WEEK IN PREVIEW

MOVIES

Hong Kong superstar Chow Yun-Fat, left, makes his American movie debut in “The Replacement Killers” as a professional assassin who, in exchange for protecting his family’s safety in Beijing, takes a job with an underworld figure. The film, with Mira Sorvino, opens Friday in general release.

MOVIES

“Blues Brothers 2000” stars founding brother Dan Aykroyd with John Goodman and features return engagements from some of the R&B; musicians who were in the 1981 original. The sequel, with director John Landis also returning, co-stars Joe Morton. It opens Friday in general release.

THEATER

“West Coast Brecht Centennial Festival,” a free six-day, 24-event celebration of the 100th birthday of poet and dramatist Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956), starts Thursday. The festival, performed in venues from Los Angeles to Claremont, offers cabaret, play readings, film screenings and visual art.

MUSIC

British conductor Mark Wigglesworth returns to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion with the L.A. Philharmonic, Thursday through next Sunday. His program: Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony and, with the distinguished American musician Stephen Kovacevich as soloist, Brahms’ B-flat Piano Concerto.

MUSIC

Celebrated Israeli violinist Itzhak Perlman last played a solo recital hereabout in October 1995; Saturday he returns with his longtime pianist, Janet Goodman Guggenheim, to the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts. Included on the program are duo-sonatas by Bach, Beethoven and Ernest Bloch.

VIDEO

“Hercules” is the latest animated Disney feature to muscle its way into the hearts of kids of all ages. Funny, clever and filled with jokes adults will enjoy, “Hercules” boasts a delicious performance from James Woods as Hades. Alan Menken and David Zippel penned the score. It’ll be in stores Tuesday.

POP MUSIC

After rocking Dodger Stadium for two nights last fall, the Rolling Stones bring their “Bridges to Babylon” tour back through Southern California for a Tuesday show at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. Opening for Mick, Keith & Co. will be Santana, a recent inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

ART

Self-Help Graphics, the East L.A. art center dedicated to Chicano art, is celebrating its 25th anniversary today with a reception, from 2 to 5 p.m., and the opening of “El Big Two-Five,” an archival show of prints by artists who have exhibited at the gallery. The exhibition ends Feb. 28.

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Early Warning: New York cabaret king Bobby Short makes a rare L.A. club date with a nine-piece ensemble Feb. 24-28 at Catalina Bar & Grill.