RoadTrip

SOURCE 06-10-07 DC EE M8 CMYK

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M8 Sunday, June 10, 2007 The Washington Postx

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TITLE BASIC STORY SAMPLE GRAB GRADEWHAT YOU’LL LOVE

TOBY KEITH BY MARK HUMPHREY — ASSOCIATED PRESS; BREACH BY MICHAEL GIBSON — UNIVERSAL

“Max struck a match, lit his hand-rolled

cigarette, and inhaled deeply before he began.

In prison, every action is exaggerated, as no one

is in a hurry.”

— The author awaits his cellmate’s story about outwitting the police

The stories are quick and concise, and

it’s easy to empathize with Archer’s

idiosyncratic characters,

as morally misguided

as they may be.

The Pulitzer

Prize

winner’s fi rst

novel in 15 years is a gorgeous

meditation on one couple’s slog

through marriage, separation and

reconciliation.

Keith keeps the macho

act in check and applies

his barrel-chested

baritone to a panoply

of moods and modes.

“I ain’t asked her out yet / ’Cause I

don’t know if I can / It’s just a high

maintenance woman / Don’t want

no maintenance man”

— “High Maintenance Woman”

Vocalist Daniel Merriweather’s

rendition of the Smiths’ “Stop Me”

feels overbearing and melodramatic,

even by Morrissey’s standards.— C.R.

Some of the plot devices are waaaaytoo convoluted.

— Evan Narcisse

Why does Fonda look as though he’d rather be

smoking a joint poolside than playing history’s

most famous fallen angel?— G.Z.

There’s not enough dialogue programmed into

the game; conversations repeat ad nauseam.— Christopher Healy

In an homage to teen comedy

fi lms, the game ends with a

glimpse of how your life turns

out after graduation.

As the narrator and mysterious Caretaker,

Sam Elliott manages to escape

this fl aming turkey with his

dignity intact.

Cooper remark-

ably manages to

make a colossally

creepy traitor seem

human. A commentary track

by O’Neill and director Billy Ray

fl eshes out the DVD.

Plucked from one

timeline and inserted into

another in which he’s dead, amoral super-thief

Casanova Quinn must become a double agent

inside his father’s massive paramilitary

peacekeeping organization. Confused yet?

The producer behind

Amy Winehouse steps

into the spotlight with

a soulful solo disc of

delightful cover tunes.

Timbaland, Puffy, et

al., take note!

In this Marvel Comics-inspired

adaptation, a young stunt

motorcyclist (Nicolas Cage)

sells his soul to the Devil (Peter

Fonda) to save his father and

ends up becoming Satan’s

personal bounty hunter.

The Dixie Chicks might not be ready

to make nice, but Nashville’s favorite

alpha male is. His new album is light on

testosterone and heavy

on hooks.

Big Dog DaddyToby Keith

Show Dog Nashville

$18.98

The Maytrees By Annie Dillard

HarperCollins

$24.95

The prominent British

writer and politico spins

his stint in prison (after

a conviction for perjury)

into a collection of crime

stories.

Cat O’ Nine Tales and Other Stories By Jeffrey Archer

St. Martin’s Press

$27.95

Fraction imagines a dangerous, sexy

world of psychedelic espionage that

pays homage to its infl uences but

succeeds in being its own uniquely

trippy thrill ride.

“I’m addicted to you, but I know that

you’re toxic.”

— Ronson’s Afrobeat-inspired take on Britney Spears’s “Toxic”

Ronson’s sharp ear and killer

horn section make Radiohead’s

“Just” sound like a Specials

vamp, and they transform the

Jam’s “Pretty Green” into

a rave-worthy romp.

“The enemies of this country

aren’t so picky. They’ll work with

anyone who shares their hatred

of us.”

— Hanssen (Cooper) tries to misdirect his young charge

(Phillippe) with a little fl ag waving

“He may have my soul, but he doesn’t

have my spirit.”

— Johnny Blaze(Cage) heroically

misunderstands the wholeFaustian bargain thing

Dillard’s spare yet lofty prose teems

with unassuming power —

a talent only the most seasoned

of writers seem to master.

This true-life spy story fi nds earnest FBI trainee

Eric O’Neill (Ryan Phillippe) tasked with fi nding

intel on the seemingly pious Robert Hanssen

(Chris Cooper), whose treasonous actions

resulted in the worst security

breach in U.S. history.

The classes you take

determine how your character

develops (physics makes you smarter,

French boosts your charm).

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Phillippe tries hard but

lacks Cooper’s nuance

and is thus out-acted at

every turn.— Greg Zinman

Readers on the verge of a breakup

or blinded by the onset of a new

romance might fl inch at Dillard’s

all-too-true depiction of love’s ebb

and fl ow.— Alexis Burling

The title track is the only dud. Its

shticky bravado can’t compete with

the clever tunes that surround it.— Chris Richards

From someone who’s touted as a master

of storytelling, you’d expect something

more than a mostly unmemorable, mildly

entertaining group of tales.— Reviewed by Sara Cardace

“Theirs was too much feeling to push

through the crack that led down to

the dim world of time and stuff.”

— The Maytrees’ love affair, before the heft of time

(and life) tore it apart

“Geopolitical destabilization!

