Entertainment Picks: Dawn of a new power era

Movies


Heath Ledger and Sienna Miller star in Casanova, the fabled tale of a slutty man learning about love against an exquisite Venetian backdrop (the city, not the blinds). Try not to imagine Miller's face morphing into Jake Gyllenhaal's and you should find it perfectly convincing.

Alyson Hannigan (American Pie) risks her dignity in Date Movie, a rom-com spoof from two of the writers behind Scary Movie. Expect cheap imitations of the fake orgasm from When Harry Met Sally, the marriage counselling scene from Mr & Mrs Smith and the fat from My Big Fat Greek Wedding. And watch for Aussie pop singer Sophie Monk sending up Paris Hilton's hamburger ads.

Harrison Ford plays a security agent in Firewall and Paul Bettany plays the thug. It's classic Ford thriller territory - our hero gets to act cranky, defend his family and run like a fugitive. And as one critic notes, "He has fought more guys while wearing a sports jacket and a tie than any man in history." That's gotta count for something.

In Hustle & Flow - a favourite at the Sundance Film Festival - a Memphis pimp goes through a mid-life crisis as he tries to make it as a rapper. Well forgive me, but every time I try to make it as a rapper I have a similar experience. At least this one has Terence Howard as opposed to a real hip-hop artist trying to act.

Finally, Laura Linney, Jeff Daniels and Kiwi Anna Paquin star in the Oscar-nominated The Squid and the Whale (Rialto), about kids suffering from their parents' divorce. Warning: it's set in the 80s, when blouses and bowl cuts knew no bounds.

TV

How hard it is to find a needle in a haystack? Would you really go mad if water dropped continuously on your forehead? If you swallowed an octopus egg, would your baby have eight limbs? Special effects experts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman investigate such urban legends on MythBusters (Prime, 8.30pm, tonight). Here's one we bet they didn't test: will the women in your household really walk out if you switch over from Desperate Housewives? (Monday, TV2, 8.30pm).

While we're on the topic, bitchy Amber from Footballers Wives returns in Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee, (tomorrow, TV One, 9.35pm) as a career woman who uses her two best friends as subjects for a film about the Asian community. The show is adapted by The Kumars' granny Meera Syal from her novel, and co-starring her real-life husband Sanjeev Bhaskar.

In Jerry Bruckheimer's Close to Home (Wednesday, TV One, 9.25pm). Jennifer Finnigan plays Annabeth Chase, a suburban mother struggling with the work-life balance.

The top 16 contestants are revealed in a 90-minute special of So You Think You Can Dance? (Sunday, TV2, 7.30pm). Minus the ad breaks, that means we get almost five minutes to study each of them.

Also this week: witness the surely ugly aftermath of The Beauty and the Geek (Friday, TV3, 7.30pm) and meet the mostly-new cast of Spooks series four, (Thursday, TV One, 9.45pm).

Social

Ohio husband and wife art-pop band Over the Rhine perform at Match bar on Thursday. The duo have opened for Bob Dylan and toured with Cowboy Junkies. And we're invited to ogle their White Stripes-esque dynamic.

Music

The terms "hammered dulcimer" and "two-stringed fiddle" don't exactly inspire the most cultured thoughts although that was probably Paul McLaney's intention. The Gramsci singer performs new songs at the Odeon on Thursday night with a little help from husband-and-wife musicians William Yu and Tanya Li on traditional Chinese instruments.

Concord Dawn's new album is out soon and it's going to blow your drums and basses out of the window. Hear some of this ear-bending new material head at the Vesbar, AUT, on Thursday.

Erick Morillo and Armin Van Buuren may be wearing sunglasses inside when they headline Godskitchen at the Telstra Clear Pacific Stadium, Manukau on Friday. As might Deja Voodoo, promoting their new single, Can't Do at 4:20 on Friday, with support from the Rock'n'Roll Machine and Foamy Ed (Lani goes out with Matt, don't ya know).

And Finnish one-hit wonders Bomfunk MCs (Freestyler "rock the microphone, straight from the top of my dome", etc) play the St James on Saturday as part of Orientation.

Also this week: Cassette share the bill with Woodview and the Reduction Agents, Wednesday, Dogs Bollix; UB40 play the Pacific Events Centre, Manukau, tonight; and Stevie Nicks, John Farnham and Vanessa Carlton play the North Harbour Stadium, on Saturday.

Game

No, that blot on the landscape is not a grounded UFO. It's the country's biggest bus, giving game hogs the chance to try out the new Xbox 360 IDU console before it's released on March 23. Registrations to play on Friday have closed but the bus will be at Smales Farm Technology Park, Takapuna on Saturday and the Pacific Events Centre, Manukau, on Sunday. Go to the link below to sign up.