Aunt Pearl Burras (Joe Sears) finds herself in Las Vegas with Maurice (Jaston Williams) in "Tuna Does Vegas." The two actors play many roles in the production.

The costumes upstage the actors in the new adventures of those eccentric rednecks from Tuna, Texas, the state’s third-smallest community.

Not that the actors in “Tuna Does Vegas” are bad. Far from it. But the costume designs are even more hilarious in this nationally touring production presented by Broadway in Tucson.

Jaston Williams and Joe Sears are onstage playing all the characters, just as they always have since first creating “Greater Tuna” back in 1981 with Ed Howard, who is also the director.

This triumvirate then created “A Tuna Christmas” in 1989, which went on to enjoy a successful holiday run on Broadway in 1995. That triumph was followed by “Red, White and Tuna” in 1998. While all three plays have become popular moneymakers in regional theater, Williams and Sears still like to go on tour now and then to show the rest of the country how it’s done.

On the opening night of their most current production, “Tuna Does Vegas” at the downtown Fox Theatre, Williams and Sears were up there once more giving life to Arles Struvie, Bertha Bumiller, Petey Fisk, Vera Carp, Didi Snavely and all the others.

Lifetime fans – shall we call them the Tuna Nation – will be happy to learn a few more characters have been added who are uniquely Las Vegas. Which brings us back to those fabulously vivid get-ups designed by Linda Fisher. For openers, Bertha makes her entrance wearing a lime green vest over a shocking pink blouse, with pink and green flowered slacks contrasting nicely with her helmet hair.

Aunt Pearl Burras spins the chaotic color wheel even faster when she walks out wearing a dress that looks to be designed by Omar the tent maker. Scarcely more than a muumuu, it is covered in a busy print flaunting flowers with red, yellow, green and blue petals. To this she adds a little lime green hat adorned with more plastic flowers and fruit, plus a sturdy pair of black shoes with squatty, comfortable heels.

You get the idea. But while the women dress like peacocks on a suicide mission, the loudest and most spontaneous applause broke out when the Vegas hotel elevator doors opened to reveal a gargantuan Elvis impersonator. To say that he is larger than life doesn’t even begin to be large enough.

Plotwise, the story opens early one morning at radio station OKKK where Arles and Thurston Wheelis are still doing the farm reports and playing vintage country music from the 1950s. Arles and Bertha have been married so long they want to fluff up their love life by renewing their vows with a second honeymoon in Las Vegas. After Arles innocently mentions this on the air, all the Tuna townsfolk suddenly find reasons for a Vegas visit, too.

It takes all of Act 1 before we have been reintroduced, as well, to the station owner Leonard Childers, the waitresses Inita and Helen, hapless little theater director Joe Bob Lipsey and the gun-loving Didi, who runs Tuna’s only secondhand gun store. Just before intermission, all of them are heading for their rooms in the low-rent Hula Chateaux Resort and Spa.

When they return for Act 2, the seductive side of Sin City begins to warp some of the more rigid among Tuna’s traveling townsfolk. Those less committed to maintaining their morals find opportunities for self-expression are beginning to blossom.

The humor gets a little edgy from time to time. There’s a good bit of drinking, some profanity, a doobie is smoked, raunchy winks about sex are bandied about. Not that anything is R-rated, but it still seems a bit surprising for a family show. Several politically incorrect jokes about Mexico were greeted with more gasps than laughter. Other parts of the country probably don’t feel as sensitive about border issues.

Even so, Williams and Sears got a standing ovation. Their comedy may be getting a little dated, their politics stuck in the 1980s, but on opening night, nobody cared.

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IF YOU GO

What: Broadway in Tucson presents “Tuna Does Vegas” performed by Jaston Williams and Joe Sears

When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday

Where: Fox Theatre, 17 W. Congress St.

Price: $25-$50

Info: 903-2929, www.broadwayintucson.com

Grade: B-

Being able to afford designer clothes is among the perks Miguel (Algeniz Perez Soto) discovers in his new life in America.

LOS ANGELES – With “Sugar,” writing-directing partners Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck have pulled off the kind of miraculous trick Darren Aronofsky did last year with “The Wrestler.”

They’ve taken an overly familiar, potentially cliched sports story, stripped it down and, in doing so, completely reinvented it. Rather than focusing on an athlete past his prime, Boden and Fleck tell the tale of a baseball player on the rise — a subgenre with all its own formulas and expectations.

“Sugar” defies them every time.

No score swells to a crescendo when Dominican pitcher Miguel “Sugar” Santos experiences his first triumph on the mound in the United States. There’s no slo-mo of the ball leaving his hand on a magical summer night and landing with an amplified thud in the catcher’s mitt. Even the obligatory training montage feels different, accompanied by a song from TV on the Radio.

Instead, you get pure, intimate and – above all – honest storytelling, the same approach they took with their outstanding 2006 debut, “Half Nelson.” It’s so fundamental and compelling, it makes you wonder why more filmmakers don’t jettison the gimmickry and pursue such a powerful path. (“Sugar” might seem too slow at times; then again, some complain that baseball itself is too slow. They’re the ones on whom the intricacies of throwing a knuckle curve, Sugar’s toughest pitch, will be lost.)

It’s also surprising that, given the tremendous influence of Latin players – and especially superstars from the Dominican Republic like David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez – we’ve seen very little of this element of the game depicted on screen before. “Sugar” is a baseball story but it’s also about the hardships of immigration and, more universally, about finding your place in the world.

