Basement Jaxx, the British duo responsible for some of the most infectious dance-floor anthems of the last decade, is following the release of its latest studio album with a series of rare North American DJ dates this fall, including tonight at the Congress Theater.

WEST HOLLYWOOD -- "Look at Kiss culture," says Gene Simmons, radiating pride. "People tattoo their bodies with Kiss faces, name their children after our songs, have Kiss conventions.

Polish filmmaking is itself one theme in this year's Polish Film Festival in America. Among the 70-plus dramas, documentaries and animated shorts in this year's line-up are a doc about actors in an old folks' home shooting an adaptation of "Faust," a profile of Agnieszka Holland ("Europa Europa") from the director of "Poles in Hollywood," and a masterful portrait of the great Polish auteur Andrzej Wajda.

As adventures go, the "Ratchet & Clank" series reminds me of the work of both J.R.R. Tolkien and George Lucas.

I'm not sure what I was expecting with "NHL 10," but the end result is not unlike "NHL 09."

Disney Interactive Studios' "A Christmas Carol" video game -- exclusive to the Nintendo DS -- is now available at retailers. In the game, based on the Jim Carrey holiday film now in theaters, players experience narrated animated scenes inspired by the film that unfold like an interactive storybook.

Fans of Chicago theater who go back decades will remember the name Alan Gross. The playwright had a handful of hits in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The author of more than 30 books, Newbery Medal-winning Lois Lowry, had never tackled a play until two children's theaters asked her to adapt her 2006 novel Gossamer for the stage.

For many children -- and those young at heart -- the circus has always been a magical thing. This year's edition of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus just got a bit more so as magic and illusions take the center ring this season under the watchful eye of award-winning magician Alex Ramon.