Culture Catch-Up: Book your ticket to The Island
The loop is here, and we're bringing you in.
Movies. Without giving away the plot, it's hard to describe The Island, the sure-to-be blockbuster at the local theaters this weekend. But here are the basics: Lincoln Six Echo (Ewan McGregor) is too curious for his own good. Jordan Two Delta (Scarlett Johansson) is too beautiful. They have to escape the most impossible of situations set up by veteran action director Michael Bay, generally in the form of things crashing and mean men with guns. If you embrace your willing suspension of disbelief and disregard that part of the show seems to resemble an episode of the Jerry O'Connell television show Sliders, it's kind of exhilarating. It may not make any valid points about the morality of science, but did you really expect that? There's much more realistic violence of the schoolyard variety in Bad News Bears, the remake about the ragtag baseball team. These kiddies are foulmouthed and not particularly lovable, but they're entertaining at times–especially the kid in the wheelchair ("My mom says I have cancer of the eye"). While Billy Bob Thornton can spew cuss words with the best of them, it's kind of unclear why he's coaching the team or why we should care. It might be because Greg Kinnear as the evil rival coach likes to wear spandex.
Music. The musicians may not be happy about it–although their reasons are unclear to the public–but the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra became the first major American orchestra to snag a female music director last week. The lucky lady is Marin Alsop, who's currently conducting Britain's Bournemouth Symphony. For a sample of her direction, listen to the Brits play The Story of American Classical Music ($15), a CD released this month. For more women's work, pop in Raise Your Voice ($17) from the all-female Sweet Honey in the Rock. The album, filled with African chants and moving ballads, served as the soundtrack to their recent special on PBS.
Books. The estrogen is also pumping in bookstores with The Interruption of Everything ($26) by Terry McMillan. The heroine is dealing with the trauma of midlife: blah marriage, unfulfilled sense of self, drug-addicted sister, etc. But it seems these issues pale in comparison with McMillan's recent public domestic dispute. Her husband, the Jamaican hottie who was the inspiration for her novel How Stella Got Her Groove Back, is gay–a fact McMillan is kind of upset about. It makes you wonder if she would get any solace perusing New Rules ($26), by irreverent comedian Bill Maher. He offers his opinions in helpful snippets like "We don't need a Fox 'news alert' every time something explodes in Iraq. It's a war–breaking news would be when stuff stops blowing up. Until then, we'll assume Baghdad is just like Lindsay Lohan–getting bombed daily."
TV. And on the reality TV front, David E. Kelley, of Ally McBeal and The Practice fame, is taking part in what was once his worst nightmare: a law firm reality show. The Law Firm (NBC, July 28, 9 p.m. EST) pits a dozen fairly attractive JDs against one another as they try real cases with real outcomes. We're just surprised the pay off is so low. Just $250,000? The contestants obviously aren't billing NBC for enough hours. For a series that feels real but happens to be scripted, flip over to Over There (FX, July 27, 10 p.m. EST), about American soldiers serving in Iraq. It's pretty daring to start a series set during a war that's still happening, but Steven Bochco is doing it. And doing it well–early buzz has been amazing.
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