As the title character, Algenis Perez Soto lets us feel all the enthusiasm and nerves that go along with that journey; being a non-actor, his performance always seems natural and realistic.

Sugar is an assured 19-year-old from a poor village. His talent and hard work take him from a local baseball academy to a Single-A team in Iowa. (“Donde esta I-A?” he asks when he sees his name next to the state’s postal code.) It’s not Yankee Stadium, where he dreams of pitching someday – his favorite player is the team’s second baseman, fellow Dominican Robinson Cano – but it’s a start.

There he lives on a farm with Helen and Earl Higgins (Anne Whitney and Richard Bull), elderly baseball junkies who’ve been opening their home to minor leaguers for years. And this is one of the loveliest parts of “Sugar”: the way Boden and Fleck treat the Midwest, and its residents, without any camp or condescension. The people who surround Sugar are warm and decent. They love the sport and they want to see him succeed – even the Higgins’ teenage granddaughter, who invites him to her Christian youth group but gives him mixed signals about her true intentions.

A fish out of water, he struggles to assimilate and learn English, even with the help of a stud shortstop from Stanford (the charismatic Andre Holland) who guides him through American pop culture. Still, Sugar’s seemingly unshakable faith in himself – like his pitching ability – slowly fades.

To tell you what happens to him from here would be a tremendous disservice. We’ll just say that, refreshingly, nothing about it is sickly sweet.

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‘SUGAR’

Rating: R for language, some sexuality and brief drug use. In Spanish with English subtitles.

Length: 114 minutes

Playing at: Opens Friday at the Loft Cinema

Grade: B+

Gael Garcia Bernal (left) and Diego Luna play a pair of competitive brothers who, while opposites, both enjoy soccer. When they are discovered by a talent scout, the two find themselves pitted against each other.

LOS ANGELES – “Rudo y Cursi” is enormously hackneyed in concept yet surprisingly enjoyable in execution, thanks to some amusing, surreal details and the genuine camaraderie of Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal.

You think you know where it’s going, this story about the rise and fall of a couple of aspiring soccer players (who happen to be competitive brothers, another familiar theme). But the naturalism of writer-director Carlos Cuaron’s approach is too compelling, as is, conversely, the liveliness of co-stars Luna and Garcia Bernal, longtime friends reunited for the first time on the big screen since the 2002 hit “Y Tu Mama Tambien.”

Cuaron, who co-wrote that movie, makes his feature debut here; it’s also the first film from brother Alfonso Cuaron and fellow Mexican directors Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and Guillermo del Toro through their new company, Cha Cha Cha. So it’s all very comfortable and chummy.

Alfonso Cuaron has said that the relationship between the main characters isn’t necessarily a reflection of his own childhood with his younger brother, but Carlos Cuaron has a clear affection for the way these guys tease, torment and ultimately stick by each other.

Beto (Luna) and Tato (Garcia Bernal) work on a banana plantation and spend their free time playing soccer on the neighborhood team in Jalisco. They barely make enough money to get by, which is even tougher for Beto, who has a wife and two young kids as well as a serious gambling problem. Tato, meanwhile, wants to move to Texas and become a singer. Beto is the serious one, Tato is the dreamer.

Both of their lives change when traveling talent scout Batuta (Guillermo Francella) notices their skills on the field and offers to take them under his wing – trouble is, he can only take one at a time. (We probably could have done without Batuta’s frequent narration, which is heavy on the soccer-as-life metaphors.)

Tato gets to go first and, after adjusting to life in Mexico City with its luxuries like Cup O’Noodles (with freeze-dried shrimp!), he eventually comes off the bench and becomes a star on his team, even earning the nickname “Cursi,” or corny, for his passionate style of play. (He also finagles a recording contract out of Batuta, which includes a fabulously cheesy video for his Spanish cover of Cheap Trick’s “I Want You to Want Me.”) Beto eventually joins him and ends up on a different team; as a goalie back home, he’d already gone by the nickname “Rudo,” or tough, which follows him to the big time.

While it may seem obvious which brother is responsible and which is the flake, both Rudo and Cursi are equally flawed, one of the film’s realistic charms. Both indulge in their newfound fame but through differing methods: Rudo with even higher-stakes betting and eventually cocaine, Cursi with expensive tastes and a sexy, scheming TV-star girlfriend (the leggy Jessica Mas).

Even the climactic Rudo vs. Cursi showdown – which is de rigeuer for any sports movie – doesn’t exactly turn out the way you might expect. Then again, “Rudo y Cursi” isn’t really a sports movie; in retrospect, Cuaron doesn’t depict that much soccer. Rather, it’s about relationships, and how they’re imperfect, but how they can also evolve and thrive.

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‘RUDO Y CURSI’

Rating: R for pervasive language, sexual content and brief drug use. In Spanish with English subtitles.

Length: 103 minutes

Playing at: Opens Friday at Century 20 El Con Mall, Harkins Tucson Spectrum 18

Grade: B

"Angels & Demons" has traded in the dense, dreary tone of "The Da Vinci Code" for more action, complete with dialogue such as, "Can you deactivate the device?" Tom Hanks (left) returns in the sequel and is joined by Ayelet Zurer (center) and Ewan McGregor (right).

LOS ANGELES – Blessedly, “Angels & Demons” is more entertaining and less self-serious than its predecessor, the dense and dreary yet enormously successful “The Da Vinci Code.”

