Luhrmann’s ‘Gatsby’ is far from great

May 9, 2013
Filed under Entertainment, Off the Wire, Reviews

By Colin Covert Star Tribune (Minneapolis) (MCT)  Call it "The Grating Gatsby." Although the incurably exuberant Baz Luhrmann had the glitter factories and sequin mines working overtime, his glitzed-up "Gatsby" is dishwater dull. Because he has an eye for spectacle but is deaf to emotional detail,... Read more »

‘The Iceman’ remains in a deep freeze

May 3, 2013
Filed under Entertainment, Off the Wire, Reviews

By Betsy Sharkey Los Angeles Times (MCT)  LOS ANGELES _ Michael Shannon has basically rewritten the book on how to portray dark, volatile men in film with his unerring way of channeling rage and repression. It was never more chilling, or more fully realized, than his turn as a family man both paralyzed... Read more »

‘Saturday Night Live’ on Yahoo!: Where to start?

April 29, 2013
Filed under Entertainment, Off the Wire

By Patrick Kevin Day Los Angeles Times (MCT)  LOS ANGELES _ Beginning in September, Yahoo! will become the exclusive online home of "Saturday Night Live's" massive 38-year archive of shows. That's roughly 742 episodes, not including the promised additions of behind-the-scenes clips, rehearsal video... Read more »

‘The Host’ keeps too much of the movie inside Saoirse Ronan’s head

March 26, 2013
Filed under Entertainment, Off the Wire, Reviews

By Roger Moore McClatchy-Tribune News Service (MCT)  In the future, hunger, violence and money have disappeared. Lying is unthinkable. And stealing _ from the place where one acquires one's every need, a building labeled "Store" _ is pointless. Because we're all wearing spotless white suits and... Read more »

‘Downton Abbey’ loses O’Brien, adds 6 new cast members in Season 4

March 5, 2013
Filed under Entertainment, Off the Wire

By Meredith Blake Los Angeles Times (MCT)   NEW YORK _ "Downton Abbey" is going to look quite different when it returns for a fourth season. On Friday Siobhan Finneran _ better known to fans as O'Brien, Lady Grantham's constantly scheming, severely coiffed maid _ confirmed that she is... Read more »

New season of “Idol” isn’t what it used to be

Rebecca Holcomb, Round Table Features Editor
March 4, 2013
Filed under Entertainment, Reviews

  In the summer of 2002 Fox Network premiered a new reality singing show, “American Idol.” With the charming Ryan Seacrest and the arrogant yet entertaining Simon Cowell, the show became an instant favorite. The success of “Idol’s” first winner, Kelly Clarkson, set the tone of the show for... Read more »

Love is on the air

Johanna Yee, Executive Editor
March 1, 2013
Filed under Entertainment, Reviews

It might as well be the fourth of July with all the sparks in the air.  It’s that season again; it’s bachelor season.  For the past 12 years, The Bachelor has caught many women’s attention.  And this season is no different, as it already has viewers around the country hook, line and sinker.  The... Read more »

James Franco is the wizard in ‘Oz the Great & Powerful’

March 1, 2013
Filed under Entertainment, Off the Wire

By Frank Lovece Newsday (MCT)  NEW YORK _ Before he was a whiz of a wiz, if ever a wiz there was, the Wizard of Oz was Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkel Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs, late of Omaha. So it was said in "Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz," the fourth of L. Frank Baum's classic children's... Read more »

‘Snitch’, starring Dwayne Johnson, keeps viewers guessing

February 21, 2013
Filed under Entertainment, Off the Wire, Reviews

By Michael Phillips Chicago Tribune (MCT)  Large, in charge and nobody's little Margie: Dwayne Johnson takes on the drug kingpins in "Snitch." Place your bets! "Snitch" comes from a story told in a "Frontline" documentary about the post-Reagan-era injustice of mandatory minimum sentencing for... Read more »

“Les Miserables” sings its way to the top

Cecelia Bettendorf, Round Table reporter
January 15, 2013
Filed under Entertainment, Reviews

The people waiting in line for the movie “Les Miserables” were different than those waiting in lines for other movies. Not only were they holding their popcorn and drinks, they also clutched tissue boxes in their hands, anticipating the tears to come. On Christmas day, the musical “Les Miserables”... Read more »