Arts & Entertainment

By BETSY PICKLE
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Around the holidays, what actors like studios to give them even more than Christmas or Hanukkah presents are "For Your Consideration" ads, the flattering notices in trade publications suggesting that Oscar and other awards-giving voters consider so-and-so's performance come trophy time.

It's a practice that has gotten out of hand, now often intended to stroke egos more than spotlight deserving work.

By ROBERT DENERSTEIN
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Denzel Washington tries to save lives while negotiating a complicated and not-always-credible plot in "Deja Vu," the latest thriller from director Tony Scott.

The ever reliable Washington keeps "Deja Vu" from flying off the screen, no small feat because the movie contains more ingredients than a New Orleans gumbo: domestic terrorism, time travel, post-Katrina rot, simmering romance and the occasional conversation about advanced physics.

Anyone familiar with Scott's work ("Top Gun," "Days of Thunder" and "Man on Fire") knows that he's a master of visual flash.

By ROBERT DENERSTEIN
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
If you're looking to be sprayed by enough cosmic confusion to fuel a thousand late-night dorm debates, "The Fountain" just might be the best movie you'll see this year.

If, on the other hand, you prefer movies that deal with ideas in coherent ways, you may find yourself gravely disappointed, particularly because this film is the work of director Darren Aronofsky, who has made such feverishly compelling movies as "Pi" and "Requiem for a Dream."

It's not always easy to tell, but it seems as if Aronofsky intends "The Fountain" as a kind of cautionary tale in which a present-day biological researcher (Hugh Jackman) frantically attempts to conquer death.

By PHIL VILLARREAL
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
It's called "Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus," but there's nothing imaginary about the film. It's real all right, and it sits there stubbornly commanding your attention for two boring hours.

You stick in your seat not lost in the story or smothered in rapt tension, but out of morbid curiosity _ is anything interesting going to happen? All this slow build is actually leading toward something, right? Director Steven Shainberg's film does indeed go somewhere, but only after doddering around without apparent aim for far longer than it's worth.

By ROBERT DENERSTEIN
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Jack Black and Kyle Gass have been doing their Tenacious D shtick for more than a decade, riffing hard on hard-rocking bands.

The act, a collection of ribald lyrics and high-voltage sound, has a decent-sized cult following.

"Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny," a movie explaining how "the band" was formed, may well preach to the "D-fan" choir.

By ROBERT DENERSTEIN
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
A GOOD YEAR (C-) Director Ridley Scott and actor Russell Crowe, who worked together on the Oscar-winning "Gladiator," stumble in this comedy about a ruthless London financial trader who inherits his uncle's vineyard estate in France.

By JAN CRAIN RUDEEN
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
("The Ant Bully." Warner Home Video; 89 minutes; rated PG; $28.98, DVD (available Nov. 28); Grade: B-)

Inspired by John Nickle's popular children's book of the same title, "The Ant Bully" is a visually and verbally busy film.

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Monday, November 20, 2006

By CHUCK CAMPBELL
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
"PUBLIC WARNING," Lady Sovereign (Def Jam)

An uncompromising Lady Sovereign offers two options on her insanely addictive single "Love Me or Hate Me:" Love her, and she extends a "thank you." Hate her, and she has a less friendly phrase ending with "you."

The British rapper doesn't say what she thinks of folks who both love her and hate her, yet that's the response she's likely to generate with "Public Warning."

She does weave her self-effacing humor through the booms and bleeps of the bouncy "Love Me or Hate Me," her nasal, exaggerated accent adding delicious spike to the flow.

By RONNA RUBIN
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Fans of singer songwriter Nanci Griffith will be pleased by the news that she has just released a collection of intimate torch songs. "Ruby's Torch" contains some songs penned by Griffith and others by some of her musical heroes.

"My fans have been asking for an album like this for years," she tells Kylie Harris on GAC's "The Edge of Country," (Dec.