Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
Take two male figure skaters, throw in a preposterous storyline, and you’ve got Blades of Glory, a surprisingly funny film that almost makes you forgive Will Ferrell for his back-to-back 2005 clunkers “Kicking & Screaming” and “Bewitched.”
It’s difficult for music fans to think of their idols as anything but hard-partying, wild rock stars. But take a look at Rev. Run (formerly of the rap group Run-DMC) and what you see today is a cool dad exasperated and amused by his children, who probably are much more tame than he was at their age.
In the sweet family drama “Aurora Borealis,” Joshua Jackson portrays Duncan, a twentysomething former hockey player who deals with the death of his father–10 years prior–by bonding with his grandfather Ronald (Donald Sutherland), whose own health is deteriorating due to the onset of dementia.
Few would have guessed that Yves Saint Laurent idolized beatniks, and even secretly desired to become one. But already known for his impeccable taste and proper upbringing, the fashion designer was reticent to change too much from what brought him fame–haute couture.
For almost everyone in the entertainment business, awards season culminated with the Oscar ceremony late last month. But for J. Wayne Anderson and Mary Ann Anderson, 2007’s ShoWesters of the Year, the festivities are only just beginning.
Take a pair of bumbling brothers and mix in a couple of hot female roommates, and you’ve got “The Loop,” a sitcom that hopefully isn’t representative of how immature the average twentysomething is these days. The seven episodes from the comedy’s debut mini season–which aired from March to April 2006–focuses on the haphazard life of Sam (Bret Harrison), a brilliant, young airline executive referred to by his boss as “Thesis” because of his uncanny ability to remember everything there is to know about airplanes and the airline industry.
More than two decades ago, an Israeli rock star affectionately known to his fans as Poogy decided to create his own film festival. An avid lover of the arts and an actor himself, Poogy invested $35,000 of his own money into the venture and formed a fest designed to showcase the work of Israeli filmmakers. He was unsure of how film fans would react to his project, but he was certain that it was something he had to try.
Take “Animal House,” throw in a dose of television’s :Bosom Buddies” and you get the Phoebe Cates/Matthew Modine sex farce “Private School.” The 1983 film was shot one year after Cates won fame in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” (thanks primarily to her little red bikini), and two years before Modine won rave reviews for his work in “Vision Quest.”
Who hasn’t dreamed of living in a castle? In the Orkney Islands, visitors can fulfill that dream by booking a night or two at Shapinsay’s Balfour Castle.