kimblr.com

Too rich, too young: The CW encores the pilot episode of its teen-themed hit “Gossip Girl” (8 p.m. CW).
Dodger legend: Tommy Lasorda coaches the would-be suitors on “The Bachelorette” (9 p.m. ABC).
Life’s a picnic: The family heads out for some Memorial Day fun on “Jon & Kate Plus 8″ (9 p.m. TLC).
Vanity, thy name is … : “Denise Richards: It’s Complicated” (10 p.m. E!) and “Living Lohan” (10:30 p.m.) are the latest celebrity-reality offerings from E!
Fashionable: Milan, Italy, is the destination on “Life’s a Trip” (11 p.m. Travel).
War … : AMC’s Memorial Day marathon includes the 1943 action tale “Guadalcanal Diary” (8 a.m. AMC).
… and peace: TCM’s movie marathon features the 1946 classic “The Best Years of Our Lives” (2 p.m. TCM).
Death from above: Benjamin Bratt and Eric McCormack star in a made-for-cable update of the 1971 sci-fi thriller “The Andromeda Strain” (9 p.m. A&E).
Baseball: The Dodgers challenge the Cubs (11 a.m. KCAL), and the Angels take on the Tigers (6 p.m. FSN).
Hockey: The Pittsburgh Penguins play the Detroit Red Wings in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals (5 p.m. VS).
Basketball: The Boston Celtics battle the Detroit Pistons in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals (5:30 p.m. ESPN).

latimes.com

Concert/reading of the new musical Babe:An Olympic Musical: 7 p.m. tonight and May 30, Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, 7380 E. Second St., Scottsdale. Hosted by the Pandora Festival of the Arizona Women’s Theatre Company. This is a concert/reading of a major new musical about women athletes, world-class competition, mothers and sisters and about the bisexual woman who broke all the rules to become the “athlete of the century” - Babe Didrikson. Tickets are $12 in advance at www.azwtc.org, $13 at the door and $40 for a Pandora Pass. (480) 607-7107.
Trace Adkins headlines D-backs post-game concert: The Arizona Diamondbacks are teaming up with Miller Brewing, Fry’s Food & Drug Stores and KNIX Radio to host a concert featuring country music recording artist and “The Celebrity Apprentice” runner-up Trace Adkins at Chase Field following the 5:10 p.m. game against the Detroit Tigers. The concert is free with a ticket to that night’s game. (602) 514-8400 or www.dbacks.com.
Jazz in the Garden Spring Concert Series: 7-9 p.m., Desert Botanical Garden, 1201 N. Galvin Parkway. Big Nick and the Gila Monsters featuring the Groove Merchant Horns (Jazzy Blues). Must be 21 or older to attend. $14 for members, $20 for non-members (includes admission). (480) 481-8188 or www.dbg.org.
The Wedding Singer (musical): through May 25, Arizona State University Gammage Auditorium. Presented by M&I Bank Broadway Across America - Arizona. Tickets available at the ASU Gammage Box Office and Ticketmaster, (480) 784-4444 or asugammage.com.
The Wedding Singer (film): 7 p.m., Harkins Valley Art Theatre, 509 S. Mill Ave., Tempe. Harkins and Arizona State University Gammage are bringing back the 1998 hit to the big screen in celebration of its theatrical version playing at Gammage Auditorium. The “Wedding party” kicks off at 7 p.m. with a free screening of the film followed by a sneak peek at the musical. Guests will also have the chance to meet the cast and win free wedding merchandise and tickets to the show at Gammage. The party is free and includes the movie screening. RSVP’s required to press@asugammage.com.

ahwatukee.com

Normally we stay far away from spoiler territory here on FS.net , but this time I’m going to do a favor for all you comic fans - stay after the end credts of Iron Man! You will definitely be in for a treat that I know will get some huge cheers. Let’s just say… you might have heard some rumors floating around on the internet last year, and one of these rumors is true. I haven’t personally confirmed this, since it was not included in the print I saw on Tuesday, however, confirmation comes from other showings around the world - including an actual video of the scene. If you prefer to stay under a S.H.I.E.L.D. and not hear about this until you see it, then do NOT read anymore!
If you are really that curious to know, the scene in question includes an appearance by Samuel Jackson as Nick Fury, a super-spy and the lead agent for S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Espionage Logistics Directorate). I do NOT condone watching this video - as it will RUIN your in-theater experience, but you can check it out on YouTube if you really need some confirmation. That’s definitely some solid proof that this scene is attached. However, for all we know, there could be more that is set to appear in American versions, including a rumored Hilary Swank cameo. But the first non-press screenings start tonight at 8PM - so we’ll report back soon thereafter.
We first wrote about this last summer - and now it’s official. I’m very excited to hear that the Avengers is now really coming together! However, I’m not sure if this really means an Avengers movie is actually going to be made before we get to Iron Man 2 or 3, but alas, only time will tell! The first step is to make sure Iron Man rocks the box office this weekend - so go see it and make sure to stay after the credits to catch the scene on the big screen!

