Maverick filmmaker Robert Rodriguez famously got his big start in show business over twenty years ago putting together a successful indie film on a shoestring budget.

As the writer and director, Rodriguez’s “El Mariachi” became a cult hit.

A few years later, Rodriguez delivered a sequel with Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek in “Desperado.”

Shortly thereafter, in collaboration with Quentin Tarantino penning the script, Rodriguez directed the crime and horror film “From Dusk Till Dawn,” which also achieved cult status.

The significance of Rodriguez’s early career moves is evident with the recent launch of the El Rey Network, a 24-hour English language cable channel, which is culturally diverse and just might tilt to the Hispanic audience. Univision holds a minority stake in the network.

For the time being, El Rey Network, which is perhaps unfamiliar to most TV viewers, functions with a minimum of original programming.

In fact, El Rey’s first original series was “From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series,” which is now gearing up for shooting in Austin, Texas in October for its sophomore season.

Meanwhile, conveniently occurring during the time of year that the nation’s TV critics are gathered in Beverly Hills to preview new programming, the El Rey Network is launching the spy thriller series “Matador,” the story of a professional soccer player who uses the sport as a cover for his covert activities on behalf of the CIA.
   
Another expedient circumstance is that “Matador,” with its backdrop of professional soccer, debuts on Tuesday, July 15, offering the El Rey Network the good fortune of its series launch only two days after the World Cup final.

In “Matador,” Gabriel Luna stars as Tony “Matador” Bravo, the secret agent who succeeds in the tryouts for the L.A. Riot team by taking out a top player known as “The Bull,” and henceforth acquiring his “Matador” nickname and the attention of the team owner.

Alfred Molina’s Andres Galan is the owner of the Los Angeles soccer franchise and a person of interest to the CIA for his shady, corrupt international dealings.

In a cast that is heavily Latino, Nicky Whelan stands apart as Annie Mason, Bravo’s beautiful control agent who serves as the head of an obscure branch of the CIA.

Only minutes into the first episode of “Matador” the Robert Rodriguez touch is viscerally realized when a minor character takes a meat cleaver to the head, creating the instant shock value that is a trademark of grindhouse cinema in general.

Speaking to TV critics, Rodriguez, who directed the premiere episode of “Matador,” insisted that the brutally violent act “was in the script” and that the scene was “written that way.” The director said he told his writers that everyone would think that the incident was his idea.

No matter where the idea emanates, brutally violent actions that are vastly unpredictable are very much in the wheelhouse of the Rodriguez school of what could be called “good bad movies” that result from targeted exploitation.

“Matador” obviously and adroitly plans to keep the audience on edge. Rodriguez noted that the vicious feat “came in as such a shock” and to establish the violence early results in the audience not knowing what is going to happen.

Astutely, the director observed, in reference to the meat cleaver scene, that “you don’t have to do it very much because that’s in their head now.” He’s quite right about that, as the tension holds in many scenes that could have turned grisly or cruel.

Based on the intrigue and incredible action of the first episode, “Matador” looks like it could put the El Rey Network on the map.

The adventures of Agent Bravo, thrust into a clandestine world and balancing his dueling roles, will certainly prove dangerous and provocative.

The business model for the cable channel will be heavily focused on movies that fit the Rodriguez paradigm. Let’s just say you won’t be seeing “The Sound of Music” or anything resembling a musical, unless it’s a gangster carrying a guitar case.

Coming this fall, El Rey seeks to expand its commitment to original content with a second night of programming anchored by two new unscripted series.

“Lucha: Uprising” (a working title) features the high-flying antics and colorful world of freestyle Mexican wrestling.

Mexican wrestling is fun to watch. I am not sure what to make of “Cutting Crew,” which explores the edgy artistry of a dynamic team of barbers who have made a name for themselves at a Philadelphia barbershop by thinking outside the stylist box. Apparently these “scissor-happy” artists are a raucous bunch dishing a lot of jokes and banter.

