The ShowBuzz Weekly Forecast
Tom Cruise gets serious this week with his new politically charged movie directed by Robert Redford, "Lions for Lambs." Meanwhile, teen sensation Chris Brown keeps tearing up the charts.
MOVIES
"Lions for Lambs" stars Robert Redford, Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise in a film which examines today's political atmosphere. Redford directs, Cruise plays a presidential hopeful who is giving an explosive story to a journalist played by Streep.
"Fred Claus" stars Vince Vaughn as the aimless brother of Paul Giamatti's Santa Claus. When Fred ends up in jail, Santa bails him out and says that his little brother can work off his debts by making toys.Photos: "Lions For Lambs" In Lights
"No Country for Old Men" is based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy and is directed by the Coen Brothers. The movie set in a Texas border town in 1980, stars Tommy Lee Jones as Sheriff Bell. He stumbles across $2 million when he encounters a drug deal gone wrong. Bell decides to keep the money but is also being chased by an extremely dangerous man.
TV
Best-selling crime writers play host to true-crime cases that fascinate them on "Murder by the Book." Novelists including Joseph Wambaugh, David Baldacci, Linda Fairstein and Jonathan Kellerman provide special expertise. The show returns for its second season at 10 p.m. on Monday on Court TV.
The historically based film, "The Deal," portrays the friendship between Gordon Brown and Tony Blair and the deal with which it culminated: With the death of Labour Party leader John Smith in 1994, Brown agreed to forgo his lifelong ambitions and step aside so that Blair could make his successful run for prime minister. This 2003 British TV film makes its U.S. television premiere 9 p.m. Thursday on HBO.
"Bunnytown" is a comedy-variety show for preschoolers set in a world filled with bunnies - that is, fuzzy rod-puppet bunnies with distinctive blue noses and a (long) ear for music. Each episode visits these bunnies, as well as the human population in nearby Peopletown. The show premieres 11 a.m. Saturday on Disney Channel.
MUSIC
"Music of Star Wars: 30th Anniversary Collectors Edition" from composer John Williams is an eight disc set of the music from the movies.
"Exclusive" is teen sensation Chris Brown's new album featuring a duet with singer T-Pain, "Kiss, Kiss," and the ballad, "Take You Down."
"Solos, Sessions and Encores" from legendary Stevie Ray Vaughan includes his version of David Bowie's "Let's Dance," and a collaboration with B.B. King, Albert King and Paul Butterfield on "The Sky Is Crying."
"The Ultimate Hits" from country superstar Garth Brooks is a three disc set featuring his biggest songs like "Ain't Goin Down Till The Sun Comes Up" and "Friends in Low Places."
BOOKS
"Stone Cold"by David Baldacci is the latest book in the author's Camel Club series and this time, the group of former government henchmen is fighting a war on two fronts.
"Boom!: Voices of the Sixties Personal Reflections on the '60s and Today"by former NBC "Nightly News" anchor Tom Brokaw features writings from famous people who lived through the tumultuous decade.
"Creation in Death" by J.D. Robb is a new adventure for NYPSD Lieutenant Eve Dallas. When a young brunette is found dead after what appears to be prolonged torture, the detective is reminded of a case from nine years earlier. It turns out the woman was employed by Eve's billionaire husband, Roarke.
"Rescuing Sprite: A Dog Lover's Story of Joy and Anguish" by constitutional lawyer and media personality Mark R. Levin, is the story of his family's bond with their rescued dog, Sprite.
THEATER
"The Glorious Ones" opens Monday at the Off Broadway Lincoln Center Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater. It is a new musical from Ahrens and Flaherty about the lives of a troupe of street performers-the commedia dell'arte actors of 16th century Italy.
"The Brothers Size" opens Tuesday at the Off Broadway Shiva Theatre. The show takes liberties with West African myths to tell the modern-day story of the Size brothers - Ogun, an auto mechanic, and Oshoosi, a recent parolee.