Get learned-up with PBS tonight. Sarah's also on (thump-thumpa :-)), and late night TV is strong tonight. 8:00pm Wired Science PBS/KCET - This is a cool show. While I'm not enamored of the bizarre enormous set that the hosts saunter through, each of the pieces are very well done. In particular, tonight check out the "ball busters" segment which is about the testing and certification of baseballs for MLB. TV Junkie 8:00pm Pick 8:00pm Pushing......

Starting today, audiences in Los Angeles can take their first worthwhile break from the summer blockbuster madness with one of the few award-worthy pics released so far this year (other than Ratatouille). First, a disclaimer. Do not let the trailers for Talk to Me, the new biopic starring the always excellent Don Cheadle and Chiwetel Ejiofor, mislead you. This is not a film about the civil rights movement, or race in America. Those who......

Hot Fuzz - The guys who made the brilliant zombie spoof Shaun of the Dead, writer/director Edgar Wright and co-writer/star Simon Pegg, reteam for Hot Fuzz, what looks to be a hilarious spoof on the police thriller. Jealous colleagues have London's best cop (Simon Pegg) transferred to the peaceful village of Sandford, where he is partnered with an enthusiastic but witless police officer (Nick Frost) who longs for gunfights and car chases to break up......

Tickets go on sale tomorrow, Friday the 13th, for the 2006 installment of AFI Fest, Los Angeles' valiant (read: sometimes comical, sometimes desperate) attempt to mount a world-class film festival, something this city deserves but sorely lacks. This year AFI Fest will screen 147 feature films and 36 shorts including several special screenings and premieres. The festival will host the U.S. premiere of Bobby, the Emilio Estevez-directed drama about the assassination of Robert F.......

The number of film festivals held in this town seems only slightly outnumbered by the number of Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf outlets. But tomorrow, AFI Fest 2005 (Nov. 3-13) opens -- and in its 19th year -- this is one that shouldn't be ignored. A few of the week's highlights include: Walk the Line: The Johnny Cash biopic, starring Joaquin Phoenix as the Man in Black and Reese Witherspoon as June Carter Cash,......

TUESDAY • The Decemberists and Sons and Daughters perform tonight at the Henry Fonda Theater. Doors open at 8 PM; tickets are $18. • The Echo is having a toga party and show to benefit the MusiCares Hurricane Relief Fund, featuring The Atomic Missiles, Kill Radio, Porterville, BANG sugar BANG and Letter Openers. $3 gets you in, $5 gets you in plus a bumper sticker and pin, $10 gets you in plus a free......