“When we were a band starting out in Ohio, I don’t think any of us thought that we’d go past high school,” Relient K guitarist Matt Hoopes admitted to me over the phone. “Then we got a record deal right before we went to college … so we made our first record, and then we made a second record...

“I think there’s a moment in everyone’s life where it’s this do or die moment,” Stephen Christian of Anberlin said, minutes after another terrific performance at Anaheim’s House of Blues on Dec. 3. “You have this one chance. Do you jump off the train and try to save the day? Do you go...

The title of OneRepublic’s new album, Dreaming Out Loud, may prove curiously prophetic for the alternative rock band’s debut release. For the time being, the relatively new band, fronted by the talented Ryan Tedder, seems to be living every band’s dream career. Just one short year ago, the band...

Borrowing from several animated Disney classics, not to mention films such as “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” and “Kate & Leopold,” “Enchanted” presents a premise in which cartoon characters are transported to the harsh confinements of reality. Giselle (Amy Adams) — a chirpy mixture of Snow...

While the deluge of musical films can be draining, there are still music-inspired tales that are destined to become classics, among them the new Bob Dylan biopic, “I’m Not There.” Co-written and directed by visionary filmmaker Todd Haynes, “I’m Not There” tells an engaging story while also...

Newly-released film "This Christmas" had a strong opening weekend, bringing in $26.3 million over the 5-day Thanksgiving weekend — coming in second place to Disney’s “Enchanted,” which opened with $49.1 million. The most impressive significance of "This Christmas’" successful opening weekend...

What will you stand for? This such a pertinent question in our post-9/11 world that this fall many films are overtly pressing it. One example is the new film directed by Robert Redford, “Lions for Lambs.” The story is composed of three simultaneous storylines tied to the War on Terror. In one,...

After having dabbled with a romantic comedy (“Intolerable Cruelty”) and a troubled remake (“The Ladykillers”), acclaimed directors Joel and Ethan Coen (“Fargo,” “The Big Lebowski”) return to a criminal tale reminiscent of those earlier in their career. Back with a vengeance, “No Country...

What happens when the boundaries between the audience and the stage become broken? What happens when the audience wants to become part of the play too much? “The Real Inspector Hound,” a Torrey theatre production, will pull away the curtains for opening night this Thursday, Nov. 16. The play follows...