You'd have to be in a pretty cynical mood not to smile at their light-as-air, finger-skipping arrangements, sunny strumming and casual vocal harmonies.

The Smurfs themselves are as delightful and loopy as ever, so - despite undergoing a digital makeover - this Smurf adventure is still designed to appeal to younger and less discerning members of the family.

Four films set in London, one in Barcelona and he's just finished shooting in Rome: that Woody Allen sure gets around.

More percussive sorcery, soul jazz wizardry and seductive sounds from the south Pacific courtesy of human metranome Will Ricketts (aka Wild Bill) from the Phoenix Foundation, and many other bands.

The concept is this: the band get an all-star cast of Sonic Youth fans to pick their favourite tracks, which includes everyone from actress Portia de Rossi to Beastie Boy Mike D and Radiohead.

Alexandre Dumas' classic story has been adapted many times, its film history stretching back to the silent era. The last time Hollywood took a decent stab at it was in 1993 with Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland and Oliver Platt attempting some rapier wit.

A traditional-style epic tale, this well-paced musical extravaganza is by turns cheesy, dramatic and genuinely moving.

Where the Dum Dum Girls' debut album I Will Be was an accomplished addition to the world of fuzzy, sugar-driven surf rock, their sophomore effort is a clear step up for the Californian all-female four-piece..

Quite when one might listen to Bjork's eighth album is hard to figure - apart from when you get the chance to lock yourself away in seclusion so you can appreciate Biophilia's mighty feat of sonic beauty and its many elaborate layers.

The vinyl reissue is something of a victory lap for contemporary musicians – and if there’s any artist from the last 10 years who could claim to having ‘won’ at music, Ariel Pink’s a likely contender.

Bo Diddley was the originator – without him there’d be no Beatles, Mick’n’Keef, no Pistols, no rap. Big call? Yes. Is it true? Absolutely.

You knew this was going to be fun. With 60 per cent of the band in dinner jackets and the salty whiff of yacht rock in the air, Fabulous/Arabia are jovially enjoying a glass of bubbly on stage before kicking things off.

It is on rare occasions like this that a quiet Auckland Wednesday night turns into an explosion of energetic noise.

This particular Bachelorette performance was always going to be weighted by sentimentality.

Minrose Gwin clearly had a miserable time of it. Her father, Al the airman, only stuck around long enough to witness her birth, then fled to parts unknown, never to be seen again, although, to be fair, he did send Minrose a birthday present every year.

Murders, battles, seduction, witchcraft ... and a water goddess. It would be hard not to write a ripping history of the English War of the Roses.

Linda Olsson's novels sell in mega-numbers overseas. There are many places in this tender, loving story where you can understand why.

When the stone deer was placed in position in the pool in front of the Chalabi home in Kazimiya, near Baghdad, locals immediately named the palatial home the Deer Palace.

First came Transformers, Tron, The A-Team, Clash of the Titans, and The Karate Kid, to name just a few, and now Hollywood has re-opened the 80s vault again with a remake of pop culture classic Footloose.

Thirty-five years on (or thereabouts), this is the sequel to Cooper's Welcome To My Nightmare album, his first solo outing following a clutch of classic records with the original Alice Cooper band.

The visual trick that is 3D cinema is designed to heighten reality but, in my experience, makes it less convincing.

In typical Throwing Muses fashion, the American indie pop rock band - formed by step sisters Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donnelly in the early 80s - have put together a two-disc collection made up of songs they like.

Rainer Maria Rilke has always commanded a devoted following among connoisseurs of fine literature but he is also widely read.

The Basement's reputation as a hot-house for new talent is emphatically confirmed by a blast of youthful energy that has teams of young actors, each with their own writer and director, devising three short plays.