Jessy Schram A City-Born Woman Who Is Country at Heart By Jay S. Jacobs The new Hallmark Channel movie Country at Heart was tailor made for Jessy Schram, allowing her to merge her skills as an actress and a singer. Schram, who has done several films for the network over the years jumped at the opportunity to work on the film. She plays Shayna, an aspiring singer who is finally worn down from attempting to make it in Nashville. She goes back to her small-town Tennessee home, w

Gilbert O’Sullivan – World Café Live – Philadelphia, PA – July 10, 2019 – Photo by Jim Rinaldi © 2019 Gilbert O’Sullivan It Wasn’t Out of the Question by Jay S. Jacobs For years, if American fans wanted to see 1970s sensation Gilbert O’Sullivan in concert, they would have to fly to Europe or Asia or something. You see, O’Sullivan, who was the best selling solo artist of 1972 – beating out the likes of Elton John, Rod Stewart and Neil Diamond – had not played in the United Sta

Death Wish DEATH WISH (2018) Starring Bruce Willis, Vincent D’Onofrio, Camila Morrone, Elisabeth Shue, Dean Norris, Beau Knapp, Kimberly Elise, Len Cariou, Jack Kesy, Ronnie Gene Blevins, Kirby Bliss Blanton, Andreas Apergis, Ian Matthews, Wendy Crewson, Warona Setshwaelo, Stephanie Janusauskas, Isaiah Gero-Marsman, Jason Cavalier, Luis Oliva and Mike Epps. Screenplay by Joe Carnahan. Directed by Eli Roth. Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. 107 minutes. Rated R. Years of dis

Barbershop: The Next Cut BARBERSHOP: THE NEXT CUT (2016) Starring Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, Regina Hall, Sean Patrick Thomas, Eve, Anthony Anderson, Jazsmin Lewis-Kelley, J.B. Smoove, Common, Nicki Minaj, Lamorne Morris, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Margot Bingham, Deon Cole, Troy Garity, Michael Rainey Jr., Diallo Thompson, Tyga, Jamal Woolard, Renell Gibbs, Felicia O’Dell and Elizabeth Dozier. Screenplay by Kenya Barris and Tracy Oliver. Directed by Malcolm D. Lee. Distributed

Bruce Dern, Michal Madsen, Tim Roth, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Quentin Tarantino, Walton Goggins and Demian Bichir at the New York Press Conference for “The Hateful Eight.” Photo copyright 2015 Brad Balfour. Quentin Tarantino, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins, Bruce Dern, Demián Bichir, Tim Roth and Michael Madsen Holed Up With The Hateful Eight by Jay S. Jacobs It’s always a spectacular when a new Quentin Tarantino film rides into theaters. The wr

Marina Squerciati stars in “Chicago PD” Marina Squerciati Walking the Beat on Chicago PD by Jay S. Jacobs Thanks to veteran producer Dick Wolf (the Law & Order series), Chicago is not just a toddlin’ town, but Windy City is the go-to place for young TV professionals. In the last few years, Wolf has created a series of procedural shows based on the town, looking in on the police in Chicago PD, rescue workers in Chicago Fire and now doctors in the latest addition, Chicago Med. 

Unexpected UNEXPECTED (2015) Starring Cobie Smulders, Gail Bean, Anders Holm, Elizabeth McGovern, Aaron Nelson, Tyla Abercrumbie, Shonique Watkins, Takiyah Dixon, DuShon Monique Brown, Robyn Coffin, Aaron J. Nelson, Preston Tate Jr., J. Anthony Kopec, Adrian Bond and Heidi Johanningmeier. Screenplay by Megan Mercier and Kris Swanberg. Directed by Kris Swanberg. Distributed by The Film Arcade.  86 minutes.  Rated R. Unexpected is not merely the title of this small independent

Cole Pendery and Dana Vaughns of IM5. Photo copyright 2014 PopEntertainment.com. IM5 Growing Wild on the Road By Maggie Mitchell We’ve been following the boys from IM5 for a few years now.  Going through some changes as of late, the once five-person boy group is now a trio, consisting of three founding members – Dana Vaughns, Gabe Morales and Cole Pendery.  Even through the differences, IM5 continues to go strong, while stealing the hearts of tween and teenage girls worldwide

Into the Woods INTO THE WOODS (2014) Starring Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Corden, Anna Kendrick, Lilla Crawford, Daniel Huttlestone, Mackenzie Mauzy, Chris Pine, Billy Magnussen, Christine Baranski, Lucy Punch, Johnny Depp, Tracey Ullman, Tammy Blanchard, Mackenzie Mauzy, Simon Russell Beale, Annette Crosbie, Richard Glover and Frances de la Tour. Screenplay by James Lapine. Directed by Rob Marshall. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures.  124 minutes.  Rated PG. Director

