At The Movies

Johnny English

When her majesty's crown jewels are stolen by a conniving Frenchman (John Malkovich), who also plans to steal the queen's throne, Johnny English (Rowan Atkinson), a bit unseasoned but intensely enthusiastic, is thrown onto the case. Fast cars, high tech gadgets, top secret info Johnny can hardly believe it. He may be in over his head, but his courage and dedication are unmatched especially after he meets double agent Lorna Campbell (Natalie Imbruglia) and discovers that falling in love makes saving the nation even more exciting. The film breezes along at a satisfyingly brisk pace and plays like an English interpretation of The Naked Gun or Austin Powers.

On Video

Basic

A riveting, multi-layered suspense thriller that will keep you guessing until the end. John Travolta plays Tom Hardy, a former Army Ranger and discredited DEA agent who is drawn into an ever-widening mystery surrounding the disappearance of the feared and often hated U.S. Army drill instructor Sgt. Nathan West (Samuel L. Jackson), as well as several of his elite Special Forces trainees, on a routine training exercise during a hurricane in the jungles of Panama. As the story unfolds, each layer reveals more lies and greater deceptions, until they finally inch towards the horrible facts about the fate of the missing Rangers.

Off The Record

Bad Boys II - Soundtrack

Sean "P. Diddy" Combs reactivates his Bad Boy Records label with the soundtrack to the film Bad Boys II. This stellar disc is led by the Jay-Z single La-La-La, and boasts cuts by 50 Cent, Nelly, Beyonce, Justin Timberlake, and film co-star Will Smith. Diddy himself teams up with Nelly and Murphy Lee of the St. Lunatics on the tracks Shake Ya Tail Feather and Take It Low, and joins Lenny Kravitz and Neptunes member Pharrell on Show Me Your Soul. For a current roster of what's hot in hip-hop, you can't beat this one.

The Buzz...

Metallica have gone to their vault and pulled out several fast-and-furious oldies – pre Black album - for their current Summer Sanitarium tour. "We started playing a lot of the old stuff again, like Blackened and Ride the Lightning and No Remorse and Leper Messiah," said drummer Lars Ulrich. "All these crazy old songs that have a little more teeth to them than Turn the Page.”

Beyonce's Crazy In Love made history last week when it topped a whole new kind of pop chart. The song was #1 on Billboard Magazine's first ever digital download chart. The list features the top-selling downloadable charts offered through services like Apple's iTunes and MusicNet, but doesn't reflect downloads traded through filesharing.

Despite rumors to the contrary, Brad Pitt is not set to star as Captain America in a new movie about the comic book hero. Tinseltown bosses are battling creator Joe Simon to clear up “Rights Issues” over the comic hero, so don’t get your hopes up quite yet.

Ozzy Osbourne was again a no-show at Ozzfest this week, reportedly recovering from laryngitis that had also sidelined him from a few previous shows. Korn slipped into the headliner spot and most fans didn't seem to mind as only 130 people asked for refunds for the mostly sold-out show.

The little town of Somerset WI is getting ready to host some really big shows. The Dead (joined by Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter), Bob Dylan, and Joan Osborne will appear at the Float Rite Park Ampitheatre on Sunday August 3rd, while the legendary ZZ Top will join the equally infamous Ted Nugent there on Saturday September 13th.

Hilary Duff of Lizzie McGuire fame will star in two music specials for the WB network, one in connection with her Sept. 28 16th birthday and the other for Christmas for the 2003-2004 season.

Sharon Osbourne is set to launch her day-time talk show in September on the WB network. She will use her children as reporters to cover such events as the Teen Choice Awards for her show, which will be shot on a set made to look like her home including a "Sharon-cam" hooked up to her house so she can talk to Ozzy when he is not touring or unconscious.

MTV has signed The Osbournes for a fourth season of their hit reality series, scheduled to begin airing early next year. "If you thought we wouldn't resign the Osbournes...you're crazy," MTV president Van Toffler said in a statement.

As many kids return for second and third helpings, Disney/Pixar's Finding Nemo earned $280 million at the box office so far, replacing The Matrix: Reloaded as this year’s biggest money-maker.

