Don't Call It a Comeback

Affleck turns a corner, the best show on TV, and more media picks

September 5, 2006

MOVIES: With the L.A. Confidential-like Hollywoodland, Ben Affleck has finally gotten his hands on a great script, and for the first time in years, he manages not to embarrass himself on screen (despite rumors to the contrary, however, it's not a comeback—it'll take a few more Hollywoodlands to make up for Surviving Christmas). Ahmad Razvi, on the other hand, turns in a real powerhouse performance in Man Push Cart, which follows a fallen rock star who's reduced to manning a coffee cart. Ben really should see it before choosing his next script.

TV: The fall season begins in earnest tonight as Fox's House and FX's Nip/Tuck return with new episodes, and Katie Couric finally drops anchor at CBS (not that we'll be watching). The week's big event? The return of HBO's operatic, criminally underrated The Wire (featuring Dominic West, above right), which comes roaring back to television on Sunday for its fourth (and best) season.

BOOKS: Allow us to recognize three hugely hyped new titles—Sidney Jacobson and Ernie Colón's The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation, Alicia Drake's The Beautiful Fall: Lagerfeld, Saint Laurent, and Glorious Excess in 1970s Paris, and Jonathan Franzen's self-obsessed The Discomfort Zone—before making our real picks: Mark Haddon's hilarious A Spot of Bother and Jed Rubenfeld's The Interpretation of Murder.

MUSIC: With B'Day, Jay-Z's better half b'releases her b'sophomore album, and as far as we can tell, it b'sounds just like her first one (which isn't such a bad thing). Meanwhile, Audioslave unleashes its latest, the seventies-flavored Revelations, led off by the fiery, funk-ified first single, "Original Fire." Download it now.

DVD: Two new DVDs you probably shouldn't watch on your next plane trip: Paul Greengrass's harrowing, brilliant United 93 and season two of Lost. Instead, take along Unknown White Male, a great doc about a man who wakes up on the subway with no wallet and no memory.

WEB: Keeping your Internet proclivities private just got easier with the launch of Browzar, a new browser that doesn't keep a history, store cookies, or use auto-complete. It's available now as a free download for Windows users, not that you've got anything to hide.