Emile Hirsch

EVEN with its big-ticket attractions, the Palm Springs International Film Festival keeps a casual, hometown feel. Sure, it's the place to see all the documentaries and short films on the Oscar short list, most of the submissions for the academy's foreign-language film category and a ballroom full of stars at the awards-night gala. But there are plenty of other rides at this fair, all accessible, and some are quite tuneful.

Vanity Fair's annual post-Academy Awards celebration, which set up shop at West Hollywood's Sunset Tower Hotel, might have had some recession-chic touches -- reused decor from past events and comfort food like chicken pot pie -- but there was no toning down the glam factor. Trophy-toters Penelope Cruz, Kate Winslet and Sean Penn air-kissed alongside such nominated actors as Mickey Rourke, Meryl Streep and Amy Adams and musicians Sheryl Crow, Gavin Rossdale and Madonna.

The Wachowski brothers' souped up, kaleidoscopic upgrade of "Speed Racer" may look like "The Matrix" on happy pills and feature an A-list cast (including Emile Hirsch, Matthew Fox and Susan Sarandon), but the real stars are the tricked-out cars that hurtle along tracks at 300 mph and battle each other midair. As in its cartoon forebear, Speed's gleaming Mach 5 is outfitted with a few special features that would make even James Bond jealous. Per the Wachowskis' dictate, the gadgets don't stray far from the original versions, just enough to offer up a few surprises.

Click here to download TV listings for the week of July 22 - 28 in PDF format This week's TV Movies   CBS This Morning Jay Roach; Phil Mickelson; Gillian Flynn. (N) 7 a.m. KCBS Today The Olympics; Joshua Radin performs. (N) 7 a.m. KNBC KTLA Morning News (N) 7 a.m. KTLA Good Morning America Dylan McDermott; will.i.am and Eva Simons perform. (N) 7 a.m. KABC Live With Kelly Dylan McDermott; Josh Henderson; co-host Joel McHale.

As "Godzilla" is a derivation of "Gojira," which melds the Japanese words for "gorilla" and "whale," it stands to reason that "Gargantua" must come from some language's combination of words for "cheesy" and "knockoff." "Gargantua" is a telefilm crazy-quilt, stitching together stock movie elements into a patchwork yarn aimed at the handful of yokels too dim to realize this isn't the latest cinematic incarnation of "Godzilla."

Click here to download TV listings for the week of Aug. 19 - 25 in PDF format This week's TV Movies CBS This Morning Randi Weingarten; James Fallows. (N) 7 a.m. KCBS Today Carly Rae Jepsen performs; Gail Simmon. (N) 7 a.m. KNBC KTLA Morning News (N) 7 a.m. KTLA Good Morning America Apolo Anton Ohno; “Lovetown, USA”; Carson Kressley; Marcus Samuelsson. (N) 7 a.m. KABC Rachael Ray Tom Selleck. 8 a.m. KCAL Live With Kelly Josh Brolin; Anne Hathaway; Donald Driver and Peta Murgatroyd; co-host Seth Meyers.

The Duke of Wellington has a lot to answer for. Ever since the man who conquered Napoleon insisted that "the battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton," there's been no end of books -- and later films -- dealing with the doings of men and boys at the kind of snooty private schools most people would be lucky to get into on visiting day. Films from "Tom Brown's Schooldays" to "Goodbye Mr.

. The young teens of the beautiful, emotion-charged "The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys" face perils real and imagined--although not of the type raised by the current furor over pedophile priests. Instead, this imaginative film, adapted from Chris Fuhrman's celebrated 1994 coming-of-age novel, suggests that life may be full of wonders but it is also a terrifically risky business.

THE Oscars' acting races are turning into a real drama. Consider, for example, Cate Blanchett ("Elizabeth: The Golden Age"), who began award season as a reigning contender for actress in addition to supporting ("I'm Not There"). Soon, however, she was dethroned by bad reviews for "Elizabeth," but now she's back after receiving nominations last month from the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild. Denzel Washington reaped a Globe bid for "American Gangster," but subsequently was snubbed by the guild, possibly due to vote-splitting as support grew for his rival role in "The Great Debaters."

As the opening credits roll for "Imaginary Heroes," a man's voice tells us that high school swimming champion Matt Travis (Kip Pardue) hates attention and swimming more than anyone could hate anything. By the time the credits are over, Matt, in his bedroom, has placed a gun to his head and pulled the trigger.