A special salute goes out to Jill Kushner, who just got an amazing job offer and will be leaving the HITS family after six years. She will be missed, but we wish her all the best! This Weakend Planner is a little light due to the loss of Jill—we were a little too sad to do extensive research, but we promise next week’s to be back to form.

Friday, August 19
7:30pm
Rufus Wainwright @ the Wiltern LG w/Ben Folds & Ben Lee - Now, that’s a line-up. ph: (213) 380- 5005

8:00pm
Un-Cabaret: Up this week telling the funny: Beth Lapides, Taylor Negron & Tim Bagley. For info: www.uncabaret.com (@ M Bar 1253 N. Vine @ Fountain)
Natalie Cole @ the Hollywood Bowl - ph: (323) 850-2000 Sat. nite, too
Lucinda Williams @ the Henry Fonda Theatre - ph (323) 464-0808
Al Green @ the Greek Theatre - ph: (323) 665-1927

9:00pm
*DJ Z Trip @ House of Blues, Sunset Strip: Tix: $20; (323) 848-5100

Saturday, August 20
9:00am-4:00pm
Chicago Air and Water Show

11:00am
Disneyland: Been to Disneyland since Space Mountain reopened? If not, you need to head down there—we hear it is amazing.

7:15pm
The Used, Glassjaw, 30 Seconds to Mars and more @ the Gibson Amphitheatre (formally Universal Amphitheatre)

8:00pm
Coldplay @ the Verizon Wireless Ampitheatre w/Rilo Kiley. Sunday nite too.

TBA
AmsterJAM: Snoop Dogg, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Guests at Randalls Island. (East & Harlem Rivers Junction, NYC)

Sunday, August 21
All day
HOWL! Festival: (NYC). Presented by the Federation of East Village Artists, the three-year-old HOWL! Festival is a huge crush of counterculture, with over 40 venues, 200 events and hundreds of local artists and performers.

3:00pm
Sundays are always for lounging around and just being lazy, but perhaps going to see a movie would be fun for the whole family. We recommend Valiant; it’s the safest call of any of the movies opening this weekend.

9:00pm
Six Feet Under Series Finale: “Everything. Everywhere. Everyone. Ends”. Tragic! This dark, funny, shocking series will be missed more than most that have gone off the air of late. And we have faith that the folks behind this powerhouse will NOT pussy out and wrap storylines and characters up in neat little packages for us either. On a personal note, I’d like to say thank you to the writers for the Brenda/Billy scene from last week. The most twisted part about that scene is how very badly we all wanted to see it. Rest in peace, Six Feet Under. Or not…

JE-C’S NEW-MOVIE RUNDOWN
The 40-Year-Old Virgin
Starring: Steve Carell, Catherine Keener, Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen, Romany Malco, and Elizabeth Banks.
Synopsis: Unlike most 40-year-old men, retail clerk Andy Stitzer hasn't had sex. Ever. His co-workers try to help him out, but nothing works. But then Andy meets Trish, a 40-year-old single mother of three. Andy's buddies think "it" may finally happen, until they learn that Andy and Trish's relationship is based on a firm "no sex" policy.
Thoughts: I cannot wait for this movie—it looks like it is going to be hilarious. On the other hand, it seems like most of the movies that I’ve been looking forward to have been major letdowns. But I’m not expecting a best movie of the year with this one; I just want to laugh.

Red Eye
Starring: Rachel McAdams, Cillian Murphy, Kyle Gallner, Carl Gilliard, Laura Johnson and Max Kasch
Synopsis: Lisa Reisart hates to fly, but her fears are put at ease when she meets a handsome stranger who's departing to Miami on the same flight. The problem is, just after takeoff, the man reveals himself to be a psycho planning to kill the head of Homeland Security, and Lisa is somehow the key to his success.
Thoughts: Ah, Wes Craven has returned, and although he’s the king of scary movies, I have a feeling this one is a real stinker.

Valiant
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Ben Kingsley, Jim Broadbent, John Hurt, Hugh Laurie, Ricky Gervais, Rupert Everett, John Cleese and Tim Curry

Synopsis: An undersized pigeon named Valiant dreams of joining the elite Royal Homing Pigeon Service in World War II. A sudden shortage in wing power caused by falcon attacks is his big break, and soon he's on board for the company's most important mission yet.
Thoughts: Hmm… What a great cast of voices, but I haven’t heard much about this movie so I’m not sure what to expect, but it could turn out to be a fun family film.

JE-C’S TOP 5 MOVIES OF THE YEAR:
5.Wedding Crashers- This movie had me laughing the entire time. Vince Vaughn is hilarious and it is just one of those movies where the most absurd things happen and you just cant help but laugh. If you are one of 3 people who haven’t seen it yet, you are missing out.

4.Charlie and the Chocolate Factory- When the reviews first came out, people were saying Depp was too over the top, I completely disagree, He was awesome, as always, and Tim Burton has created an awesome new look for this classic remake. I even liked the new ending!!!

3.Hustle & Flow- Talk about a movie that hit home, this was it. For the past 4 years this has been my life to a certain extent. To actually be able to watch it on the big screen brought back memories. I was able to relate to the struggles of making it big in the business and all the countless hours spent in the studio trying to make the songs just right. I think everyone can relate to it on some level, not just hip-hop fans.

2.Batman Begins- Like I predicted when I saw the coming attractions over a year ago, this movie was my favorite “Summer Blockbuster” and has restored the Batman franchise back to where it should be. It also lived up to the hype unlike most of the summer movies. Christian Bale made an awesome Batman. I can’t wait for the sequel!!!

1.Crash- The best movie of the year so far!!! This movie is so on point it’s scary. I saw this movie two times in the same weekend and it affected me the same way both times. This movie is a classic in so many ways and one of the best movies I have ever seen.

BIGGEST DISAPOINTMENTS:
War of The Worlds- Spielberg, buddy, you let me down. I can usually always count on you delivering a classic movie, but this was far from that. [Note from Jill: I like when Jesse says, “Spielberg, buddy”…a lot.]

Fantastic Four- When I saw the coming attractions for this movie, I wanted to see it, it was on my must see list, but then I heard the word of mouth and have yet to see it. I don’t even know if I would bother renting it.

DVD OF THE WEEK:
Sin City: By far one of the coolest movies of the year, not to mention one of the best adaptions of a comic book ever to hit the big screen. I finally added this movie to my ever-growing movie collection.