Adult erotica.

Strutting through the audience, the indomitable Tina Turner opens VH1's Divas Live 99 by launching into "Simply the Best", proving she still is. She and honorary diva Elton John belt out an energetic version of "The Bitch is Back", but the highlight is when Turner teases the captivated audience during the slow, sultry opening of "Proud Mary". A sexy dervish on stage, Turner easily out-swaggers her younger backup singer-dancers. Cher joins her to wrap up the classic hit, then segues into her own set in which she seems breathless, but you can't help admire her staying power (four decades!) and forgive her. Diva-in-training Leann Rimes performs "How Do I Live" with a sure, powerful voice. Next to her, Brandy is pleasant but unexciting. Her breathy rendition of "Everything I Do I Do for You" is disappointing, but it picks up when Faith Hill enters. Adding a passion and conviction that young Brandy can't yet muster, Hill grounds the song. Über-diva Whitney Houston gives us the drawn-out vocal gymnastics for which she's famous. Self-effacing she's not, but the girl can hold a note like nobody's business. Mary J Blige matches Houston in a charged "Ain't No Way". Divas Live 99 is a benefit for Save the Music, VH1's project to stress the importance of music education in American public schools. Though not as stunning as the previous year's Divas Live, it's still an enjoyable concert from some of music's favourite performers. --Dana Van Nest, Amazon.com

Self-defined diva Bette Midler performs her take on comedy and perverse pop music in this unforgettable concert performance, filmed live at Pasadena's Civic Auditorium&

Grab your tissues and send the guys away, because Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood is the most pedigreed chick-flick since Steel Magnolias. You can tell by the title and the novelish names of the Louisiana ladies from Rebecca Wells' precious bestseller.

First there's Sidda (Sandra Bullock), a successful playwright still wrestling with her manipulative mother, Vivi (Ellen Burstyn), after a traumatic upbringing. Then there's long-time friends Teensy (Fionnula Flanagan), Necie (Shirley Knight), and Caro (scene-stealer Maggie Smith), from Vivi's secret club of "Ya-Ya Priestesses", together since childhood and determined to heal the rift between Sidda and her mum. Through an ambitious flashback structure (including Ashley Judd as the younger Vivi), screenwriter and first-time director Callie Khouri (who wrote Thelma & Louise) establishes a rich context for this mother-daughter reunion. There's plenty of humour to temper the drama, which inspires Bullock's best work in years. Definitely worth a look for the curious, but only fans of Wells' fiction will feel any twinge of loyalty. --Jeff Shannon