In adapting another of author Dan Brown’s religious-mystery page turners, director Ron Howard wisely gave in to its beat-the-clock thriller elements, which makes for a more enjoyable summer movie experience. The brouhaha has long since abated among Catholics, albinos, “Da Vinci Code” purists, what have you, and all that’s left is air-conditioned escapism.

But its twists, turns and revelations are just as ridiculous as those in the first film – perhaps even more so – and it breezes through arcane details with just as much dizzying speed.

Besides Howard, the key players are back from that 2006 international hit, including Tom Hanks as Harvard professor and symbologist Robert Langdon and Akiva Goldsman as screenwriter (with David Koepp collaborating on the script). Joining them are Ewan McGregor, Stellan Skarsgaard and Armin Mueller-Stahl among the estimable supporting cast, all of whom have enjoyed the benefits of stronger material but manage to supply gravitas nonetheless.

Although “Angels & Demons” preceded “The Da Vinci Code” in book form, the film is positioned as a sequel to take advantage of the strained relationship between Langdon and the Vatican – only this time, it’s his expertise the folks there reluctantly need.

With the pope dead and the College of Cardinals about to meet in conclave to choose a replacement, a secret society known as the Illuminati has kidnapped the four likeliest candidates. Howard and cinematographer Salvatore Totino, who also shot “The Da Vinci Code,” cloak all these proceedings in dark, ominous shadows, and Hans Zimmer’s score rather obviously adds to the feeling of foreboding.

Langdon is brought in to decipher clues at various churches and historical sites throughout Rome to prevent the killing of the cardinals, one every hour, leading to a bomb explosion at the Vatican. He gets help along the way from Vittoria Vetra (Ayelet Zurer), an Italian scientist who worked at the lab where the combustible vial of anti-matter was stolen for the planned attack. Her arrival also allows for such standard action-picture dialogue as, “Can you deactivate the device?”

Never mind that Vittoria is sexy and mysterious, not middle-aged and frumpy. (And we gotta say, Hanks is looking pretty good here, too. The first time we see him, he’s tanned and trim, swimming laps in a Speedo in the Harvard pool.) Never mind that the time frame is impossible – that they must dash across the city at night, with its narrow streets and tourist traps packed with visitors, in time to stop each killing. And never mind that one person appears to be responsible for orchestrating these elaborate and very public deaths.

But wait, we haven’t even gotten to the most laughable part of the story yet! We won’t give it away entirely for those who haven’t read the book. We’ll just say it involves an exploding helicopter and a crucial character parachuting out of it just in time. Because it is summer, after all, despite the aura of religious solemnity.

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‘ANGELS & DEMONS’

Rating: PG-13 for sequences of violence, disturbing images and thematic material

Length: 138 minutes

Playing at: Opens Friday at Century 20 Park Place, Century 20 El Con Mall, Century Park 16, Foothills, DeAnza Drive-in, Tower Theatres at Arizona Pavilions, Harkins Tucson Spectrum 18, Century Theatres at the Oro Valley Marketplace

Grade: C

The Houston rap scene made a big splash in 2005, pushing out numerous acts from Slim Thug to Paul Wall to Chamillionare. But the one who arguably led the uprising was Mike Jones, known for his repetitive boast “Who? Mike Jones.”

His popular phrase and knack for catchy hooks on songs like “Back Then” and “Still Tippin” helped him surge to platinum status on his debut “Who is Mike Jones?” And his strategic marketing scheme of giving out his personal phone number to the public also played a part in his claim to fame.

That worked four years ago. Now with his new album “The Voice,” Mike Jones returns with some premiere guests (Lil Wayne, T-Pain and Trey Songz) and producers (J.R. Rotem and Mannie Fresh), but his new disc falls short with subpar wordplay by the Houston emcee.

Though there’s decent production, Jones barely shows any growth since his last outing, displaying very simple rhymes and unappealing hooks on “Happy Birthday” and “Swagg Thru Da Roof.” He even brags during almost every song about selling 2 million records on his last CD. With material like this, it’s doubtful he’ll be able to make such boasts on his next record.

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Mike Jones

“The Voice” (Swishahouse/Asylum Records)

Genre: rap

Grade: C-

Ciara’s latest album has all the right elements: good producers, catchy hooks and beats that bump with dance, pop and R&B flavors. But for some reason, “Fantasy Ride” isn’t as fun as the title suggests.

The 13-track set is mediocre at best, though it boasts production work by Polow Da Don, Danja, Dr. Luke and The-Dream, and has guest appearances from Chris Brown and Ludacris.

It’s not that the songs on the CD sound bad – tracks like “Ciara to the Stage” and “Tell Me What Your Name Is” show the singer at the top of her game. But the majority of the disc sounds just like what we’ve heard from the 23-year-old sensation before – and that’s not fulfilling.

The energy-charged “Work” featuring Missy Elliott sounds just like the 2005 hit “Lose Control,” Elliott’s song on which Ciara appeared. Most of the other tunes – “Like a Surgeon,” “Pucker Up” and “Never Ever,” for example – are enjoyable but show she hasn’t grown much as a singer since her last release.

Ciara shines, however, on the Janet Jackson-esque “Love, Sex, Magic” with Justin Timberlake and on “Keep Dancin’ On Me.”

With her 2004 debut CD “Goodies” and 2006′s “The Evolution,” Ciara had lots of hits but few songs that stood the test of time; “Fantasy Ride” is no different.

