CRITICS' PICKS : FILM.

The inside-Malkovich story: Get into a whole new head space at ``Being John Malkovich.'' The funniest, most inventive comedy in many a moon, this surreal exploration of longing, identity and celebrity never makes a misstep along its highly original path through very strange territory.

The film is about what it says it is: life from the point of view of the oddball actor, in mundane yet somehow enticing 15-minute intervals. A woebegone puppeteer (John Cusack) discovers a secret passageway into Malkovich's brain. Soon, he's selling John rides to an eager clientele - until, that is, the actor realizes what's going on.

Cameron Diaz and Catherine Keener provide uproarious support as the film morphs into an outlandish but thoroughly convincing psychosexual juggling act. The director, music-video whiz Spike Jonze, films the whole bizarre thing as if it could happen any time, to anyone, and never loses sight of the serious human emotions that give surprising ballast to this light-footed comic fantasy.

- Bob Strauss

art

Festival of Jewish Artisans: They were known as conversos, or ``crypto-Jews,'' whose ancestors fled the Spanish Inquisition in Mexico 500 years ago, migrated north and settled in hidden communities. You'll find them depicted in the paintings of Diana Bryer, an L.A.-bred artist whose works draw inspiration from a cultural mezcla of Jewish, Southwestern and Mexican influences. So, too, does the 19th annual Festival of Jewish Artisans, which takes place this weekend at Temple Isaiah in West Los Angeles. Reflecting L.A.'s own cross-cultural character, the nearly 30 artisans represented in the show convey the variety of world cultures touched by the Jewish Diaspora. For instance, Michale Gore will be showing his Venetian glass kiddush cups and mezuzot. Middie and Richard Geisberg of Los Angeles are presenting the colorful Ethiopian textile embroideries made by Ethiopian immigrant Jews. There'll be folk music by Ellis Island Klezmer Band and Mariachi Mundiale de Mexico, drop-in workshops for adults and children and a sale of contemporary Jewish functional art, all beginning Saturday evening and continuing through Sunday afternoon. The temple is located at 10345 W. Pico Blvd. For information call [phone].

- Reed Johnson

music

Death is live at Troubadour: Despite a name that suggests black leather and metallic guitars, the intriguing British duo called Death in Vegas prove that samples, turntables, dub reggae and found beats can add up to a smashing new sound.

Springing from the London dance club scene, Death in Vegas - consisting of graphic artist/DJ Richard Fearless and engineer Tim Holmes - began attracting attention two years ago for their innovative ``Dead Elvis'' album.

The same year, Death in Vegas opened the Chemical Brothers world tour. While the headliners employed flashing strobe lights and banks of samplers and sequencers, Fearless and Holmes arrived on stage each night with actual instruments and bleak film projections.

Death in Vegas appears Saturday at the Troubadour in West Hollywood in support of their acclaimed new disc, ``The Contino Sessions'' (Time Bomb/Concrete).

The record features cameos from Jim Reid (Jesus & Mary Chain), Bobby Gillespie (Primal Scream), Dot Allison (whose solo debut ``Afterglow'' was recently issued) and Iggy Pop.

On stage, the mood will be set by visual artists Lazy Eye, plus a lineup of musicians including Primal Scream's horn section.

The Troubadour is at 9081 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood. Show time is 9 p.m. and tickets are $16.50. Information: [phone].

- Fred Shuster

Quint to make magic:This weekend offers two opportunities to hear the young, Russian-born violinist Philip Quint. Quint, who made his L.A. debut just last year, has been hailed for both his technical expertise and the warmth of his playing.

On Saturday evening, Quint plays the Mozart Violin Concerto No. 3 with the Pasadena Symphony. The orchestra also plays John Adams' ``Shaker Loops'' and Beethoven's Eighth Symphony.

Sunday afternoon Quint performs a recital at Pepperdine University in Malibu, accompanied by pianist Dmitriy Cogan. The performance will cover a good deal of stylistic ground, ranging from ``Nigun'' from ``Baal Shem'' by Ernest Bloch to ``Valse-Scherzo,'' Op. 34, by Tchaikovsky and Sonata No. 3 in D Major, Op. 9, by Jean Marie Leclair.

The Pasadena Symphony performs at 8 p.m. at Pasadena Civic Auditorium, 300 E. Green St., Pasadena. Tickets ($6-$62) available by calling the Pasadena Civic box office at [phone]. Pepperdine concert is at 2 p.m. at Raitt Recital Hall, 24255 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu. Tickets ($20) available through the box office: [phone].

- Marla Matzer

television

Culture and Courage: Tonight, the Cartoon Network premieres two new animated series. The first, ``Mike, Lu & Og,'' comes from ``Rugrats'' creative producer Chuck Swenson. It's about a young girl from New York who becomes an exchange student in an island paradise that's not terribly civilized, and the culture clash that results. So far the premise is proving to be more fanciful than funny, but it's an engaging and visually pleasant idea nonetheless. It airs at 8 tonight.

Following ``Mike, Lu & Og'' at 9 p.m. is ``Courage, the Cowardly Dog,'' a spinoff of the 1996 Oscar-nominated short ``The Chicken From Outer Space.'' Our ``hero,'' such as he is, is a tremulous pooch routinely thrust, with his hayseed owners, into terrifying paranormal situations. My 6-year-old was initially torn between being scared and being amused, but before long she was laughing uproariously. And this might be the series that actually creates the first preverbal catch-phrase - Courage's panicky, apoplectic shrieks are hilariously silly and, after a while, gratingly repetitive, inviting copious imitation.

Over on HBO at 10 p.m. Saturday is entertainment for a decidedly more mature taste: ``Richard Schimmel: Unprotected,'' an hour of pretty darn blue and often darn funny material from a guy who has long been a favorite of other comics, but who has eluded mainstream appreciation because his routines usually go that extra mile in the sex-and-scatology department. Of course he discourses at length about his and everyone else's sex life, but Schimmel's at his best when he's able to make the frantic accounts of his medical woes into toxic, dirty fun.

- David Kronke

CAPTION(S):

6 Photos

PHOTO (1) The real John Malkovich.

(2) Multicolored ceramic kiddush cup by artist Sara Mann.

(3) Silver and carnelian Hamsa brooch by Shula Baron.

(4) ``Blessing the Corn'' by Southwestern artist Diana Bryer, from the 19th annual Festival of Jewish Artisans, this weekend at Temple Isaiah in West Los Angeles.

(5) Death in Vegas' Tim Holmes, left, and Richard Fearless perform Saturday at the Troubadour.

(6) Robert Schimmel stars in ``Unprotected,'' the comic's first HBO special.