Dream House

Re "Plan for Dream Home Is Couple's Nightmare," Aug. 21. The arbitrary nature of planning board decisions continues to shock those of us who value the rule of law. In the Aronoffs' case, the only legitimate issues before the planning board should be: Is the house's square footage appropriate for the size of the lot? Do the plans comply with appropriate codes? If the area is zoned for single-family residences only, does the house comply? Will the house's physical systems adversely affect adjoining properties?

Among all the special places inside his sprawling 10,700-square-foot mountaintop home, Daniel Coletti savors the vibe inside the living room most. It's a luxury dreamscape distinguished by mammoth walls of glass and Idaho-hewn stone. At night, he gazes out past the blue waters of an indoor-outdoor infinity pool and onto a vast citywide vista capped by the shimmering lights of the Strip. "It's like looking at a fire," his wife, Natalie, said. "You can't turn your eyes from it. " The property has another unique feature: Offered at $13.9 million, it's the most expensive residential listing in Las Vegas.

Among all the special places inside his sprawling 10,700-square-foot mountaintop home, Daniel Coletti savors the vibe inside the living room most. It's a luxury dreamscape distinguished by mammoth walls of glass and Idaho-hewn stone. At night, he gazes out past the blue waters of an indoor-outdoor infinity pool and onto a vast citywide vista capped by the shimmering lights of the Strip. "It's like looking at a fire," his wife, Natalie, said. "You can't turn your eyes from it. " The property has another unique feature: Offered at $13.9 million, it's the most expensive residential listing in Las Vegas.

'Dream House' MPAA rating: PG-13 for violence, terror, some sexuality and brief strong language Running time: 1 hour, 32 minutes Playing: In general release

On Thursday, Oct. 8, 1964, the day the police decided my mother killed my father, I woke up late, the kind of late that snaps you out of your favorite dream, the one where you're wrapped in the arms of your favorite TV hunk--mine was Dr. Kildare--and he's just about to . . . when bang your unconscious tells you the sun is out, the lights are on all over the house and you're going to be late for school because nobody got you out of bed. We were a family of five. I was 14 and the oldest.

The halcyon days of the Kirkeby Mansion aren't necessarily over: The glorious mansion, Los Angeles' finest, some say, has been on the market for $27 million for four months. People in the know have been dying to see it for years. Thus, when invitations were sent for the CHIPS' (Colleague Helpers in Philanthropic Service) "Inside the Gates" afternoon tea party, 100 reservations were in by the next day.

In the uneven new horror-thriller "Dream House," Rachel Weisz and Daniel Craig portray a couple who have just moved from the big city out to the country where they hope to raise their two daughters in peace. Despite their newfound comfy domesticity, things seem a bit odd for the family right from the start, not least because Craig goes into town and talks to other people while Weisz never makes it more than a few steps off the porch. It's not a spoiler to say that it turns out a family was murdered in their house five years earlier and Craig might not be quite the innocent out of his element he seems to be. Directed by Jim Sheridan from a script by David Loucka, "Dream House" feels like the filmmakers went rummaging through some kind of bargain bin of storytelling spare parts — a touch of "The Amityville Horror," a piece of "The Shining," a bit of "The Sixth Sense," and why not throw in a little "Shutter Island" too while we're at it?

Dream House The White House as an American Home Ulysses Grant Dietz and Sam Watters Acanthus Press: 304 pp., $75

Re "Plan for Dream Home Is Couple's Nightmare," Aug. 21. Letter writer Robert Greeley (Aug. 27) asks some of the right questions about this project, but he doesn't know the answers. He asks, "Is the house's square footage appropriate for the size of the lot?" Answer: No. "Do the plans comply with appropriate codes?" Answer: No. "If the area is zoned for single-family residences only, does the house comply?" Answer: No. "Will the house's physical systems adversely affect adjoining properties?"

The odds are slim that "50/50" — or any of the other three movies debuting this weekend — will take in more money than a few popular films already in theaters. Holdovers including the well-reviewed baseball drama "Moneyball," the family film "Dolphin Tale" and the 3-D version of "The Lion King" are each expected to bring in $13 million to $15 million this weekend, according to those who have seen pre-release audience surveys. That should be well ahead of the quartet of new pictures, which also includes the costly thriller "Dream House" starring Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz, the Christian drama "Courageous" and the romantic comedy "What's Your Number?"