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Ciara

“Fantasy Ride” (Jive Label Group)

Genre: R&B

Grade: C

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy’s homage to Cab Calloway, “How Big Can You Get?: The Music of Cab Calloway,” comes off accordingly upbeat, but the drama of the Cotton Club’s quintessential showmanship is nowhere in sight.

The band’s eighth album instead proffers musicianship over moxie. This approach is fine in some respects, since no one could imitate Calloway – the man. But Calloway was so acutely ingrained in his signature songs, comparisons are hard to escape.

Lead singer Scotty Morris tries in vain to summon the Calloway growls and wails on songs such as “The Old Man of the Mountain” and “Minnie the Moocher.” Morris’ lack of range renders him helpless when the vocals should have soared.

Where’s the volume? Was Morris afraid to wake the neighbors?

The band recorded the material at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles on vintage microphones and equipment. That’s a nice nod to the music’s era, but the recording sounds flat, lacking thrilling highs, barrelhouse lows and the requisite “oomph” that such a talented group of musicians should have delivered.

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Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

“How Big Can You Get?: The Music of Cab Calloway” (Vanguard)

Genre: swing jazz

Grade: C

FICTION

‘The Red Squad’

By E.M. Broner (Pantheon, $24)

Anka Pappas, a professor at an Ohio university, is startled when an envelope containing a confidential file that was kept on her during the 1960s by the Red Squad is tossed on her front porch. She wonders who sent the file to her and why. This profoundly crafted story involves Anka, a group of instructors, a spy, and the separate trails their lives have taken.

‘Cemetery Dance’

By Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (Grand Central Publishing, $26.99)

The popular characters Pendergast and D’Agosta are tapped once again when William Smithback, a New York Times reporter, and his wife, Nora, a Museum of Natural History archaeologist, are attacked in their apartment on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Eyewitnesses claim and a security camera shows that the assailant was a strange, sinister neighbor, a man who by all reports had died two weeks before. This tale of magic, cults and sorcery will keep readers entertained to the last page.

‘Sunnyside’

By Glen David Gold (Knopf, $26.95)

This uneven story set in 1916 features Charlie Chaplin at its center. The narrative is a mix of real characters including Mary Pickford, Doug Fairbanks and Adolph Zukor, and a doomed expedition staged against the Bolsheviks. Swept up in the events is Chaplin, who faces such complications as studio moguls, questions about his patriotism, his unchecked heart, and, perhaps, most frightening of all, his mother.

‘Perforated Heart’

By Eric Bogosian (Simon & Schuster, $25)

The third novel by the author of “Talk Radio” is a meditative and lacerating portrait of a writer as he morphs from callow young man to aging literary lion. Partly autobiographical, this double narrative slyly moves back and forth between New York’s underground arts scene of the 1970s and ’80s to the present. While recovering from surgery in his Connecticut country home, Richard Morris finds a cache of old journals and rediscovers the voice of his younger self. Intriguing characters, memorable dialogue and a well-crafted story bring into sharp focus the underbelly of the American Dream.

‘The Secret Speech’

By Tom Rob Smith (Grand Central Publishing, $24.99)

In his second novel, Smith, author of “Child 44,” sets his story against the turmoil and upheaval of the post-Stalinist Soviet Union. Leo Demidov, a former member of the state security force, struggles to build a new life with his wife and their adopted daughters. As the Soviet Union begins to fracture, the dark legacy of Leo’s past career resurfaces to threaten both him and his family.

NONFICTION

‘Why Your World Is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller: Oil and the End of Globalization’

By Jeff Rubin (Random House, $26)

The chief economist at CIBC World Markets for almost two decades and one of the first to accurately predict soaring oil prices in 2000, is one of the country’s leading energy experts. His new book maps out a plan of how we can benefit – politically, personally and economically – from a future that might in its physical limits resemble the distant past. He builds a convincing case that the American economy can be made stronger if we work to forge “green” alliances between labor and management that are good not just for business but also the very air we breathe.

‘The Center of the Universe: A Memoir’

By Nancy Bachrach (Knopf, $24.95)

When Bachrach’s father is killed in an accident aboard his cabin cruiser, she leaves Paris for the family home in Providence, R.I. Her mother, Lola, is on a ventilator and near death. As Nancy rearranges her life, she rediscovers her brother, Ben, a surgeon who was born with three thumbs, and Helen, the “wild child” and now an “abnormal psychologist.” This memoir is a fascinating blend of dark humor, stark reality and crisp writing.

‘WWII Behind Closed Doors: Stalin, the Nazis and the West’

By Laurence Rees (Pantheon, $35)

This gripping new history of World War II by an award-winning author and documentary filmmaker provides documentation of the little-known secret deals that were struck that helped make the war possible. These deals, which involved Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt, will change not only the way we think about the war but also the relationships that existed between the Allied powers. Drawing on archives in the East and testimony from nearly 100 separate witnesses, Rees presents a new and disturbing history of the war, raising such questions as: Was it necessary for the British and Americans to surrender so much to Stalin at Yalta? Did the British behave honorably toward the wartime Poles? And were Churchill and Roosevelt as friendly as legend would have us believe?

‘The Silence and the Scorpion: The Coup Against Chavez and the Making of Modern Venezuela’

By Brian A. Nelson (Nation Books, $26.95)

Nelson, who has lived in Venezuela and studied its culture and history extensively as a Fulbright scholar, presents a balanced account about the coup that attempted to topple Chavez during the spring of 2002. As an estimated 1 million citizens marched on the presidential palace demanding the resignation of the democratically elected President Hugo Chavez, a bloody confrontation ensued and within the subsequent 72 hours the country would go through three presidents. What exactly happened during this turbulent period is revealed in depth and through multiple perspectives in this meticulously researched and masterfully written new book.

