FRIDAY –

THE RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS are at Pechanga Casino in TEMECULA. Original member Bobby Hatfield passed away years ago, but Bill Medley is still keeping the band going, doing a medley of hits you know like “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling,” “Unchained Melody,” “Soul and Inspiration” and more.

THE EXPENDABLES are on their 25th anniversary tour. You can catch them at the Music Box DOWNTOWN.

The MEMPHIS SOUL REVIEW is at Humphrey’s on SHELTER ISLAND.

For laughs, comedian MARK NORMAND is at the Observatory in NORTH PARK.

And the CIRCUS is still in town, all weekend long, at PARKWAY PLAZA.

SATURDAY –

In sports, the AZTECS continue thier trek toward a Mountain West Congerence championship when they face off against the San Jose State Spartans at Snapdragon Stadium. Kick-ff is at 7:30. Come early to experience the River Walk Block Party.

If you’re looking for a pup, maybe for an early Christmas gift for your kids, the 16th ANNUAL DOGGIE STREET FESTIVAL AND ADOPT-A-THON is going on at Liberty Station in POINT LOMA. There will be music, prizes, and you can bring your dog for the fun, even if you’re not there to get a new one.

For classical music lovers, the SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY is playing some Beethoven at the Jacobs Music Center DOWNTOWN.

One of the Beach Boys co-founders will be in town. It’s AL JARDINE & THE PET SOUNDS. They’re doing a Brian Wilson tribute. Now, Jardine was a rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist, but he did sing lead in “Help Me, Rhonda.” He’s 83-years-old, and still going strong. They’ll be at Magnolia Performing Arts Center in EL CAJON.

ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK is even older, at 89. He’ll be The Sound in DEL MAR.

If you wanna be into something good, you’ve got HERMAN’S HERMITS at Pechanga in TEMECULA. I’m guessing Peter Noone is going to sing “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got a Lovely Great Granddaughter.” 

SUNDAY –

If you don’t think it’s too early for Christmas lights to be up, and to hear Christmas songs on the radio, the first performance of THE NUTCRACKER is happening. The California Pacific Ballet will be putting on the show at the Star Theater in OCEANSIDE.

JOHN LEGEND is at the Rady Shell DOWNTOWN.

ROBERT PLANT will be at Harrah’s Casino in VALLEY CENTER. Don’t be yelling out for “Stairway to Heaven” as he’s with his band “Saving Grace.” I think it’s cool that former San Diego resident ROSIE FLORES will be opening the show.

On Streaming…

Ted Danson is back as A MAN ON THE INSIDE on Netflix (Nov 20). This season he branches out from the retirement home to a local college.

Sebastian Maniscalco has a new comedy special, IT AIN’T RIGHT on Hulu (Nov 21).

At the Movies…

WICKED: FOR GOOD

Unfortunately, it wasn’t good. The visuals are great, but there’s just such chaos happening on screen. It’s a weird way to develop this story. It also felt odd how things were tied to the original Wizard of Oz, much in a way that wasn’t that satisfying for me. Now, this is supposed to be the second act of the stage production, which was only an hour. Yet this was two hours and 15 minutes. Well, not for me. That’s because during the entire screening, the sound was bad. First it was too low. Then it got too loud. Then there was constant crackling. There was overmodulation. I went out to see what was going on and they said the speakers in the movie theatre blew. They were asking the critics if we could come back the next day for a screening; but I had seen enough to know I wasn’t interested. I think there’s enough fan service that folks wanting to see this will enjoy themselves, even though my wife and I didn’t.

RENTAL FAMILY

People often say the trailer is better than the movie, since the trailers show the best parts. This is that rare movie where the trailer doesn’t do the film justice. It shows an American actor (Brendan Fraser) in Japan, getting an “acting job” where he plays a father to a little girl. You assume you know where the movie is going, but you don’t. Okay, there are some predictable moments. Brendan Fraser has the perfect face for this character – he’s kind of a sad-sack, big eyes, he seems to care about his clients. It doesn’t hurt that there’s a cranky old guy we enjoy spending time with, and an adorable little girl, that we just pray doesn’t have her heart broken when she finds out this isn’t really her dad. This is a feel good movie that everyone will enjoy. 3 ½ stars out of 5.

SEA OTTERS: A WILD FAMILY ADVENTURE.

The world premiere of this documentary will be in the IMAX theater at the Fleet Science Center in BALBOA PARK. The story follows an otter pup on Vancouver Island’s rugged coast. A film the whole family will love.