Each Thursday, the Avenue is serving up the best in entertainment, pop culture and everything in between. From the big screen to the radio waves, check out this week’s picks.
See: “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps”
Greed, manipulation, self-advancement: Sounds like that economics class you took freshman year. “Wall Street” is a story about money and the measures one takes to get it, starring Michael Douglas, Carey Mulligan and Shia LaBeouf. In theaters Friday, the drama follows Gordon Gekko (Douglas), a washed-up, disgraced Wall Street trader who returns to the game after serving time in prison. Supposedly trying to fix a severed relationship with his daughter (Mulligan), the money mastermind befriends her fiancé, Jacob (LaBeouf). But how does the saying go? Once a liar, always a liar. You can bet your $10 movie ticket that Mr. Moolah has other plans.
Listen: Hands All Over
Radio’s favorite crooner Adam Levine (and those other four guys from Maroon 5) are back this week with their third studio album after a three-year hiatus. Though the Los Angeles group mostly plays it safe on “Hands All Over,” sticking with the poppy-funky-sexy-ballady mix it’s known for, there’s a few standouts, like “Out of Goodbyes,” which features Lady Antebellum.
Click: “A Teenage Parody”
He’s not exactly dreamy, but watch as this gawky YouTuber lip-syncs to Katy Perry’s No. 1 bubblegum jam, “Teenage Dream.” In the video, which has more than 6 million YouTube views, the bushy-haired brunette sways, grooves and busts several moves – without leaving the confines of his desk chair. There’s no skin-tight jeans, just lots of intense facial expressions, and it’s hard to tell whether his enthusiasm is serious or just plain mockery. Either way, Katy was definitely singing along, Tweeting her approval of the parody (“THIS... is my Teenage Dream”) earlier this month.
Watch: “Eastbound & Down”
Like the comedy of Will Ferrell? “Eastbound & Down” is back, and the king of comedy, alongside fellow comedian Adam McKay (the executive producers of the show), is kicking off its second season Sunday at 10:30 p.m. The show follows Kenny Powers (Danny McBride), an ex-major league baseball player who returns to his middle school to teach physical education. McBride’s character’s self-deprecating but tough-guy, I-don’t-care attitude is as hilarious as it is endearing. And not only are the show’s characters entertaining, but the crew – “Pineapple Express” director David Gordon Greene and “Observe and Report” writer and director Jody Hill – are also experts in making audiences laugh.
