Mos Def

Tuesdays are big in entertainmentville: not only do all the new DVD releases hit Netflix, but new music also pours into stores. So I take a spin through each week's music releases and pick out some albums and tracks worthy of a download. In addition to my picks below, you can also get the new Sonic Youth album now.

Start the party: Most of you said you prefer Fergie when she's singing with the Black Eyed Peas, so you may be excited that the group's new album hits stores today. I've always had a love-hate relationship with this group. Sometimes the Peas' catchy music gets me jazzed for a jog or gets me dancing at a party. Other times I flip off the radio when one of the group's hit songs comes on for the billionth time. But in the face of the straightforward lyrics on the new album — like "Tonight's the night night/Let's live it up/I got my money/Let's spend it up," from the new single "I Gotta Feeling" — I have to just smile. Resistance is futile.

More Mos Def: I didn't even need a full listen through Mos Def's fourth album, The Ecstatic, to get excited about it. As one reviewer describes its achievements: "Mos is brimming with poetry again, hurling politically charged lyrics like lightning bolts against the thunderous beats behind him." So far, I'm digging "Auditorium" and "Life in Marvelous Times."

This week's episode of House comes at us largely from the perspective of its patient, a man who had a bicycle accident that rendered him "locked in" with no way to communicate save for blinking and moving a computer cursor with his brain. House — who conveniently crashed his motorcycle and ended up in the hospital bed next to him — becomes fixated on figuring out what caused his syndrome, while the patient is forced to listen to the everyday dramas of House's team with no way to escape the monologues. Ready to talk about it? Just read more

There's a pretty interesting episode of House coming up tonight, for a couple of reasons: Its guest star and its unique style. The episode, called "Locked In," stars Mos Def as a patient diagnosed with locked-in syndrome, the same affliction spotlighted in the movie The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.

The episode is filmed in a similar style to that movie, with scenes shot from the patient's perspective. Since he cannot communicate outwardly, he's an interesting challenge to diagnose — even for House. But his lack of communication also makes him an ideal sounding board for the doctors at Princeton-Plainsboro, who quickly find themselves talking to (or at?) him about their personal problems and relationship issues.

So, how do you imagine this concept will work for television? Is it a good fit for House? And which PPH relationship would you most like to see play out in front of this patient's eyes? To watch a preview, just read more

There's plenty wrong with director Darnell Martin's biopic about Chicago's famous record label Chess Records, including the confusing title: Cadillac Records. What with the production quality that makes the film look like a sound stage, amateurish editing, and a script that bites off too many legends than it can chew, this movie's got issues.

But you know what? I forgive it these faults for two reasons: the performances are out-of-this-world good (Beyonce actually sets the screen on fire), and the awesome music is prominently on display with most of the actors doing most of the singing. The resulting experience is less a cerebral one (it is awfully formulaic) and more primal. The music moved me, and the performances are so powerful they got under my skin and stayed with me for days.

To see what else I so enjoyed about this ensemble cast (including what might be my favorite Mos Def performance ever), read more

Well, here it is, folks: A real look at Cadillac Records, the musical biopic people have been buzzing about lately — especially since we first caught a glimpse of Beyonce as Etta James. The movie focuses on several legendary greats, like Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Chuck Berry, and Leonard Chess, portrayed by the likes of Jeffrey Wright, Columbus Short, Mos Def and Adrien Brody.

The story chronicles the rise of Chess Records in 1950s Chicago when, as the voiceover explains, "Sex had a sound. Danger had a rhythm. And freedom had a music all its own." Cadillac Records opens Dec. 5. To check out the trailer, read more

All of the new DVD releases hit stores (and Netflix) on Tuesdays. So each week in What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday, I sort through the best of the batch and tell you what to add to your queue. In addition to the titles below, you can also pick up Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson's romcom Fool's Gold and the complete Jericho series on DVD.

Be Kind Rewind
Director Michel Gondry is known for a bizarre brand of humor (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and Be Kind Rewind delivers just that. It stars Jack Black and Mos Def as friends who have to recreate old movies because Black's character accidentally erases all the videos in Def's video rental store. They tackle classics like Ghostbusters and Driving Miss Daisy using hilarious dumpy props and less-than-special effects. Surprisingly, their remakes are a big hit with customers. I called it a must-see for fans of Gondry, and everyone else might enjoy how endearingly funny Jack Black and Mos Def are as they play off each other.

Extras on the disc include the trailer for the film and a featurette titled "Passaic Mosaic."


A movie and a TV show up next so read more

• This incredibly creepy dude, Derek Mears, will reportedly play Jason in the new Friday the 13th, ComingSoon writes.
• Meanwhile, Mos Def has signed on to portray Chuck Berry in the movie Cadillac Records, Billboard reports.
• Zap2it reports that ABC is shuffling its Spring schedule, moving Women's Murder Club to Tuesdays and taking Men in Trees off the air for a few weeks.
• Uh-oh: The LA Times has an update on a possible actors' strike.
• According to the AP, Heather Mills will judge the next Miss USA pageant.
• Kathie Lee Gifford will host the fourth hour of The Today Show, the New York Times reports.
• Zany soap opera Passions no longer has a home at NBC, Variety reports.
• If you want to see Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward's band play live, She & Him are going on a very, very brief tour, and Pitchfork has the details.

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