‘Lowside of the Road: A Life of Tom Waits’

By Barney Hoskyns (Broadway Books, $29.95)

As a fiercely private, enigmatic, talented and mischievous man, Waits is the perfect candidate for a biography. Part carnival barker, part beatnik poet, part avant-garde rabble- rouser and part crooner, Waits began his musical career during the 1970s in Los Angeles. Hoskyns, a British music critic who has written extensively for such publications as The Times, The Guardian, and The Observer, gained unprecedented access to the closest people in Wait’s world. The result is a book that peels away many of the myths as it serves up one of the most nuanced and completed portraits of this remarkable one-of-a-kind artist.

‘Blue Collar, Blue Scrubs: The Making of a Surgeon’

By Michael Collins (St. Martin’s Press, $24.95)

Even though Collins enjoyed his work breaking concrete and throwing rocks for a construction company, he knew that there was more to life than crushing rocks and drinking beer. In his first memoir, “Hot Lights, Cold Steel,” Collins recounted his 4-year surgical residency at the prestigious Mayo Clinic. In his new book, he takes readers back to his early days as a Chicago construction worker and how he reached his soul-searching decision to leave that life and become a doctor. This is an extraordinary book of how one man went from construction worker to medical doctor by hard work, determination and beating the odds.

PAPERBACKS

‘Easy Company Soldier’

By Sgt. Don Malarkey with Bob Welch (St. Martin’s Press, $14.95)

Malarkey was drafted in 1942 and two years later he and his fellow paratroopers provided ground cover for the largest amphibious military attack in history, the Normandy Invasion. In this dramatic account of the bloody battles and dangerous rescue missions he took part in, he paints memorable portraits of the men he trained and fought beside. The Easy Company soldiers were featured in both the “Band of Brothers” book and the HBO miniseries.

‘Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Cancer Book’

By Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and David Tabatsky (CSS Books, $14.95)

When Elizabeth Bayer, a vibrant Tucson resident, was diagnosed with stage III colorectal cancer, she was determined to fight it. Even though she would eventually lose the battle, her determination and courageous fight are an inspiration to others. In this memoir, her cancer diagnosis, treatment, remission and return are documented along with many of the valuable lessons she learned along the way. In addition to Bayer’s story, there are other real-life experiences that can help others embrace life with cancer as Elizabeth did.

‘Up Till Now: The Autobiography of William Shatner’

With David Fisher (Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Griffin, $15.95)

One of the real pleasures of this autobiography is its unexpected wit. After almost 60 years as an actor, musician, producer, director and celebrity pitchman, Shatner has stories to tell. Even though he was emerging as an important Broadway actor during the 1950s, it was his role as Captain Kirk in “Star Trek” that brought him lasting fame. Written with all of the kicked-back style of a personal visit, this is a show business tale that is fun, entertaining and out of this world.

These Dolls are antiques now, but they’re priceless.

Formed in 1971, The New York Dolls helped launch the glam-rock movement along with Kiss, David Bowie and Alice Cooper, yet they imploded long before any of their peers, breaking up in 1977 after two seminal albums.

Reformed in 2004 with original members David Johansen (vocals) and Sylvain Sylvain (guitar), the Dolls’ second album since then defies easy categorization. The title track blends Ron Wood-ish guitar riffs with a snarling punk sensibility. “Better Than You” evokes The Ramones’ cover of “Needles And Pins,” and Johansen even sounds like Joey Ramone on the track.

“Lonely So Long” revolves around country steel guitars, while Johansen whistles the main melody line of “Temptation To Exist” over a cha-cha beat. And if drunken staggering had a soundtrack, it would sound exactly like “This Is Ridiculous,” in which a down-and-outer bemoans his lot in life.

“Drowning” blends a Stones-like “Paint It Black” mysticism with Johansen’s own “We Gotta Get Outta This Place” vibe. The album also includes a ska remake of “Trash,” which was on their 1973 debut disc.

“Exorcism of Despair” closes the album with flail-and-wail guitar and drums fury.

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The New York Dolls

“‘Cause I Sez So,” (Atco)

Genre: rock

Grade: A

The Chilled Seafood Platter was a delightful surprise, with fresh shrimp, mussels and crab, and an innovative presentation of calamari.

Casino restaurants are notorious for serving decent food in large portions and pleasant surroundings to people who have striking it rich at the top of their lists and dining a distant second.

But given Tucson’s paucity of steakhouses, this upscale offering at Desert Diamond Casino is worth the trip without the chips, particularly because it may be the Tucson area’s best tweener steakhouse.

The prices are more reasonable than the upscale a la carte steakhouses, while the fare, service and surroundings are notably superior to the kitschy, Wild West joints.

The clinchers for us were the starters and the desserts – both of which are common shortcomings at steakhouses.

The Chilled Seafood Sampler ($14.95) was impressive enough to hold its own against any freestanding restaurant, steakhouse or otherwise. The hubcap-sized platter featured four large shrimp, four large mussels, four crab claws, a good 8 ounces or so of bay shrimp ceviche, and a similarly large serving of calamari salad. The shrimp, mussels and crab were of excellent quality and freshness, and would have been worth the price of the platter. We were expecting the ceviche and calamari offerings to be little more than gestures, but they were our favorite parts of the plate. The bay shrimp were kept in the lime juice to an exacting finish, as they were nicely supple and delicately acidic.