firstshowing.net

Pairing artists from disciplines as various as music and hairstyling, with often surprising (and well-coiffed) results, Brief Encounters is one of the city’s more fascinating arts series. For BE 9, organizer the Tomorrow Collective has assembled duos such as a painter and filmmaker, a dancer and chef, a storyteller and an electric percussionist, and a textile artist and a keyboardist. Did we mention those involved have only two weeks to collaborate? See the results at the ANZA Club April 22-24. For more info visit www.tomorrowcollective.com.
brING ME SOME WATER
Thicker Than Water: My Sisters and I tells the story of Rosario Ancer and her seven sisters growing up in Mexico. Through narrative, dance, sound effects, stills and video projections, the Flamenco Rosario production takes the audience on a journey from Mexico to Spain to Canada. Thicker Than Water runs at the Roundhouse April 29-May 3. Call 604-631-2872 or visit www.ticketstonight.ca for tickets.
JOY OF JUGGLING
When not sword swallowing or spinning our poi, we hard-working Seven Days Ahead scribes like to juggle. And that’s why we’re totally psyched for a couple of upcoming Thomas Arthur shows at the Cultch. On April 24-26 this so-called “lyrical juggler” performs a family show called Luminous Edge, which tells the story of a wizard’s apprentice. AirPlay, April 26 & 27, also at the Cultch, is a more kid-oriented act in which Arthur juggles hoops, spheres, spirals, sticks, stones and cones synced to original compositions for guitar and fiddle. We bet even as we write this he’s out there somewhere juggling. Call 604-251-3311 for tickets.
Anyone remember the Del Fuegos? The Boston rock band put out a few albums in the ’80s, including the acclaimed Boston, Mass. Well, now lead singer Dan Zanes performs kid-friendly music for children and parents. He and his band perform at the Chan Centre April 27 at 3 p.m. Call 604-280-4444 for tickets.

canada.com

Felt a little short of breath the other day, walking up a hill. Uh-oh. A nugget of worry lodged for a moment in my mind. At 50-something, I’m in decent enough shape. I don’t smoke. I walk several miles most days, and I can still beat my 40-something friend at tennis. Not exactly a candidate for a heart attack. But still. I’ve read all those stories about women like me, the ones with no risk factors for cardiac disease who were suddenly hit with an attack.
Maybe you’ve had the same worries — wondered whether some sharp little twinge was heartburn or a heart attack, whether that nasty headache was caused by tension or a stroke. Almost everyone I know who has hit middle age spends a certain amount of time fretting about this or that ailment. My husband and friends and I used to talk about politics, science, religion, kids. Now no dinner party is complete without at least a few minutes’ discussion of cholesterol levels, the merits of walking vs. running, or whether or not snoring is a sign of sleep apnea.
It’s not as though we’re actually sick. Oh sure, a couple of us have high blood pressure, and a dear friend has a serious chronic disease. We all know at least one person our age who has died of cancer or a heart attack. As a medical reporter, I’ve met many people who suffer terribly from life-threatening or debilitating conditions, and I know that eventually nearly all of us will be hit with a serious illness.
But most of my friends and I, like most middle-aged Americans, are a remarkably healthy lot. If I asked my friends how long they plan to live, I’d bet they’d answer like the respondents to a recent UPI poll, which found that a majority of Americans believe they’ll live well into their 80s and beyond — even though the average U.S. life expectancy is 77. It’s not that we fear we’re in imminent danger of death, but that we think we have to be hyper-vigilant about disease to put it off as long as possible.

