually met a real chimney sweep, but she has fed the birds and flown kites on the beach in her hometown of Gulf Breeze, Florida, and for audiences of the Ahmanson Theatre, Brown transforms eight times a week into one of the most magical literary characters ever to grace the stage and screen, Mary Poppins.

Documentary filmmakers, especially first-time directors, often have lofty ambitions that their film will expose and bring about change. In the case of Louie Psihoyos’ acclaimed The Cove, originally released in theaters over the summer and now available on DVD — mission accomplished. His film was instrumental to suspending the senseless, annual slaughter of bottlenose and common dolphins in Japan, as well as halting the distribution of toxic dolphin meat as part of a school lunch program.

Aserene hush sweeping over an entire crowd at the Roxy is an uncommon thing, yet as Robert Francis played his final song at the venerable Sunset club, there wasn’t a murmur or clink of a beer bottle. Francis has breathed new life into the rustic heart of folk, and mesmerized the room — a reminder that quiet simplicity can still hold sway.