Metro - Entertainment

US – Monday, March 15

The week's releases

Metro staff reviews the latest CDs, DVDs and books for your reading pleasure.

Get to know ... KIDZ IN THE HALL

Like Kid Cudi and the Cool Kids, hip-hop group Kidz in the Hall are often labeled hipsters. They don’t necessarily take issue with that.

My Entertainment

THE WEEK THAT WAS

Guardian of poor taste?
When British newspaper The Guardian wanted to illustrate their article on the Vatican’s gay sex scandal, they used this photo of Cardinals lining up for the pope’s blessing. The picture, however, has nothing to do with the actual Vatican scandal — except to imply that the pope is running some sort of old-white-guy sex ring.

Is nothing in her life real anymore?

When we first read that Heidi Pratt was firing husband Spencer Pratt as her manager, we thought, “Yay! Heidi’s new face is finally doing something right!” But then we found out that although she did fire Spencer, it seems like she’s replacing him with psychic Aiden Chase to take the reigns on her “career” — and then we got scared.

New Pattinson flick not very memorable

REVIEWS. Whether it’s distracting or commendable, “Remember Me” is completely aware of how many times you’ve seen its tricks before. After a kitchen water fight breaks out between Brooding Bookstore Guy (Robert Pattinson) and Plucky Blue- Collar Queens Girl (Emilie de Ravin), they concede that this is the stuff of bad romantic comedies. But this time is different — she bests him with a pot full of spaghetti water before running around in a soaked white T-shirt and eventually making him French toast in oversized PJs.

Photo: SCOTT GARFEILDForest Whitaker has some tough acts to follow

Broad comedy isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when people think of Forest Whitaker. But the Oscar-winning actor saw his latest film, “Our Family Wedding,” as a chance to stretch himself. He sat down with Metro to talk about his process as an actor and surviving a pastry fight with co-star Regina King.

The Word

Where did all of Robert’s rabid fans go?

Well, at least he still has his looks: Robert Pattinson’s first big non-”Twilight” film, “Remember Me,” had a dismal fourth place opening this weekend with $8.3 million in box-office sales (“Alice in Wonderland” remained No. 1 with $62 million, “Green Zone,” debuted at No. 2 with $14.5 million, “She’s Out of My League” was No. 3 with $9.6 million).

My Television

Metro’s spring ’10 guide to television

Check us out all this month for our picks for the best series premieres, season returns and must-see episodes.

CLICK ON CHART TO ENLARGE

CLICK ON CHART TO ENLARGE

Music

No living man but Jay-Z could get a sold out Boston arena so excited about New York City. But for two hours last night, the sold out crowd at the Garden was in an Empire State of Mind, as “The Blueprint 3” tour rolled into town.

My Television

Back in the trenches

Steven Spielberg makes strikingly vivid, breathtakingly poetic movies about some of the most terrifying conflicts in the history of man. The filmmaking aesthetic he pioneered with “Saving Private Ryan” — and continues to perfect in HBO’s new WWII miniseries, “The Pacific” — was born out of a desire to translate as honestly as possible his conversations with veterans on their combat experience.

Pattinson: A vampire in Brooklyn

Robert Pattinson has been playing Americans so often that he has forgotten how to talk like a Brit. In his latest, “Remember Me,” the “Twilight” heartthrob stars as a soulful young New Yorker attending NYU, but he insists he didn’t need any help sounding like a native. “I’ve never had a dialect coach or anything,” Pattinson says. “Ironically, I’ve only had a dialect coach for this film I’m doing now, which I’m doing in an English accent. I guess I’ve forgotten how to do an English accent.”

New York Music

Ain’t wastin’ time no more

For nearly 20 years, the Allman Brothers Band have made the Beacon Theatre their home away from Georgia for the month of March. But this year they’ve moved their residency over to the United Palace Theatre. Why?

Movies

Movie can’t make it past minor ‘League’

REVIEW. Lame Hollywood romantic comedies love women; they just don’t like to identify them by name. We’ve seen “She’s All That,” “She’s Out of Control,” “She’s the Man” and “She’s the One” in our local cineplexes. If you remember the plot of one of them, gold star for you.

Movies

Just say ‘I don’t’

REVIEW. After years of playing an Ugly Betty, it’s understandable that the lovely America Ferrera succumbed to the all-consuming power of a princess bridal gown. For that, we will forgive her for “Our Family Wedding.”

Movies

Damon’s latest not quite in the ‘Zone’

REVIEW. “Green Zone” wants to be both a complicated drama about the questionable motives behind the U.S. invasion of Iraq and a relentless action thriller. Each element is done well in isolated sequences, but they are awkwardly shoehorned together into a two-hour running time that can barely contain all of the ideas and explosions.

3 Things Jessica didn’t know about beauty

In “The Price of Beauty,” a new docu-reality series premiering Monday on VH1, Jessica Simpson and her best friends, CaCee Cobb and hairstylist Ken Paves, travel the world learning the meaning of physical attractiveness as defined by various cultures — and find out blond bombshell isn’t the universal sex symbol. Here are a few other things Simpson found out.

The March MMMpod features conversation and music from Surfer Blood and The Allman Brothers Band (There's a double-bill you're not too likely to see. However, Gregg Allman does mention Hannah Montana!). We also speak with Vampire Weekend and the Dropkick Murphys.