It was a little disappointing really, only for the fact Alice Cooper - still the reigning king of gonzo shock rock after more than 40 years in the business - died just once, maybe twice, last night.

Are Super Villains New Zealand’s first masked hip-hop group?

As the title implies, Friends with Benefits deals with the social convention of what is meant to be meaningless sex between good friends.

It would be nice not to feel the need to eviscerate yet another New Zealand Film Commission-backed local horror that isn't up to its genre job description.

The songs still ring out with trumpets and french horns, a wurlitzer and ukulele, among many other instruments.

Although the Stones were more profoundly influenced by black American music, the young Beatles certainly drew from that well.

The second feature by one of the superstars of contemporary French cinema is an ensemble comedy-drama that is entrancing and infuriating in about equal measure.

It's a little cheeky having the same song on consecutive albums. Soundtrack To Forever (featuring Tiki Taane) appeared on Bulletproof's 2010 album, and it also popped up on Tiki Taane's album from earlier this year - which makes it twice as cheeky.

For the past 50 years Detroit has given birth to genres that would be heard worldwide. Motown's deep back catalogue, house and techno are all musical exports of this great city.

Felicity Perry found Aucklanders @Peace very much at home in Wellington.

The Rugby World Cup opening ceremony may have hogged the TV, but there was plenty of entertainment across town at The Winchester, writes Joe Nunweek.

A family history. Also a social and intellectual history, and a different take on the Australian Dream.

This new package from Australia's John Butler Trio includes a DVD of their June 2010 concert, and a double audio CD. The two-hour-plus set ranges over material from their five studio albums, with emphasis on last year's April Uprising.

Think of songs in the spirit of Weezer and Elvis Costello with a touch of The Strokes, though with a relaxed and youthful Kiwi attitude.

The ubiquitous Giamatti plays Mike Flaherty, a lawyer in suburban New Jersey whose practice is going down the drain.

You will go a long way to see a better piece of screen acting than the one Joanne Froggatt turns in here, as a British soldier returning from a tour of duty in Iraq.

Muted colours, natural lighting and misty moors fill director Cary Fukunaga's moody Jane Eyre, yet another screen adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's 1847 gothic romance.

For a city that too often seems sadly concerned with its musical past as opposed its future, it was refreshing to see the sixth birthday relying heavily on youth and new talent for its celebrations.

Scott Kara commentates on the commentators of all the channels covering the Rugby World Cup games.

Brother, they want me to write you a review but I’m not going to do it. Another book is out. Your collected works.

Cute titles. How do I feel about cute titles? I feel that the authors have to work a couple of degrees harder to justify them. New Zealand-born, Britain-based Connell works very hard indeed in her second romp - and with reasonable success.