The orange-hued calamari strips were cleverly camped in a light sauce of ginger, sesame oil and citrus, and were teamed with julienned peppers and vegetables in a vibrant, delicate Asian motif. It was one of the more innovative presentations of calamari we’ve encountered, good enough to be an appetizer all by its lonesome.

Next to arrive were generous dinner salads and a flatbread foccacia that struck us as a delicately sweet lavosh. Both of these came with the entrees.

The Rib-Eye Beef Brochettes ($19.95) entree featured 10 medallion-sized cuts of rib-eye skewered with red onion, tomato and mushrooms. The meat had been expertly charred to carry a good payoff of grilled flavor without bringing any of the bitterness from too much charring. There was an extra rich, roastiness to the meat that had us thinking truffle oil may have been in there.

We chose the middle-of-the-road sized Prime Rib as our second entree – the 12-ounce steakhouse cut ($18.95). If the cut we were served was 12 ounces, we’ve been getting ripped off at other joints, because the slab seemed notably bigger than the standard median offering. It was a good 2 inches thick, was nicely stopped at medium rare, and was delicately imbued with natural juices, rather than ratcheted up with beef stock or other enhancements. The interior pink was dense yet supple, while the gray, outer perimeter beyond the ring of fat was softer, richer and saltier – all in all, a respectable and well-roasted prime rib. The 10-ounce English cut goes for $16.95, while the 16-ounce Desert Diamond cut is $18.95.

The beef here is Sterling Silver Premium – they tell you so with little, black plastic sign skewers that the server thankfully removes tableside. It’s a status I’ve encountered at a couple of other steak joints with good but not spectacular results. This was the best Sterling Silver beef I’ve encountered, and it doesn’t hurt that they grill it with precision and serve it in impressive portions.

Rather than sautéed until limp and flavor-challenged, the seasonal vegetables that sided both entrees were colorful and firm, the zucchini a little too much so, as it was a tad bitter.

We had little room for dessert and weren’t overly enthralled with the choices until they arrived.

The two wedges of Chocolate Hazelnut Cake ($6.25) looked impossible to finish, but we nearly did just that. Two layers of cake sandwiched a light cream layer and topped with ganache, the cake came off much more sophisticated and diversely flavored than its hulking demeanor led on.

Rather than an overpowering sweetness, it was airy and ultramoist, with a mellow, milk chocolate theme and a faint but pleasing note of pungency from cream cheese (or possibly mascarpone). The Streusel Baked Peach Cobbler ($6.25) was dominated by a scoop of vanilla ice cream the size of a softball, but the skillet of cobbler beneath had me steering around the ice cream to get at the ideal match of toasty, crumbly pastry and mild, fresh peaches.

With two coffees and a club soda, the tab for the whole deal came to $73.85. If that sounds like a lot, you haven’t loaded up at a steak place lately, as that’s $30 to $50 less than what I’d expect to pay at an upscale steak joint and not much more than I would at a cowboy joint with foil-wrapped baked potatoes, store-bought dinner rolls, canned green beans and middling steaks.

You may have never ventured to a casino just to dine, but if you’re looking for a good steak and an excellent appetizer, it’s a safe bet you’ll come away from Desert Diamond’s steakhouse feeling like a winner.

If you order the Streusel Baked Peach Cobbler, work around the ice cream to get to the crumbly sweet cobbler underneath.

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AT A GLANCE

Address and phone: 7350 S. Old Nogales Highway, 294-7777

Prices: Appetizers $8.95 to $14.95; side orders $3.25; entrees $16.95 to $28.95; desserts $6.25

Hours: daily 4 to 10 p.m.

Bar: Full

Vegetarian options: Colossal Onion Bloom ($8.95), Flambéed Garlic-Cremini Mushroom ($3.25), Broccoli Florets & Gruyere Cheese or alla Polonaise ($3.25)

Desserts: Several, including Chocolate Hazelnut Cake ($6.25), Tiramisu Cake ($6.25) and Streusel Baked Cobbler ($6.25)

‘Country Cooking’

By the editors at Betty Crocker (Wiley, $25.95)

What makes this recipe collection so appealing is that most of the featured dishes are family favorites and authentic.

The 325 recipes are divided into eight main categories: Rise-and-Shine Breakfasts; Blue-Ribbon Lunches and Lighter Fare; Down-Home Poultry and Fish; Country Meats and Mainstays; Fresh from the Garden; Warm Up the Oven; Homespun Desserts; and Icebox Creations. These chapters are in addition to menus, helpful nutrition and cooking information, a glossary of cooking terms and even a metric conversion guide.

The recipes are fast, easy and foolproof. Even though some of recipes are heirloom favorites, all have been adjusted to accommodate the labor-saving resources of today’s modern kitchen. Looking through many of the recipes brought back memories, especially of my grandmother’s country kitchen. The Country Fried Steak with Milk Gravy is almost identical to the way she prepared it. The Wilted Spinach Salad is the real deal as is the Hoppin’ John. I suspect the Chocolate Chiffon Icebox Cake recipe is also the same that was used by my mom when I was a youngster.

More than 80 full-color photos and clear cooking instructions make this collection essential. Whether you want to make a Hot Fudge Cake that doesn’t require eggs, and can be made in less than an hour, or Candied Sweet Potatoes that are reminiscent of family dinners, this cookbook is just one example of why more than 65 million Betty Crocker collections have been sold since 1950.

