For a quick look at the entertainment choices the Gargoyle has featured this year, be sure to visit our A&E Hitlist. There you'll find at-a-glance info about the movies, DVDs, CDs, and video games that we've included in our weekly guides since the school year began. In addition, you'll find links to external reviews (usually by Roger Ebert or New York Times critics) of the movies and DVDs in our guides, plus iTunes or MySpace links to our music selections. We've also added GameSpot links to our video game choices. So check out this wealth of A&E info!

Movies opening in C-U

“4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days”
Rated R, dir. Cristian Mungiu
Two roommates in Bucharest during the last days of communism in Romania come face to face with the menace of male oppression when one of them needs an abortion.

“Smart People”
Rated R, dir. Noam Murro
Dennis Quaid, Thomas Haden Church, Sarah Jessica Parker and Ellen Page star in this quirky family drama about an imperiously brilliant professor perplexed by the conundrums of love and family.

“Prom Night”
Rated PG-13, dir. Nelson McCormick
This remake of the 1980 Jamie Lee Curtis frightfest finds a dark secret among a group of young girls coming back to haunt them in gruesome fashion on their prom night.

“Street Kings”
Rated R, dir. David Ayer
Forest Whitaker, Hugh Laurie, Common, Jay Mohr, John Corbett, Cedric the Entertainer, and Keanu Reeves (who apparently hasn’t fallen off the face of the earth) comprise an all-star cast for this movie about cops and robbers and stuff.

Kumars’ Pick: When in doubt, go with Boardman’s. The fact that “4 Months …” has absolutely stellar reviews doesn’t hurt its case, either.

CD releases this week

“Keep Telling Myself It’s All Right”
ASHES dIVIDE
Ashes Divide is the latest project of Billy Howerdell, the singer/guitarist of alt-rock stars A Perfect Circle. The band’s MySpace describes “The Stone,” the album’s first single, as “centering on the concept of self-worth and denial, while serving as a musical guide to the rest of the record. Howerdel says, ‘There are several songs on the record that deal with the idea of not being worthy or pushing people away. This song is interesting, because at times it was getting musically heavy for the wrong reasons. I think heaviness, in music, is a delicate matter. Songs can’t be heavy for the wrong reasons.’”

“Help Wanted”
Eric Avery
Eric Avery, the original bassist of Jane’s Addiction, releases the first album of his solo career. Heavily electronic and lyrically dark, if not depressing, Avery’s brand of synthesized, moody rock won’t have a fan in everyone, but it could be just perfect depending on your tolerance for a disconnect with reality.

“Bleeding Love”
Leona Lewis
What would happen if Alicia Keys and Corrine Bailey Rae had a child who was almost as good as they were? Why, she would get a lot of airtime on VH1 of course! Leona Lewis combines pop catchiness with an amazing R&B voice to reach a level of respectability not often found with artists of her popularity. Her single “Bleeding Love” became the first song by a British female singer to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in more than 20 years.

“Colin Meloy Sings Live!”
Colin Meloy
Colin Meloy, the lead singer/guitarist/songwriter of The Decemberists, releases a collection of songs performed on his solo tour.

“The Last Tycoon”
Peter Moren
Peter Moren of the Swedish indie rock group Peter Bjorn and John begins his solo career. “The Last Tycoon” is a compilation of 10 tracks that Moren spent two years making. The album has a lo-fi production feel and incorporates organs, harmonicas, vibraphones, drum machines, and even a musical saw to accompany the main concept of Moren, solo with his acoustic guitar.

Laura’s Pick: For a week where I hadn’t heard of most of these artists beforehand, these are all pretty impressive choices. From what I’ve listened to so far, Peter Moren is incredibly talented and relaxing, although his music doesn’t include any concepts that are particularly new or special. ASHES dIVIDE have the potential to put out a solid rock album, obnoxious spelling and all. I don’t really like the Decemberists, but I’m definitely in the minority on that one. Leona Lewis and Eric Avery are both quite good at what they do, so you really can’t go wrong this week.

