Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
A pregnancy, career change, and the unraveling of a relationship are front and center on the fifth season of “Girlfriends.” The sitcom, which is executive-produced by Kelsey Grammer, takes a more serious approach this year. Yes, the jokes and physical comedy are all still here.
Based on the real-life story of college football hero Ernie Davis, “The Express” will remind some moviegoers of the heart-tugging “Brian’s Song.” Ernie Davis was a star athlete at Syracuse University and the first African American to win the Heisman Trophy. Unlike other winners of that era, he wasn’t allowed to attend his banquet dinner because the venue didn’t serve blacks.
As we head into the tail end of 2008, some of us are hitting panic mode. Visitors will be stopping by for holiday meals. Guests may be staying for long weekends. And it seems like it will take years, much less a couple months, before we can get our house in tip-top shape. Have no fear. With the guidance of some experts, we’re here to help you get your house in order, from the outside in. We’ll tackle simple and cost-effective ways to tidy up your home’s curb appeal, organize your most cluttered rooms and also offer a few do-it-yourself design tips that will have guests remarking on your good taste.
Headed by an all-star cast of women, The Secret Life of Bees is the heartwarming and well-told story of a young girl who finds love and acceptance from a trio of independent sisters. “The Secret Life of Bees” is based on the bestselling book of the same name by Sue Monk Kidd and centers around the plight of 14-year-old Lily (Dakota Fanning).
Best known for playing Marcia on “The Brady Bunch,” Maureen McCormick has a new generation of fans, thanks to her spunky appearances on reality shows such as “Celebrity Fit Club” and “Gone Country.” But reality TV has nothing on the actress’s drama-filled early years. In her page-turning memoir “Here’s the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice” (William Morrow, $25.95), McCormick — now 52 — reveals that life wasn’t as perfect as it seemed on “The Brady Bunch.”
Part of the Route 30A New Urbanism movement, where places like Rosemary Beach and Alys Beach recreate small-town Americana fantasies in a strikingly appealing fashion, WaterColor is both mesmerizing and a little unnerving. Mesmerizing because it’s perfect, and unnerving for the very same reason. Most people who know the area are aware that the film “The Truman Show” was filmed nearby Seaside for a reason: It looked too good to be true.
The eighth season of “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” begins with the answer to the previous season’s cliffhanger: Yes, CSI Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox) survives. But fans of this top-rated crime procedural won’t be able to breathe a sigh of relief. By the end of the 17 episodes–which originally aired during the 2007-2008 television season–two fan favorites will be gone.
Comedian Jamie Kennedy is used to getting laughs in the United States, thanks to his work in the “Scream” films and his TV show “The Jamie Kennedy Experiment.” But making foreign audiences laugh wasn’t something he felt confident he could accomplish.
During the 1990s, Juliana Hatfield was the It Girl for alternative rock. More accessible and cooler than Courtney Love, Hatfield had a knack for penning clever songs with her group Blake Babies. She was an indie sensation that girls wanted to emulate and boys wanted to date. What her fans didn’t know was that Hatfield was battling both an eating disorder and depression. She contemplated jumping out a window — not, she says, to commit suicide, but so that she could escape her depression.
Based on the bestselling novel of the same name, “The Memory Keeper’s Daughter” is an emotional drama dealing with a family secret that eventually destroys a family. David (Dermot Mulroney) and Norah (Gretchen Mol) are the perfect couplel; he is a highly regarded physician and she is his beautiful, young, blond wife.