Five years after "X-Files" alum David Duchovny jumped the television mothership for a film career, he’s still trying to show the world "the truth is out there." But forget about the aliens. This time around, Duchovny is exposing the very industry that launched his celebrity. In "The TV Set," an inspired comedy about the behind-the-scenes foibles of launching a television show, the Golden Globe-winning actor plays a beleaguered writer whose original ideas are constantly challenged by the unimaginative, money-hungry network execs who have just greenlit his pilot.
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Shockingly,"Night at the Museum" isn’t just a lame Ben Stiller flick or a family film that kids will enjoy while their parents are bored to tears. Stiller stars as Larry, a guy who becomes a night guard at New York’s Museum of Natural History. He quickly realizes the museum isn’t an ordinary collection of bones and historical facts, but that it’s a supernatural place where the exhibits come to life after sundown.
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About the series: In a saloon town such as San Francisco, the bartender plays a crucial role. Confessor, friend, sounding board — the man or woman behind the plank sees to it that our needs are met with elegance, grace and often wit. They see humanity at its best and most convivial, but also offer a nod and a welcome to the lonely. But what do they see when they look at us? What are the tricks of their trade? And what lessons have they learned along the way? In this new Examiner weekly feature, we talk to some of our local bartenders to find out.
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Mike White, writer of "Chuck & Buck" and "School of Rock," makes his directorial debut with "Year of the Dog," a low-key, tonally-challenged comedy with a tragic undercurrent that traces one dog lover’s increasingly obsessive quest to save animals.
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Having subjected previous protagonists to paralysis and war horror, in "Open Hearts" and "Brothers," respectively, Danish filmmaker Susanne Bier dishes up an old-fashioned family skeleton, among other upheaval, in her new suds fest, "After the Wedding." Again, she yanks on the tear-jerk mechanism, assaulting her characters with bolts of tribulation from melodrama’s firmament. But even as you’re shaking your head, she’s probably captivating you.
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Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, the writing team responsible for the endlessly inventive, sharp-witted satire "Shaun of the Dead," turn their attention to a certain kind of Hollywood blockbuster in "Hot Fuzz," a dark comedy that doubles as tribute and parody. While "Shaun" paid bloody homage to the zombie genre practically invented by director George Romero, "Fuzz" has in its crosshairs disposable exercises like "Tango & Cash" and "Bad Boys II," in which loud-mouthed, maverick cops wage war on civility, common sense and each other.
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Breakup buzz is dogging Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams. And Ryan fueled the rumors by walking the red carpet at the NYC premiere of his new flick, "Fracture," with his mother, the New York Post reports. While Ryan wouldn’t discuss Rachel, the paper’s sources have pronounced them "definitely over." Pitt and Jolie plan to spend time apart
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"Yet Individual, Now as One" is an event from 7 to 10 tonight at Fingersnaps DJ & Art Collective, 1035 Market St., San Francisco. Hosted by DJ Lamont, the free gathering features artwork by Kristin Lerner, Gabriel Bata, Dedan Bryant, Esther Unk and Jason LaDean Grohman and music by DJ Suede. Call (415) 370-3014.
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Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson play an estranged married couple in "Vacancy," but first-time screenwriter Mark L. Smith has a cure for their malaise. It’s therapy, all right, just not of the traditional variety. Amy and David are bitterly divided by the unexplained death of their only son, but Smith shocks them to their senses with brutal efficiency, thrusting them into a macabre snuff-film fantasy and taking a sledgehammer to their lingering differences.
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There is little mystery at the heart of "Fracture," the new thriller from "Frequency" director Gregory Hoblit. It is aggressively paced, twisting and turning its way toward a rewarding climax, but as rousing as the journey may be, the destination is never in doubt.
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