There’s a simple explanation for why George Clooney’s Leatherheads (no. 3) performed well below expectations this weekend: it just wasn’t that good of a movie. Were 21 (no. 1) or horror flick The Ruins (no. 2)—both outgrossed Leatherheads here in the city, with 21 managing to more than double Leatherheads’ receipts—that much better? No, at Read More
MONDAY
Start fresh! That’s what ABC is begging its viewers to do tonight with Samantha Who? (9:30 p.m.). Its rookie run had been going swimmingly until the writers strike. Starring Christina Applegate and Melissa McCarthy (Sookie from the Gilmore Girls), the show returns in the midst of a heated battle for Monday nights.
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R.E.M. releases its 14th album, Accelerate, today. According to most accounts, it’s a return to their Athens, Ga. roots. Spin writes rather breathlessly, “They haven’t sounded this surprised with themselves since 1998′s Up, haven’t made an album this consistent since 1992′s Automatic for the People, and haven’t redlined so engagingly since 1986′s Life’s Rich Pageant.” Read More
It’s been a decade since Rounders, the last (and perhaps only) good film dedicated exclusively to card-playing. And while this weekend’s box office winner, 21 (no. 1), doesn’t take over that mantle, it does raise the question why Hollywood hasn’t made this their bailiwick more often. Card-playing is always the bridesmaid, never the bride, good Read More
MONDAY
While CBS may be getting shellacked in the ratings war by Fox (who isn’t, really?), that doesn’t mean the network with a reputation for being a little bit stodgy (sorry, Les) doesn’t have a few tricks up its sleeve. How I Met Your Mother (CBS, 8:30 p.m.) is a case study in how Read More
The original release date for Gnarls Barkley’s second album, The Odd Couple, was April 8. But the creative partnership of Cee-Lo Green and Danger Mouse has always marched to the beat of its own drum machines; they pushed up the date a couple weeks at the last minute. We were certainly curious whether the new Read More
Judging by box office—and the box office never lies—the one thing Good Friday was good for was taking your kid to the movies. Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! (No. 2) hauled in $25 million in its second weekend, easily winning the top spot nationally. And Manhattanites were equally irreligious, though marginally different in the Read More
MONDAY
Don’t call it a comeback. Britney Spears dusts herself off and puts on some glasses (prop?) to play an amorous receptionist on How I Met Your Mother (CBS, 8:30 p.m.). Sadly, between her custody battles, mental breakdowns, and her ill-chosen affair with a paparazzo, the cameo amounts to the only good press the Read More
On the heels of the manic, overwhelming SXSW festival, it may be difficult to get excited about a couple of ordinary album releases. But his week has it all: a pleasant surprise, a couple of highly-anticipated veteran releases, an introduction, and a catchy single.
You may have never heard of She & Him, but you’ve Read More
If you don’t have a kid, chances are you didn’t go to the movies this weekend. Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! (No. 1), which grossed an astounding $45 million nationally, was the only movie to open this weekend to crack the top five in box office receipts in the city. And it’s not as Read More
