LONE SURVIVOR (Rated R)

The brutal realities of war in the rugged terrain of Afghanistan, as told in “Lone Survivor,” hits the audience right in the gut in this unvarnished tale of heroism and courage under the harsh light of Peter Berg’s direction.

The director brilliantly captures the unforgiving essence of a Navy SEAL operation that went horribly wrong when a reconnaissance team of four brave soldiers became trapped under fire in the mountains of the remote Hindu Kush region of Kunar province.

Based upon the first-person account of Marcus Luttrell, “Lone Survivor,” at least as a title, downgrades the element of suspense, but not enough that the ill-fated mission is relieved of all sense of shock and trepidation.

The opening scene is a fitting prologue that explores in excruciating detail the rigors of the intensely grueling training process, where only those with the greatest mental and physical toughness emerge as full-fledged SEALs.

The point of this exercise is to set the stage for what follows in 2005 when Marcus Luttrell (Mark Wahlberg) and three of his battle-ready fellow soldiers are dispatched on a mission to capture or kill a top Taliban leader responsible for slaying U.S Marines.

The other elite soldiers include commanding officer Lt. Michael Murphy (Taylor Kitsch), gunner Danny Dietz (Emile Hirsch), and sonar technician Matthew “Axe” Axelson (Ben Foster), all of whom report to Lt. Commander Erik Kristensen (Eric Bana).

Character development is somewhat limited by the circumstances of the wartime setting. We get a glimpse of the camaraderie between the men at the base camp, mostly the usual male bonding and joking around, but not a lot of perceptive insight.

On June 28, 2005, the four-man surveillance team of Operation Red Wings boarded a helicopter so that they could be dropped into a remote mountainous area with the mission to identify Ahmad Shah, a high-level Taliban operative that the American military was most anxious to neutralize.

The four SEALs arrive safely on the ground, but soon discover that their radio equipment and satellite phone are not functioning regularly, leaving them isolated when having to make key decisions or relay vital information back to headquarters.

Another immediate problem is that three goat herders grazing their flock stumble upon the men’s hiding place, plunging the mission into immediate jeopardy. The SEALS are forced to make an urgent life-and-death decision – how to treat the intruders under the rules of engagement.

In one of the film’s most compelling scenes, the soldiers debate the choices facing them. Instantly, they know that protocol dictates they must release civilian noncombatants, but these guys look more sinister and suspicious than simple farmers.

Still, killing the unarmed prisoners so that they could not alert the Taliban was morally objectionable, to say nothing of how the soldiers could be crucified by public opinion and the official rules if they killed innocent civilians.

Ultimately, the goat herders are cut loose, and the SEALs began an arduous climb to what they hoped would be safety. Soon, hellfire rained down on them.

The Taliban, bolstered by more than a hundred fighters, launch an assault that results in an intense firefight from machine guns, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades. The Americans are seriously outnumbered and outmatched in firepower.

But the hardy band of Navy SEALs hold off the enemy hordes for quite some time, a blood-splattered affair that puts the Americans in a courageous last stand that offers no way out since help is not imminently on the horizon.

Even when the cavalry arrives, in the form of an assault helicopter, the Taliban have already gained the upper hand and blast the rescue team out of the sky, killing another 16 Marines.

Even after falling down mountainous hillsides, pummeled by rocks and falling debris, Luttrell, badly wounded, miraculously escapes to small village where he’s hidden by a tribe willing to stand up to the Taliban thugs.

For a war movie that seeks to put the audience in the thick of the action, “Lone Survivor” has adroitly accomplished the mission. Director Berg delivers an unflinching look at the brutality of warfare.

“Lone Survivor” is a significant war movie, and much like “Saving Private Ryan,” it highlights the heroism of our soldiers. But it is also much like “Black Hawk Down” insofar as recalling very tragic circumstances of grueling combat.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

UKIAH, Calif. – The Ukiah Symphony Orchestra invites listeners to enjoy the bright beauty of Baroque masters Bach and Vivaldi in the third concert of the Symphony’s 2013-14 season.

On Saturday, Feb. 8, at 8 p.m. and again on Sunday, Feb. 9, at 3 p.m., concert performances featuring former first trumpet of the San Francisco Symphony, Glenn Fischthal, will take place in the intimate auditorium of the School of Performing Arts and Cultural Education, located at 508 West Perkins St. in Ukiah.

With two of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos, the music features individual instruments and solo performances supported by a rich backdrop created by Ukiah Symphony musicians.

“Sound the Trumpet” includes the Concerto Nos. 3 and 5.

Concerto No. 3 showcases strings and harpsichord, and Concerto No. 5 features flute, violin and harpsichord.

