2008 Anyone who spent Memorial Day weekend not glued to A&E’s two-night premiere of the miniseries “The Andromeda Strain,” worry not: The “epic television event” is now available in DVD, in an easier-to-digest three hours, shorn of 60 minutes’ worth of commercial interruptions. But it’s still too long. Adapted from the Michael Crichton novel, “Strain” […]
Rod Lott
Posted inArts & Culture
5 Films by Dario Argento
2008 As it should, the blood flows bright red in the Italian giallo movies that comprise Anchor Bay’s box set “5 Films by Dario Argento.” Known for his stylish eye behind the camera —? not to mention the oft-traumatized eyes in front of the camera —? Argento is one of the few directors worthy of […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Indiana Jones: The Adventure Collection
2008 Chances are, home-video enthusiasts already own the original “Indiana Jones” trilogy on DVD. But with a new sequel about to burn up theater screens for the summer, Paramount has reissued them in special editions, collected together as “The Adventure Collection.” Whether you should double-dip depends upon your love for extra material, as the transfers […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Speed Racer
Reviewer’s grade: Dkknd I still remember the stretch of Interstate 44 I was driving on in 1995 when the news came over the radio waves that the animated classic “Speed Racer” was due to make the jump (cue the Mach-5 sound effect) to the movies, with Johnny Depp in the lead and Nicolas Cage as […]
Posted inNews
Oklahoma’s weapon of mass-media destruction celebrates first anniversary
On Tuesday, an Oklahoma City Web site hit a few thousand times each day celebrates its first anniversary. Unlike other well-traveled Web destinations, it does not provide a useful service or product, like e-mail and MP3s. It does, however, regularly feature a photograph of purportedly a popular local anchorwoman in a pink bikini. The Internet […]
Posted inNews
Oklahoma City author hopes to keep the Western alive and well
After growing up on a public library-fed diet of Western paperbacks, Sean Chandler was destined to write about cowboys when he first decided to tackle fiction five years ago. There was only one problem: “I don’t think people read Westerns anymore,” the 36-year-old postal employee said. “It may be something I feel passionate about, but […]
Posted inMusic
M83 — Saturdays = Youth
Mute M83 is one of modern music’s best-kept secrets. The moniker of Anthony Gonzalez, M83 takes its name from a galaxy, which is wholly appropriate, given that his music shines and sparkles like the stars. Electronic music rarely is both experimental and accessible, but through five albums now, the tunes of M83 have forged new […]
Posted inNews
Auto dealership participates in breast-cancer charity
Test-driving a car is great, because it allows potential purchasers to try before they buy. And test-driving a BMW on Tuesday is greater, because it also benefits the fight against breast cancer. For the 12th annual BMW Ultimate Drive Supporting Susan G. Komen for the Cure, 25 BMWs will be available for a charity-supporting spin […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Lake Placid 2
2008 Written by TV wunderkind David E. Kelley, 1999’s “Lake Placid” was an crocodile movie with little bite —? a harmless, mildly engaging, summer-season concoction of horror and comedy. By contrast, the only laughs to be had in “Lake Placid 2” are the ones you’ll emit at it, rather than with it. Released straight to […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Jumper
Reviewer’s grade: C- Might as well jump … to whatever’s playing next door at the multiplex, should your ticket stub read “Jumper.” Although this problem-plagued production (its leads were replaced two months into filming) isn’t a disaster, a mess is still a mess. Anti-actor Hayden Christensen (“Awake”) plays a young man who can teleport […]