EA announced NFL Street, a seven-on-seven street football game featuring arcade-style action with no helmets, no penalties, no punting, and show-stopping big plays. NFL Street won't have the entire NFL roster on offer, but it will include 300 licensed stars from all 32 teams including NFL legend Barry Sanders. The game will be released for all three consoles in early 2004.

Elton John is in talks for an exclusive three-year contract headlining the Colosseum at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas for a whopping $54 million.

Rob Zombie has signed on with comic-book companies MVCreations and CrossGen Entertainment to create the six-issue comic series Rob Zombie's Spook Show International.

Following in the footsteps of Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry, whose Rock Your World Boneyard Brew line of condiments has been a great success since its launch last year, Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony has announced plans to start up his own brand of hot sauce.

The Hollywood Reporter reports that Sigourney Weaver is the latest person to join the cast of M. Night Shyamalan's The Woods, which already stars Joaquin Phoenix and William Hurt.

Britney Spears has enlisted a slew of producers, composers and collaborators, including Moby and P. Diddy. Hopefully these collaborations will work out better than her “meeting of the minds” with Fred Durst.

LL Cool J isn't going anywhere. One of rap's top free agents just re-signed to Def Jam, the only recording home he has known, and he's already tentatively slated his next LP for a December release. It doesn't look like LL will have any downtime for the rest of the year - he's about to start the promotion cycle for his next movie S.W.A.T. due August 8.

Simon Cowell has signed a contract to remain with American Idol for the next three years, but at a hefty price. In addition to an astronomical salary, the Fox network will help him launch his own production company, Simcow Ltd., and will offer him a first-look agreement for a new reality show.

Peter Mayhew aka Chewbacca revealed a few tidbits on the upcoming Star Wars Episode III – “I was told by George Lucas that I would be playing a large part in the story including the delivering of two twin babies and playing a role in a major battle scene that involves many war machines. In fact, the opening action scene involving many Wookiees takes place on one of the many new planets seen in this movie.”

Dark Horse Comics chief and Hellboy producer Mike Richardson promises that the Hellboy movie, currently filming in Prague, will be "so much fun. I didn't think The Hulk was much fun. I didn't think Daredevil was fun. I thought Spider-Man was spectacularly fun and that's the way Hellboy is.”

Look for The Rock to make an impromptu appearance on RAW in the next month. The Rock confirmed that he may show up on RAW in Hollywood next week to play up his “Hollywood” character, and/or also show up on August 4th in Vancouver where he is currently shooting his new movie.

WWE Films has smacked down a high-six-figure sum for an untitled action pitch by Spawn screenwriter Alan McElroy. The pitch is being developed as one of the first features for WWE's Los Angeles-based film division. WWE brass was keeping a tight choke hold on the pitch's plot, except to describe it as "high-concept."

Star Wars guru George Lucas is insisting all the characters in the new sci-fi sequel sport shaggy seventies-style “mullet” hairdos - so the film will lead seamlessly on to the original trilogy.

The WWE got the idea for the story of Kane's remarkably unburned face being a psychological problem from the villainous Marvel character Doctor Doom, who wears the mask due to an extreme psychotic reaction to a minor imperfection.

Hollywood heavyweight Steven Spielberg has reportedly expressed an interest in reviving the beloved Back To The Future franchise. Spielberg has held tentative talks with studio Universal about making a fourth film - and it could be an animated adventure. The radical departure from the format of the initial trilogy is to compensate for the lack of original regulars involved.

National talk radio personality Rush Limbaugh will join ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown to provide "the voice of the fan" and to spark debate on the show. Limbaugh will appear weekly and make his debut when Sunday NFL Countdown premieres Sept. 7.

After more than 12 years apart, Judas Priest have reunited for a global live concert tour in 2004. The definitive Judas Priest lineup of Rob Halford, lead guitarist Glenn Tipton, lead guitarist K.K. Downing, bassist Ian Hill and drummer Scott Travis are back.

Pam Anderson's relationship with Kid Rock is a lot rockier now that he's been spending intimate time with actress Alyssa Milano behind her back.

Sales of DVD titles continued to soar to record levels in with unit sales up 87 percent above those of a year ago. As a result, sales of videocassettes continued to plummet.