Paul Quinn

Paul Quinn's "This Is My Father" is a beautiful, heart-wrenching film in which a Chicago high school history teacher (James Caan), in the grip of middle-age malaise, unexpectedly finds himself heading to Ireland in search of his birth father's identity. His quest in turn triggers a flashback in which a passionate romance collides tragically with the dictates of religion and class.

In the beginning it was the Lumieres, later on the Warners, and more recently the Coens, the Hugheses and the Farrellys. Brothers sometimes collaborate to make movies, and in a business known for being cutthroat, working with a sibling is like having a comrade in arms. Enter the brothers Quinn--Aidan, Declan and Paul--and their tragically romantic drama "This Is My Father," which opens in theaters today. Aidan is, of course, the most famous of the three.

In the beginning it was the Lumieres, later on the Warners, and more recently the Coens, the Hugheses and the Farrellys. Brothers sometimes collaborate to make movies, and in a business known for being cutthroat, working with a sibling is like having a comrade in arms. Enter the brothers Quinn--Aidan, Declan and Paul--and their tragically romantic drama "This Is My Father," which opens in theaters today. Aidan is, of course, the most famous of the three.

Paul Quinn's "This Is My Father" is a beautiful, heart-wrenching film in which a Chicago high school history teacher (James Caan), in the grip of middle-age malaise, unexpectedly finds himself heading to Ireland in search of his birth father's identity. His quest in turn triggers a flashback in which a passionate romance collides tragically with the dictates of religion and class.

Durale Bollin has always had a good head for business. As a 16-year-old high school dropout, he made about $1,000 on a good day selling drugs. But when he realized that outstanding debts on the streets often are settled with gunfire, he decided to get out of the business. "I would stand on the street corner and pray that I wouldn't die doing this," said Bollin, now 19 and working on his general equivalency diploma.

I had a hard time with Calendar choosing to write up critics' opinions on improving American cinema ["A Summer of Discontent," July 31]. Better to have gone to three directors of different walks -- some eager for change, others terrified about day jobs -- and asked for ideas about how movies should look now that people stay home and watch HBO rather than hire a sitter. Critics can talk a streak of fabulousness, but they don't dictate tastes. Only the feature makers can rid us of the boring crud moviegoers are being offered.

BUDDY SYSTEM John Cusack and Jeremy Piven met when Cusack was a student at the Piven Theatre Workshop, a prestigious Chicago-area acting school run by Jeremy's parents, Byrne and Joyce. (Fellow Illinoisans Aidan Quinn and brother Paul were also students of the Pivens.) The clique is still tight: Cusack and Piven are pals, and Piven has had supporting roles in several of Cusack's films ("Grosse Pointe Blank," "The Grifters," "Say Anything").

Juliana Yendork of Walnut had reason to smile after picking up her award as the top high school girl in the field events at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays last Saturday afternoon. She had won the girls' invitational long jump with a leap of 18 feet 10 3/4 inches, after having won the triple jump Friday night with a mark of 41-10 1/2, which broke her own meet record. And projecting future efforts made her even happier. For weeks before the Mt.

Mitt Romney certainly knows Barack Obama is the “current”  president. He might think he is a “corrupt” president. And therein lies a media and Twitter tempest. Speaking to the VFW in Reno on Tuesday, the Republican presidential candidate sharply hit the president, accusing him of putting U.S. troops and national defense at risk, with national security leaks, budget cuts and a weak economy at home. “A healthy American economy is what underwrites American power. When growth is missing, government revenues fall, social spending rises, and many in Washington look to cut defense spending as the easy way out,” Romney told the assembled veterans.

The fire crews battling the Calabasas/Malibu fire had not quite finished work when small armies of insurance adjusters were just beginning theirs. Armed with cellular phones, cameras and company checkbooks, the special disaster teams hit the hills and canyons Thursday before retreating Friday to a small camp of Winnebagos set up next to the Malibu Pier. There, they continued to total the damage figures and hold the hands of a steady stream of customers.

It should be obvious from the title that "Brighton Beach Scumbags" author Steven Berkoff's stance toward his working-class Cockney protagonists isn't exactly neutral. Nevertheless, in its U.S. premiere at the Lillian Theatre's Elephant Space, this short, savage satirical portrait brilliantly skewers the narrow-minded bigotry that condemns these all-too-typical specimens to perpetual frustration and disappointment.

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated just one day before Sharon Matlock turned 10. Her birthday brought gifts and her mother's tears, and ever since she has tried to understand the hatred and violence of those times. Now 49 and a college staff member, Matlock recently joined professors and students on a five-state trip to civil rights landmarks to find answers. More and more colleges are leading trips through the South -- to cities such as Memphis, Tenn.