Scott Kara on Public Enemy's Auckland show.

Get blown away with mafia hit Period crime drama Boardwalk Empire lives up to all the hype, writes Deborah Hill Cone.

Plan B's soulful, uplifting and edgy sophomore album was one of the biggest-sellers of 2010 in the UK, but here it barely registered on the Richter.

Work-life balance is just a story idea to Becky (Rachel McAdams) when she takes the reigns of a barely watched TV breakfast show that repeatedly chews and spits out producers, especially ones as green and peppy as Becky.

A year ago, fans had all but given up on Kiwi rockers Steriogram - not surprising given the band's members had embarked on solo projects, like Bradley Carter's Pistol Youth.

Joanna Lumley adds another string to her bow with this two-part series that examines people's relationships with cats.

A sunlit Gallic Brief Encounter, this French film of love confounded remains mostly on the right side of the line between exquisite and excruciating, thanks largely to the pitch-perfect performances of its two leading actors.

As an idea, an unmanned speeding freight train carrying highly explosive toxins and destined to derail in a densely populated city might sound like one contrived for the big screen.

While this doesn't disguise that the story still follows a generic romantic drama/comedy route, it does mean you don't feel bad about falling for it.

Deposited as you are in a kind of Deadwood saloon it's surprising how much sense the futuristic and modern music of Ladi 6 and Shapeshifter make in this setting.

Rating: 3/5. Verdict: Fun but the Focker-Byrne feud might have run its course

Rating: 3.5. Verdict: All in the family.

The virtual band are beamed on to the giant screen and act out Hewlett's intriguing and twisted stories.

Aidan is a thirty-something professional blogger, living a low-rent version of the high-life in post-9/11 New York. His relationship with his journalist girlfriend, Cressida, is strained; he's stuck in a bit of a rut.

Alas, this this is the second-to-last novel from the Portuguese Nobel Prize winner from whom I have gained so much enjoyment and stimulus over the past few years.

A book that poses the really big questions: about war and friendship, about love and loss, about living and dying.

The Smoke Fairies are best mates Katherine Blamire and Jessica Davies who met in the school choir in rural Sussex.

This second annual Griffith fiction collection focuses on contributors and topics from the Pacific in a generously interpreted sense.

The arguments are over and the votes are in - here's the albums TimeOut reviewers consider the year's best.

Rating: 3.5. Verdict: Dazzling reboot with story blips

Harry emerged in a tutu that blew like a Marilyn Monroe photoshoot every time she stood near the fan at the front.

Rating: 3.5/5. Verdict: King of Pop crown regains lustre, too late.

Rating: 3.5/5. Verdict: Lost in Los Angeles.

It was an introduction Uwe Grodd could not resist, before launching Auckland Choral's annual Messiah.

What: The Fall Where and when: Powerstation Reviewed by: Scott Kara