Checking into Hotel Transylvania

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Hotel Transylvania

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666 Park Avenue (ABC)

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Last Resort (ABC)

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Green Day (CP)

"You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows," but these days, a guide through the seemingly endless flurry of pop culture is just what we need. With that in mind, here is what's on the radar screen in TV, music and film for the coming week.

MOVIES

Big release: Looper (Sept. 28)

Big picture: Remember how watching Inception made your brain hurt (Hollywood was actually making YOU think!). Well, Joseph Gordon-Levitt will be causing you metaphysical headaches again in this time-travel adventure. Set in 2042, a group of "specialized assassins" called loopers work for mobsters from the future (2072). These gangsters send their blindfolded victims back in time to be killed in 2042 (apparently, the mob gets incredibly lazy somewhere around 2060). When a looper, Joseph Simmons (Gordon-Levitt), recognizes his pending victim as his future self (Bruce Willis), his shock allows the doomed older man to escape. Time and mind-bending action ensue.

Forecast: Time travel hasn't been this dangerous since Marty McFly's mom kissed him! At one point in Looper, what appears to be The Big Lebowski circa 2042 (Jeff Daniels himself, proving he should NEVER be asked to shave again for ANY role) shows up to tell us what we already know: "This time travel crap, just fries your brain like a egg... " If that's the case, you can serve me up with a side of bacon. Looper may leave you dazed and confused -- but it will dazzle every step of the way. This film will throw audiences for a loop, surprising us as one of the year's best.

Honourable mention: Hotel Transylvania (Sept. 28): So, Frankenstein, a Mummy, Dracula, and a Werewolf walk into a hotel.... No joke here. That's the premise of this animated, family film. Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg team up again -- presumably to atone for the cinematic sin that was That's My Boy. Hotel Transylvania offers a cute fable about monsters living together in seclusion after the modern world has passed them by. (For a real world comparison, imagine Dick Cheney, Hugh Hefner, David Hasselhoff and Kevin Costner living in an isolated hotel together. I'm sure Fox is already planning the reality series.)

TV

Big event: 666 Park Avenue (Sept. 30, Citytv, ABC, 9 p.m.m), Last Resort (Sept. 27, Global and ABC, 7 p.m.)

Big picture: You thought Looper was confusing? Try network TV. So, get this straight. Locke is no longer on a mysterious island, or having his body used as a devilish avatar, he might actually BE the devil. And he owns a mysterious apartment in Manhattan. The supernatural thriller 666 Park Avenue, starring Lost's Terry O'Quinn, offers the biggest chills of the new TV season. Meanwhile, an exotic island IS at the heart of another drama, Last Resort, about a submarine captain who refuses unconfirmed orders to bomb Pakistan and stands accused of treason. He then takes over an exotic island to avoid being blown to bits by his own government. Andre Braugher (brilliant in the reoccurring role of House's psychiatrist) plays the conflicted Capt. Marcus Chaplin, delivering one of the best performances of any pilot.

Forecast: It may be called Last Resort, but it's must-see TV. Canadian actor Scott Speedman is an added bonus, but the best part? No former Party of Five cast members in sight! Meanwhile, 666 Park Avenue is well worth the murderous condo fees. When a sexy, young couple takes a job as the spooky building's superintendents, visions of Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby will dance in your head. Check into 666 Park Avenue any time you want, but you can never leave. Thank American Horror Story for giving serialized horror new, twisted life.

Honourable Mention: Elementary (Sept. 27, Global and CBS, 9 p.m.). When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth (Note: Sherlock Holmes' rule applies to everything in human history except for the series Lost). For people who miss Dr. House and think Robert Downey Jr.'s film franchise is, well, elementary, comes a Sherlock that is a little more Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (with a healthy dose of Dick Wolfe). A handsome, eccentric and socially dysfunctional addict, Johnny Lee Miller's modern-take on Sherlock elevates this formulaic procedural. At least with a decidedly more lithe and enticing Watson (Lucy Liu), this version of the two characters might finally be able to move beyond their standard bromance.

MUSIC

Big release on Tuesday: Green Day (Uno!), No Doubt (Push and Shove)

Big picture: No Doubt is back for its sixth album and a lot has changed since the band's last outing, Rock Steady (2001). Even Gwen Stefani's solo career seems like yesterday's news. In the middle of the decade, Gwen seemed to be accompanied everywhere by four fashionable Japanese Harajuku Girls. Today, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga seem to be made from the parts of lesser Harajuku Girls. Meanwhile, pop-punk icons Green Day release the first of a rapid-release trilogy. The album is less political than recent efforts, and has a little more of the bratty irreverence and swagger that marked the group's early breakout days. And they even get sappy on Fell for You -- a striking punk take on the romantic, jukebox odes of yesteryear. Is it just me or do many of their song titles -- Let Yourself Go, Troublemaker, Loss of Control, Kill the DJ -- feel like they were lifted off the T-shirts of fans attending one of their concerts?

Forecast: No Doubt will have to push and shove to get back into the limelight. Green Day's album is almost a throwback gift to longtime fans and has the potential to go Uno!.

Honourable mention: Jason Collett (Reckon): The fact that he's always referred to as "a member of Broken Social Scene" does not do Collett's talents justice. No male singer-songwriter in Canada infuses so much creative energy into folksy pop rock. Collett's poetic wit and elegant vocals may be moody, they're never mopy or melodramatic. His seventh album teems with loss, whether at the hands of love or economic turmoil, and was partly inspired by Occupy Wall Street. Collett is a musical force to be reckoned with.

-- For Postmedia News

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 23, 2012 ??65527