One of the great French comedies of the past decade was “The Dinner Game.” I still chuckle just thinking about it. So Paul Rudd and Steve Carell have a lot to live up to in an American remake, in which Rudd plays a brownnosing executive trying to please his boss by bringing the stupidest guy he can find to dinner. That would be Carell.
Rumors are flying regarding the much-talked about Janis Joplin biopic - and if it will ever get off the ground. The idea has been in the works for more than a decade, but so far nothing.
Last weekend, the AMC television show “Mad Men” returned for another season of drinking, smoking and character-driven product pitching in the mid-’60s heyday of Madison Avenue advertising agencies. A documentary now available on DVD looks at the reality behind the age of advertising.
Going back to school isn’t as boring as some students may think.
New on the Flicks hatin’ list is animal movies — specifically comical, live-action animal movies in which the animals speak, but the humans are either completely absent or oblivious.
This week’s suggestions: Check out “Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore” or “Dinner for Schmucks,” celebrate Cheesecake Day, celebrate J.K. Rowling and all things Harry Potter, observe National Clown Week and get ready for International Beer Day.
This how-to book on the process of writing a book, getting it published and selling it is an excellent primer for first-time authors about to write and publish.
JULY 25 BASEBALL HALL OF FAME — Singer/songwriter John Fogerty performs at induction ceremony, contributes customized guitar for exhibit.
Word has it, Bill Murray took a voiceover role in “Garfield: The Movie” by accident. Murray said this week that he took the role because he mistakenly thought the movie was written by Joel Coen. It was actually by Joel Cohen. When asked why he also took part in the sequel, he said it was because he enjoyed working with Jennifer Love Hewitt. Now I know he’s lying.
Bette Midler doesn’t do a lot of screen acting these days. For the past couple years she’s been on an extended concert tour, keeping those divine vocal chords in shape.
Reviews of the latest from The Brian Setzer Orchestra, The Gaslight Anthem and The Henry Clay People.
Counting Crows has always been the kind of rock band that loves surprising its audience with unlikely covers. That’s why, even if it’s been two years since the last album, “Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings,” their current tour promises to include plenty of music not heard before.
To these ears, 2010 has been a superb year for new music, with the release of a slew of highly recommendable albums. Here’s another batch of recent CDs (and a concert DVD), each worth checking out.
As if this summer’s sour crop of movies wasn’t painful enough, the folks at Sony have gone and dumped “Salt” into the wound.
When you listen to The Flaming Lips songs like “The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song (With All Your Power)” or “The W.A.N.D. (The Will Always Negates Defeat),” it might be hard to picture a band that had its songs featured on “Beverly Hills 90210” and “Beavis and Butt-Head” or commercials for Dell computers or Kraft salad dressing.
Films in this week’s Reel Deal column strap your mind into a rocket-propelled racecar and send it into overdrive. Prepare your mind to zoom, whir, weave and spin through a twisty, tangled track. You’re going to need a helmet. Afterward, you’re likely to feel dizzy, disoriented, daffy (and DiCaprio’d) as you try to make sense of what you’ve just witnessed.
It took a long time for bass player Stu Cook to find his musical direction. Before he was in the Blue Velvets and the Golliwogs, and way before those two bands morphed into Creedence Clearwater Revival, Cook was a trumpet player, then a pianist, then a guitarist. He and Creedence drummer Doug "Cosmo" Clifford and their bandmates, who make up Creedence Clearwater Revisited, are touring all over the country this summer.
Kevin Pollak is in the enviable position of not knowing whether to call himself an actor or a comedian. Pollak started doing stand-up routines more than 30 years ago. But he also has appeared in 70 movies, including roles in "A Few Good Men" (1992) and "The Usual Suspects" (1995).
Brian Regan isn’t known as a political comedian – and don’t worry, he’s not giving up his rants about Pop-Tarts, pirates or himself to become a pundit.