David Bowie Is… DAVID BOWIE IS… (2014) Featuring David Bowie, Hamish Hamilton, Katy Mullan, Jonathan Barnbrook, Michael Clark, Jarvis Cocker, Nicholas Coleridge, Jeremy Deller, Christopher Frayling, Hanif Kureishi, Paul Morley, Terry O’Neill, Iain Webb and Kamsai Yamamoto. Written by Philip Kerr. Directed by Hamish Hamilton and Katy Mullan. Distributed by Omniverse Vision.  94 minutes.  Not Rated. David Bowie is a chameleon, and always has been. This documentary takes on the

Christopher McDonald, co-star of “Lucky Guy.” Photo copyright 2013, Mark Doyle. Christopher McDonald Must Be a Lucky Guy by Jay S. Jacobs You think you’ve got Christopher McDonald all worked out, don’t you?  Smart, handsome, charming, powerful guy with a massive dark side. After all, McDonald has been visiting your cineplexes and your TV screens for over two decades now.  He’s played a whole slew of memorably sketchy supporting characters, like Geena Davis’ abusive husband in

“Hidden Palms” — Pictured Gail O’Grady as Karen Hardy stars in HIDDEN PALMS on The CW. Photo: Frank Ockenfels/ The CW © 2007 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Gail O’Grady Roles of a Lifetime by Ronald Sklar “I did Celebrity Poker, and it was the first time I ever played,” actress Gail O’Grady tells me, and this should surprise me, shouldn’t it. You would think that the beauty and the brains were enough to get her by in life, that those heavy doors swing wide open for

Aaron Eckhart and Catherine Zeta-Jones star in “No Reservations.” Catherine Zeta-Jones and Aaron Eckhart Show No Reservations For Fine Cuisine by Brad Balfour Copyright ©2007 PopEntertainment.com.  All rights reserved. Posted: July 27, 2007. By cooking up some serious chemistry between Catherine Zeta-Jones (Chicago) and Aaron Eckhart (Thank You for Smoking), veteran Australian director Scott Hicks (Shine) stirred up a satisfying romantic comedy with No Reservations. But he di

DreamGirls DREAMGIRLS (2006) Starring Jamie Foxx, Beyonce Knowles, Jennifer Hudson, Eddie Murphy, Anika Noni Rose, Keith Robinson, Danny Glover, Sharon Leal, Hinton Battle ,Yvette Nicole Brown, Yvette Cason, Loretta Divine, Dawnn Lewis, Eddie Mekka, Jaleel White, John Krasinski and John Lithgow. Screenplay by Bill Condon. Directed by Bill Condon. Distributed by Dreamworks SKG Pictures.  131 minutes.  Rated PG-13. Dreamgirls is a 25-year old Broadway musical, not-so-vaguely ba

Wilmer Valderrama stars in “Unaccompanied Minors.” WILMER VALDERRAMA UNACCOMPANIED by Brad Balfour Miami-born actor Wilmer Valderrama has come a long way since his days as Fez, the quirky foreign exchange student who was often the butt of jokes on the popular TV series That ‘70s Show. The 26-year-old jovial, handsome charmer – known for gallivanting around with some of Hollywood’s hardest-partying starlets – grew up in Venezuela and moved to Los Angeles with his family at age

Jeremy Piven in “Entourage.” Jeremy Piven Busting Out Into A Hollywood Leading Man By Marcie Somers It’s 10 a.m. in Los Angeles and Jeremy Piven’s day has long since begun. He’s had several meetings and reviewed his lines before he heads to a rehearsal for his hit TV show, Entourage. After that, he’s off to the American Music Awards. In the midst of it all, he still has not eaten. With his phone constantly ringing, the tea that he made earlier sits cold on his kitchen counter

Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Out of the Van by Ronald Sklar “I could grandstand and tell you I’m The Man, but I basically don’t have a life,” Henry Rollins tells me in a recent phone interview. As usual, The Man is being too hard on himself. The rock legend, now in his early forties and still as tough as a fifty-cent steak, has it for sure going on. He recently completed an 88-show spoken word tour, two USO tours — one to Iraq and Kuwait, the other to Honduras — and flexed his

Chicago CHICAGO (2002) Starring Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, Queen Latifah, John C. Reilly, Lucy Liu, Taye Diggs, Colm Feore, Christine Baranski, Domenic West, Susan Misner, Deidre Goodwin, Denise Faye, Ekaterina Chtchelkanova, Chita Rivera and Mýa Harrison. Screenplay by Bill Condon. Directed by Rob Marshall. Distributed by Mirimax Pictures.  113  minutes.  Rated PG-13. A film version of Bob Fosse’s 1975 musical Chicago has been on the back burner in

No One Their Name Is… NO ONE by Bill Henhoeffer Many bands look for a distinctive name to give them an identity. This new metal band’s name fights that notion, it has a sense of anonymity, a sense of everyman. NO ONE took their name to illustrate the way they all felt. All the members coming from bands that had recently broken up. Having to start over completely, they were feeling pretty low and down on themselves. The band’s credo is that eyes and voice are two distinctive w