The idea, says former Creedence Clearwater Revival bassist Stu Cook, began simply enough.

"Back in the mid-'90s, I relocated from southern California up to Lake Tahoe in northern Nevada, and Doug [Clifford, Creedence's former percussionist] had been living there with his family for 15, 20 years. We hadn't lived in the same area for decades, and we started hanging out every day, and playing music, and just talking about how much fun it was, and how it felt to play together again.

"So we were bound to get into trouble," says Cook with a laugh. "And goodness, look what happened."

STEP UP 3D

From its opening, outdoor melee, in which we're assaulted by soap bubbles and multi-colored balloons, to its jaw-dropping dance-off finale, which suggests a mass seizure titled Attack of the TRON Clones, Step Up 3D is proudly, even profoundly, ridiculous.

Theatre

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

Harrison Hilltop Theatre

Thursday, August 12, through Saturday, August 28

Timber Lake Playhouse

Thursday, August 12, through Sunday, August 22

Yup, you read that correctly: Davenport's Harrison Hilltop Theatre and Mt. Carroll's Timber Lake Playhouse will both open productions of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee on August 12. And this is one of those times when stepping down from my theatre-reviewer tenure seems like the stupidest decision on Earth, because I can't think of many other musicals I'd be quite so excited to see in two separate venues over the same weekend.

SALT

Leaving a recent screening of Cyrus, my friends and I noted how refreshing it was to see a movie in which, right up until its final seconds, you had no idea where events were going to lead; the creepy indie comedy could've ended with either a Happily Ever After or a vicious display of bloodletting, and neither finale would've seemed unjustified. (No spoilers here. You've still got a few days to catch it locally.) And the best I can say about director Phillip Noyce's Salt - and it's a considerable compliment - is that it, too, is totally unpredictable, a gripping, over-the-top action flick that makes you gasp and then giggle, and then giggle at yourself for gasping. Audiences seeking loud, defiantly ridiculous escapist fare should have a blast. Speaking as someone with a low tolerance for spy thrillers, stunt-heavy summer blockbusters, and (more often than not these days) Angelina Jolie, I had a pretty fantastic time myself.