Paris

Photographer Evelyn Morris will display her work at the Newport Beach Public Library through February. The French-born artist is showing pictures she took in and around Paris. Many of them showcase flowers and monuments around the city. Her pictures, she said, are inspired by her travels around the world as a singer before she became a photographer. An artist’s reception will be from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Monday in the Friends Room of the library at 1000 Avocado Ave. For more information call the library’s cultural arts office at (949)

“From Paris with Love” is from a story by Luc Besson (“The Professional”) and directed by Pierre Morel (“Taken”) so you’d expect a first-class action thriller. Class? No. But action — oui . John Travolta, gleefully playing bad-ass Special Agent Charlie Wax, literally triggers mayhem. Like Nicolas Cage, his co-star in “Face/Off,” Travolta is better when he just lets it rip, even to the point of being over-indulgent.

Is a shopping trip to Paris out of your budget? Darren Calkins has brought the Parisian experience to Costa Mesa, with his jewel box of a shop: Paris to the Moon. The store is a collection of exquisitely funky ephemera from around the world that makes for the perfect gift (or self-bestowed treat). Current offerings include glittery paper princess crowns, vintage-inspired tea towels and a collection of garden gnomes. We spoke with Calkins and his store manager, Kerri Judd.

What was clever and original in the first two "Shrek" movies has been reduced to a predictable formula in "Shrek the Third." There's still a lot of family-friendly fun on screen. A bevy of famous celebrities voice the wild characters who populate the story. Pratfalls, puns and personal zingers are still part of the show. Amusing pop culture references abound. But the great sharpness and wit of the previous films is missing in action. Most of the plot centers on Shrek trying to avoid the responsibility of becoming the new king of the realm.

Submit AFTER HOURS items to the Daily Pilot, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626; by fax to (714) 966-4679; or by calling (714) 966-4624. TODAY 'PARIS PICTURESQUE' An exhibition of photographs by artist Barbara Higgins, "Paris Picturesque," will be on display through December at French Buckets, a florist at Fashion Island in Newport Beach. Information: (800) 652-9551. NUTCRACKER! Matthew Bourne's "Nutcracker!" will borrow elements from Tchaikovsky's ballet, "Oliver Twist," the Ice Capades and Busby Berkeley musicals.

Young Chang Melinda Seely, her daughter and her granddaughter saw a different side of Paris last December. They played in the playgrounds, visited the oldest toy store in the city, drank hot chocolate at a cafe famous for the creamy treat and visited a children's museum. "We saw and went to only things that were child-friendly," said Seely, a Newport Beach resident. "We didn't try to see museums, we didn't try to see the great landmarks other than the Eiffel Tower."

Born in 1877 to a wealthy family of Paris merchants, Renault was the last of five children but the first one interested in all things mechanical. Electricity and engines were his passion and, during a time of technological changes, he was on the cutting edge. Interestingly, By the time he turned 20 he had converted his De Dion-Bouton tricycle into a small, four-wheeled vehicle. The “direct drive” followed, the first gearbox that eliminated the transmission chains and cogs that had been used until then.

Paul Saitowitz Barbara Higgins saw the light leaking through the crack in the door, and once she caught the slightest glimpse, there was no turning back. After 14 years of business suits, airports, conference calls and the like, it was time to trade in the high dollars and stress of the corporate world for a shot at doing something she loved -- photography. As soon as she stepped out from behind the corporate door, she headed for the tarmac and stepped onto a plane headed for Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.

If "American Idol" dumped the music and concentrated instead on the glorious quirks and diverting wonders of words, the show might resemble — in some tiny, fleeting, hopelessly inadequate but endearingly earnest way — the legendary performances of the ragtag band of intellectual adventurers profiled by Daniel Levin Becker in his fetching new book, "Many Subtle Channels in Praise of Potential Literature" (Harvard University Press). Levin Becker made it his mission to get to know this group, based in Paris and cloaked in myth and mystery.

