Al Griffin

Speaker maker JBL is just one part of the Harman International family, but for a brand that makes up only a single slice of a large pie, it has an incredibly diverse product mix. Along with home theater speakers, JBL makes systems for music-recording and film sound-mixing studios, movie theaters, concert halls, computers, and cars.

An edgy update, CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (Warner; Movie •••^½, Picture/Sound ••••, Extras ••••) takes several liberties with Roald Dahl's classic book, but it also manages to convey the story's dark humor.

Sony Bravia KDL-46S200 46-inch, 1080p LCD HDTV

As usual, there's no shortage of cool HDTVs to check out here at CES. But a few new developments have caught my attention - all of them good, and all worth considering as you make plans to invest in a new high-def set.

Badly dubbed dialogue and exaggerated acting make martial-arts movies unintentionally funny (to Westerners, at least). But in Kung Fu Hustle (Sony; Movie ••••, Picture/Sound ••••^½, Extras •••• ), director Stephen Chow sets out to grab laughs by mining the genre's clichés.