Arts & Entertainment-Weekender & More

Sandra Bullock retrieves much of the career momentum that “The Proposal” gave her and that “All About Steve” threatened to kill with “The Blind Side,” a surprisingly smart and moving drama about a Memphis steel magnolia who doesn’t truly bloom until she takes in a homeless teen and gives him a life.

The soul: Albatross or asset? It seems as if soulless people, unhindered by conscience, have a huge advantage in life. They calculate their options without sentiment and act decisively to advance their objectives. But could a person who is nagged by inner voices become like them? Should he?

“The Twilight Saga: New Moon” is a dead-on adaptation of the Stephenie Meyer book. That’s not necessarily a good thing, because the second novel in the romantic vampire series is considered by some fans to be the weakest of the four stories.

How might a kid — OK, a teenager — protect himself from that dreaded fate described in legions of sci-fi movies (including “The Fourth Kind”), the anal probe? If you weren’t thinking “champagne cork,” you were way off according to the sci-fi kids cartoon “Planet 51.”

The action of “She Loves Me” ends merrily on a Christmas Eve. Penn State School of Theatre’s University Resident Theatre production of this musical is tuneful, pretty and well-performed — just the thing to put anyone in an early holiday mood.

Almost all of us have seen at least one adaptation of Sergei Prokofiev’s timeless 1936 composition “Peter and the Wolf.” Whether it was the 1946 animated Walt Disney short or one of the other dozens of renditions, most of us are familiar with the valiant tale of young Peter venturing into a snow-covered forest only to come face to face with a blood-thirsty wolf. On Nov. 8, the Pennsylvania Centre Orchestra will perform its own interpretation of this everlasting standard.

Long before eharmony.com and all those 800 numbers, singles looking for romance answered “lonely-hearts” ads in newspapers by letter. This quaint form of finding Mr./Ms. Right is central to the storyline of the musical “She Loves Me” being presented by the Penn State School of Theatre.

The Next Stage’s local premiere of Willy Holtzman’s “Something You Did” is theater at its finest. This professional production tackles a contemporary issue with sensitivity and compelling drama. The play tells the story of a ’60s political activist, Allison, who has been imprisoned more than 30 years for her part in a domestic terrorist bombing in Grand Central Station. Two people were killed, a policeman and another activist.

LAS VEGAS Police believe a batch of drugs blamed in Michael Jackson's death was purchased by his personal physician at a Las Vegas pharmacy, court documents released Friday show.

NEW YORK Wale wanted to infuse his debut album with a woman's touch, so the rapper recruited singing divas like Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Chrisette Michele and Jazmine Sullivan to get that feeling across.

STOCKHOLM Swedish soprano Elisabeth Soderstrom, an international opera star, has died, her husband Sverker Olow says.

There was a time when a small farmers’ high school was becoming the behemoth research university we know today. There were places outside of town that sported rolling hills and farmland instead of Walmarts and supermarkets. And there was a time when a small region in central Pennsylvania known only to the local farmers was becoming a place that the world would call “Happy Valley.”

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Sophomore defender Patrick Krispinplayed the unlikely hero for No. 2 seed Penn State men’s soccer team, scoring his first career goal to lift the Nittany Lions to a 1-0 double overtime victory over Michigan in Thursday’s opening round of the Big Ten Tournament.

Many popular writers, Michael Pollan and Barbara Kingsolver for example, have bemoaned the fact that, as often as not, American families eat their meals on the go. Foodies, locavores and pundits alike worry important cultural traditions are being lost every time a fast-food burger is eaten en route to soccer practice. When food is consumed simply to fill a void, they argue, we lose our connection to what we eat and to each other.

Upon entering Penn State’s Borland Gallery, there is no mistaking the feeling of being steeped in a gentility and refinement that can come from enjoying afternoon tea. The exhibit “Tea Time in 18th-Century Philadelphia” is a collection of furniture and tea settings from colonial Philadelphia that provides a glimpse into what was once a great tradition.

The Haunted Granary in Lemont has been drawing thrill-seekers for more than a decade with attractions such as the grain elevator maze, haunted bus and interactive skits. The event’s new management promises higher-quality entertainment and a variety of activities for all ages.

Saturday will come early this week to Centre County. Country-chart topper Brad Paisley will bring his “American Saturday Night” concert tour to the Bryce Jordan today, with his patented cocktail of mischief and music, rimmed with salt-of-the-earth earnestness.

Wine consumers generally fall into one of two categories: tasters and drinkers. Tasters can detect subtleties in flavors of a wine and know how it was made while drinkers imbibe without analyzing. No matter which category one falls into, there are always more wines to taste and knowledge to be gained.

Think “circus” and, traditionally, images of elephants, sideshows and clowns packed into tiny cars come to mind. But 25 years ago, all that started to change.

In “Humpday,” an independent film screening at the State Theatre, Joshua Leonard plays a man who agrees to make a gay porno film with his best friend — which means they will have to have sex with each other on camera.

PITTSBURGH — A cardboard lid is lifted and four archivists peer inside. A postal box from Paris. Who sent it? A piece of crusty wedding cake. Whose? Another box: $17,000 in cash. Yet another: An autographed picture of a naked Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

Eleven years ago, Joel and Ethan Coen released the smart, wry noir dramedy “The Big Lebowski,” to lukewarm critical reviews and half-empty theaters.

From the moment that Kim Deal gets on the line from her home in Dayton, Ohio, it’s obvious that her mind is going in a million different directions.

Strike up the bands, crank up the snow cone machines, and put on your walking shoes: It’s time for the Bellefonte Arts and Crafts Fair.

Teenage superstar Miley Cyrus will appear at the Bryce Jordan Center in November in one of only two stops in Pennsylvania on her upcoming tour.

A list of events in and around Centre County. To submit information for DetailsDetails, e-mail Heather Longley or call 814-231-4617.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE, Ohio An eastern Ohio police chief accused of breaking into the home of the woman who carried twins for Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick says he never discussed selling items from the home.

NEW YORK "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" has set a box-office record for midnight screenings.

HONG KONG A prominent mainland Chinese director banned by Beijing from making movies brought his new gay romance film to Hong Kong on Friday for what is likely the last of a handful of screenings on his home soil.

In Japan, where the blades are shiny and sharp and if the fake blood isn't staining the lens, you're not trying hard enough, there' s a rich tradition of sword-and-splatter pictures. That's the tradition Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill" leaned on, and it's the foundation of "Ninja Assassin," a more run-of-the-mill Hollywood ninja movie with "Matrix" ties.

Opening Wednesday: