Scott Caan

CHICAGO – What’s up with this movie? Everything in it is so wrong headed, despite movie star casting and a attempt toward “current events.” Setting itself in a modern and complex country – Afghanistan – but creating a perspective on that country that is straight ugly American, “Rock the Kasbah” is a total downer.

CHICAGO – I wonder if a show so founded on its beautiful people in a beautiful setting as CBS’s “Hawaii Five-O” would have even made it to a second season in the days before HD. Sure, there have been shows like this that have been hits before (most of the nighttime soaps of the ’80s) but it’s undeniable that the look of this update of “Five-O” is one of its most addictive qualities. It’s nice to take a trip to the islands after a long Monday at work. Now you can do so every night of the week (or for about 18 hours straight) with the recently-released DVD and Blu-ray set of the first season.

CHICAGO – I remember when “Entourage” first took off back in 2004 wondering how Doug Ellin and his talented cast could possibly keep this concept fresh for the length of a series. Wouldn’t we get tired of watching Vinnie Chase (Adrian Grenier) try to make it big? Or worse, would these guys turn into the preening celebrities that the show at least somewhat skewered at the start?

CHICAGO – Describing Steve McGarrett’s new resume, the Governor of Hawaii intones, “Annapolis, five years Naval Intelligence, six years in the Seals…the best they’ve ever seen.” Immediately this is not your Daddy’s Five-0. Alex O’Louglin is McGarrett and Scott Caan is Danno in CBS’s “Hawaii Five-0,” debuting Monday, September 20th, 2010, at 9pm CST.

CHICAGO – The Gen Art Film Festival here had red carpet events last week for two movie premieres, “(500) Days of Summer” with star Joseph Gordon-Levitt and director Marc Webb, plus “Mercy” with star and writer Scott Caan.