A look at the things we're most excited about watching, reading, browsing, and listening to:
MOVIES
Joss Whedon of Buffy and Firefly fame has penned a slasher film that sounds tantalizingly strange: "Not since Scream has a horror movie subverted the expectations that accompany the genre to such wicked effect as The Cabin in the Woods," writes Variety. In theaters Friday.
Aung San Suu Kyi, the heroine of Burma's democracy movement, gets the biopic treatment in The Lady, in which she's played by Michelle Yeoh and famed French filmmaker Luc Besson directs. In theaters Friday.
MUSIC
"Bonnie Raitt's first album in seven years comes after a period of personal upheaval in which she lost her parents, brother and best friend," writes The San Francisco Chronicle in its review of Slipstream. "Most songwriters would have wilted under the weight of tragedy, but the nine-time Grammy winner handles it with typical grace." The album, a collection of covers and originals, is streaming at NPR. On sale Tuesday.
Southern rockers Alabama Shakes have quickly become one of the year's most talked-about new bands for the way that singer Brittany Howard's "distinctive, throaty warble" reinvigorates blusey soul sounds. Their debut, Boys & Girls, is streaming at NPR as well. On sale Tuesday.
TV
One of midseason TV's most anticipated series debuts this week: ABC's Don't Trust the B-- in Apartment 23 is about a wide-eyed blonde who moves in with a cynical, swindling roommate and the tensions that ensue. The tale-as-old-as-time premise is saved by smart, funny performances from the leads, plus the recurring supporting character of James Van Der Beek playing himself. Airs Wednesday at 9:30 pm Eastern.
This week's other, even more, anticipated series is HBO's Girls, which New York magazine declared the "ballsiest show on TV." Written, directed by, and starring 25-year-old Lena Dunham, it follows four friends making their way in New York. It's sad, funny, frustrating—and definitely worth watching. Airs Sunday at 10:30 pm Eastern.
BOOKS
For sale Tuesday:
Just in time for baseball season, mega-bestselling author John Grisham has a book out about his favorite sport. Calico Joe tells the story of a talented minor-leaguer who suddenly gets promoted to the majors and becomes a national hero and the lives he touches as a result.
Gimmicky, performative self-help books are all the rage these days, but A.J. Jacobs actually knows how to do them well. The author of The Year of Living Biblically (wherein Jacobs tried to follow the instructions of the Bible literally for a year) now has Drop Dead Healthy, about his quest to become the healthiest man in the world.
