In The Mix
Cd
Title: Weezer "Weezer" $13.98
Grade: B+
Basic story: Rest easy, slackers. Weezer's sixth studio disc is a bit audacious without skimping on what makes this band great — popping riffs, infectious choruses and an almost silly nostalgia for youth.
What you'll love: "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived" is Weezer's most ambitious song ever. Piano, acoustic guitars, choir chants and metal for six jaw-dropping minutes.
What you won't: -
Title: Jewel "Perfectly Clear" $18.98
Grade: C+
Basic story: Jewel calls this her "country album," but let's face it: She's been country for years. Which makes this seem all the more like some PR ploy.
What you'll love: "Anyone But You" is the record's most classic-country cut and also the best — a cosmopolitan-Nashville song in the vintage vein of Patsy Cline and Brenda Lee.
What you won't: The middle-of-the-road melodies don't help, but the greatest liability here is Jewel's voice, a thin and fragile instrument that, by now, should be seasoned.
Title: Ashanti "The Declaration" $13.98
Grade: D-
Basic story: She has all the ingredients needed to be a top-tier diva — the look, the platinum pedigree and, of course, The Voice. Just one thing missing: the music.
What you'll love: -
What you won't: This disc, her fourth, doesn't break any new ground, with her singing mainly over unremarkable R&B tracks about being a woman scorned.
Comic
Title: "Trinity #1" $2.99
Grade: D+
Basic story: This new weekly comic delves into the deep bond shared by DC's three most iconic characters — Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman.
What you'll love: -
What you won't: The Big Three won't have the whole comic all to themselves. In the first few issues at least, look for, ugh, filler stories about some of the supporting players.
Movie
Title: "You Don't Mess With the Zohan" PG-13 (crude and sexual content throughout)
Grade: B
Basic story: Meet Zohan (Adam Sandler), an Israeli spy who trades in his gun for a blow dryer — as a New York hairdresser.
What you'll love: The film has a disorienting, daffy feel. John McEnroe, George Takei and Bruce Vilanch show up just for the heck of it. Best of all, Sandler is actually funny.
What you won't: -
Dvd
Title: "Dirty Harry Ultimate Collector's Edition" $74.98
Grade: A-
Basic story: You've made our day: It's not the first time all the "Dirty Harry" films have been packaged in one collection, but this is by far the best.
What you'll love: There are interviews with Eastwood and cast, documentaries, a replica of Harry's wallet with police badge and more. Exactly how a classic should be treated.
What you won't: -
Title: "Semi-Pro" $28.98
Grade: D+
Basic story: The latest Will Ferrell, uh, comedy has him as a former pop singer who finds himself the owner of a low-rent American Basketball Association franchise.
What you'll love: -
What you won't: Ferrell's act is wearing thin.
Title: "The Eye" $29.95
Grade: F
Basic story: Jessica Alba stars (enough said) as a blind woman who gets an eye transplant and starts seeing scary visions, presumably from the previous owner.
What you'll love: -
What you won't: Extras include — waitaminute. Extras? What's a dud that's not even worth being shown on PAX at 2 a.m. doing with deleted scenes? Or four featurettes?
Title: "Mannix — The First Season" $54.99
Grade: B+
Basic story: Back when men were men and crime dramas weren't "The Wire," there was Mannix, a hard-living private dick who broke as many hearts as he did bones.
What you'll love: He drove fast, smoked often and fawned over femme fatales. And those were his good qualities. Star Mike Connors explains himself on the commentary track.
What you won't: There's no Gail Fisher, who played Mannix's secretary and was one of the first black actresses to star in a TV series. She'll be in Season 2. If there is one.
In The Mix