newamerica.net

The movie Ben Hur occupies a special place in my sister’s cabinet and her heart. Each time I try to watch it with her, I get excited and start screeching Judah! Judah!; alternately I push our couch around the house (like a chariot) with my sister still on it …
But even in my (vicarious) state of being Judah Ben Hur, it’s difficult to stomach the subtle but crappy propaganda that becomes blatant when the viewer is historically inclined, not yet retarded by the pervasive ever-present chemicals, or quite simply, someone with a weak digestive system (that would be me).
Ben Hur was written in 1880 by Lew Wallace, US Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, and released in 1959 as a must-see blockbuster; it is listed as one of the top 100 greatest movies by the American Film Institute and won a total of eleven Oscars matched only, I think, by Titanic; though I cried like a melting iceberg for James Cameron’s masterpiece — a labour of love which lost him his beautiful wife Linda Hamilton, for its period Ben Hur was a cinematographic spectacularity.
But like Troy, Alexander, Gladiator and other ‘Our Kind of Good will Triumph Movies’, Ben Hur was the product of US propaganda that contained a very political message pertaining to the geo-strategic status quo in the Middle East during Eisenhower’s reign as the 34th President of the US; as usual the thread connecting the movie to real life was rooted in foreign policy, the aim of which was to mould interpretation, discussions and perceptions of world events and to control and filter the various ways such events (read: wars) played out tangibly and in the collective psyche of the public.
Ben Hur is very indicative of the age: The old Anglo-French colonialists are in the process of being removed via Independence; New America — only recently freed from “distant shore” colonialism — rapidly developing into an economic mercenary, steps in to fill the vacuum by acting as a counterweight.

thoughtleader.co.za

With 85 wildly varied film roles to Christopher McDonald’s credit including Happy Gilmore, Thelma & Louise, Grumpy Old Men, Requiem for a Dream, 61*, Grease 2 and The Perfect Storm, he’s most likely been in at least one of your favorite films.
Now with Craig Mazin (Scary Movie 3 & 4) and David Zucker’s (Airplane & The Naked Gun) latest spoof comedy, Superhero Movie, Christopher McDonald boldly takes on yet another genre as Lou Landers and his evil alter ego, The Hourglass. In Superhero Movie, McDonald does a stellar job of spoofing the quintessential supervillain, as a dying man who must kill each day to gain new lifeblood and survive. When he meets up with his nemesis, Dragonfly (a purposefully thinly veiled takeoff on Spider-Man) played by Drake Bell, a hilariously stereotypical rivalry ensues. Supporting performances by Marion Ross, Pamela Anderson, Tracy Morgan and the master of deadpan, Leslie Nielsen, round out the cast and enhance Superhero Movie’s joke factor. Sara Paxton does an excellent job of portraying a silly Kirsten Dunst-esque love interest for Dragonfly, complete with fake cartoon-like nipples.
I met up with Christopher McDonald at a W Hotel in New York where we scrambled around as if playing a game of musical chairs in trying to find one another, as we both failed to realize the existence of several W Hotels within a ten block radius. We finally both landed in a mellow lounge and Christopher took a business call from one of my favorite directors, Miguel Arteta (director of “The Good Girl” with Jennifer Aniston). That got my juices flowing as we drifted into a conversation about acting, writing, philosophy and the many types of characters McDonald has chosen to take on throughout his thirty year acting career. Christopher McDonald loves to act and he is a kid in a candy store when I question him about the various parts he has slipped seamlessly into over the years.

pr.com

We’ve only ever mentioned the live-action Dragonball movie once before, in relation to casting. The reason is that I just have a feeling that it’s going to be complete crap. It’s being directed by the Final Destination guy (James Wong) with a script from the writer of The Big Hit (Ben Ramsey) and Wong again as well (who also wrote the scripts for Jet Li’s The One and some episodes of “The X-Files”). I could be completely wrong, but I’ve got to be convinced otherwise. A new set photo has appeared and it actually looks pretty awesome. Maybe this is the first good sign?
Thanks to our friends at SlashFilm for finding this. Peter only mentions that it came from someone named Troy Mustang from the shoot in Mexico City. As reported previously, most of it is being shot in Mexico.
Click the photo for full size.
Typically we don’t post photos like this, but this one really caught my eye. It actually looks pretty damn impressive and I thought it was cool enough to share with all of you. Maybe the set design on this is just incredible and it’s still going to be crap or maybe I’m being fooled and we’ve got a solid action hit in the works?
Dragonball stars Justin Chatwin as Goku, James Marsters as Piccolo, Emmy Rossum as Bulma, Chow Yun-Fat as Master Roshi, Jamie Chung as Chi Chi, and Park Joon as Yamcha. The movie arrives in theaters on April 3rd, 2009.
Dragonball fans - can you help us figure out what this is? Any clues as to what this might be or how it might be involved in the film?
That does look pretty awesome. I’m very excited for this movie even if it will be bad.
Evan on Mar 24, 2008

