By BY JAMES BAGGETT
WATCH "Across the Universe." Set in the 1960s, this musical stars Jim Sturgess as Jude, a young New York dockworker who was born in Liverpool, England. Jude comes to America with the hopes of finding his American G.I. father and befriends the rebellious Ivy League dropout, Max (Joe Anderson), and his sister, Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood). Max and Jude live together in the middle of New York City. Romance ensues between Lucy and Jude, but when Max is drafted to the Vietnam War, Lucy becomes a passionate war protestor and the relationship between the trio suffers. Throughout the movie, the actors sing 34 Beatles songs written between 1963 and 1969. "Across the Universe" opens everywhere tomorrow, but has been in select theaters since Sept. 21.
SEE Lucero at the Hawthorne Theater on Oct. 18. Called indie-rock, alt-rock and southern rock, this Memphis band defies classification. It was formed when vocalist and guitarist Ben Nichols teamed with lead guitarist Brian Venable with a plan to put a new spin on country by adding punk-influenced rhythms and electric guitar. The combination of electric riffs and twangy, raspy vocals paired with heartfelt story-telling lyrics make Lucero well worth the modest $13 ticket.
LAUGH at Mike Birbiglia at the Aladdin Theater on Nov. 4. Birbiglia is on his "My Secret Public Tour," keeping the theme with his increasingly popular "My Secret Public Journal," a blog e-mailed to 30,000 fans daily. He has been featured twice on the "Comedy Central Presents" stand-up specials and has been on "The David Letterman Show." He performs routinely at New York's top comedy clubs. Check out his blog, which stars himself in stories based on his own life experience. Whether he's dealing with his unsupportive parents, who think comedy will provide a good base for a career in advertising; his jealous brother, who secretly believes himself a better comedian; or his girlfriend, who thinks a romantic weekend getaway is best spent at an evangelical bed and breakfast, Birbiglia likes to show that nice guys don't always finish last. They just finish third or fourth.
WATCH "We Own the Night," featuring Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg, Eva Mendes and Robert Duvall, opening tomorrow. It's New York, 1988, and a new strain of drugs has swept the city, bringing with it a fierce crime wave. Overpowered by the new criminal order, the police find themselves burying their comrades at an alarmingly high rate. A street war rages, threatening all legal order.
As manager of a Russian nightclub frequented by gangsters, Bobby (Phoenix) keeps his distance, not wanting to get involved. Despite his hedonistic lifestyle, he stays committed to his girlfriend, Amanda (Mendes), and has ambitions to open his own club and expand out of New York. But Bobby's brother (Wahlberg) is a Police Lieutenant who followed in the footsteps of their father, a legendary NYPD cop (Duvall). Will Bobby choose family or fortune, and at what cost?