At the TV press conference, Scott Sassa, Vice Chair of the network, asked TV critics to think of El Rey as the “Turner Classic Movies of action, horror, grindhouse, kung fu, blaxploitation, or any other genre that movie fans love.”

It seems only fitting then that the cable channel’s motto is “Ride with El Rey,” inviting viewers watching the channel’s programs to come along for a wild adventure.

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

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Local favorite Whispering Light will perform for the Lake County Wine Adventure weekend at Twin Pine Casino this Saturday, July 26, and Sunday, July 27, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

Nationally acclaimed Whispering Light is the duo of Native American  Music Awards nominee Kevin Village-Stone (Native American flutes, bass, keyboards) and award-winning guitarist Lindy Day (classical, acoustic,  electric, saxophone, percussion).

This year, they released their new album “One Tribe” in 220 countries  and 37 online retailers including iTunes, Amazon, Google and Sony.

Whispering Light just finished their CD release party at Featherbed Railroad Bed and Breakfast Resort here in Nice.

“What an incredible pleasure it was having you here to liven our garden and weekend with your beautiful music,” said Tony and Peggy Barthel, owners of Featherbed. “We hope this isn't the last time we  ave an event like this with you and we absolutely share our guests' joy in how wonderful it is to both work with you and also how incredible a  show you put on. You both are magical.”

For details on Whispering Light or the Twin Pine Casino performance visit www.WhisperingLight.com or call Twin Pine Casino at 800-564-4872.

PLANES: FIRE & RESCUE (Rated PG)

Disney Studios comes to the rescue for families with kids in a summer movie season filled mostly with adult fare and a fair share of lousy action pictures (think the latest “Transformers”).  

Anyone would be hard-pressed to find something objectionable about “Planes: Fire & Rescue” as family entertainment, most especially for impressionable young children under the age of ten.

In true Disney fashion, “Planes” cleverly imagines a fantasy world inhabited only by talking inanimate objects, namely anything motorized, from SUVs and campers, fire trucks and mechanical equipment on wheels, to various types of aircraft.

At the film’s opening, the ostensible star of this adventure comedy is world-famous air racer Dusty Crophopper (voiced by Dane Cook), a spirited single-engine airplane who’s preparing to put on an aerial display of speed and daring stunts during the upcoming Corn Festival.

During a test run, Dusty comes perilously close to his last ride when it is learned that his gearbox is irreparably damaged, thus not allowing him to push his speed to the ultimate racing limit.

Dusty’s not about to return to the crop dusting business, so he looks for a second chance to join a dynamic crew of elite firefighting aircraft devoted to protecting historic Piston Peak National Park from raging wildfire.

But first, Dusty needs to be certified for his new career, and this requires training exercises conducted by hardened veteran fire-and-rescue helicopter Blade Ranger (Ed Harris), who’s not that impressed with his trainee’s celebrity status as a well-known air racer.

Dusty gets a better reception from flirty female air tanker Lil’ Dipper (Julie Bowen), the inscrutable heavy-lift helicopter Windlifter (Wes Studi), ex-military transport Cabbie (Dale Dye), and a lively bunch of brave all-terrain vehicles known as the Smokejumpers.

To be sure, Dusty may be demoralized that his glory days are something of the past, but it is no surprise to any adult that the little airplane that could will have its chance to prove to be heroic.

To push into familiar territory that would allow for acts of valor, the story sets up a bad guy in Cad Spinner (John Michael Higgins), a luxury SUV, who happens to be the Superintendent of Piston Peak fixated on showing off the park’s refurbished old lodge as a great tourist attraction.
 
Interestingly, Cad Spinner wants to impress his boss, the Secretary of the Interior (Fred Willard), the overseer of the National Parks. Represented by a 1968 Ford Bronco, this rugged outdoorsman does not flaunt his authority, unlike the smarmy park superintendent.