In the uneven new horror-thriller "Dream House," Rachel Weisz and Daniel Craig portray a couple who have just moved from the big city out to the country where they hope to raise their two daughters in peace. Despite their newfound comfy domesticity, things seem a bit odd for the family right from the start, not least because Craig goes into town and talks to other people while Weisz never makes it more than a few steps off the porch. It's not a spoiler to say that it turns out a family was murdered in their house five years earlier and Craig might not be quite the innocent out of his element he seems to be. Directed by Jim Sheridan from a script by David Loucka, "Dream House" feels like the filmmakers went rummaging through some kind of bargain bin of storytelling spare parts — a touch of "The Amityville Horror," a piece of "The Shining," a bit of "The Sixth Sense," and why not throw in a little "Shutter Island" too while we're at it?

The odds are slim that "50/50" — or any of the other three movies debuting this weekend — will take in more money than a few popular films already in theaters. Holdovers including the well-reviewed baseball drama "Moneyball," the family film "Dolphin Tale" and the 3-D version of "The Lion King" are each expected to bring in $13 million to $15 million this weekend, according to those who have seen pre-release audience surveys. That should be well ahead of the quartet of new pictures, which also includes the costly thriller "Dream House" starring Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz, the Christian drama "Courageous" and the romantic comedy "What's Your Number?"

Imagine that you've been renovating your ranch house for two years when you realize that you'd rather be building the home of your dreams, a two-story Craftsman of your own design. Imagine that you decide to go for it — to gut and rebuild — and so you move into a converted garage for two years. Imagine that your wife, meanwhile, is home-schooling two young daughters and expecting baby No. 3. Imagine that you have no formal training, but with your father lending a heroic hand and your mother running your graphic arts business from a nearby shed, you take on 80% of the construction work yourself.

Los Angeles, a city of self-inflicted amnesia, is about to suffer another memory loss. Casa Adobe (also called the Johnson house) was denied city landmark status in July, despite the energetic advocacy of conservancies in Santa Monica and Los Angeles. Preservationists see Casa Adobe, located in Brentwood Park, as an early example of the Spanish Colonial Revival architectural style. One of the three Los Angeles Cultural Heritage commissioners present at the hearing saw the house as a potential teardown.

A 1920 Brentwood Park house considered to be an early example of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture in Los Angeles will not be designated a city landmark — a categorization that would have made it more difficult for owners to demolish the structure. City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, who represents the neighborhood, told the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission on Thursday that he did not consider the two-story house historic and that the nomination for landmark status had unfairly caught the new owners by surprise.

It had been the dream of a local surgeon: a gray, spaceship-like structure with floor-to-ceiling windows and a facade that jutted out toward the Pacific Ocean. "I don't want a big square house like that one," Dr. Louis Moore reportedly told the architect, pointing to a neighbor's home during a drive around Palos Verdes Estates. And so, in 1958, an avant-garde, five-bedroom home with angular appendages was completed on the cliff above Malaga Cove. Now the current owner wants to build his own dream house.

The ideal dream house for 1988 sounds like "back to the future": It is a single-family, detached ranch-style house with 1,911 square feet of living area. The preference is for a house like that owned by many of the parents of today's home-buying prospects, according to the 14th annual consumer survey conducted by Professional Builder magazine, a trade publication.

In the world according to Barbie, the Mattel doll met and fell in love with Ken in 1961 on the set of a TV commercial. Over the decades, Ken has held some 40 jobs, including Olympic gold medalist and hair stylist. The two even broke up last decade because of Ken's reluctance to tie the knot. But according to Barbie's blog last year, this legendary couple has reunited. But in Disney/Pixar's "Toy Story 3," which opens June 18, Ken is a swinging bachelor who lives in a daycare center where Woody, Buzz, Jessie, Mr. Potato Head and the gang come to live after their beloved owner, Andy, heads off to college.

Jackie Kennedy's transformation of the White House in 1961 from practically a lived-in suburban home to a pristine museum -- the results of which were enshrined on a hit TV tour -- was the first time many Americans were given such an intimate glimpse into the presidential residence. This was not the first time the White House had been renovated. It has gone through several key transformations since its first occupant, John Adams, took up residence in 1800. In "Dream House: The White House as an American Home," authors Ulysses Grant Dietz and Sam Watters present a photographic history of the most famous address in America.