The musical inventiveness of these pieces highlights the special skills of symphony members Rebecca Pollock Ayres, Margie Salcedo Rice and Tom Aiken.

The program is named for the two inspirational pieces that feature the trumpet.

First is a Vivaldi favorite: Concerto for Two Trumpets. Ukiah Symphony’s principal trumpet player Gary Miller will be joined by guest artist Glenn Fischthal, who served as principal trumpet with the San Francisco Symphony for 24 years. The trumpet concerto features the piccolo trumpet, masterfully played by both musicians.

“The instrument has a brilliant tone quality. It is a great joy to play,” said Fischthal.

The second trumpet piece will feature Fischthal as a soloist, again with the piccolo trumpet, this time playing Torelli's Sonata in D for Trumpet, Strings and Continuo in four movements.

Fischthal eagerly anticipates playing with the Ukiah Symphony Orchestra. “To be carrying this great melody as soloist is both a challenge and a thrill,” he said.

Fischthal has worked with Ukiah Symphony conductor Les Pfutzenreuter before, and said he looks forward to doing so again.

Fischthal spent 32 years with the San Francisco Symphony before retiring last year. Now he fills in as needed for several orchestras around the Bay Area.

Fischthal earned his bachelor's degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music and continued with graduate studies at the California Institute of the Arts.

His orchestral career began at age 21, when he joined the Cleveland Orchestra on tour under the direction of George Szell and Pierre Boulez, but he found his home in the Bay Area. His love of music is shared by his wife, Sheila, a French Horn player.

Tickets for “Sound the Trumpet” are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors, and $5 for youth 18 and under, and are on sale at the Mendocino Book Co. at 102 South School St. in Ukiah; at Mail Center, Etc. at 207A North Cloverdale Boulevard in Cloverdale; or online at www.ukiahsymphony.org .

Concertgoers can mark their calendars now for this concert and the next one: a “very Russian” Shostakovich concert featuring pianist Aaron Ames on May 17-18.

“Sound the Trumpet” is made possible by support from Kathleen Kohn Fetzer Family Foundation and Near and Arnold's School of Performing Arts & Cultural Education.

For more information, call the Ukiah Symphony Box Office at 707-462-0236 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Arts Council's Main Street Gallery is hosting a show this month of paintings depicting Lake County in winter.

The show will be held in the Main Street Gallery's Linda Carpenter Gallery at 325 N. Main St. in Lakeport through the month of February.

Entries will be accepted on or before Feb. 2 between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. for the February event.

There is a $5 entry fee and 20 percent commission to the gallery.

The theme is winter; paintings may show any or all winter “happenings” in the county.

Painting are limited to 16 inches by 20 inches in size, must be properly framed and is the original work of artist.

For more information contact the Main Street Gallery, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

UPPER LAKE, Calif. – In the first of its 2014 “Concerts with Conversation” series, the Tallman Hotel in Upper Lake will host an informal concert by renowned singer and entertainer Andre Williams in the Meeting House next to the hotel at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25. 

“Andre Williams is well known throughout Lake County as the proprietor and occasional showstopper at Silk’s in Clearlake,” said Tallman owner Bernie Butcher. “It’s fabulous that he and his Sacramento based trio have agreed to come up and do a show for us at the Tallman.”

Andre Williams is a singer, songwriter and producer with an engaging personality who captivates audiences not only with his own material but with vivid impressions of his many vocal influences. These include the likes of Stevie Wonder, Lenny Williams, Peabo Bryson and The Whisperers.

Williams is currently pursuing his passion for the Big Band influences of Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, and Sammy Davis Jr. as he performs with “The Dean O Holics” (Rat Pack Tribute Band) in theaters all over the world.

A native of San Francisco, Williams was an accomplished drummer, singer and songwriter when, in 1991, he organized and managed the background vocalist group for MC Hammer and his “Too Legit To Quit” World Tour. He has since organized five world tours with Hammer and continues to perform as his lead vocalist.

Backing Williams at the Tallman event will be pianist John Wilder and percussionist Peter Philis.

Wilder has been performing worldwide since 1968 and both he and Philis have been fixtures on the Sacramento jazz scene for decades.

Subject to limited availability, concert tickets at $25 plus tax may be purchased by calling the Tallman Hotel at 707-275-2244, Extension 0.

More about Andre Williams can be found at http://drewill.com/ .

January is typically a dead time for film releases, with maybe one or two films that could possibly catch the public eye.

Mostly, this post-holiday winter month grinds out art house movies to be seen nowhere outside of limited urban pockets.

Television, and particularly cable, is ready to step into the breach with plenty of new movies and series. Hey, it’s cold outside, so let’s stay in for some cozy home theater. Having a few laughs is another good idea.

