She Likes to Watch

What’s it all about?

They say you can never go home again.

They apparently never saw “Garden State.”

Andrew Largeman, or, “Large” as he’s known, has spent his entire adult in a drug-induced daze.

When he’s called home from Hollywood to attend his mother’s funeral, however, Large (Zach Braff) decides to ween himself off pills. New Jersey does the rest.

As he reconnects with friends (Peter Sarsgaard), spars with his distant dad (Ian Holm) and encounters an enchantingly odd girl (Natalie Portman), Large rediscovers the confusion, pain and rapture of being human.

Braff and Portman make endearing leads in this winsome film, which has just enough gentle quirkiness to keep “Garden State” from growing sugary.

If you’ve seen and liked Braff in NBC’s “Scrubs,” check out his more mature side in “Garden State.” If “Scrubs” annoys the hell out of you, this movie might have enough wry observations and indie tunes to win you over.

“Garden State” screens tonight at 7 and 9:15 p.m. at The Palm Theatre, 817 Palm St. in San Luis Obispo.

Tickets are $7.50.

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Mark your calendars for a free screening of “Surf’s Up” this Saturday in Atascadero.

An animated tale about surfing penguins, “Surf’s Up” came on the crest of a wave of penguin-related movies — “March of the Penguins,” “Madagascar,” “Happy Feet,” to name a few.

With great visuals and a winning storyline, however, it’s safe to say that “Surf’s Up” is the best of the bunch.

Shia LaBeouf lends his voice to Cody Maverick, a stoke-loving penguin who dreams of becoming a surf legend like his hero, Big Z.

Leaving the Arctic, he travels to Hawaii to compete in the Penguin World Surfing Championship alongside with goofball Chicken Joe (Jon Heder) and Tank, a pumped-up jock (Diedrich Bader) .

“Surf’s Up” is presented documentary-style, which makes for some behind-the-scenes fun when we watch the surfers flub interviews or Tank slobber over his trophies.

We also see plenty of cute baby penguins and fearsome sea life.

But the true draw of “Surf’s Up” is its spot-on voice casting. Jeff Bridges taps into his mellow “Big Lebowski” past to portray a laidback surf legend gone to seed.

“Surf’s Up” will be shown 8:15 p.m. Saturday at Sunken Gardens Park, 6500 Palma Ave. in Atascadero.

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There’s a Central Coast connection to “Surf’s Up.”

Dana Belben, who provides the voice of Cody’s mom, also worked as a script coordinator and backgrounds manager on the film. She graduated from San Luis Obispo High School in 1995.

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Photos courtesy of MovieWeb.com.

Few things set an American heart a-thumping faster than a last-minute victory at the Beijing Olympics.

The U.S. men’s swimming team squeaked past France at the end of Monday’s relay event, beating two world records and securing an amazing down-to-the-wire win.

It might have been the sight of Michael Phelps flexing his rippling abs, or his brutish yawp, but that event — rife with athletic rivalry and dramatic tension — made for excellent television.

Since so many of the Olympics’ coolest events (the stunning opening ceremony, the U.S. men’s basketball blowout versus China) take place at odd hours, I’ve started catching up online.

Interviews, analysis and full video broadcasts are available at this Olympics coverage super-site.

The Tribune also has plenty of Olympics coverage, from up-to-the-minute stories to videos, photo galleries and blogs by Central Coast athletes competing in China.

Central Coast sister act falls short of “Gladiators” grand finale 

It was sister versus sister, Central Coast resident against fellow Central Coaster, in a fight of the fittest.

In the end, neither Los Osos resident Lillian Thomasson or her twin, Clinessa Burch of San Luis Obispo, took the top prize at NBC’s “American Gladiators.”

Lillian did make it through the first round of semi-finals in late July, crushing the competition during tough events like “The Wall” and “Snapback.” The 27-year-old concrete artist — weighing in at 5 feet, 9 inches and 140 pounds — even thrashed her own sister during the obstacle course stage known as “Eliminator.”

However, she slipped in the second round of semi-finals.
Tim Oliphant of Branson, Mo., and Dallas gal Ally Davidson were named champions following Monday’s grand finale. They’ll each receive a new car and $100,000.

