Entertainment picks: In with a fighting chance

Music

The Foo Fighters' gig at the Supertop on Saturday has sold out but there seems to be an abundance of tickets going on trademe.co.nz. By Friday, one cunning punter had secured a bid of $140 for "1 standard envelope. It comes with 2 FREE GA FOO FIGHTERS TICKETS". Get in quick folks, that's a bargain.

But if you're looking for live music of the funky variety, the 95bFM True School Hip-hop Show goes live from Safari Lounge, Ponsonby on Thursday, 9-11pm.

The special broadcast is to celebrate D Form and Mouli officially taking over from P-Money. They're joined by Frontline, the Down Low and Michael Pipes with DMN.

And on Friday, Alice Russell, the small white soul singer who sounds big and black, is performing with the Quantic Soul Orchestra, with British producer Will Holland, at the Union Fish Building. Russell is the big-voiced "munchkin" who sings on the White Stripes' Seven Nation Army and is increasingly compared to Joss Stone, despite the fact she errs on the hip-hop side.

Exhibition

Among Da Vinci's many futuristic concepts were early designs of machines that would later become the bicycle, helicopter, glider and scuba tank. The Da Vinci Machines (Auckland Museum until March 5), exhibits 50 models based on his designs, be they mechanical, military, hydraulic or flying machines. The designs were constructed by Florentine artisans using material from the 15th century.

Meanwhile, the ever-busy Disruptiv Gallery presents the If 6 was 9 graphic art exhibition until November 28. Curator Josh King has brought together T-shirt designs from nine Auckland artists, with themes spanning rock'n'roll, hip-hop, Kiwiana, punk and streetwear. And if you like what you see, limited edition T-shirts are available to buy.

TV

Aah, it's back. The show that makes us watch old people having sex and showed us what happens to your head if you stick it out of a limo and into a cherry picker. Six Feet Under (Thursday, TV One, 9.35pm) is now in its fifth and final season, and those who thought the fourth had lost impact will be in for a few nasty surprises.

Someone really important dies, and Nate finally solves the mystery of Lisa's death. The series opens with his wedding to Brenda.

Also this week: an insight into what goes on behind bars on the Rimutaka prison reality series Locked Down (Tuesday, TV One, 11.05pm); disgruntled Kiwi blokes have their say on Save the Males (TV2, Wednesday, 11.25pm); the humble Kiwi icon is celebrated on Godzone Sheep, (tonight, Maori TV, 8.30pm); John Stamos stars as a New York publicist in Jake In Progress (Wednesday, TV3, 8pm); and it's haere ra to Rove for the year (Friday, TV3, 9.35pm), and the two-hour final final of Sportscafe (Wednesday, TV2, 8.30pm).

Theatre

It's that time of year to get merry and sing. So why not get in the spirit with a good musical. At the Silo it's Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris (quite a hoot, particularly the Carousel song in the second half).

At Sky City, it's High Society, the Cole Porter classic about an aristocratic bride who can't make up her mind between the groom, an ex and a tabloid reporter.

Angela Shirley has the lead role as Tracy Lord, (the character who later inspired a certain porn star) in this celebration of Porter's music and champagne-fuelled farce.

Movies

Harry Potter is back, he's older, and he has a girlfriend, which might explain what he was doing in the last film under that sheet. The Goblet of Fire is supposedly the scariest of the Harry franchise, as the adolescent wizard and his friends save the world, survive the Tri-Wizard tournament and control his raging hormones. No magic wand jokes please.

Also opening this week: The Land Has Eyes a coming-of-age story of a young Fijian woman trying to escape the conformity of island culture.

And if you're one who likes a Boyz in the Hood-style revenge story, check out Four Brothers, in which four adopted brothers seek revenge for their mother's gangland murder. Director John Singleton brings together standard gangsta drama and violence with music stars Mark Wahlberg and Andre Benjamin.

Deewane Huye Paagal is a Hindi comedy in which a beautiful young woman under investigation winds up with five men falling in lust with her. A love pentagon, if you will.

The Rialto has Look At Me, a French comedy in which an French opera singer yearns for affection from her egotistical novelist father, and Walk on Water, a thriller set in Turkey, Israel and Germany about an Israeli hitman who befriends his target's grandson. Critics have lauded the latter's sensitive treatment of political issues.