entertainment

From David Lynch's ''Blue Velvet.'' – Photo: Courtesy

Among new DVD releases are selections that are destined to bring back fond cinematic memories.

Milwaukee Repertory Theater artistic director Mark Clements directs a scene in the upcoming production of ''Next to Normal.'' – Photo: Adam Horowitz

On mild days, you might still find Mark Clements walking his pooches – boxers Walter and Blanche – on the Milwaukee lakefront. If he appears to be lost in thought, perhaps he's reminiscing about a Green Bay Packers game or London's Arsenal football (soccer) club. Don't be surprised if his head turns at the potato-potato-potato sound of an idling Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

Kristen Chenoweth. – Photo: Courtesy

There's good and bad news when it comes to Kristin Chenoweth's country album "Some Lessons Learned." The good news is that it's not as humiliating as Gwynneth Paltrow's country music movie "Country Strong." The bad news: It's wickedly mediocre and generic. Exercising different vocal muscles than we're used to hearing the Broadway diva utilize, she sounds like she's trying to break in those cowboy boots and there's gonna be more than a few blisters when she slips 'em off her feet.

It's almost impossible to go wrong when it comes to giving books as gifts. Even diehard Kindle and Nook users can find something to like among the following mainly print titles.

Moscow Ballet's ''Great Russian Nutcracker'' comes to Milwaukee's Riverside Theater on Dec. 1. – Photo: Courtesy

Wisconsin stages will be filled with singing, dancing, acting up, acting out and other forms of merriment this holiday season. Mark your calendar and make your plans for 24 days of holiday cheer.

Eleanor Friedberger. – Photo: Courtesy

Fiery Furnaces fans can breathe a sigh of relief. "Last Summer," the solo debut by Eleanor Friedberger, does not mark the end of the duo, which includes Friedberger's brother Matthew. Instead, "Last Summer" is a chance for her to flex other musical muscles and venture out momentarily on her own, she says.

Photo: Courtesy

In addition to offering charm and living texture, houseplants are excellent oxygen producers that are good for the home environment. But some plants are not good – and even deadly – for dogs. 

'Hugo.' – Photo: Courtesy

What possessed Martin Scorcese to direct his first family film – and in 3D, no less? After all, Scorcese is famous for such brutal, testosterone-fueled character studies as "Raging Bull," "Mean Streets," "Taxi Driver," "Cape Fear," "Goodfellas" and "Gangs of New York."

Leonardo DiCaprio and Judi Dench in ''J. Edgar.'' – Photo: Courtesy

After the hack job Clint Eastwood did on "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil," there was cause for alarm when it came to his undertaking a J. Edgar Hoover biopic. Was he the right director to tackle a subject rife with queer innuendo?