firstshowing.net

Like “Cinema Paradiso” and its tyke-centered ilk, “Under the Same Moon” places all its marketing eggs in the cute-kid basket, a container to which American art-house audiences seem particularly drawn. This time the bowling-ball eyes and scripted precociousness belong to the 9-year-old Carlitos (played by the 13-year-old Adrián Alonso), a Mexican moppet whose mother, Rosario (Kate del Castillo), works as an illegal domestic in Los Angeles. Every week Rosario calls her son from the same pay phone, while the movie milks sentiment from their separation and semaphores their reunion, an event as preordained as the end credits.
If only predictability were the worst of it. When Carlitos loses his caretaker and resolves to journey to Los Angeles on his own, the movie lines up a succession of nasty gringos to block his path. As he evades the clutches of a drug addict, child traffickers and the United States Border Patrol, nonwhites rally to protect him in the form of kindly migrant workers and traveling musicians. Meanwhile, jaunty musical interludes ensure that none of this becomes too depressing.
Of course Carlitos, with his preternatural composure and limitless spunk (the actor is a veteran of five features and countless television commercials), is never in any real danger. Besting challenges ranging from the implausible to the shamelessly contrived, the boy soldiers on to Mommy and an ending requiring the suspension of not only disbelief but also of all cognitive function.
Written by Ligiah Villalobos — who worked as a studio executive and knows what sells — and directed, with visible earnestness, by Patricia Riggen, “Under the Same Moon” blunts the hard edges of immigration with a thick coating of preciousness. Despite engaging performances from Ms. del Castillo and the terrific Eugenio Derbez as a testy road warrior — and some astute “Ugly Betty” product placement in the form of an America Ferrera cameo — the movie appears intended solely to encourage critics to wear out the word “heartwarming.”

movies.nytimes.com

“THE BANK JOB” (C): This is a solid, no-nonsense heist thriller, yet one that ultimately fails to distinguish itself from the many others of the genre. Jason Statham, star of the “Transporter” movies, plays the vividly named Terry Leather, a used-car dealer with a criminal past. He and some of his amateur thug pals get roped into robbing the bank’s vault by seductive ex-model Martine Love (the stunning Saffron Burrows). Martine herself has been roped into organizing the heist by her married lover (Richard Lintern), a member of MI5 who wants to retrieve some potentially scandalous photos of someone in the royal family, which are stashed inside a safe deposit box in the vault. 115 minutes. Rated R for sexual content, nudity, violence and language.
“BE KIND REWIND” (C):The frantically useless Jerry (Jack Black) gets zapped by an electromagnetic field while trying to sabotage a power plant in Passaic, N.J., and ends up accidentally erasing every tape at the video store where his longtime friend, the low-key Mike (Mos Def), works. The two hatch a scheme to reshoot a bunch of movies, starting with “Ghostbusters,” and rent them out to unsuspecting customers. Not only do people in town not mind, they fall in love with the makeshift movies. “Be Kind Rewind” could have been a clever, biting satire about pop culture but instead feels too fluffy and sweet. 101 minutes. Rated PG-13 for some sexual references.
“DRILLBIT TAYLOR” (C): Judd Apatow produced, Stephen Brill (“Little Nicky”) directed and Seth Rogen co-wrote the script to this one-note story about a trio of high school nerds who hire a bodyguard to protect them from a psychotic bully. Owen Wilson is the same low-key guy as usual, playing the titular Santa Monica homeless dude who pretends to have special ops training to get the gig. Young stars Nate Hartley, Troy Gentile and David Dorfman have a likable, goofy chemistry with each other, and the fact that they’re up-and-comers makes them more believable. But once you get past the premise, there’s just nowhere to go. 102 minutes. Rated PG-13 for crude sexual references throughout, strong bullying, language, drug references and partial nudity.

vindy.com