You can watch the full two-hour season finale at NBC.com for a limited time.

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Photo by Tribune photographer Joe Johnston. That’s Clinessa Burch on the left and Lillian Thomasson on the right.

“Hellboy II: The Golden Army” has to have one of this summer’s best marketing campaign. Everywhere I look I see photos, videos, interviews, and freebies related to the high-action sequel.

Here’s a clip reel of all the YouTube promos posted for “Hellboy II.” The film opens Friday in local theaters.

In order, Hellboy:

1. Meets the paranormal investigators on “Ghost Hunters”
2. Delves deep with “Inside the Actor’s Studio” host James Lipton
3. Visits Wolf on the “American Gladiator” set
4. Plays video games with NBC’s “Chuck”
5. Hangs out with Crash and Yasmin, the hip Latina hosts of “The Chicas Project” on cable channel Mun2*

My favorite clips is probably the final one, a heartwarming short styled after those celebrity-helmed public service announcements. Enjoy!

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* You may have noticed that these are all NBC Universal products.

I like to think of myself as a bit of an intellectual. I watch opera, read lengthy novels. My tastes are a wee more refined than your average bumpkin.

I mean, I’m no sophisticate, but I can tell the difference between French’s mustard and Grey Poupon.

Then why, oh why, am I panting with anticipation at the thought of tonight’s season premiere of “American Gladiators”?

Hosted by “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan and Muhammed Ali’s daughter, Laila, NBC’s “American Gladiators” is the ultimate exercise in schadenfreude.

Like the original ’80s-’90s television show, this new-and-improved “Gladiators” pits contestants against spandex-clad “gladiators” in a series of physical challenges.

The men are buff, the women smokin’ hot. And the challenges? Downright ridiculous.

Competitors fire tennis balls, clamber up padded cliffs and duke it out on platforms suspended 12 feet above water. They wrestle, run and hang from rings. And man, do they get clobbered.

Part of the appeal is the gladiators themselves, whose names are the stuff of “Street Fighter.”

My personal favorite, Wolf, looks like a cross between a bayou croc wrestler and an out-of-work Shakespearean actor.

Titan, the Aryan poster child, has enormous pecs and baby-smooth skin. Justice, the show’s most massive bruiser, weighs in at 6-foot-8, 290 pounds.

And then there’s Hellga, a 6-foot-1 valkryie with the voice of James Earl Jones.

This season, two former contestants join the ranks: Evan Dollard, now named Rocket, and Monica Carlson, rechristened Jet.

See how obsessed I’ve gotten? My mouth is actually watering right now.

Have I been suckered by NBC’s hucksters? Or is “American Gladiators” possibly … quite possibly … one of the most entertaining shows on television?!

I’ll let you be the judge.

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The second season of “American Gladiators” premieres tonight at 8 p.m. on NBC (channel 6).

* Photo courtesy of NBC/Universal.

For me, the start of the fall television season is a little like Christmas.

After weeks of glossy ads and antipicipation, viewers can finally tear off the shiny wrapping and discover our new treasures. Did we really get that rocket launcher? Or another pack of sweat socks?

I glued myself to the couch Monday night to watch three of NBC’s offerings this fall: two newcomers (”Chuck” and “Journeyman”) and one returning favorite (”Heroes”).

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

“Chuck”

Shy tech support dude Chuck is too nerdy to pick up women and too stuck on his college girlfriend to start over. So when he scores a date with stunning blonde Sarah, things seem to be looking up.

Right? Wrong. Turns out that Sarah is a CIA agent, and she’s after thousands of government secrets locked in Chuck’s noggin.

NBC crowded the airwaves with pre-season advertising, so some of the best gags — Sarah doing a deadly dance, a skater crowing “Computer emergency” as Chuck’s car tumbles over stairs — seem blah.

Still there are a few chuckles, such as the name of Chuck’s employer, Buy More, and references to the Nerd Herd (a send-up of the real-life Geek Squad).

Nerd alert: As Chuck, star Zachary Levi is too suave and well-groomed to be convincing as a hard-core geek. That honor goes to buddy Morgan (Josh Gomez), who resembles Seth Green with a few more pounds and facial hair.