Three recipes were tested from Country Cooking. Since I have a bumper crop of lemons in my yard, I made a Lemon-Filled Coconut Cake that was moist and absolutely scrumptious. The Avocado-Citrus Salad, which featured lime juice, grapefruit, one large orange and mint leaves, was a perfect pick for a hot afternoon. My third and favorite was a zesty Mexican Beef-and-Bean Casserole.

Mexican Beef-and-Bean Casserole

1 pound lean ground beef

2 cans (15- to 16-ounces each) pinto beans, drained

1 8-ounce can tomato sauce

1/2 cup mild chunky salsa (I used hot, hot, hot)

1 teaspoon chili powder (I used chili powder from Santa Cruz Chili Co.)

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese with jalapeño peppers

Heat oven to 375F.

Cook beef in 10-inch skillet over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until brown. Drain.

Mix beef, beans, tomato sauce, salsa and chili powder in ungreased 2-quart casserole.

Cover and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, stirring once or twice, until hot and bubbly. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered for about five additional minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve.

Tucsonan Larry Cox’s “Shelf Life” reviews of fiction and nonfiction books and his “Treasures & Trends” antiques column run Thursdays in Calendar Plus. For more, go to tucsoncitizen.com/calendar.
E-mail: contactlarrycox@aol.com

Sonora Querida Asadero is reminiscent of a hidden treasure of a restaurant in San Carlos or Rocky Point.

What: Sonora Querida Asadero

Address and phone: 4749 S. 12th Ave., 889-0923

Hours: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. daily

What was ordered: Ceviche Tostada ($3), two Marlin Tacos ($3 each), Carne Rajas Tacos ($3), Caramelo ($2), Limonada ($1.50), and Jamaica ($1.50) for a total of $18.38 including tax, within our Cheap Eats goal of a meal for two for less than $20

Comments: ¡Que suave!

My 10-year-old daughter keeps telling me to stop using the word cool, because these days, cool stands for “constipated, out-of-touch, out-of-style loser,” she says. If I’m impressed with something, rather than calling it cool, I should call it sweet, she says.

I can’t call something sweet. It just sounds too cute and cuddly to be uttered by someone as jaded and misanthropic as me. Fortunately, there’s an excellent Spanish alternative – suave – which is more literally translated as smooth, but covers the same ground as cool.

And this South Side taco joint is very cool indeed.

The fare is authentically coastal Sonoran, with a nice selection of beef and seafood tacos, tostadas, tortas and sopas.

The Ceviche Tostada was probably my least favorite selection on a recent visit, which is saying something, because it was one of the better ceviche tostadas I’ve had on the South Side. Though the portions of seafood were moderate, the octopus, shrimp and fish were fresh and bouncy, the pico was mild and unassuming, and the corn tortilla was fried to order.

My companion had high praise for the Marlin Taco, noting that it was “exquisitely infused with the sensation of standing at a taco stand on the beach at Guaymas.” The marlin chunks were reddened by a tangy, zingy sauce, and the thick, flour taco shell was nicely grilled yet slightly puffy.

My favorite was the Taco Rajas. The teaming of good carne asada, fresh roasted peppers and melted Mexican white cheese had the kind of roasty, salty, slightly greasy payoff that so many beef tacos lack.

All six selections we devoured came to the table somewhat mild and unassuming, which made for ideal customization with the diverse condiment tray delivered to the table. The tray included red and avocado salsa, cilantro, onions and limes, allowing us to trick out and crank up the flavor profiles as we saw fit.

The look, feel and service here are no-nonsense. They don’t have to try to sell you on the authenticity with trinkets, decorations and other trappings. The food supplies all the authenticity you need to be transported to that little off-the-beaten-track place in San Carlos or Puerto Peñasco, the place you seek out even before you unpack the car at the hotel.

And that’s very cool, and maybe even sweet.

Service: Tableside service was friendly, prompt and bilingual, which comes in handy for gringos, as the menu is in Spanish.

Bar: no

Children’s menu: no

Web site: no

Anton Yelchin (from left), Chris Pine, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban, John Cho and Zoë Saldana revive characters from the popular TV series in "Star Trek," the movie.

LOS ANGELES – J.J. Abrams’ hugely anticipated summer extravaganza “Star Trek” boldly goes to the past within the distant future of the “Trek” universe, years ahead of the TV series and the myriad movies and spin-offs it spawned.

And in doing so, he and his longtime collaborators, writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, change everything you know – or obsess about, if you’re into this kind of thing – about the kitschy pop-culture phenomenon.

It’s a daring and exciting approach that’s sure to tickle and provoke purists, while at the same time probably cause neophytes to feel a bit lost.

A major plot twist pops up – which includes the arrival of Leonard Nimoy – about halfway through the film, a twist that doesn’t exactly work and from which the film never completely recovers.

Having said that, Abrams clearly aimed to appeal to the broadest possible audience with this dazzling visual spectacle while also leaving plenty of Easter eggs for the hardcore fans to find. If there’s any social or political subtext, as in the original series, it’s difficult to determine; this “Star Trek” seems solely made to entertain. It’s an absolutely gorgeous film with impeccable production design – the lighting is wondrous, almost heavenly – and lovely, tiny details frequently emerge from within the larger, grander images.

Abrams certainly puts on a good show – between television’s “Lost” and the 2006 “Mission: Impossible” sequel he directed, there’s no question the man knows how to stage an action sequence, and the opening gets things off to a thrilling start. He efficiently and satisfyingly presents the back stories of the men who will become Capt. James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) and the half-Vulcan, half-human Mr. Spock (Zachary Quinto) and puts them on a collision course with each other, which ups the excitement level early.

