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Television

Wolf Lake ( New Review! )
CBS Wednesday 10PM ET/PT

Something is going down at Wolf Lake! CBS's new series starring Lou Diamond Phillips has aired it's first three episodes. Interesting in terms of visual delivery but so far the writing has weakened my enthusiasm. Lou Diamond Phillips plays Seattle Police Officer John Kanin. His girlfriend, Ruby Wilder, disappears shortly after leaving their apartment. Following a lead up to the small town of Wolf Lake in search of his fiancee, Officer Kanin encounters a townspeople that have a secret. The townspeople appear to have a longstanding and very close relationship with the wolves in the nearby wilderness. A very close and unholy relationship might be more accurate.

The show is shot very well, with nice visual compositions, music video-like interludes, and very interesting "wolf vision" sequences that have a sort of ultaviolet quality. The plot however, comes close to recycling the film The Lost Boys. An outsider comes to a town and gets involved in a dark, evil secret. As in The Lost Boys, this series involves the youth of Wolf Lake quite a bit. A notable performance is delivered by Graham Greene, who plays local biology teacher Sherman Blackstone.
- Submitted by Gary Santoro

Movies

Rushmore
Wes Anderson, director

One of the sweetest and funniest movies of the 90s. Some people didn't like the main character, but I found him fascinating and charming in a squirmy sort of way. Also one of the best and least contrived happy endings I've seen in a movie recently. Bill Murray is great!
- Submitted by Jim

Books

Motherless Brooklyn
Jonathan Lethem

A mystery novel told in the first person by a young man who suffers from Tourette's Syndrome. The mystery plot itself is stretched a little thin, but this is a real tour de force by a writer to watch.
- Submitted by Sheila

Music

Home
Josh Rouse

A quirky sophomore effort by a singer-songwriter to watch. Starts strong ("Marvin Gaye" and "Direction" are standouts) but eventually all the songs begin to sound alike, which is unfortunate. Josh should maybe hire a producer more willing to experiment with his sound.
- Submitted by Patricia