‘This is Halloween’ By Lael Loewenstein It’s Halloween again, and that means it’s time to rent last year’s feature smash, Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas. An astonishing combination of ghouls, effects and stop-motion technical wizardry, the recently-released video is the perfect Halloween treat. Read more...

Accomplished musician Gothoni returns to L.A. By John Mangum Not many classical musicians can say they’ve received $500,000 for their talents. Pianist Ralf Gothoni can. His extraordinary playing earned him the generous Gilmore Award, which helped expose Gothoni to a wider audience. Read more...

Vibraphonist keys up old jazz sound By John Mangum When people think of jazz instruments, they think of the trumpet, the saxophone and the piano. Way down there on the list the vibraphone eventually turns up. Read more...

No pain, no gain Broderick undergoes ‘torture’ to work with Hopkins in ‘Welville’ By Michael Horowitz Daily Bruin Senior Staff Matthew Broderick’s character Will Lightbody in The Road to Wellville is akin to James Caan’s author in Misery. Read more...

Good casting fails to salvage film’s plot Actors’ talents wasted in ‘Road’ to nowhere; coherent story absent The Road to Wellville Written and directed by Alan Parker Starring Anthony Hopkins, Matthew Broderick, and Bridget Fonda The assembly of talent for The Road to Wellville is impressive, but you know what they say about Anthony Hopkins. Read more...

The theater story behind ‘Story Theatre’ School of Theater brings Aesop and Grimm tales to life By Jeana Blackman Acting director Mel Shapiro finds purity in the simplicity of UCLA’s "Story Theatre." Shapiro describes the show, and its message, most succinctly. Read more...

Three reasons to stay home on the weekend Stargate Written by Dean Devlin & Roland Emmerich Directed by Roland Emmerich Starring Kurt Russell, James Spader and Jaye Davidson There’s a scene in the beginning of Stargate where James Spader’s character Dr. Read more...