|
|
Sitcom without borders
George Lopez is a multifaceted guy. There's the husband and father
who jokes about the time he discovered his roofers splashing in the pool
at his Toluca Lake house and they invited him to jump in because "the man - he's not home."
There's the avid golfer who escapes to his second home to chase a little white ball on the scenic course at Pebble
Beach.
There's the community activist who funds grants and scholarships for
needy people in the San Fernando Valley through CARE (Community and Arts
Resources for Education), for which he was honored this week by People for the American Way. ...[MORE]
"Complete Savages"
Logline: Keith Carradine stars as the patriarch of the
Savages, an all-male, no-hygiene home. His sons are the usual assortment
of ne'er-do-wells - dumb jock (Erik von Detten), self-absorbed musician
(Shaun Sipos), extreme-sports enthusiast (Evan Ellingson), wormy bully
magnet (Jason Dolley) and, of course, the nominally normal if love-struck decent kid (Andrew Eiden).
Pros: Carradine's amiable presence sets the tone. Writers
Julie Thacker-Scully and Mike Scully (both late of "The Simpsons" and,
uh, the honestly titled "The Pitts") create a cartoonish slobbishness
that can be amusing - imagine a live-action Homer and Bart ...[MORE]
• "dr. vegas"
• CBS fined $550,000 for Jackson stunt
• CBS names panel to probe Bush guard service story
• Orange County couple win "Amazing Race"
Bernhard's comedy keeps evolving
Comedian Sandra Bernhard's latest stage show is a mixture of many things, and the entertainer says she wouldn't have it any other way....[MORE]
• Fielder's choice
• Shalt thou make a killing?
• Joel, Tharp pack a winning punch
Theater Reviews | MORE IN STAGE >>
Under the hood with 'Star Wars'
You get the feeling that George Lucas is like his hot-rodder John
in "American Graffiti" - always souping up his engine, looking for a little edge.
With the release for the first time on DVD of the "Star Wars
Trilogy" - the first films in the series, which we all know are
parts IV, V and VI - comes more tinkering. This after the 1997 re-release
of the remastered films, which had some new scenes added. The latest
tinkering is very minor (so keep your eyes open), but the films themselves - again remastered - look eye-popping and sound
spectacular. ...[MORE]
• September 17 releases
• 'Star Wars' debuts on DVD
MORE IN ON DVD / VIDEO >>
Gorgeous 'Sky' has limits
Dazzling to watch, difficult to give in to, "Sky Captain and the
World of Tomorrow" uses newfangled technology in the service of
old-fashioned Saturday-morning serials with decidedly mixed results. The
movie has no sets, no locations, just actors against blue screen, with
more than 2,000 effects shots simulating the fantastic worlds around
them. The sepia-toned fruits of this ambitious labor sometimes feel like
"Flash Gordon" by way of Guy Maddin - visually arresting, but also chilly and off-putting....[MORE]
• 'Mr. 3000' bats about .300
• 'Ghost in the Shell' a bit cracked
Features | Reviews | On DVD / Video | Video Games | FILM
New CD's this week
Green Day, "American Idiot' — The Berkeley punk trio breaks from the norm to create a 21-song punk rock opera. While never becoming overtly partisan, the group weighs in on our nation's current administration while stretching the boundaries of what a mainstream album should sound like....[MORE]
• U.K. singer Polly Paulusma cutting through on radio, in concert with 'Scissors'
• It's 19th century fireworks for Pacific Symphony
CD Reviews | Music News | MORE IN MUSIC >>
A new picture of Iran
For someone who didn't grow up with comic books, Marjane Satrapi has
proven a quick learn. Satrapi, who has followed up her best-selling,
critically acclaimed "Persepolis" with "Persepolis 2: The Story of a
Return" (Pantheon; $17.95), has essayed her youth in Iran - and, in her
latest book, her years of rudderless rebellion in Vienna, followed by a
return to an Iran that, despite the end of a revolution and a war against
Iraq, is no less oppressive - with two graphic novels that are by turns chilling, heartbreaking and caustically funny....[MORE]
• Book paints picture of Jimmy Hoffa's demise
• 'Supernumerary' describes life aboard a container ship
Books
|
|
