The ShowBuzz Weekly Forecast
In the likely event that Stephen King's short story-turned-motion picture "The Mist" scares the living daylights out of you, you can always calm your nerves with the uplifting fairytale "Enchanted," starring Patrick Dempsey and Susan Sarandon.
For the kids, kick off the holiday season with Ernest Borgnine in The Hallmark Channel's TV movie "A Grandpa for Christmas" or pick up a copy of the sure-to-be coveted CD "High School Musical 2: Hits Collection" at the local record store.
MOVIES
"The Mist," a movie based on the short story written by Stephen King, stars Oscar-winning actress Marcia Gay Harden and "The Punisher" actor Thomas Jane as small-town residents who must combat mysterious deadly creatures prowling in a thick and unnatural mist.
"August Rush" stars Freddie Highmore as a musically gifted youngster who, after spending his childhood in an orphanage, seeks out his parents in New York City. Robin Williams, Keri Russell and Terrence Howard also star in this heartwarming drama.
An all-star cast that includes Patrick Dempsey, Susan Sarandon and Amy Adams stars in "Enchanted," a fairytale about how a princess named Giselle is banished by an evil queen from her magical animated land and finds herself in the real life streets of Manhattan, a chaotic, non-"happily ever after" world in dire need of some enchantment.
TV
Legendary actor Ernest Borgnine stars in The Hallmark Channel movie "A Grandpa for Christmas," which tells the story of how an 80-year-old retired show-biz veteran is caught off guard when he becomes the instant guardian of his 10-year-old granddaughter following the hospitalized of his long-estranged grownup daughter. The movie premieres Saturday at 9 p.m. EST.
Andrew Jackson paid off the national debt, took on corruption in Washington, D.C., and secured westward expansion. He also displaced thousands of Native Americans in the process. Was the man known as "Old Hickory" a good or bad president, or both? That subject is discussed in the History Channel's new documentary "Andrew Jackson," which airs Sunday at 8 p.m.
MUSIC
Fans will go bananas over the soundtrack release of The Disney Channel's hit cult movie "High School Musical 2: Hits Collection," which features the original tunes to both the first and second made-for-TV movies, plus two additional volumes of karaoke tracks and a clips from the show's sold-out concert tour.
British sensation Amy Winehouse releases her newest album "Frank," an album that, according to the BBC, "combines considerable jazz guitar ability with a classic approach which produces a contemporary, quirky, upfront, tongue in cheek and risqué lyrics."
Four years after he released his first album, Philadelphia rapper Freeway scores again in his second album "Free At Last," which is executive-produced by Jay-Z and 50 Cent, and has cameos from Scarface and Busta Rhymes. According to Rolling Stone magazine, "Free At Last" still possesses Freeway's trademark "impressive rhymes" and the production is "state-of-the-art soul-hop."
BOOKS
In Dean Koontz's newest novel "The Darkest Evening of the Year," Amy, the founder of a Golden retriever rescue organization, risks her life to save a dog named Nickie, whom she eventually forms an unusually close bond with. However, the sense that the welcoming of the dog into her home is somehow linked to the eerier incidents that later unfold - such as the entrance of an ominous stranger and a mysterious home invasion - leaves Amy with the feeling that someone is watching her at all times.
Well-known Hollywood comedian Steve Martin discusses his life and the art of standup in "Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life," a book that, yes, is a memoir, but is also an intimate, informative handbook on the do's and don'ts of standup comedy and the pluses and minuses that come with it.
Robert Hardman's "A Year with the Queen" discuses the still-renowned legacy of Queen Elizabeth II, a monarch who has arguably traveled farther and met more influential people than perhaps any other queen before her. The book reveals the workings of the monarchy - from sacred constitutional talks with the Prime Minster to the razzmatazz of a stay at the White House - all under a hardcover.
DVD
Singing along with John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken and Queen Latifah in "Hairspray," the movie based off the Tony Award-winning musical, is a piece of cake thanks the DVD's lyric track, step-by-step dance instructions and deleted scenes of the never-before-seen musical number, "I Can Wait."
Bruce Willis resurrects his role as old-fashioned, superhero-like cop John McClane in the unrated and original theatrical version of "Live Free or Die Hard," which again shows him having a really bad day as he attempts to foil a ruthless cyber-terrorism attack on the nation's computer infrastructure.
Tim Allen returns as Scott Calvin, a regular guy turned Jolly Old Elf, in "The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause." While settling into his home at the North Pole with his new wife Carol, Calvin's holiday plans are suddenly derailed when he's called upon to stop Jack Frost, played by Martin Short, from taking over Christmas.
THEATER
The off-Broadway show "The Piano Teacher," which opens Nov. 18, tells the story of Mrs. K, a retired piano instructor who seeks to locate her former students just to know why they suddenly stopped taking lessons years before. The show closes Dec. 9.