Another September, another month that’s increasingly hard to disregard at the multiplex. This year, there are new titles from filmmakers like the Coen Brothers, Spike Lee and Fernando Meirelles, as well as stars such as George Clooney, Kate Hudson, Brad Pitt, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino.

Fast doesn’t do it justice. For those familiar with DragonForce’s previous releases, you know what you’re in for and the boys from London don’t disappoint on "Ultra Beatdown." (Think Journey meets speed metal.)

If there was ever time I needed to learn to stop getting excited about side projects from bands I love, that time is now. Scars on Broadway, which features two members of System of a Down, is scattered, unnecessarily vulgar, and incredibly uninspired for something being marketed as “progressive” metal.

The new movie 'Traitor' goes behind the lines of the war on terror and yields a surprising amount of intelligence.

Antiques columnist Dawn Waxon addresses questions and comments in this week's blog.

How can I pass up the chance to review an album by someone who calls herself Divine Brown, a name she unfortunately shares with the hooker caught in actor Hugh Grant’s car in 1995 on the Sunset Strip in L.A.? But OK, she’s from Canada, so maybe she missed that issue of Entertainment Weekly. 

The Fox Valley Folklore Society and Geneva Park District present the 32nd annual Fox Valley Folk Music and Storytelling Festival on Sunday and Labor Day Monday, Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, preceded Saturday, Aug. 30, by master classes, an open mike and live concert on WFMT-FM radio.

During his precious little time as one of hip-hop’s most creative producers, the late J. Dilla crafted future-soul beats with their roots firmly planted in the Motown sound of his Detroit hometown. His "Champion Sound" collaboration with West Coast beatsmith Madlib is an overlooked gem in both of their catalogs, so it’s fitting that the fifth installment in Madlib’s Beat Konducta instrumental series would be a soul-infused tribute to a fellow creative spirit.

This week, the Wrestling Genius tackles women in pro wrestling.

The DuPage Symphony Orchestra concludes its summer concert series at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 6, at Cantigny Park in Wheaton.

The Broadway musical “Les Misérables” will be presented by a cast of young adults from across the region. 

The Xbox 360 seems to be hopping on the user-friendly bandwagon lately. My problem with Microsoft’s recent moves is not that adding Wii-like features makes the system less "hardcore," but that it makes it less "Xbox-y," for lack of a better (or any) term.

Detractors who dislike frontman John Popper’s virtuosic harmonica skills will be glad to hear that there isn’t really that a lot of it on "North Hollywood Shootout." For much of the record, the band's jammy tendencies are curbed in favor of quirky instrumentation and a sunny, summertime pop-rock vibe.

I’m an idiot because, though I’ve had HBO since the mid-1990s, I’ve never watched an episode of “The Wire.” And that’s only part of it. Not only did I ignore the show’s entire five-season run on HBO (which, remember, I was paying for), but I also got each season on DVD from the cable channel’s publicity department. And guess what? I didn’t watch those either. One of the most acclaimed shows ever, just sitting on my shelf.