Irresistible

When he decided, finally, that it was time to end the life of a woman he loved, Tony Boston knew the perfect place was church, in front of God and the whole congregation. It would be a gesture as big and dramatic as the woman herself. After all, there was no hope of hiding his plan. Nearly everyone in Baltimore knew this woman, or at least had heard of her. She could walk into a room, all brassy, sassy 350-plus pounds of her, and bring you to your feet, singing, dancing, laughing.

"Out of Tune: David Helfgott and the Myth of Shine," by Margaret Helfgott with Tom Gross. Warner Books. 294 pages. $24.All that shines is not gold, and the movie "Shine" is composed of far baser elements: lies and greed. This is Margaret Helfgott's claim in "Out of Tune: David Helfgott and the Myth of Shine" (Warner Books, 1998, with Tom Gross), and she makes a good case for it."Shine" is the 1996 blockbuster film about Margaret's younger brother David, a young pianist headed for greatness but derailed by the mental illness "caused" by his tyrannical father, himself scarred by the Holocaust.

When Minnie Driver first read the script for the Irish period romance "Circle of Friends," she immediately fell in love with the central female role of Bernadette."

Thrillers make us think, "How can she be stupid enough to walk into that room alone -- hasn't she ever seen a movie!" Martin Campbell's "Defenseless" isn't good enough to keep us from asking such questions, but it's scary enough to make us forget them almost as soon as they come to mind."

It's hard to think of a musician or group of musicians better represented on film than the Beatles were by director Richard Lester's "A Hard Day's Night." The 1964 film, opening today at the Charles in a gorgeous newly struck print, forever caught the group at their effervescent best. Whether they were, in real life, as lively and witty as they appear on film is beside the point; the four lads captured here in glorious black and white would forever remain the public's perception of John, Paul, George and Ringo.

EASY COME EASY GOGeorge Strait (MCA 10907)He may not be as good-looking as Clint Black or as charismatic as Garth Brooks, but when it comes down to putting a song across simply and effectively, George Strait tops 'em all. So even though there isn't anything flashy or trendy about the sound of "Easy Come Easy Go," it would be hard to imagine the country fan who could resist it. Not only is Strait utterly at home with the Texas twang of dance tunes like the...

RICHMOND -- The campaigns have told you that watching these debates is your way of seeing the candidates unfiltered.The candidates are reaching you, they say, without the filter of the news media getting in the way.But if that were true, why are the campaigns kissing up to us reporters like they were Chapstick salesmen at a mistletoe convention?Never have the media been treated so well. Campaign aides and even candidates who haven't returned our phone calls for months are now pounding our backs and whispering in our ears.

I'm a big Lou Piniella fan, and not just because he became my newest fellow employee when the Chicago Cubs (a Tribune Company subsidiary) announced yesterday that the team had signed him to a three-year, $10 million contract to replace Dusty Baker as manager. I love Lou because he is everything a new manager should be, including slightly delusional. He proved that during his introductory news conference when he basically guaranteed that the Cubs would win under his command. Steve Bartman was unavailable to comment.

When my family migrated north from South Carolina, they brought with them precious culinary traditions passed from one generation to the next. Take rice, for example: It was rare not to find a pot of this starchy Southern staple on the back burner of my grandmother's stove. Another was the scrumptious vegetable stew that we called "granddaddy's soup," consisting of fresh corn, fresh tomatoes, fresh limas and fresh okra. And then, greens - mustards, turnips, collards or any combination of the three, served with hot pickled peppers on the side.

JERUSALEM -- Can Teddy Kollek save Jerusalem?Sound the trumpets, bring up the orchestra for this cliffhanger scene. There he is, the old and beloved town mayor. Having done his duty, he is about to fade away graciously. He has one foot over the abyss of retirement, his 6-foot-1 bulk (or what's left of it; he has shriveled a bit in his ninth decade) perched for the plunge, when . . . wait! Is that a distant plea for help from his dear townsfolk?Theodore Kollek, the scriptwriter of this scene, relishes the suspense.