Blade Ranger and his crew are not enamored with the self-centered Park Superintendent, who has been diverting a big chunk for the firefighters’ budget to his lodge restoration project.

Things go wrong on the night of grand opening of Cad Spinner’s beloved old lodge, where the guests include an old married couple, Harvey and Winnie (Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara), two vintage campers wanting to celebrate their 50th anniversary of their honeymoon at Piston Peak.

The beauty of Piston Peak is lovingly advanced by loyal and trustworthy tour bus Ol’ Jammer (Barry Corbin), a gentle old soul who shares his love of the park’s history with a multitude of admiring daily visitors. Ol’ Jammer’s devotion is soon rewarded.

Predictably, a huge wildfire breaks out that threatens the major infrastructure of Piston Peak, putting a lodge full of automotive guests in peril. Naturally, Dusty, the neophyte firefighter, rises to the occasion, putting his own life in danger by exceeding the speed capacity of his gearbox to drop water on the forest flames.

There’s plenty of smoke, fire and water to go with the fast-moving action of “Planes: Fire & Rescue,” resulting in spectacular firefighting scenes that pay appropriate homage to dedicated wildlife firefighters everywhere.

Not surprisingly, this Disney film is lavishly illustrated to achieve a visual fluidity that is enhanced by the 3-D experience. The fire effects are especially dazzling and brightly realized.

A nice touch, mostly for the adults in tow, is the gentle spoof of vintage television. Erik Estrada provides the voice of America’s favorite helicopter cop Nick “Loopin” Lopez, star of CHoPs, a show about two California Helicopter Patrol choppers.

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

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Mark your calendars for “Symphony on the Lake” on Saturday, Aug. 16, a special fundraiser event for the Lake County Symphony Association.

The chamber music concert and twilight dinner overlooking beautiful Clear Lake will be held at Riviera Hills Golf and Country Club restaurant, 10200 Fairway Drive in Kelseyville.

Proceeds will help the organization provide scholarships, fund their youth education programs as well as the symphony.

The Lake County Symphony Chamber orchestra, under the direction of John Parkinson, will be performing music of Handel, Mozart and Telemann, and there will be a special appearance of Brasstastic!, the popular Northern California brass quintet.

The evening starts at 5 p.m. with sumptuous hors d'oeuvres served to all guests, and there will be a no host bar.

The concert starts at 6 p.m. on the patio overlooking the lake, and at 7:30 p.m. there will be a dinner in the banquet room.

A glass of wine is provided with the dinner choices, and the door prize is a basket of assorted Lake County Wines.

The price for all of this is only $75 per person, and the proceeds will help continue music programs in Lake County.
 
Brasstastic! – composed of members hailing from several counties in Northern California – will open the show. The group features Gary Miller and Dale Spencer on trumpet, Mike Thompson on horn, Brynn Stirling on trombone and Jake Turner on tuba.
 
Then the chamber orchestra will play Baroque selections starting with Handel's “Entrance of the Queen of Sheba” from “Solomon” followed by the beautiful Telemann double Flute concerto in A minor.

Featured flutists are Patricia Jekel, principal flute from the symphony and Audrey Gramke from Ukiah.

The horn section will be featured in the next selection which is also by Georg Philipp Telemann. It is the Suite for 2 horns and orchestra in F major, and will be followed by Serenade No. 2, a lively contradance by W.A. Mozart.

The concert will conclude with three very familiar selections from the Watermusik Suite by Handel.

Reservations close on July 31 so hurry to get your tickets.

For tickets, credit card sales and information on this special event, call 707-277-8172 or 707-245-1755, or visit http://www.clearlakeperformingarts.com/schedule.html .

Who hasn’t wished he or she could talk to a carnival worker and find out what their lives are like? Everybody, perhaps, but the carnival workers.

Here’s a poem by Mark Kraushaar of Wisconsin that captures one of those lives.

