Karate Kid

The star of "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" has to be able to do more than just sing and dance. Most of all, he has to be able to charm the audience -- seemingly without really trying.Ralph Macchio -- best known from the "Karate Kid" movies -- is a whiz at this.Every now and then, after his character, ex-window washer J. Pierrepont Finch, has climbed another rung on the corporate ladder, the lights go down except for a spotlight on Macchio.Tilting his head, he looks out at the audience with a complicitous smirk that is as endearing as it is smug.

Here we are at the start of another month. March has been the traditional time for kite flying, leprechauns and daffodils, not to mentionspring soccer, lacrosse and baseball practices.On top of the oldstandbys, the Easter bunny and spring break will be making an appearance this month.So relax and take a deep breath before looking at your calendar. It will get better, or so the old sages tell me.*Travel to the sunny, wind-swept hills of 16th-century Spain this weekend as the Drama Club of Northeast High School presents a revival of the musical "Man of La Mancha."

THERE WAS A time when the announcement of a new 24-hour channel devoted to the martial arts would have inspired a vicious diatribe in this space about yet another dopey specialty network, but those days are long gone, my friend. Look, I am a beaten man when it comes to this stuff. On my puny basic cable system alone, you can watch channels devoted to animals, golf, hunting and fishing, fashion and beauty, NASCAR and Formula One racing, home and garden issues ("Whither the Azalea?"), country music, game shows, home shopping and home entertaining.

WASHINGTON -- The sinner who is "The Saint" and the saint who is his co-star came here to attract attention to that movie on which, for both of them, much rides.For him, it's a chance to prove that he can carry a big movie without wearing a bat cape; for her it's a chance to consolidate after the triumph of "Leaving Las Vegas."She's very angular; he's very unangular. She's got a profile; he's got a blur. Both are blond; neither is very big. He eats Bagel Chips and smokes Merits while he talks and literally wears rose-colored glasses; she eats a fruit salad.

Zakary Aaron Osiris DeGross, a Boys' Latin School student who excelled in both the classroom and on the athletic field, died June 18 at Johns Hopkins Hospital after a nearly 1 1/2-year struggle against cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He was 14. "He was most notably characterized by his broad smile and wide eyes, and his optimism and cheerfulness that abounded in the face of a most difficult medical challenge," said Christopher J. Post, headmaster of the North Baltimore boys private school.

Hilary Swank had been looking like the poster girl for the Oscar actress curse. Since winning the best actress Academy Award for her transformative performance in 1999's Boys Don't Cry, Swank was the mismatched lead in a failed costume period drama (2001's The Affair of the Necklace), an astronaut in a dud sci-fi thriller (2003's The Core) and the star and executive producer of a reverse-chronology car-crash drama that never reached theaters (2003's 11:14). She also acquitted herself honorably in supporting roles in The Gift (2000)

Capsules by Michael Sragow or Chris Kaltenbach, unless noted. Full reviews are at baltimoresun.com/movies. Baby Mama -- Tina Fey inhabits what should be her comfort zone as a career woman who decides to use a surrogate to have a baby and ends up with raucous, declasse Amy Poehler. As the movie makes its way toward a denouement that leaves everyone happy-ever-after, the film feels emptier than your typical successful high-concept comedy. Part of the problem is the center will not hold: The TV stars are outmatched by a strong supporting cast (Will Forte, Greg Kinnear, Maura Tierney, Holland Taylor, Steve Martin, Sigourney Weaver and more)

East Columbia Branch — 6600 Cradlerock Way, Columbia. 410-313-7700. •5k and Family Fun Run. Sat., June 4, 8 a.m. Sponsored by Friends of Howard County Library to benefit the library. Course begins and ends at East Columbia Branch. Charmcityrun.com to register. •All Together Now. Mondays, 10:15 and 11:15 a.m. All ages; 30 minutes. Limited space; tickets are available at children's desk 30 minutes before class. •Black Fiction. First Saturdays, 1 p.m. •Box Lunch.

WHEN AN immigrant arrives in the Maryland area, there's a good chance that he or she will be helped by Hampstead author Raimonda Mikatavage. Because her family defected to the United States in 1972, Mikatavage understands from experience the expectations and confusion that new immigrants face. Complex and changing issues continue to affect residents who were born outside the United States. Mikatavage devotes her energy to sorting out solutions in print, on the radio and most recently, national television.