. . . I love this job!”

— Casanova’s father gets excited during a

mission briefi ng

As the new transfer student, you

need to say all the right things to

make the jocks, nerds and goths

like you — and maybe you’ll even score a date

in the process.

A

Luxuria: Casanova, Vol. 1 Matt Fraction

and Gabriel Ba

Image

$24.99

Breach Rated PG-13

Universal

$29.98

VersionMark Ronson

Red Ink

$13.98

Ghost Rider Rated PG-13

Sony

$28.95

WHAT YOU WON’T

MediaMix A Quick Take on New Releases

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Hope you’re not a lightweight: Horton Vineyards

offers more than 40 wines for sampling.

Marian Bragg, who owns Freestate Llamas, grooms herherd for a life of showmanship, celebrityhood and coddling.

Old MacDonald’s farm would look

nothing like Dixie Meadows Exotics,

home of guanacos (wild llamas), water

buffaloes, rare Tarpan horses, camels,

miniature donkeys and a zebra.

Attend a performance with Zoe the zebra and

a striped-leg “zonkey” (love child of a donkey

and a zebra) in the 130-seat theater of the

Chateauville Foundation, a nonprofit group

based on a 550-acre farm. The organization

was founded by Lorin Maazel, director of the

New York Philharmonic.

Declassified herbs? Former CIA directorPorter Goss and his wife, Mariel, run theRetreat Farm’s Village Depot, whichsells flowers and tomato plants grownon the sustainable farm.

Start here

Driver’s route

The Blue Ridge Alpaca Classic & Llama Show on June 30 is likethe Miss America pageant — but with bigger hair and longer legs.

Mmm, it’s B.O.P. tea at theTwisted Branch Tea Bazaar.

Jump for joy atSkydive Orange.

At the Lazy S Llama Ranch, cuddle the 50-odd pets or weartheir wares: The farm sells hats, socks and rugs made of llama fur.

The furry family at the AlpacaFull Moon Farm is expanding,with three recent additions andthree more due this year.

Commonwealth Parkhosts some of the mostelite and competitivehorse-jumping shows inthe country, including theShowday National (July11-15) and the CavalierClassic (July 18-22).

The buffaloes roamat Cibola Farmsbefore they headto its Trading Postfarm stand and,eventually,diners’ plates.

GROVE LANE

JEFFERSONTONROAD

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Blue Ridge AlpacaClassic & Llama Show

MarshallD.C.

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W.Va.

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WHERE: Virginia’s Piedmont region.

WHY: Pat the llamas, I spy farm-fresh food, and a zonkey!

HOW FAR: About 125 miles from start to finish.

S ure, llamas have a spitting habit and a teen-queen attitude, but their lashes areto die for.

“It’s hard not to like them. They’re so Zen,” says Paige McGrath, who keepsabout 100 llamas at her Lower Sherwood Llama Farm in Charlottesville. “Theyhave an expression on their face as if they have the answers to the universe and

they’re not telling.” In Virginia, 552 farms raise more than 3,500 of the shaggy pack animals. The state also

has a slew of llama events, such as the June 30 Blue Ridge Alpaca Classic & Llama Show,which McGrath describes as “a cross between a dog show and horse show.” About 200llamas and alpacas, the llama’s smaller cousin, will strut their stuff in the ring or competein an obstacle course in Afton, near Charlottesville.

During the summer, the South American natives sport hot-weather “hairdos”: a mop-top head on a long neck and shorn body. Farmers clip the woolly coats each spring for thefleece and to help the animals cope with the heat. Some farms, such as the Alpaca FullMoon Farm and the Lazy S Llama Ranch, sell the fiber or turn it into socks, hats, blan-kets, teddy bears and other items.

Other farmers breed, show or keep llamas as pets, or train them to be pack animals orguard llamas. No, guard llamas don’t bark, but they can shriek like Fay Wray. “It’s enoughto scare a predator off,” says Pat Sher, who co-owns the Lazy S ranch in RappahannockCounty.

Yet these members of the camel family also mew like kittens and smile like cheesy tour-ists. When Sher pulls out the horse snacks, Maggie, Little Maxie, Chocolate Chip andother llamas scoot across the 25-acre pasture, huddle around her and stretch their lipsand grin. Nice llama.

— Barbara SaffirMost farms that raise llamas or alpacas are open to the public by appointment.

Road Trip maps are available at www.washingtonpost.com/roadtrip, asare addresses and hours of operation (be sure to check before you go). Have

an idea for a trip? E-mail roadtrip@washpost.com.

Virginia’s Land of Llamas

WEDNESDAY IN STYLE Escapes visits Chapel Hill, Durham and Raleigh, N.C.

MAP BY JEROME COOKSON FOR THE WASHINGTON POST; PHOTOS BY BARBARA SAFFIR FOR THE WASHINGTON POST

Proofed by: phadkep Time: 10:25 - 06-08-2007 Separation: C M Y K HIGH-RES PROOF. IMAGES ARE RIPPED. FULL PROOF INTEGRITY.Product: SOURCE LayoutDesk: SOU PubDate: 06-10-07 Zone: DC Edition: EE Page: RDTRIP