Arts

Samuel L. Jackson hunts a “Jumper,” Ryan Reynolds gets teary-eyed in “Definitely, Maybe” and booty shaking returns in “Step Up 2.”

It’s inside of all of us. It’s the guilty desire to turn down the TV when the neighbors are arguing. Or the tiny voice that urges us to go ahead and sneak a quick glance at the old love letter left on the counter by a significant other. We figure if we weren’t supposed to read it, it wouldn’t have been left in such an obvious place.

It’s Valentine’s Day. There, I said it. Quota met for the day. I’m not going to waste my precious column space telling you whether I love or loathe the candy-coated, overpriced, sometimes disappointing holiday. Instead, I give you the first ever “Love It” short list.

Everything’s coming up roses in San Luis Obispo this Valentine’s Day, when the national touring cast of “Gypsy” makes a stop at the Performing Arts Center.

A classic by any other name, “Gypsy” has been one of America’s favorite musicals since it first debuted at New York’s Broadway Theatre in 1959.

Quite possibly the most underrated album of the year, O.Lamm’s third full-length, “Monolith,” is a juggernaut equal in might to any release by the other French notables of 2007. Whereas Ed Banger strongmen Justice and Sebastian slam the listener into a rock-solid wall, O.

About halfway through the fourth track of singer-songwriter Nyles Lannon’s new CD, “Pressure,” I was feeling as if I had popped an Ambien – or two. So I decided that the seemingly monotonous folk-pop album was the perfect cure for insomnia; all it needed was some different marketing.

I have to admit, before I watched “Stomp the Yard” I was expecting the step version of “Bring It On,” chock-full of phrases like, “This isn’t a democracy. It’s a step-ocracy.”

Instead of the fifth installment of the played-out cheerleading movie fluke, “Stomp the Yard” delivered somewhat decent entertainment.

Good historical novels are hard to find. Many have tried to create the perfect combination of history and story, but few have succeeded. Philippa Gregory is one of those who have written history in a new, fascinating and perfect way. Her writing style brings the reader to another place that truly cannot be escaped in “The Other Boleyn Girl.

Heart-shaped boxes, roses and teddies (both the bear and the wear) for V-Day – we’re ready. Remember in elementary school when Valentine’s Day meant getting a butt-load of candy and Power Rangers or Barbie or Care Bear cards? Those were the days! Now that we’re older, the ante is raised; our tastes are more sophisticated.

This was no college house party, but things got hot and heavy on the dance floor nonetheless, as long legs and little red dresses went flying across the floor at the second annual Mustang Ball.

Saturday’s ballroom dance competition seemed to prove that dancing with rules is just as sexy, if not more so, than the informal versions of the activity found in downtown bars and college apartments.

Public opinion of sharks is typically less than flattering. We fear and label them as bloodthirsty killing machines that enjoy nothing more than snacking on surfers and late-night skinny-dippers. “Sharkwater” not only dispels the man-eater myth, but also teaches us that the deadliest creature in the sea is not the shark but – dramatic pause – humans.