The ShowBuzz Weekly Forecast
Imagine going under the knife fully conscious when anesthesia should be kicking in? How about accidentally unlocking a powerful evil while playing with friends? Or police thinking you're the missing girl they've been looking for when you're really not?
These are the cases in Jessica Alba's new movie "Awake," Nora Robert's new novel "Blood Brothers," and Lindsey Lohan's latest DVD release, "I Know Who Killed Me," respectively, all just in the nick of time to put a twist on your holiday spirit.
For some uplifting entertainment, take a look at Keri Russell in the DVD "Waitress" or, for baseball fans, pick up a copy of the 2007 World Series DVD.
MOVIES
"Awake" stars Hayden Christensen and Jessica Alba in a psychological thriller about a common occurrence called "anesthetic awareness," a horrendous phenomenon wherein a patient's failed anesthesia leaves him fully conscious yet physically paralyzed during surgery.
"Savages" stars Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney as grown-up siblings who must again live under the same roof and deal with sibling rivalry and their dreadful past in order to help their father, who has lost his marbles, make it through his last days.
Demi Moore, who portrays a businesswoman, and Michael Caine, who plays a janitor, are anything but "Flawless" as the two team up to exact revenge on their mutual London employers by stealing a cache of diamonds.Photos: 'Savages' In Buffalo
TV
In the rural, Upper Peninsula town of Watersmeet, Mich., Nimrod is the mascot for the local high school basketball team, which commands the attention of the entire community. "Nimrod Nation" is a charming, revealing documentary series that paints a portrait of the community. The show airs two episodes weekly, starting Monday at 9 p.m. EST on Sundance Channel.
Premiering on ABC Wednesday at 8 p.m. is the half-hour Christmas special, "Shrek the Halls". It features the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and Antonio Banderas.
"Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival Chicago" was taped last July in front of 28,000 fans. The lineup includes B.B. King, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, John Mayer, Jeff Beck and Buddy Guy, as well as Robert Cray, Vince Gill, Albert Lee, Los Lobos, John McLaughlin, Robbie Robertson, Johnny Winter, Steve Winwood and host Bill Murray. The program airs at 9 p.m. Wednesday on PBS (check local listings).
BOOKS
Romance novelist Sandra Brown's newest book "A Whole New Light" tells the story of a woman who finds herself longing for her late husband's friend and business partner, a man who can make her laugh to no end but also has no urgency to settle down.
In Nora Robert's new release, "Blood Brothers," three boys accidentally awaken an ancient evil near their small Maryland town, plaguing the tight-knit town with a curse of insanity and devastation for a week every seven years. More than 21 years later, the now grown-up men look to find a way to stop it before it returns for a third time.
In "Swimming Without a Net," written by Mary Janice Davidson, Fred the Mermaid becomes hooked on Arthur, the High Prince of the undersea realm, and Thomas, a hunky marine biologist. She's also undecided if she wants to make her presence known to the rest of the world, or if she wants to keep her life below water level only.
DVD
Lindsay Lohan stars in "I Know Who Killed Me" as Aubrey Jordan, a girl who authorities believe cheated death after being abducted and tortured by a serial killer, only in reality, she's the not the real girl at all - and the true Aubrey Jordan is still in grave danger.
Keri Russell, a "Waitress" who is able to convert her miserable marriage and unhappy home life into delicious homemade desserts, believes she is getting closer and closer to kissing her bossy husband goodbye for good when out of the blue a handsome doctor informs her that she is pregnant. As the waitress begins to write letters to her unborn child, her life surprisingly begins to change for the better.
Relive the magic that was the Boston Red Sox in "MLB: 2007 World Series - Colorado Rockies vs. Boston Red Sox." The DVD documents an unforeseen fall classic match up that pitted Boston's storied past with a hot Colorado team that played the role of Cinderella throughout much of the second half of the season.
Watch deleted scenes, see how the cast was put together, listen to the soundtrack and laugh to gag reels in "The O.C. - The Complete Series," a DVD collection that highlights all four seasons of the hit teen drama that catapulted Adam Brody, Rachel Bilson and Mischa Barton into stardom.
THEATER
The off-Broadway show "Oh the Humanity and Other Good Intentions" is five short plays about common people living common lives. The five pieces of the play include: "Behold the Coach, In Sorrow, Uninsured;" "Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rain;" "Enter the Spokeswoman, Sideways;" "The Bully Composition," and "Oh, the Humanity." The show opens Nov. 29.