FRIDAY –

For sports, the SAN DIEGO GULLS will be at Pechanga Arena.

The band BACK TO THE GARDEN is doing a show highlighting the music of 1965, at the POWAY Center for Performing Arts. I’ve seen this band, and they’re great. They’ve got another show on Saturday.

At the Music Box DOWNTOWN, there’s an EMO NIGHT.

SATURDAY –

In sports…SAN DIEGO FC is at Dallas, but you can listen on San Diego Sports 760 starting at 5pm.

The SAN DIEGO GULLS have a home game though, they’ll be at Pechanga Arena. 

The 44th annual ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE & FESTIVAL is happening at Balboa Park with lots of activities for the whole family, live music, food, and much more.

There are a few BAR CRAWLS going on around town – one is going down at PACIFIC BEACH, MISSION BEACH, and another in the GASLAMP QUARTER. 

FITZ AND THE TANTRUMS, who always put on a great show (I saw them once at the Belly Up and they were great), will be doing a show at SEA WORLD.

THE CALIFORNIA HONEYDROPS are at the Sound in DEL MAR.

THE GIPSY KINGS are at Sycuan Casino. 

San Diego’s long-running fun band, THE CREEPY CREEPS will be at the Casbah DOWNTOWN.

If politics is your thing, here’s something for you: A CONVERSATION WITH GOVERNOR JOSH SHAPIRO. That’s in LA JOLLA at the Congregation Beth Israel. 

For Broadway music fans, we have AN EVENING ON BROADWAY WITH ROB FISHER at Jacobs Music Center DOWNTOWN.

SUNDAY –

The SAN DIEGO SOCKERS play Kansas City at Frontwave Arena in OCEANSIDE.

Two hysterical actresses, KATE FLANNERY (The Office) and JANE LYNCH will be doing a show called THE TROUBLE WITH ANGELS, at the Balboa Theatre DOWNTOWN. On a side note, I read Lynch’s book, and it’s terrific.

CULTURE CLUB is at Pechanga Resort. And, it’s a miracle that BOY GEORGE is still with the band. 

And my favorite event on Sunday, THE OSCARS will be broadcast on ABC.

ON STREAMING…

Nicole Kidman returns to streaming in Scarpetta, based on Patricia Cornwell’s bestselling books about a medical examiner, on Amazon Prime Video.

The always funny Will Forte plays brother to sister D’Arcy Carden (Janet from The Good Place) in Sunny Nights opening a spray tan salon in Australia. Hijinks ensue on Hulu. 

Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell star in yet another Yellowstone spinoff, The Madison, on Paramount+.

At the Movies –

UNDERTONE

My wife hates horror movies, so I brought my friend David with me. We both felt “undertone” was undercooked. He said on the way to our cars, “Damn, it took so long for anything to happen.” I told him I thought it would be like the Travolta/Brian De Palma movie “Blow Out.” In that early ‘80s film, a sound engineer is outside recording sounds at night and he hears a car tire blow, with the vehicle crashing. But upon listening more closely, he notices a gunshot. I also liked the premise of this with two podcasters that talk about paranormal activities (one believes everything, the other is a skeptic). They hear things in the background of a recording and investigate it. The sound design was interesting and a bit creepy (we saw it in a nice Dolby theatre). There are segments with children’s songs played backwards for hidden messages. I immediately thought of the ‘80s again, with Ozzy and other heavy metal artists being scrutinized. But even those moments weren’t as clever as they should’ve been. The creepy kids drawings with crayons have been done before, and in better movies (I recommend “The Last Exorcism” from 15 years ago, which had a scene like that). And, aside from the cliches that pop up in the second half of the movie, the payoff is rather weak. I suspect the director (Ian Tuason, in his debut) would say that’s what he wanted. Are we watching a woman freak herself out because of all the stress in her life (her mom dying, a bad boyfriend she’s pregnant from, etc.), or are these supernatural elements really happening? I, for one, stopped caring. 1 ½ stars out of 5.

REMINDERS OF HIM

I’m going to have to give up my man card for this one. It’s strange because my wife didn’t care for it (she found it manipulative and maudlin, saying “Why is she always walking in the rain? Is this ‘The Notebook’?”). And while I did find it cheesy at times (and these filmmakers need to stop with the songs during sentimental scenes – such a played-out move that reminds me of an Aerosmith video from the early ‘90s). When I saw the trailers for it, I wondered why the young lady would get such a long jail sentence for drunk driving, even if it resulted in her passenger (boyfriend) dying. The book was a best seller, and we brought my wife’s best friend who loved the Colleen Hoover novel (she also loved the movie). So after Kenna (Maika Monroe) gets out of jail, she returns to her hometown in Wyoming. She’s hoping to see the daughter she gave up. The problem is the dead boyfriend’s parents now raise her (Bradley Whitford is the grandfather). And as you’d expect, they aren’t too happy to see her. Neither is the best friend, a former NFL player who now owns the local bar (played by Tyriq Withers, who also played an NFL player in the horrible movie “HIM”). A romance ensues, and well, you can guess where this is all going. There’s a fun character played by a woman with Down Syndrome, and she brings some comedic relief. The characters all have good chemistry. And while there are a few small missteps, I think most people will enjoy this. 3 stars out of 5.