News Cycles: Entertainment Reviews

Colbert unwraps early Christmas gift for viewers (Reuters)

Reuters - Nothing says you've arrived as a mainstream TV star more than having your very own Christmas special, which makes this a sort of coming-out party for faux news commentator Stephen Colbert.

"Twilight" a campy vampire romance with no bite (Reuters)

Reuters - "Twilight" already has such a buzz that you sense all we really need to do is stand back to let hordes of teenage girls rush into theaters to exalt in this romance between a human girl and a vampire boy.

Greed gets the best of those 'Dividing the Estate' (AP)

AP - Nothing concentrates the mind like money — or lack of it. And money has provided the plot for more than a few plays, one good example being "Dividing the Estate," Horton Foote's hilariously perceptive take on what good old-fashioned greed does to one cash-strapped Texas family.

Music Review: Hezekiah Walker is "Souled Out" (AP)

AP - Hezekiah Walker, "Souled Out" (Zomba)

Review: `Twilight' takes bite out of book's fun (AP)

AP - Teenage girls will surely squeal with delight throughout "Twilight," the feverishly awaited adaptation of the hugely selling vampire novel by Stephenie Meyer.

Jack Bauer back with "24" TV movie (Reuters)

'Earthly Delights' again finds life on stage (AP)

AP - Out of the darkness, gracefully bent in half and lumbering slowly on all fours, comes a herd of seemingly nude creatures. These are the talented dancers of "The Garden of Earthly Delights," in the latest off-Broadway incarnation of Martha Clarke's theatrical interpretation of Hieronymous Bosch's 1503 triptych about the progression of sin.

Music Review: Twisted Sister live, loud and proud (AP)

AP - Twisted Sister "Live At The Astoria" (Demolition)

Hollywood's "Wizard of Oz" lauded for stunning, sexy epic (Reuters)

Reuters - With stunning scenery, steamy love scenes, and an adorable Aboriginal child star, the outback epic "Australia" received largely positive reviews after its world premiere but failed to meet all the high expectations.

"Transporter 3" a new low for the action series (Reuters)

Reuters - Jason Statham returns for a third go-round as mercenary courier Frank Martin in creator Luc Besson's lucrative "Transporter" series, but this time he's firing blanks.

2 brothers forever seek success in 'Road Show' (AP)

AP - Money showers the stage like confetti in "Road Show," the exhilarating Stephen Sondheim-John Weidman musical that finally has surfaced in New York after a long, arduous journey that included several different titles, directors and casts.

Disney's latest dog picture a fetching romp (Reuters)

Reuters - Those Beverly Hills Chihuahuas might have run their course, but a Hollywood White Shepherd efficiently marks his territory in "Bolt," an animated adventure about a canine action hero who's inadvertently shipped from his studio to the East Coast.

Steroid scandal rocks Itamar Moses' baseball drama (AP)

AP - A baseball drama might reasonably be expected to be about playing the game. But we barely get taken out to the ball game at all in "Back Back Back," the new off-Broadway play by Itamar Moses.

Reunited Kate and Leo lost on "Revolutionary Road" (Reuters)

Reuters - The ill-fated lovers of "Titanic" reunite in "Revolutionary Road," but this time Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet find their characters run aground in a disastrous mid-1950s marriage.

'LittleBigPlanet' revitalizes a stale genre (AP)

AP - The platform game has fallen on hard times. Maybe it's that name, which came about in the 1980s when Mario was actually jumping on moving platforms in "Super Mario Bros." But the genre needs a catchier title, like "running-jumping-bouncing-super-fun-action-adventure." There has to be a Japanese word that encompasses all that.

Ricky Gervais a riot in HBO comedy special (Reuters)

Reuters - You knew Ricky Gervais was a genius at writing comedy ("The Office") and a superb comic actor ("Extras"), but did you know he can do stand-up with the best of them? His new HBO special "Ricky Gervais: Out of England," which debuted Saturday, makes the case loud and clear.

New generation pays tribute to Leonard Bernstein (AP)

AP - Leonard Bernstein was as much a teacher as a conductor and composer. Now, the post boomer generation — Bernstein's musical grandchildren — have taken the stage, and perhaps just in time for classical music.

Billboard CD reviews (Reuters)

A tension-free 'American Buffalo' arrives on B'way (AP)

AP - The four-letter words are intact but just about everything else is amiss in the slack, unsatisfying Broadway revival of David Mamet's "American Buffalo."

A distorted look at media's shortcomings (Reuters)