“Heroes”

Folks who caught NBC’s sci-fi drama last season will find storylines and special effects a-plenty as “Heroes” returns. Right off the bat, the show spins off seven or eight sub-plots and introduces a few new characters.

Here’s a brief rundown:

Matt, now divorced and recovering from four gunshot wounds, has adopted little Molly, whose nightmares identify a new threat.

Hiro is in feudal Japan, discovering surprising things about his hero Takezo Kensei (such as the fact he looks more like Paul Bettany than Ken Watanabe).

While Nathan mourns for his brother, the Bennnets start a new life in California. Someone’s trying to kill Sulu. Oh, and there’s a gal with deadly powers in Central America.

A few scenes in the “Heroes” season opener struck my fellow viewer as silly. As a dedicated fan, however, I found plenty to like.

“Journeyman”

Commercials made this time-travel thriller look like a cheesy mash-up between “Back to the Future” and “Zodiac.” Thank goodness “Journeyman” — terrible title, by the way — is actually watchable.

Dan Vassar is a San Franscisco newspaperman with an all-but-perfect life: a beautiful wife, an adoring son. At the same time, there are whispers of an uphappy past.

Suddenly, Dan finds himself slipping back in time for hours at a time. He encounters familiar faces and, almost immediately, breaks the cardinal rule of time travel: Don’t alter the past.

Is there a reason for these trips in the slipstream? Is Dan on some unknown mission? The show has enough potentional, despite some goofy plot twists, to keep viewers wondering for a little while longer.

Half the fun may be identifying the clothes and gadgets dug up by the show’s Dumpster-diving propmaster. (”Look at those shoulderpads!” “Did you see the size of that cell phone?!?”)

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OTHER NOTES:

What housing crisis?
Sure, the housing market is soft right now. But could lower interest rates explain why NBC’s characters live in luxury on piddling salaries?
- Chuck and his sister live in a Los Angeles apartment complex fit for starlets. I initially mistook the lush garden courtyard for the back patio of a restaurant.
- My fellow viewer identified the Bennets’ new home on “Heroes” as the set of “Runaway Bride.” Not bad for an assistant manager at Copy Kingdom.
- And “Journeyman” Dan comes home to a flawlessly restored Victorian in San Francisco with a huge yard. Because, if you can’t afford a house by the Bay, what can you afford?

PLUS: Watching three pilot shows on the same network, one absorbs more than one’s fair share of commercials.
I understand NBC’s need to make a buck. But is it really necessary to air the SAME car commercial THREE times in a row during one so-called break?
The only product that campaign convinced me to buy is Tivo.

– Sarah L.

(”Heroes” photo courtesy of NBC/Universal)

The secret is out: California has one of the most stunning coastlines in the world.
This morning, NBC’s “Today” show highlighted the Pacific Coast Highway, also known as State Route 1, as the latest installment in its “America the Beautiful” series.
NBC’s Michael Okwu scoped out the “winding, climbing, jaw-dropping ride along the Pacific Coast Highway… no doubt, one of the most beautiful places in America.”
In one video on msnbc.com, Okwu drives a 1972 Corvette Stingray to San Luis Obispo, stopping by the quaint Apple Farm Inn and the historic Motel Inn.
Other footage focuses on San Simeon – showing the opulent Hearst Castle and elephant seals lazing on the beach.
Praise for the Central Coast’s landmarks can also be found on NBC’s Web site.
“The San Luis Obispo area offers some of the most eye-popping sights, such as Hearst Castle, the palatial estate of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst that overlooks the Pacific Ocean,” raves Jeanne Sullivan of the California Travel and Tourism Commission in her article “California dreamin’: Majestic coast highlights.”
Sullivan recommends renting an ATV at Pismo Beach or exploring the Paso Robles wine country.
Peter Greenberg, the Today show’s online columnist, mentions San Luis Obispo County’s campgrounds and wineries in his exploration of State Route 1.
And California’s wild and wonderful coast features prominently in Forbes Traveller writer Rob Baedeker’s article, “Ten classic coastal drives.”
To learn more, check out the Today show’s Web site.

– Sarah L.