Pet Shop Boys vs. Flo Rida

Item number one:
My reaction to the Pet Shop Boys' new album being titled Yes: No.

I seem to be in the minority of fans who dislike the title, but it feels like they're not even trying. For something in the affirmative, I'd go for a title such as Definitely. Pet Shop Boys, Definitely. It's more true to the spirit (holy trinity?) of Please, Actually and Very.

Apparently this album will drop in the U.S. on March 24, and that works out quite nicely: It's my birthday. : - )

Item number two:
I'm as much about silly pop songs as the next music fan who never grew up, but it hurts my music-loving heart to see something as asinine as Flo Rida's "Low" become the number one song of an entire year. It was bad enough to see the song sit atop the Hot 100 for 10 weeks, and to see it as Billboard's number one song of the year is an insult to music, particularly all the great stuff that never gets radio exposure. But that's coming from someone who started to feel my love affair with the top 40 was out the window around the time "Rump Shaker" sat on the top five.

Movies: Oliver Stone's W.

Verdict: &&&1/2

It turns out that George W. Bush and I do have something in common — a taste for Dr. Pepper, that most addictive of beverages (even if I'm now confined to the caffeine-free version). It's one of the rather mundane details that director Oliver Stone makes clear in W., a film in which I believe Stone has fairly pure intentions (this is no Michael Moore-style ambush). I went to the movie seeking a bit of catharsis — a purging of some of the emotional disappointment of the past eight years — as well as perhaps a few insights into how Bush II came to be. Check the expectations at the door, and there's fun to be had here.

Weaving past and present, Stone shows us the young W. as a man who indulged in the privileged fun life while continually struggling to gain the approval of his accomplished father. Fast-forward to the 2000s, and the current W is seen planning the war in Iraq, devising the "axis of evil" rhetoric and puzzling over those elusive WMDs. One of Stone's missteps is focusing almost exclusively on Iraq and ignoring the highly disputed and suspect election outcome in 2000.

A serious challenge for this movie is that it's just about impossible to stop evaluating the cast's approximation of their respective characters and fully give in to Stone's narrative. Josh Brolin, at least, owns his character; the first time he did the Bush laugh, it was so true to life that I wanted to rewind and hear it again. Also precisely on the money is Scott Glenn as Donald Rumsfeld; in a great scene in which the principles are commiserating about the absence of WMDs over lunch, Rumsfeld is singularly focused on the pleasures of a fabulous slice of pecan pie. Toby Jones also rises to the occasion as political weasel Karl Rove, the man who knew how to help Bush push the people's buttons (at least before 2008, anyway). From there, it's a decidedly mixed bag: Thandie Newton, as Condoleezza Rice, turns in a sub-Janet Jackson-on-SNL effort; Jeffrey Wright makes a reasonable stab at Colin Powell's voice of reason; and James Cromwell is impossible to separate from James Cromwell in the role of George H.W. Bush.

Stone comes closest to revelatory in the scenes in which W. consults with his church pastor, seeking to light his inner fire. Someone who went so single-mindedly in the directions Bush did must have felt some divine anointment. Stone aims to tie it all together in a series of fantasy interludes in which Bush stands before a stadium full of roaring baseball fans. It's high-concept and a noble attempt, but it's not the grandiose spiritual revelation audiences crave, particularly when it leaves the movie feeling as if it doesn't have an ending.

The new Keane album for $2.99, omfg

• Some days it's fun to be a consumer.

So I go to do my daily check at Amazon's MP3 store to see what's today's deal, and I did a spit take with my coffee upon seeing Keane's new album, Perfect Symmetry, which hit stores today, on offer for "the unbelievably low price" of $2.99!

It's the kind of release I normally would have pre-ordered, counting on Amazon to get the physical CD to my mailbox on release day or the day after. Glad I didn't go that route this time.

iTunes is playing hard for this one, as well: Apple's music store is offering the deluxe edition, which includes a bonus track, a whole album of demos and some video stuff, for $12.99. But it's saddled with DRM and lesser audio quality -- one of the big reasons iTunes is steadily losing me to Amazon.

This is the first time I've noticed a major new release offered as the MP3 deal of the day. Will we be so lucky next month when the new Killers album drops?

Giving Perfect Symmetry its first spin right now. "Spiralling" is a hot jam, and I love the geometric art design for this release.

DVD: Shutter

• Joshua Jackson tries bad horror.

