Ditch the stupid party hats. Forget those annoying noise-makers. And save the cheap champagne for another night. New Year’s Eve doesn’t have to be all about sitting in front of television watching a three-hour-old tape delay of the ball dropping in Times Square. Read more...

Ranging from respectful choir performances to “The O.C. Chrismukkah Mix,” holiday music is often hit-and-miss. For the faithful, though, hearing genuinely religious music can be a profound experience. Read more...

Turn a corner in Los Angeles, and it is hard not to find a starving actor, struggling filmmaker or unpublished writer. But for student filmmakers Darren Guttenberg and Jared Fryer, the Hollywood struggle has just become a small burden easily overcome. Read more...

It’s normal to leave a performance of “The Nutcracker” wanting to waltz to Tchaikovsky’s Grande Pas de Deux, but most renditions of this Christmas classic do not leave audiences hungry. Read more...

Operetta, the long-neglected cousin of opera and musical theater, is finally getting some much-deserved recognition thanks to operetta expert Dr. Michael D. Miller, a professor of advanced mathematics at UCLA Extension. Read more...

“Ocean’s Twelve” Directed by Steven Soderbergh Warner Bros. Life was already difficult for the motley crew of professional thieves, with a vengeance-obsessed casino owner demanding their money and perhaps their lives. Read more...

Jean-Pierre Jeunet is fast becoming the French Tim Burton. Quickly emerging as an accomplished creator of vibrant and original modern-day fairy tales, Jeunet’s deftness reminds one of early Burton. Read more...