WEEK IN PREVIEW

MOVIES

In the comic romantic fable “Practical Magic,” Sandra Bullock (left) and Nicole Kidman star as two very different sisters raised by their aunts (Dianne Wiest, Stockard Channing) who imbue them with magic gifts that come with a drastic price. Also with Aidan Quinn, the film opens Friday in general release.

MOVIES

“Everest” takes us to the top of the world’s highest mountain, where director David Brashear and his team were the first to stand there with an Imax camera. Take in the expansive view when the film screens on the seven-story Imax Theater screen in Exposition Park, where it opens on Friday.

THEATER

Conjuring up ghosts, witches and spirits from the Bard’s plays, Shakespeare Festival/LA’s “Hauntings, A Shakespearean Seance” opens Saturday at the Pacific Design Center. Staged by noted Broadway director Tom O’Horgan, the production features magician Eugene Burger as the “Spirit Guide.”

MUSIC

The symphony orchestras of Pasadena and Long Beach launch winter season 1998-99 Saturday. In Pasadena, Jorge Mester leads a Leonard Bernstein program, with violinist Robert McDuffie. In Long Beach, JoAnn Falletta and company welcome Horacio Gutierrez, playing Andre Previn’s Piano Concerto (1985).

ART

Visual art and food intertwine in the humorous group exhibition “In the Polka Dot Kitchen,” opening today at Armory Center for the Arts. Artists respond to the pleasures of food and cooking in this two-site show/test kitchen (also at Otis Gallery). Above: Janine Antoni’s “Small Chocolate Gnaw” (1992).

POP MUSIC

With the buzz beginning to build for the release next month of her second album, “Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie,” Alanis Morissette will warm up for her 1999 tour with a 12-date swing through North American clubs and small theaters--including the Hollywood Palladium on Wednesday.

JAZZ

For more than two decades, the Estrada Brothers (who are inspired by the late vibraphonist Cal Tjader) have been one of the most popular Latin jazz groups based in the Los Angeles area. They will be performing at Moonlight this Tuesday, a rare departure from the club’s notable big-band series.

VIDEO

If you’ve never watched Fox’s hit “The X-Files,” the slick feature version may be a quagmire of confusion. But if you’re a series fan, you’ll probably enjoy this adventure which finds David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson uncovering more truths about aliens and the U.S. government. It lands on video shelves Tuesday.

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Early Warning: Is there a doctor in the house? Just wait until Nov. 24, when the summer hit “Dr. Dolittle,” starring Eddie Murphy, comes to video.