COOL DRY PLACE
Trib Talk '08: Rico Suave, Ninja flips and deformed potato chips
By PETE BLAND
of the Tribune's staff
Continuing a tradition that began last year when I drew Managing Editor Jim Robertson's name in the Tribune's gift exchange, I bring you the Best of Trib Talk 2009.
GAME OVER
New Year's resolutions for the Big 3 of games
By PAUL DZIUBA
As the new year rolls in, people all over the country are
inspired to look at life with a new perspective and take a chance on something
they wouldn't have before.
MUSIC
Columbia's year in music touts ambition, diversity
By CHRIS BOECKMANN
To be quite honest, even though I am a local music reporter, there's no way I could give a full account of the local music scene in 2008 — one of the many things I love and hate about music is that there seems to be an unending supply of it.
A Toronto band tops ‘08's best rock list
Rock music in 2009 was dominated by relics from the past, most returning with respectable albums: Guns ‘n Roses, AC/DC and Coldplay. But there was better stuff to be found, even if it didn't take 17 years to create like "Chinese Democracy." With apologies to fans of Kings of Leon and Bon Iver, here are the top 10 rock albums of the year.
New Releases
ticPick - BLUE FUGUE FUN
film
Temporal tale fails to elicit long-lived emotional impact
By SCOTT A. MAY
Like life on rewind, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" takes kismet in a different direction but finds it all plays out the same in the end.
History with a bang
An unfussy, adult and stoic Tom Cruise anchors the World War II thriller "Valkyrie." In a compact performance of nerve and rare glimpses of emotion, Cruise is a leading man who takes us through a complex story and ennobles events that have faded into history.
Love in dog years
"Extraordinary how potent cheap music is," Noel Coward observed, and the same goes for "Marley & Me." Director David Frankel ("The Devil Wears Prada") adapts John Grogan's sentimental best-seller with no artistic pretensions beyond making you feel like your heart is caving in and then injecting you with a gigantic syringe of good cheer.
New on DVD
Movie Guide
calendars
PS: Gallery kicks off 2009 with exciting new exhibit
Gray skies - or at least dark moods - are banished with the opening Tuesday of PS: Gallery's brilliant winter exhibit featuring the works of Chris Wiley, Mark Grundy, Norleene Nosri, Will Corr, Keith Norval, Joel Sager and Eon Ju Jeon.
Maplewood Barn sends out call for new directors
The Maplewood Barn Community Theatre is seeking a few good men and women as it prepare for its 36th season at Nifong Park starting in May with the play "Harvey."
Weekend Calendar
television
Tina Fey selected as AP entertainer of year
By JAKE COYLE
of The Associated Press
NEW YORK - Tina Fey is the entertainer of the year? You betcha.
Nickelodeon planning first inauguration coverage
By DAVID BAUDER
of The Associated Press
NEW YORK - Nickelodeon TV, the children's network, is getting ready to cover its first presidential inauguration.