Drew Graham will always have Paris. The Newport Harbor High School 1996 alumnus spent 10 years in Europe, including eight years in the City of Light, before returning home to open a Parisian vacation apartment rental agency. "With CobbleStay, we create Parisian insiders out of travelers," Graham said of the Costa Mesa-based company he launched in 2010. Upon returning home from Paris, Graham saw a need for a bridge between American travelers and French culture. "I think that it is very hard to navigate the city on so many different levels without having had the experience of living there yourself," Graham said.

I go to a Will Ferrell movie expecting juvenile humor, zany silliness and not much more. His new cop/buddy movie "The Other Guys" meets those limited expectations in spades. But this time around, there's something more that takes this effort to a slightly higher level that approaches grown-up comedy standards. This version of a funny but sometimes violent police movie shows traces of "Beverly Hills Cop. " Director and screenwriter Adam McKay rises above his former "Anchorman" material to provide a touch of biting satire to the genre.

Is a shopping trip to Paris out of your budget? Darren Calkins has brought the Parisian experience to Costa Mesa, with his jewel box of a shop: Paris to the Moon. The store is a collection of exquisitely funky ephemera from around the world that makes for the perfect gift (or self-bestowed treat). Current offerings include glittery paper princess crowns, vintage-inspired tea towels and a collection of garden gnomes. We spoke with Calkins and his store manager, Kerri Judd.

“From Paris with Love” is from a story by Luc Besson (“The Professional”) and directed by Pierre Morel (“Taken”) so you’d expect a first-class action thriller. Class? No. But action — oui . John Travolta, gleefully playing bad-ass Special Agent Charlie Wax, literally triggers mayhem. Like Nicolas Cage, his co-star in “Face/Off,” Travolta is better when he just lets it rip, even to the point of being over-indulgent.

Photographer Evelyn Morris will display her work at the Newport Beach Public Library through February. The French-born artist is showing pictures she took in and around Paris. Many of them showcase flowers and monuments around the city. Her pictures, she said, are inspired by her travels around the world as a singer before she became a photographer. An artist’s reception will be from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Monday in the Friends Room of the library at 1000 Avocado Ave. For more information call the library’s cultural arts office at (949)

When Stephanie Vazquez was a little girl, she dreamed of growing up and traveling the world. She would see France, visit the Eiffel Tower and enjoy it all with her friends. But now, Stephanie says, who needs to grow up? Stephanie was one of 10 girls who traveled with the Spotlight Spinners, a cheerleading and baton-twirling team out of Newport Heights Elementary School that recently competed at an international competition in Paris. “I didn’t think I would travel the world at 10 years old,” Stephanie said.

Even if Paris Hilton doesn’t end up making a rumored appearance at Sutra Lounge tonight, boyfriend and guest DJ Benji Madden will have a “hot” gift bag of goodies from RedLotusClothing to take home to his celebrity heartthrob. Hilton and Madden are the latest Hollywood hot couple, with sightings reported all over town since Madden announced his split from fiancée Sophie Monk several weeks ago. Madden, the guitarist and backup vocalist for Good Charlotte, an American pop-rock band founded in 1996, will expand his musical repertoire by spinning the latest hits at the Costa Mesa club, and an O.C. visit by Hilton is expected.

Born in 1877 to a wealthy family of Paris merchants, Renault was the last of five children but the first one interested in all things mechanical. Electricity and engines were his passion and, during a time of technological changes, he was on the cutting edge. Interestingly, By the time he turned 20 he had converted his De Dion-Bouton tricycle into a small, four-wheeled vehicle. The “direct drive” followed, the first gearbox that eliminated the transmission chains and cogs that had been used until then.

It’s been said that money talks. On Friday, it walked as well — in a pair of golden-yellow patent leather stilettos. Fashionably late by more than 45 minutes, Paris Hilton sashayed to the stage set up for her in Macy’s at South Coast Plaza to the sound of hip-hop music, camera flashes and adoring fans screaming, “Paris, Paris.” The stilettos were part of Hilton’s signature shoe collection, the latest in a line of products the young celebrity has endorsed, and Macy’s was chosen as the official launch site.