BEWITCHING HOUR TV, movies cast witches in better light
THE WITCHING HOUR has arrived. If you doubt it, just turn on your television. For two years, “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch” has been blending magic and teen angst Friday nights on ABC. On the darker side, there’s the new WB drama “Charmed” with three sisters they’re gorgeous, of course who…
Spoken word a hip form of storytelling
The spoken word takes more than a smooth tongue that makes sounds twist and dance. It shakes poetry lying still on a page and adds breath, adds rhythm, adds body, adds noise. Spoken word is not poetry reading it’s performance that hereabouts has been consuming the Filipino literary and arts…
Spoken word is a hip form of storytelling
SAN FRANCISCO _ The spoken word takes more than a smooth tongue that makes sounds twist and dance. It shakes poetry lying still on a page and adds breath, adds rhythm, adds body, adds noise. Spoken word is not poetry reading _ it’s performance that hereabouts has been consuming the…
A DIFFERENCE EVERY DAY Volunteers thrive on simple reward of a job well done
ACTION NEEDS no recompense, financial or otherwise, on Make A Difference Day. USA Weekend magazine created this annual celebration of altruism, which falls on the fourth Saturday of every October. This year it’s held on Oct. 24. The time reminds people that money is nothing and joining together is all….
REWIND: HUNG’S A KICK IN ACTION FILMS Weighty filmography awaits CBS actor’s new-found American audience
When the mighty fall like Sammo Hung does, it looks darned sweet. Yes, that was Hung who flipped his bulk from atop a car and landed squarely on his feet in last week’s CBS premiere of “Martial Law.” If you missed the sequence, you can still tune in 9 p.m….
SLOW RUSH TO FAME Jackie Chan’s star finally rises in West
“I Am Jackie Chan.” In Asia, the title of the film star’s autobiography would be a simple assertion. Chan has made and remade Hong Kong film history in terms of narrative, action, industry practices and standards. In the West, where he is not as well known except to frequenters of dingy Chinatown theaters…
SPEND AN EVENING AT THE DRIVE-IN Three Bay Area enterprises have yet to yield their land to development
Dusk unrolls its blue-black backdrop earlier and earlier these days. Fussy weather patterns blow hot and cold, forcing Bay Area residents to make costume changes faster than Superman in a public telephone booth (or, these days, a three-minute souvenir/passport photo booth). This fleeting interim the respite between hot, languid summer…
Festival pays due homage to black films
Friday, the Black Filmmakers’ Hall of Fame brings its ninth annual film festival to the Bay Area. In addition to showcasing talent from America and the African diaspora over the course of the next two weekends, the Hall will honor winners of its annual film and video competition Sunday. The…
SAY HELLO TO NEW FACES ON TIMES COMIC PAGES “Luann” and “Jump Start” mine their humor from some real-life situations
YOU WOULDN’T THINK Luann DeGroot and Joe and Marcy Cobb would be such rare elements. After all, Luann is a white teen-age girl with the usual teen-age girl problems, whether trying to handle her crush on Aaron Hill, her friendships with Bernice or Delta or her antagonism with dorky older…
REVIEW Whole lotta mouth in “Rush”
“Rush Hour” has a way of turning mindless guilty pleasures into conscience-pricking uneasy pleasures. Of course, it all depends on your threshold of social consciousness, namely, how many ethnic put-downs you can take in 97 minutes. The action-comedy starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker whoops up some genuine hilarity for a standard…