The Ring Toss Lady Breaks a Five

It’s all of it rigged, she says,
Bust-one-wins, Hi-striker, even the Dozer.
It’s like you think you’ll score that giant panda
for the wife except you can’t, or not
without you drop another twenty
and then—what?—then you win
a thumb-sized monkey or a little comb.
She hands me five ones and then stands.
She’s worked the whole of the midway,
she says, funnel cake to corn-dogs.
She’s worked every game
plus half the rides, Krazy Koaster,
Avalanche, Wing-Ding, Tilt-a-Whirl
and if there’s somebody sick she’ll do
a kiddy ride too, Li’l Choo-choo, maybe
the Tea Cup.
There’s a collapsing soft sigh
and she sits, opens the paper, turns a page
and as if she were the one assigned to face forwards,
as if it were her job to intuit the world
and interpret the news,
Anymore, she says, it’s out of our hands,
it’s all we can do—it’s not up to you.
You see that bald bronco tearing
tickets at the carousel?
We worked the Bottle-drop
and now he’s mine: he’s no genius
but he loves me and he’s mine.
Things happen, she says, you
can’t take them back.

American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation ( www.poetryfoundation.org ), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2013 by the Alaska Quarterly Review. Mark Kraushaar’s most recent book of poems is The Uncertainty Principle, Waywiser Press, 2012. Poem reprinted from the Alaska Quarterly Review, Vol. 30, No. 1 & 2, by permission of the publisher. Introduction copyright © 2014 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. They do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.

COBB, Calif. – Hot on the heels of its Aug. 16 45th anniversary Heroes of of Woodstock event featuring Jefferson Starship, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Canned Heat, Imperial Messenger Service, and Country Joe McDonald, Hoberg’s Resort and Spa is excited to announce an Aug. 17 Summer of Love concert featuring Elvin Bishop, Lydia Pense and Cold Blood and It’s a Beautiful Day.

Doors will open at noon.  

The three bands could have played together at Fillmore West – and they haven’t lost a step since then. These are fiercely good musicians still at the top of their game.

Elvin Bishop came to notice in 1965 as a member of the legendary Butterfield Blues Band, the new generation of Chicago blues, yet he may be getting his best reviews now for his soon-to-be-released Alligator Records release Can’t Even Do Wrong Right.

Sizzlingly brilliant slide guitar chops mix with a good-timey feel that makes you laugh and dance.

Elvin’s had hits – “Fooled Around and Fell In Love” – and is a part of legend, but the fact is, he’s never faded as a great player committed to the blues.

When Entertainment Weekly sees that a CD – his 1998 The Skin I’m In – is nothing but “sheer, unpretentious joy,” you know he’s doing something right.

There were great women vocalists in the San Francisco scene – Janis Joplin and Grace Slick come to mind – but no one out-sang Lydia Pense, and Cold Blood was one of the truly great bands.

Mixing R & B with powerhouse rock and roll, Lydia and Cold Blood joined with Tower of Power and created what was known as East Bay Grease – funky, soulful, and truly delicious.

It’s A Beautiful Day is undoubtedly among the most distinctive of all the Summer of Love San Francisco bands, not least because it was created by violinist David LaFlamme, a veteran of the Utah Symphony Orchestra.

With his wife Linda on keyboards, they developed a truly unique sound fusing jazz, rock, folk, world beat and classical styles into a true thing of beauty, best remembered for the sad, lyrical masterpiece “White Bird.”

Unfortunately, the song came out of their experience of being caged by a most peculiar manager named Matthew Katz, one of the primary reasons they did not experience the success they deserved. Nonetheless, their musical quality endures – they are not to be missed.

Tickets cost $27 in advance and are available at www.Ticketfly.com . The cost for tickets at the door is    $35 per person.

For more information visit www.hobergsresort.com or call the Cobb Mountain Concert Series hotline 866-622-7709.