George Strait is amid a two-year tour before retiring from the road, but new album “Love Is Everything” proves he still has plenty of great new country music in him.

Even though “The Great Gatsby” has gotten the movie treatment several times in the past, no film adaptation has ever really stood out as the definitive version of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s celebrated novel. Director Baz Luhrmann’s film is certainly the most visually arresting interpretation of “The Great Gatsby” ever produced. Catherine Martin, who previous worked with Luhrmann on “Moulin Rouge,” “Romeo + Juliet,” and “Australia,” deserves multiple Oscar nominations for her hyper sets and eye-popping costumes. As wonderful as Luhrmann’s “Great Gatsby” is to look at, the enchanting visuals are also ironically the movie’s downfall. In the midst of the art direction, costumes, and music, the story and characters that made Fitzgerald’s book a classic become a mere afterthought.

Even though “The Great Gatsby” has gotten the movie treatment several times in the past, no film adaptation has ever really stood out as the definitive version of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s celebrated novel.

If any piece of classic American literature should be depicted on film with wildly decadent and boldly inventive style, it's "The Great Gatsby." After all, who was the character of Jay Gatsby himself if not a spinner of grandiose tales and a peddler of lavish dreams?

In the galaxy of big-screen superheros — a rather glum lot — Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man is the snappy one.

The best-tasting veggie burger I’ve ever met is falafel. A product of the Middle East, falafel are deep-fried fritters made from ground chickpeas or fava beans that are tucked into pita pockets and drizzled with tahini. They are delicious, hearty, inexpensive and relatively healthy.

Hard rocker Tom Keifer would be among the first to say that life doesn’t go as planned. The long-time musician, best known for his lead role in the band Cinderella, released his first solo album – ”The Way Life Goes” – April 30 after a 10-year process and a long struggle with partial vocal chord paralysis — the ruination of many music careers.

Izzy Marshall’s football career at Arizona State is over before it ever really got started.

Trumpeter/bandleader Doc Severinsen can still hit the notes, and it's not something he ever takes for granted. He always warms up.

I received a press release today on the Brothers in Arms Classic the Desert Vista football team is participating in the fall.

Having observed the failure of our education system by dumbing-down our children for the past 50 years, concern has to be expressed about the “new” Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI).

"Mud" has the feel of a classic, although it's perhaps not enthralling enough to be one. The third and most elaborate feature to date from writer-director Jeff Nichols seems to have been adapted from a novel that doesn't exist -- something by James Lee Burke, perhaps, or Cormac McCarthy, or some other specialist in frequently violent tales about the challenges to masculinity and the forging of new identities that face rural people who belong to a sprawling modern world -- who might be hanging out in a supermarket parking lot one moment and falling into a creek full of deadly cottonmouths the next.

Ballet Etudes stages its version of this classic fairytale, set to Prokofiev’s timeless score. After most performances, backstage tours are available.

Phaedra is a gentle gal with a laid back, easy going personality. She enjoys hanging out with people and gets along well with other dogs. Although she is not particularly interested in the rough and tumble wrestling games that some other dogs like, she’s happy to watch the show. Phaedra is looking for a home that will take her on daily walks around the neighborhood, weekend hikes could be enjoyable to her too but she might have to work up her stamina for a longer hike. A home with plenty of cuddle time and hanging out with her favorite humans would be perfect for this mellow gal. Belly rubs are also a favorite of hers. She has so much love to give and can’t wait to start her new life.

Jackie Robinson was the ideal class act to break the barrier and become the first black player in Major League Baseball.

Anyone who saw “Scream 4” likely remembers the scene where Hayden Panettiere lists off every horror remake to come out in the past decade, from “Halloween” to “Friday the 13th.” So many of these remakes failed due to a lack of passion on the filmmaker’s behalf. Making a good movie was only their second priority, right after cashing in on an exhausted franchise’s good name. The new “Evil Dead” movie is the rare exception. It’s obvious that director/screenwriter Fede Alvarez has great admiration for Sam Raimi’s beloved cult classic. Along with co-writers Diablo Cody and Rodo Sayagues, Alvarez produces the best contemporary “Evil Dead” movie possible.

Phaedra is a gentle gal with a laid back, easy going personality. She enjoys hanging out with people and gets along well with other dogs. Although she is not particularly interested in the rough and tumble wrestling games that some other dogs like, she’s happy to watch the show.

You may better know her sister, Dakota, from box-office smashes like “War of the Worlds” and “The Twilight Saga,” but 14-year-old Elle Fanning has already made quite a name for herself among the arthouse set, appearing in such acclaimed works as “Babel,” “Somewhere” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” This month, she takes center stage in a new drama from writer/director Sally Potter entitled “Ginger & Rosa” – a coming-of-age tale set in 1962 London as the threat of the Cuban missile crisis looms overhead.

Does your outfit blend into the woodwork?

Doing some catch up on track results from two big events over the weekend.

It may be a “tale as old as time,” but "Disney’s Beauty and the Beast” will never feel old hat to generations of new children or eternal fans of romance and fairytales.

Coming soon to downtown Mesa: big changes to one of the city’s acclaimed all-ages attractions.

"The Sapphires" is missing a lot — detailed characters, a unique narrative arc, half-plausible scenes of the Vietnam War — but it's got two uncommon things going for it: genuine charm and Chris O'Dowd. They are not mutually exclusive.

Summer is coming up and the school year is coming to an end. Parents will face the inevitable question, what to do with the kids?