The Gaia hypothesis - a theory of planet-as-a-whole-organism propounded by James Lovelock in the 1970s - was the underlying theme of the Gaia Galactic New Year's Eve party, Prana.

Books editor Linda Herrick checks out what's cooking in the international market.

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.

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.

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.

Compulsory cringe binge Parks and Recreation's Amy Poehler shows no mercy in her painfully revealing portrayal of a babbling small-time bureaucrat. By Deborah Hill Cone.

It’s not often that you get a book endorsed by both Philip Pullman and Winston Churchill. But then, Conan Doyle’s French cavalry officer has been around for nearly 120 years, and has been read by five or six generations.

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.