Graduation Day

Kanye West, Ben Braddock, and more most-likely-to-succeed picks

September 11, 2007

MUSIC: You won't be surprised to hear that Kanye's Graduation trumps Fiddy's Curtis, but that battle overshadows the week's real musical standouts: Animal Collective's soulfully psychedelic Strawberry Jam and The Go! Team's Proof of Youth, which includes a brilliant guest vocal from Chuck D. Also out: Simian Mobile Disco's acclaimed debut Attack Decay Sustain Release, and the rootsy I'll Follow You, from New York's Oakley Hall.

MOVIES: Paul Haggis dangles his latest bit of Oscar bait with In the Valley of Elah, while David Cronenberg—the guy behind the other, better Crash—reunites with Viggo Mortensen for the mafia drama Eastern Promises. Jodie Foster gets all vigilante in The Brave One, and Julie Taymor (intentionally?) embraces camp for the Beatle-y musical Across the Universe.

TV: The delightfully weird It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia returns for its third season Thursday on FX, while the promising post-Katrina New Orleans cop drama K-Ville debuts Monday on Fox. HBO's see-what-sticks approach continues with tonight's Pinochet's Last Stand.

DVD: Original cougar Mrs. Robinson finally gets a proper DVD with the 40th anniversary edition of The Graduate, featuring commentaries from Dustin Hoffman (Benjamin Braddock), Mike Nichols (director), and Steven Soderbergh (beats us). MGM's new Vincent Price collection showcases his pre-"Thriller" thrillers, while a two-disc set combines the 1925 and 1960 adaptations of The Lost World—and is happily Spielberg-free.

BOOKS: In the stunning Gianni and Donatella, photographer Sante D'Orazio documents Donatella Versace's perseverance in the immediate aftermath of her brother's murder. And Booker Prize winners John Berger (the essay collection Hold Everything Dear) and Graham Swift (the novel Tomorrow) release new work.

WEB: Amazon's Unbox is offering early (and free) downloads of four new NBC shows, including Bionic Woman and Chuck. (It's not like they're coming to iTunes…) The Criterion Collection just launched an online store, which means you can finally express your love for obscure Swedish films with a coffee mug. Finally, the blog Copenhagen Girls on Bikes is just what the name implies.