Emmanuel's Gift

Two Wheels and a Mission
"Emmanuel's Gift" is a powerful story of political change almost smothered by contrivance.
JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

Gwen Stefani leaves no doubt she's a solo star (Reuters)

Reuters - When Cher closed out her farewell tour last spring at the Hollywood Bowl, she threw down the gauntlet to the young divas to try to follow her act. We don't know whether Gwen Stefani actually knew about the challenge, but Cher might have met her match.

Over the Edge
DVD Reviews: One of the best pics ever to chronicle teenage delinquency from the kids' POV. Warners is to be applauded for finally giving it a homevideo release and enabling a new generation to see it, but it's disappointing the disc carries nothing more than a commentary and trailer. A film with this kind of legacy and following deserves much, much more.

Lords of Dogtown: Unrated Extended Cut
DVD Reviews: Catherine Hardwicke's gritty adaptation of skateboard docu "Dogtown and Z Boys" got shredded at the B.O. this summer. This misfire goes a long way toward explaining the unrated, extended cut of "Lords of Dogtown" with excised sex and drug references added back in to entice youthful auds.