BARBERS BEST BETS: Brooks & Dunn to play at Jiffy Lube Live

IN CLUBS AND IN CONCERTS
-- The Brooks & Dunn show, which was supposed to be on stage at Jiffy Lube Live several weeks ago has been rescheduled to Sunday.
-- Wolf Trap welcomes the National Symphony Orchestra for “Final Fantasy: Distant Worlds,” featuring music from the best-selling video game, on July 30.
The park’s annual Reggae Festival takes the stage Saturday, while smooth jazz star Chris Botti performs on Aug. 4.
-- The Birchmere offers American Idol winner Taylor Hicks tonight.
“1964: A Tribute” celebrates the music of the Beatles on Saturday. The band Asia, with its original members, takes the stage on Aug. 3 and Suzanne Vega performs on Aug. 4.
-- Cyrus Chestnut plays Blues Alley in Georgetown tonight through Sunday.
-- Comic and actor Tom Green takes the DC Improv stage Friday through Sunday.
-- Pier Six Pavilion in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor offers Dave Koz and Jonathan Butler on Friday, Heart on Sunday and the Goo Goo Dolls on Aug. 3.
ON STAGES
-- The Eldon Street Players in Herndon present their production of “Rent” starting July 30. The late Jon Larson’s rockfish adaptation of “La Boheme” runs at Elden Street through Aug. 21. For more information, call 703-481-5930 or visit www.eldenstreetplayers.org.
-- Bringing down their final curtains this weekend are the “One Man Lord of the Rings” at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in the District and “Forever Plaid” at Olney Theatre Center in Olney, Md. Both shows close Sunday.
ON SCREENS
Opening July 30:
“Charlie St. Cloud” stars Zac Efron of “High School Musical” fame as a young man who’s haunted by the death of his younger brother and finds a source of comfort in a relationship with an unusual young woman.
“Dinner for Schmucks,” based on the French comedy “The Dinner Game,” stars Paul Rudd as a just-promoted executive forced by his sadistic boss to compete with other new employees in a contest where each has to bring the dumbest person they can find to a dinner and make fun of them. Steve Carell plays Rudd’s choice.

In Theaters Now:
Angelina Jolie is a very credible action “hero” in “Salt.” Her daring-do is the engine that drives this fast-paced adventure. Unfortunately, the movie’s plot makes a piece of Swiss cheese look fairly solid when it comes to holes.
Jolie is Evelyn Salt, a longtime CIA operative who, after a long undercover career that included time in a North Korean prison, is now working in the Agency’s DC headquarters. One day, a Russian defector walks in, claiming he has information on a plot to assassinate the Russian president while he’s in the U.S. Salt is asked to de-brief him and, as she does, he declares that she is the Russian “sleeper” agent in who will commit the murder.
Determined to prove her innocence, Salt goes on the run, using all of her skills to evade arrest while attempting to unravel the plot and prevent the killing.
Director Phillip Noyce (“Patriot Games,” “Clear and Present Danger”) does a terrific job of keeping the action flowing. The film’s fights and chases get your heart pumping and put you at the edge of your seat. Unfortunately , the much too intricate plot makes little sense, even after you’ve watched the film and are parsing it at home.
Wasting the solid work of Jolie, Noyce and such talented performers as Liev Schreiber , “Salt” has some tasty moments, but is ultimately unsatisfying.
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sometimes graphic violence and profanity. Joe’s Rating: Two and One-Half
(**1/2) Stars.

On DVD:
It’s a mixed week. “Repo Men,” starring Jude Law and Forrest Whitaker, is an intriguing sci-fi adventure about a time in the future when you can buy artificial replacement body parts. Miss a payment, however, and the part will be “repo-ed” But, what happens when a repo man misses a payment on a part of his own. Though the film is heavy on violent content, it has some very provocative moments.
MPAA Rating: R for profanity, violence, drug and sexual content. Joe’s Rating: Two and One-Half (**1/2) Stars. As for the re-make of Clash of The Titans, the less said about this crashing bore of an “epic,” the better. MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense action sequences. Joe’s Rating: One (*) Star.Enjoy.

Joe Barber’s entertainment reviews and reports can be seen Thursdays on insidenova.com and heard Fridays through Sundays on the WTOP-FM Radio Network