DVD releases this week

“There Will Be Blood”
Rated R, dir. Paul Thomas Anderson
Genius filmmaker P.T. Anderson (“Boogie Nights,” “Magnolia”) presents this dark, universally acclaimed portrait of a turn-of-the-century prospector (Daniel Day-Lewis) who, upon receiving a mysterious tip-off, transforms himself from a down-and-out single father mining silver into a powerful oil tycoon.

“The 11th Hour”
Not Rated, dir. Nadia Conners & Leila Conners Petersen
Leonardo DiCaprio is the master of ceremonies for this documentary examination of the dire state of the environment.

“Lions for Lambs”
Rated R, dir. Robert Redford
Veteran actor/director Robert Redford’s latest is a story of interconnected lives on the military and political battlefronts of the War on Terror. Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep also star.

“P2”
Rated R, dir. Franck Khalfoun
An ambitious businesswoman (Rachel Nichols) working late on Christmas Eve finds herself in a waking nightmare when a deranged security guard (Wes Bentley) is the only other person in the building.

“Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story”
Rated R, dir. Jake Kasdan
John C. Reilly stars as the titular character in this mock biopic about the life of fictional rock ’n’ roll singer Dewey Cox. Jack Black, Paul Rudd, Jason Schwartzman, Justin Long, "The Daily Show"’s Ed Helms, "SNL"’s Chris Parnell, and the White Stripes’ Jack White also feature.

“The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep”
Rated PG, dir. Jay Russell
A 12-year-old boy finds a strange-looking egg on the beach in coastal Scotland and brings it home, only to see it hatch into the title character.

Kumars’ Pick: “There Will Be Blood” is the most accomplished film of the last seven years. If you’re not into that sort of thing, your best bet this week is “Water Horse.”

Video game releases this week

“Team Fortress 2”
(Valve Corporation)
A sequel to “Team Fortress,” this game brings back all nine playable classes such as the Heavy, the Scout, the Soldier, the Medic, and many others. Utilizing cartoon-like graphics, this multiplayer first-person shooter is all about coordination and teamwork. “Team Fortress 2” costs $29.99 for the PC.

“Portal”
(Valve Corporation)
You play as Chell, a woman stuck in the Aperture Science Enrichment Center that is run by computer artificial intelligence GLaDOS. Armed with the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device (portal gun), Chell must use her gun to create portals to help her escape out of the science building before GLaDOS kills her. “Portal” costs $19.99 for the PC.

“Baroque”
(Atlus)
The world is slowly being taken over by meta-beings, who are humans who have completely lost their soul. Only one human, a red-pupiled man, can bring life back to the world by traveling to the Neuro Tower. “Baroque” costs $39.99 for the Wii and $39.99 for the PS2

Gordon’s Pick: “Team Fortress 2” and “Portal” are both excellent games. However, I would actually recommend the compilation game “The Orange Box,” which was released in October. It offers five highly acclaimed games: “Team Fortress 2,” “Portal,” “Half-Life 2,” “Half-Life 2: Episode 1,” and “Half-Life 2: Episode 2.” So I suggest “The Orange Box” unless you really don’t want the “Half-Life 2” games. As for “Baroque,” the storyline is extremely vague and the game play seems repetitive. Ignore it.

Live music in C-U

Kimya Dawson
7 p.m. Sunday, April 13
U-C Independent Media Center, 202 S. Broadway, Urbana, $13 in advance
Kimya Dawson, a member of The Moldy Peaches and currently famous for her work on the “Juno” soundtrack, visits the IMC, with a “special guest” to be announced.

Laura's Pick: Yes, it's a Sunday night show, but it's KIMYA DAWSON! She's also a prominent member of the “antifolk” movement, whatever that is! She's so delightfully weird (there are paragraphs on her MySpace about cloth diapering and how it can become an addiction) that you have to go check her out if you possibly can.