Arrested Development

A new spin on the cop movie, and more media picks

April 17, 2007

Movies: In Hot Fuzz, the Shaun of the Dead lads do for cops what they did for zombies: make them funny, British, and strangely hip. Meanwhile, in the greatest celluloid matchup of husband-wife talent since Orson Welles directed Rita Hayworth in The Lady from Shanghai, David Arquette makes his debut as writer-director and Courteney costars in horror-comedy The Tripper. For straight-up thrills, check out Fracture, in which Hannibal Lecter acts the Notebook guy into a half nelson.

DVD: The Larry Sanders Show makes its overdue DVD bow in two versions (completists can revel in season one, while the uninitiated should sample Not Just the Best of The Larry Sanders Show). Not to be outdone, that other talk show host/comic genius Larry King gives us The Greatest Interviews, which include the suspendered one's chats with Sinatra, seven presidents, and Marlon "Wily Filipino" Brando. Elsewhere, this week's roundup of Oscar bait includes The Last King of Scotland, Notes on a Scandal, and, of course, Smokin' Aces.

TV: Robert Redford's eco-themed programming block "The Green" premieres tonight on the Sundance Channel, just in time for George Bush's favorite holiday, Earth Day. On Wednesday, the zippy British con-man series Hu$tle begins its fourth season on AMC, and on Monday, Heroes returns to NBC after a two-month cliff-hanger(!).

Books: A fantastic week for fantasia: Where's My Jetpack? by Daniel H. Wilson wonders what happened to the hovercars and robotic maids we were supposed to get at Costco by now, and J.R.R. Tolkien returns to Middle Earth in The Children of Húrin, assembled by his son from the author's notes. Elsewhere, Jon Savage studies adolescent angst in Teenage: The Creation of Youth Culture, and David Lynch collects his artistic head trips in an eponymous coffee-table book.

Music: After a relatively brief two-year layover, Nine Inch Nails return with the sci-fi epic Year Zero; the underrated Cowboy Junkies continue to create mellow gold on At the End of Paths Taken; and raucous bar band the Hold Steady goes acoustic for Live at Fingerprints, available only at a select group of independent music stores.