Kirk and Spock, you see, weren’t always pals – at least not in this revisionist history. This “Star Trek” pits them as opposites and adversaries until they must reluctantly learn to function side by side for the greater good. Kirk was a brilliant young hotshot causing trouble in rural Iowa, talented beyond his years but self-destructive nonetheless; Spock was a brilliant young math whiz whose mixed ethnic heritage made him the target of Vulcan bullies who were just as geeky as he was. Pine gets the womanizing and the ego of Kirk, but in a younger state there’s also a likable boyish enthusiasm about him; Quinto, meanwhile, plays Spock as a little more tentative and less Zen-like. But maybe that sense of inner peace comes in time.

All that informs their interaction once they join the Starfleet Academy and ultimately climb aboard the shiny U.S.S. Enterprise – which looks familiar but has been significantly updated from 40 years ago. Among them are the usual cast of supporting characters: Communications Officer Uhura (the graceful Zoe Saldana, who gets more to do than Nichelle Nicholls ever did on TV); over-the-top Medical Officer Leonard “Bones” McCoy (Karl Urban, who gets to growl familiar lines like: “Dammit, man! I’m a doctor, not a physicist!”); Chief Engineer Montgomery “Scotty” Scott (Simon Pegg in a lively bit of casting); reliable Helmsman Sulu (John Cho, showing he can do much more than comedy) and 17-year-old supergenius Chekov (Anton Yelchin, doing an intentionally cartoony Russian accent as an homage, even though he really is Russian).

Their shared enemy is the angry Romulan leader Nero (Eric Bana, borrowing Mike Tyson’s elaborate facial tattoos), whose sharp, spiky ship resembles a malevolent version of Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia. The source of his vendetta against Spock, and the entire Federation, is revealed as the film progresses, and it’s a crucial part of that distractingly perplexing twist we mentioned earlier.

Either you’ll go with it or you won’t. Regardless, based on Abrams’ ambition and scope in rejuvenating the franchise, it’s clear it still has plenty of room to live long and prosper.

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‘STAR TREK’

Rating: PG-13 for sci-fi action and violence and brief sexual content

Length: 127 minutes

Playing at: Opens Friday at Century 20 Park Place, Century 20 El Con Mall, Century Park 16, Foothills, DeAnza Drive-in, Tower Theatres at Arizona Pavilions, Harkins Tucson Spectrum 18, Century Theatres at the Oro Valley Marketplace

Grade: B-

Donald Faison (right) finds trouble when he accidentally delivers a package of cocaine to the wrong apartment.

The filmmakers behind “Next Day Air” probably have posters of Guy Ritchie and Quentin Tarantino lining their bedroom walls. The movie is like a fanboy love letter, but you end up wishing director Benny Boom simply sent his heroes bouquets instead.

The overpopulated action comedy is centered on a package of cocaine that is dropped off at the wrong apartment. Leo (a frantic Donald Faison) is the pothead delivery man responsible for the mistake; the rubber-faced actor is much easier to take in his role on TV’s “Scrubs.”

Cisco Reyes and Yasmin Deliz play the couple who is waiting for the coke in their seedy apartment building. Mike Epps and Wood Harris are two low-level crooks who live down the hall and receive the package instead. That sets off a chain of events that leads to a predictably violent conclusion.

Newcomer Boom directs the script by Blair Cobbs, another first-timer. Neither shows a lot of imagination and the stereotypes run deep throughout.

On the plus side, the film does have a certain frenetic energy, and Epps can wring a laugh out of the driest material. But really, you should just rent a double bill of “Reservoir Dogs” and “RocknRolla.”

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‘NEXT DAY AIR’

Rating: R for pervasive language, drug content, some violence and brief sexuality

Length: 90 minutes

Playing at: Opens Friday at Century 20 Park Place, Century 20 El Con Mall, Harkins Tucson Spectrum 18

Grade: D+

Mastodon ably stakes their claim among metal’s elite with their fourth disc and second for Reprise, “Crack the Skye.”

Following their acclaimed major label debut, 2006′s “Blood Mountain,” Mastodon offers another challenging concept on “Crack the Skye,” this one focused on out of body experiences, astral projection and Rasputin’s assassination in Czarist Russia.

It may sound like a bit much to the casual listener, but such daring artistry had all but vanished from the metal scene for years until the recent emergence of bands like Lamb of God and the eclectically manic Mars Volta.

Comprised of Brann Dailor (drums, vocals), Brent Hinds (lead guitar, banjo, vocals), Bill Kelliher (guitars) and Troy Sanders (bass, bass synth, vocals), the four piece juxtaposes melodic soft passages with intense time changes, and muscular riffs and licks. The vocals rely less on constant screams than previous efforts but the intensity does not suffer. If anything, it’s a welcome adjustment.

The opening trio of “Oblivion,” “Divinations,” and “Quintessence” set the tone for the album’s centerpiece, the mind-numbing four-part suite “The Czar,” which may leave you gasping through its 11 minutes. And that’s nothing next to the 13-minute closer, “The Last Baron,” which is nothing short of masterful.

The disc will lose its punch when taken in pieces – but if you’ve read this far you know treating Mastodon as anything less than an album band would be a grave mistake.

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Mastodon

“Crack the Skye” (Reprise)

Genre: metal

Grade: A