BLACKSBURG, Va. — One of Virginia Tech’s visiting instructors, Michael Anthony Williams, appeared on the big screen in the recent film “The Brave One.”
He was able to work with two-time Academy Award winner Jodie Foster.

PHILADELPHIA — When I hear the name Dane Cook, a barrage of images comes to mind. Dane, clad in black, running around animatedly on stage while dousing himself with bottled water. Dane writhing on the floor and shouting unintelligibly for a laughing crowd.

MEDFORD, Mass. — Julie Taymor’s latest project, “Across the Universe,” a musical set in the 1960s to the backdrop of classic Beatles songs, is no more than an extravagant spectacle that sacrifices substance for aesthetic.

Remember “Sling Blade”?

Me neither, but apparently Billy Bob Thornton won an Academy Award for his work on that film. An Academy Award for best screenplay, but an Academy Award all the same.

Insert obligatory “Superbad”-is-super-good comment here. Judd Apatow and company have scored yet another hit with this coming-of-age tale about high school friends on a quest to get laid before graduation. Replete with more dick jokes than humanly imaginable, this film still packs enough heart to make it the breakout comedy of the summer.

Compared to the other big-budget “three-quels” to hit the screen this summer, “Rush Hour 3″ failed to incite more than discussion of Chris Tucker’s alleged $25 million salary. Recycled plot, staged action, racist one-liners - enough is enough already.