Just in time to sweep away the winter blues is the third season of Showtime’s “Episodes,” a delightfully offbeat comedy series of nine half-hour episodes about the foibles and follies of the television industry.

Right off the bat, if you value precious hours, nine viewings of a full season of “Episodes” is roughly half the extra amount of time necessary to sit through just one screening of “The Wolf of Wall Street.”

The cost benefit analysis, to say nothing of sheer entertainment value, tells me that “Episodes” is a much better deal and a lot more fun because anything skewering the pretensions of Hollywood is nearly irresistible.

Coming into the third season requires you only to know a few things. It all began when the married British writing team of Beverly and Sean Lincoln (Tamsin Greig and Stephen Mangan) were lured to America by slippery network executive Merc Lapidus (John Pankow).

Back home, the Lincolns won critical acclaim for a hit TV series called “Lyman’s Boys” about the headmaster of an elite boarding school. Lapidus wants them to create an American version for the States. What could go wrong?

Not seeing a train wreck coming fast, the clueless Brits are soon mortified that their show is hijacked by fools and turned into an unrecognizable mess called “Pucks!,” the story of a hockey coach working at a boys’ school.

Even worse, they find the star of their new show is Matt LeBlanc, who portrays a twisted version of himself, still cashing in on his fame as Joey on “Friends” and acting very much like an egregiously bad tabloid version of a faded TV star.

Fast forward to Season Three, and the Lincolns have survived trouble in their marriage, namely that in Season Two Beverly succumbed to a sexual interlude with Matt LeBlanc, who proves to be a manipulative cad.

For his part, Sean has always been seduced by the trappings of Hollywood, while Beverly is easily repulsed by the deceit and trickery of the industry. This dynamic sets the stage for continuing conflict, as Beverly is eager to return to Britain after “Pucks!” plunges in the ratings.

Season Three of “Episodes” poses many challenges for its key players. Matt LeBlanc fights for custody of his kids, though his destructive behavior, such as a getting a DUI and sleeping with a stalker, undermines his efforts.

While Sean and Beverly remain aghast at Hollywood’s treatment of their TV show, Matt tries to get “Pucks!” cancelled so that he can selfishly pursue a more lucrative offer at another network.

TV executive Merc Lapidus is unceremoniously dumped from his post, only to be replaced by untested creative talent Castor Soto (Chris Diamantopoulous), who is suffering a dire mental state that may be controlled only if he stays on medications. And that’s a big if.

Meanwhile, Carol Rance (Kathleen Rose Perkins), the second-in-command to Lapidus, with whom she had an affair, remains the second fiddle to Castor Soto, for whom she holds an unrequited crush. Yeah, Hollywood is just like “Peyton Place.”

Oh, it’s even more twisted as Matt has been dating Merc’s blind ex-wife Jamie (Genevieve O’Reilly), a situation made worse when a vindictive Merc steals her valuable paintings, replacing them with graffiti-marked canvases.

As the season moves along, “Pucks!” teeters on the brink of cancellation, not just because Matt would wish it so. At least, this allows Castor a chance to go nuts at a board meeting as he pitches some crazy ideas to fix the network’s programming.

“Episodes” continues to strike the right notes as a wonderful spoof of the television industry, both behind and in front of the camera. The show is so good that Showtime has already announced a return for season four.

While the actors are terrific, good writing has a lot to do with the series’ success. The creative team behind the scenes is David Crane (co-creator of “Friends”) and Jeffrey Klarik (“Mad About You”) knows how the wheels turn in this business.

By the way, you could binge watch the first two seasons in less time than it would take to sit through “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, and I think that’s going to be more fun.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – The Fort Bragg Center for the Arts Music Series presents violinist Kay Stern, the concertmaster of the San Francisco Opera, and pianist Joan Nagano.

They will perform works by Beethoven, Ravel, Amy Beach, Camille Saint-Saens and others on Sunday, Jan. 19, at 3 p.m. in Preston Hall, Mendocino.

Advance tickets ($20) are available at Fiddles & Cameras and Harvest Market in Fort Bragg, at Out of This World in Mendocino and at the door for $25.

Violinist Kay Stern was a founding member of the famed Lark Quartet and has toured throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia.

Of her critic Michelle Dulak said “Indeed, her's was about the most attractive violin playing I’ve heard in years.”

Pianist Joan Nagano is a founding member of the Beaumont Ensemble and has performed with Composers, Inc., the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, New Music Works, and the Empyrean Ensemble.

The duo has delighted audiences for over 12 years with their passionate performances of classical repertoire for violin and piano.

Critical acclaim has described their playing as “sassy” and electric,” combining “delicate nuance” and “magnificent bravado.”

The San Francisco Classical Voice has described them as having “impossibly impressive technique,” and “dash and elegance."