Chris Young plays March 12 at Oklahoma City Arena. (Archive photo by Nathan Poppe, For The Oklahoman)

From passionate balladeer to down-home party animal, Chris Young let fans hear his varied “Voices” Friday night at the Diamond Ballroom, where he played a solo show during a break from touring with country A-lister and Tishomingo resident Miranda Lambert.

Stalwartly weathering bitter cold outside and oppressive heat inside, hundreds of fans in cowboy hats, boots and embellished jeans whooped wildly as the up-and-coming country star took the stage nearly 40 minutes after …

From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.

“The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall”

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s smash spectacle gets an appropriately lavish 25^th anniversary celebration with “The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall.”

Widely considered the most successful entertainment project in history, the silver anniversary production was staged in grand fashion in October and beamed to movie theaters worldwide. Even fans who have seen “The Phantom” performed live and in person will be impressed at the royal treatment the musical receives …

From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman. 

“A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas”

No holiday custom goes unbesmirched, no ethnic or religious stereotype is left untapped, no boundary of good taste is untested in “A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas,” the third installment in the uproarious if uneven stoner comedy series.

The series’ screenwriters, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, deserve credit for letting their characters grow up — well, sort of — which means they have more on their mind than finding the nearest burger joint where they can …

From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.

Country

Dierks Bentley “Home” (Capitol Nashville)

After earning widespread critical acclaim with his 2010 progressive bluegrass album “Up on the Ridge,” Dierks Bentley returns to commercial country with “Home,” a solid collection of party songs, ballads and anthems anchored by the well-crafted title track.

The Arizona native wrote “Home,” his latest top 10 hit, with Dan Wilson and his album’s co-producer Brett Beavers in the days after the 2011 Tucson shooting spree that killed six people and injured 13, including former U.S. …

From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman. 1 1/2 of 4 stars.

Movie review: ‘The Grey’
Director/co-writer Joe Carnahan’s attempts to mix pulp and philosophy just make a muddled mess of his grim survival thriller.

Director/co-writer Joe Carnahan’s attempts to mix pulp and philosophy just make a muddled mess of “The Grey”

For the grim survival thriller, “The A-Team” helmer reunites with late-career action star Liam Neeson, one of the few actors I can think of who can believably play a deeply depressed sharp-shooter who spouts poetry one moment …

From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.

Country

Tim McGraw “Emotional Traffic” (Curb Records)

After two years of waiting and a long-in-coming legal drama, fans of Tim McGraw finally have the chance to get caught in the country music superstar’s “Emotional Traffic,” his final album for Curb Records, the independent label he started his career with back in the early 1990s.

Released Tuesday, “Emotional Traffic” doesn’t live up to McGraw’s declaration of “my best album ever” boldly stickered on the CD case. Nor does it give any credence to …

Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan again prove they are two of the brightest young stars working in the movie business in the decidedly dark drama “Shame.”

If there was any justice in Hollywood — no guarantees there — Fassbender (“X-Men: First …

A version of this review appears in Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.

“Real Steel” Blu-ray + DVD

“Real Steel” wins in a surprising decision on the strength of its one-two punch: hard-hitting robot action crossed with a tender father-son story.

Directed by Shawn Levy (the “Night at the Museum” franchise), the action-drama puts a sci-fi, near-future twist on the timeworn but still entertaining underdog sports movie formula. The sport of boxing has some particularly mighty forays into the genre under its belt. While “Real Steel” doesn’t measure up …

From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman. 

Country

Cory Morrow “Live at Billy Bob’s Texas: Acoustic” (Smith Music Group)

Texas country star Cory Morrow turns one of his home state’s best-known honky tonks into an intimate setting ideal for sharing earnest ballads, fervent spiritual odes and rowdy story-songs with his “Live at Billy Bob’s Texas: Acoustic” CD and DVD.

Last June, the Lone Star State standout became the 40th performer to record a live album on the famed Fort Worth stage. He also made there a dynamic electric album, …

From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.

Country

Cory Morrow “Live at Billy Bob’s Texas” (Smith Music Group)

Texas country standout Cory Morrow may be barefoot, but he gives a boot-stomping performance in the latest installment of the long-running “Live at Billy Bob’s Texas” CD/DVD series.

Known for his high-energy but shoeless singing and strumming, the Lone Star State star becomes the 40^th performer to do a live album at the Fort Worth honky tonk. He also made at the famed venue an acoustic album that I’ll review …