Genre: Horror, remake, J-horror
Director: Masayuki Ochiai
Run time: 1 hr 25 mins
DVD released: July 15, 2008
Cast: Joshua Jackson, Rachel Taylor
Verdict: &1/2

This unnecessary J-Horror knockoff (it's actually a remake of a movie from Thailand) answers the question of whether Dawson's Creek's Pacey (Joshua Jackson) can carry a horror movie. Not that there's anything particularly wrong (or right) with his acting (that goes for his role in FOX's mediocre new X-Files wannabe, Fringe, as well), but I kept expecting Dawson or Katie Holmes to come 'round the corner. With its Vengeful Female Spirit and Secrets from the Past, this movie feels as if it were made by someone whose only cinematic references are The Ring and The Grudge and all the lame imitators that followed. The Jackson character and his new wife, played in full I-want-to-be-Naomi-Watts mode by Rachel Taylor, begin to find ghostly images in their photographs — both casual snapshots and in the professional work of Jackson's character. And that could be mildly interesting, but the movie can't even nail ghostly photos in a compelling fashion. The one almost-frightening moment involves a boy gazing at a window reflection on a subway train, and the rest you'll anticipate before it even happens. Shutter is one of those tired movies that leaves you wondering why anyone bothered; it's a picture totally out of focus. // DVD NOTES // Nothing like a steaming pile of cinematic dung gussied up with a dozen self-important featurettes, is there? Everything from shooting in Japan to tips for ghost hunting is covered. Alternate and deleted scenes, including an alternate ending, and audio commentaries are also needlessly included.

DVD: Sex and the City - The Movie

• Can 'Sex' last too long?

Genre: Comedy, TV/book adaptation
Run time: 2 hrs 25 mins (!)
Director: Michael Patrick King
Cast: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon
Verdict: &&1/2

The Sex and the City movie explores a most probing question: Can sex last too long? Turns out that, as much as I enjoyed catching SATC for the first time in reruns on TBS, the movie felt about as fun as going to church. All the necessary elements are there, but with a run time befitting heavier fare, the first big screen foray for these NYC ladies seems never-ending and a bit self-indulgent; perhaps it needs that half-hour sitcom structure to keep its comedy and drama sharp and taut. The plot finds Mr. Big doing exactly the kind of dithering you'd expect as his wedding date with Carrie Bradshaw looms, while Miranda gets the real downer subplot as Steve screws up. Samantha, as always, is funniest in her lively sexcapades, such as when she covers her body with sushi, although her relationship will also reach a turning point (get out the tissues, ladies). Ultimately, I just wanted them to get on with it all. The movie feels a good hour too long; the universal appeal of SATC has been neutered into a treacly chick flick. // DVD NOTES // You'd expect some deleted scenes or outtakes, but a director's commentary and trailer are all you get.

Preview, review: The Ex List & Gary Unmarried

The Ex List (Fridays, 9e / 8c, debuts Oct. 3)
The premise of this new Ghost Whisperer neighbor feels more like a movie idea than a network program: Bella Bloom visits a psychic who informs her that she has already met the perfect mate, which sends her mind reeling to all the men who have come and gone before. Each, presumably, will fill an hour-long episode. In the premiere, it's a geeky warbler whom Bloom dumped rather unceremoniously years ago. Now on a mission to find her soul mate, Bloom first looks up that former paramour, only to find that he's transformed into a studly rocker. Will he get over Bloom's cold dis of yore and give love another shot? Their tango proves surprisingly entertaining. As a partner to the mom-friendly (that is, not very good) Ghost Whisperer, the show aspires to a sort of sexy dramedy feel, surrounding Bloom with an assortment of young hotties getting up to silliness like shaving their privates, and it nails both fairly effectively in the first outing. Premiere episode: &&&


Gary Unmarried (Wednesday, 8:30e / 7:30c, debuted tonight)
Former SNLer Jay Mohr anchors Old Christine's timeslot partner in CBS' bid to launch a Wednesday comedy block. He acquits himself well in the premiere of this new sitcom, which is competent if not particularly distinguishing in a first episode that finds the recently divorced Gary (Mohr) sparring with his ex, Allison (Paula Marshall), over issues such as whether teenage son Tom (Ryan Malgarini) is being appropriately supervised while he has a young female visitor in his room. Meanwhile, Ed Begley Jr. is trotted out as the couple's marriage counselor and Allison's inappropriate new love interest. It's pleasant enough in its debut, but it may need more than the lovely Christine's uncertain ratings coattails to hang around. Premiere episode: &&&

Pictured: Gary Unmarried's Mohr and Marshall / CBS

Preview: CBS' Worst Week isn't the worst premiere of the new season

Worst Week (Monday, Sept. 22, 9:30e / 8:30c)

CBS rather undersold this new Monday night sitcom with those commercials showing Sam Briggs (Kyle Bornheimer) standing on a doorstep in what looks to be a big ol' diaper with a dorkified look on his face. Based on that, I had dismissed it as a likely asinine sitcom and an unworthy successor to the previous occupant of this time slot, the excellent New Adventures of Old Christine, which has been unceremoniously bounced to Wednesday night's new comedy hour. But the premiere episode is really a cleverly crafted exercise in misfortune and misunderstanding endlessly piled one upon another as Briggs tries in vain to impress the parents of his knocked-up girlfriend, Melanie (Erinn Hayes). Clever, even if urine does figure into the episode. Who knows if the show can sustain the momentum of the first episode, but the cast is a hoot, thanks largely to Kurtwood Smith, the stern and disapproving father from That '70s Show, hamming it up as Melanie's — you guessed it — stern and disapproving father. The gentler condescension of My Name Is Earl's Nancy Lenehan as Melanie's mother, Angela, is equally hilarious. Premiere episode: &&&1/2