CASEY PHILLIPS: Director Roland Emmerich must have been the bane of plastic Army men and ant hills as a child, because he’s clearly fascinated by wanton destruction.

When Darde Long started working as a keeper at the Chattanooga Zoo in 1985, it was a far cry from the accredited institution she now oversees as executive director.

To most people, a 10-foot-square space might feel like a jail cell.

Casey Phillips: For blues rock guitar aficionados, watching 32-year-old Joe Bonamassa's star rise has been akin to witnessing the rebirth of Stevie Ray Vaughan.

If you're a fan of digital arsenals, stop reading, go buy "Borderlands" and clear your schedule, because this game was made with you in mind.

CASEY PHILLIPS: Considering she's the source of one of the world's great unsolved mysteries, Hollywood's avoidance of Amelia Earhart as a film-worthy subject for the last 70 years is as almost baffling as her real-life disappearance.

Casey: The release of a documentary after Michael Jackson's death on June 25 was inevitable since fans were ravenous for a glimpse of Jackson's final days before his sold-out, final tour. Based on "This Is It," which is culled from 80 hours of footage shot during his preparations for the tour, it would have been a doozy.

There's a very important distinction to make between video games that are challenging and ones that are cheap. The former test players' skills to the limit. The latter test their patience.

Rhonda Westfield remembers seeing Michael Jackson on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”

HOLLY LEBER: The appeal of "Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant" does not lie in the title character. It's an odd little underdog story -- a bored teenager trapped in a high school where, for some reason, everyone wears pastels. He sneaks out one night to a freak show, steals a spider, becomes a half-vampire, makes friends with a snake boy, falls for a monkey girl -- you know, ordinary stuff. All this is embellished with freaky visual effects.

Because zombies are typically represented as mindless, rotting cannibals, they wouldn't be expected to rank highly in anyone's esteem. Based on the slew of recent entertainment releases featuring the undead, however, they've got their share of fans.

It might be hard to imagine a more unlikely literary pairing than zombies in one of Jane Austen's Victorian romance novels, but Jason Rekulak proved that not only can it be done, the results can be quite successful.

When I get home each night from work, I have a 12-year-old and 3-year-old eagerly awaiting my arrival. I'll be greeted with excitement, kisses and adoration.

CASEY PHILLIPS: Just like its premise, “Couples Retreat” is basically a rainy day at the beach. All the right ingredients are there — the ocean, the palm trees, the rum drinks — but extenuating circumstances have dampened the fun.

For some people, holiday decorating is a frantic rush of rifling through boxes in the attic, cursing serpentine tangles of wires and trying to find that one mutinous dead bulb in the strand.

If a man were to gain nearly one-third of his body weight in a matter of weeks, doctors might suggest a radical change of diet.

There are a lot of fat cats out there, not to mention dumpy dogs, according to the results of a recent national study.

CASEY PHILLIPS: Just like its premise, “Couples Retreat” is basically a rainy day at the beach. All the right ingredients are there — the ocean, the palm trees, the rum drinks — but extenuating circumstances have dampened the fun.

In the world of music, typically, people are either creators or producers. Charles Allison is both.

CASEY PHILLIPS: It’s a little strange to be writing a review of this album months after Peewee Moore’s Web site says it was originally released. Still it presents such a fine example of road-worn, cotton-picking outlaw honky tonk that I think it deserves a look.

CASEY PHILLIPS: As a philosophical premise, “The Invention of Lying” is interesting. As a movie, it’s hit or miss.

Oz's famous warlock wasn't involved this time, but thanks to some technical wizardry, Dorothy, Tinman, Scarecrow and the Lion have received a facelift many septuagenarians would die for.

Most bluegrass bands would happily part with loved ones in exchange for a chance to walk on the Ryman Auditorium's stage as a finalist at the International Bluegrass Music Association Awards show.

As far as the members of Dishwater Blonde are concerned, Marvin Gaye had it right when he sang "Sexual Healing." They're determined to follow suit and funk the bad right out of you.

CASEY PHILLIPS: Like "Erin Brockovich" and "Michael Clayton," Steven Soderbergh's "The Informant!" succeeds by pushing the small type and legalese of a lusterless plot to the background and directing attention to a magnetically powerful performance by its lead actor.

For a craft that's traditionally passed on in a social context, there are few organizations set up to teach folk music in a classroom setting.

For a band that's built itself from the ground up and worn the badge of independence with honor, signing with a major label could force the musicians to change their approach to music.

In the intricate electronic productions crafted by Derek Vincent Smith for his performing duo Pretty Lights, listeners are as likely to hear rave-friendly digital sound effects as a sample of a classic funky hornline.

If the Nashville country music elite were gathered around a campfire together, you'd probably expect New York-based Her & Kings County to be chased away faster than a Yankee in a Pace salsa commercial.

CASEY PHILLIPS: “9” may be the most-confusing animated film since “Coraline.” It’s clearly message-driven, but what message it’s trying to convey is difficult to surmise.

BARRY COURTER: I’m mostly familiar with Mark Knopfler through his Dire Straits work. This is his seventh solo studio CD. “Get Lucky” is a more personal collection of songs with a very folk feel and plenty of Celtic influences. Fans looking for Dire-style radio hooks may be disappointed, but I like this record.

Beatles' fans both young and old soon will be able to experience a digital version of a night on stage as the Fab Four.

CASEY PHILLIPS: Considering it doesn't feature a single musical performance from the festival for which it's named, "Taking Woodstock" had an uphill battle to prove it could capture the spirit of Woodstock.

Despite some minor renovations to its facilities, the Mountain Opry remains largely unchanged after three decades of providing a place where bluegrass musicians of all skill levels can find equal footing.

Despite minor renovations, the Mountain Opry remains largely unchanged after three decades of providing a home for bluegrass pickers.

Trying to distill Shotgun Party's music into its base elements is a little like trying to remove the cream from your coffee.

After years trumping the competition as a contest fiddler, it might not seem like there are many kinds of music that don't just roll off John Boulware's fingers like so much water.

Since coming to the Scenic City two years ago, street performer Ernie Rodgers has shared a love of music with a city he says he was surprised to love.

Like all of director Quentin Tarantino’s films, “Inglourious Basterds” carries his signature sprawled across every frame.

Local gamers have plenty to look forward this fall as publishers begin firing their big guns for the holiday season.

Since starting construction earlier this month, work on the new East Ridge Elementary School is keeping pace with an aggressive build schedule that should have the doors open by next August.

You could say this has been a banner year for AutoVaughn, but that wouldn't quite do justice to the Nashville-based alt-rock band's accomplishments and frenetic activity over the last several months.

As the crow flies, Austin, Texas, and New Orleans are about 450 miles apart. Within the creative mind of Malcolm "Papa Mali" Welbourne, however, they're thick as thieves.

When it comes to making music a part of a child's life, educators say there's no such thing as starting too soon.

CASEY PHILLIPS: "Funny People" is Judd Apatow's third outing as a director, and it bears his signature like a war medal.

Ask most sound engineers how they learned the tricks of the recording trade, and the answer will probably be "trial and error."

Given the wealth of rock 'n' roll memorabilia it contains, descending into Ross Whitaker's basement should require a backstage pass.

For a long time, singer/songwriter Eleni Mandell readily admitted to emulating her biggest influence, Tom Waits.

Although he is perhaps best known as a vocalist/guitarist with the progressive bluegrass band Cadillac Sky, David Mayfield had a lifetime of experience playing on his own before joining the band after moving to Nashville five years ago.