Still craving the badass cop heroes that made movies like “The Departed,” “American Gangster” and “Pride and Glory” box office hits? Prepare to get your morally-questionable, crime-fighting fix with Antoine Fuqua’s newest feature, “Brooklyn’s Finest.” Both Richard Gere and Ethan Hawke play police struggling with inner conflicts.

When one hears that Kevin Smith, the director of “Clerks,” “Mallrats” and “Dogma,” is coming out with another movie, it’s hard not to brim with excitement. Until you remember that this is also the man who directed “Clerks II” and “Jersey Girl.” That’s when it’s hard not to get nervous.

Johnny Depp is one of those actors that seems to always get it right. Whether he’s playing a boy with scissors for hands or a Keith Richards-inspired pirate, he’s found a place among other character actors where he’s neither under nor overrated. Twenty-six years and nearly 50 films later, Depp is out to prove that he has nothing to prove — he’s fearless and eccentric, just the way we like him.

In one of his most anticipated films to date, Depp is playing the Mad Hatter in Tim Burton’s film adaptation of “Alice in Wonderland.” The film takes place 10 years later when Alice is 19 years old and once again falls through the rabbit hole to find herself…

Screamo would like you to know that it is still very much alive. Last Wednesday, hardcore alt-rock bands Drive A, Atreyu and The Used performed at the 9:30 club for hundreds of angry teens who came for blood.

Director Martin Scorcese has proved his talent in films like “The Departed” and “The Aviator,” but can he do it again with “Shutter Island?”

Never has there been a moment where music and charity have come together quite like in 1985 when Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson joined forces to write the song “We Are the World.” Originally created to help raise money for famine relief in Africa, the Grammy award-winning song has become one of history’s legendary singles. Now, with the catastrophe that has occurred in Haiti, music icons and young singers have rallied together to remake “We Are the World.”

Conducted by Quincy Jones, this year’s version premiered at the beginning of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. It featured over 36 soloists and a chorus of 80 — some not even professional singers, such as contributor Hayden Panettiere. In comparison to…

When you put the biggest names in music under one roof, you’re bound to make history. That’s what this year’s 52nd Grammy Awards set out to do. No expenses were spared and the stars came out in their finest.

Never one to disappoint the fashion world, Lady Gaga wore a glitzy purple and silver gown covered with rings to give off a planetary effect. Another show-stopping look was Pink in a gray, mermaid-style gown. As far as fashion flops, Rihanna’s all-white, feather-laden gown was a far cry from her usual rebel-chic look and failed to impress.

Opening the night was comedian Stephen Colbert (who also won later that night for Best Comedy Album) making typical jokes about religion…

With an all-star cast featuring the likes of Christopher Plummer, Helen Mirren, Paul Giamatti and James McAvoy, “The Last Station” was bound to be the stuff of indie film magic. Directed by Michael Hoffman (“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”), “The Last Station” focuses on the final year in the life of famed Russian writer Leo Tolstoy. Based on the Jay Parini novel of the same name, “Station” takes on the most difficult aspect in Tolstoy’s life at the time: his relationship with his erratic wife, Sofya (Mirren).

The Grammys go to the girls this year. Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga all received six or more nominations for the coveted awards. But we bet you’ll tune to see if The Lonely Island can beat out Jay-Z and Kanye for “Best Rap/Sung Collaboration” with their YouTube sensation, “I’m On a Boat.”

If you think nerd rock only applies to bands like Weezer, you may want to redirect your attention to New York-based band We Are Scientists.

This season, television shows were chock full of drama and new beginnings. Whether you are a longtime fan gearing up for the new season of “Lost,” a late-night aficionado clinging to the last remaining episode of “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien” or a college kid glued to the television to watch the fights on the “Jersey Shore,” there was no shortage of good shows to obsess over.

On Friday, Jan. 22, Conan O’Brien took to the stage of the “Tonight Show” for the last time. After the whole NBC debacle, Team Coco fans tuned in to watch his last starring role on television for the next seven months. But in true O’Brien style, the night was big on…

What do George Clooney, Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert Downey, Jr. all have in common? (That is, besides fame, fortune and eternal good looks.)

If you watch TV or play video games, you’ve probably heard Cage the Elephant’s catchy, blues-tinted single “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked.”

While some musicians focus on both their music and personal appearance, alt-rock band “We Are Scientists” balance their serious music with hilarious personalities. Upon visiting their homepage, one will see advertising for “equestrine upholstery,” or simply, horse blankets. It’s such a contrast that you wonder what the hell these guys are all about.

It seems as though when each new year rolls around in the world of filmmaking, there is a flurry to make the perfect period piece. While “The Young Victoria” is not perfect, it is certainly one of the best to come out this year.

Columbus Short is many things, among them an actor, dancer and singer. But he would describe himself with three different words.

When you throw together brooding bass strums, electric guitars and razor-sharp techno keyboards, you get rock ‘n’ roll band The Dig.

NBC’s newest show “Community” follows the story of Jeff Winger (Joel McHale), an unlucky lawyer whose college degree was deemed invalid by the bar. But the show is not a typical in-your-face comedy. It’s subtle, sarcastic and sometimes downright mean, and you can’t help but laugh.

In comparison to “The Boondock Saints”, the new sequel is bigger, badder and certainly funnier. In “Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day,” fraternal twins Connor and Murphy MacManus, (Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus) are hidden deep in Ireland with their father (Billy Connolly), having narrowly escaped capture in the last movie. But when a murderer in Boston kills a priest and frames the Saints, they cut their hair and beards and leave the sheep farm to clear their name in Boston.

Imagine that with the press of a button, you could easily have $1 million. But there’s a catch. If you press that button, someone, somewhere in the world will die. You don’t know who it will be, but it will be a total stranger. Still sound worth it?

To movie buffs out there, the name Robert Zemeckis is equal to cinematic legend. For those who may not recognize his name, maybe this one sounds more familiar: “Forrest Gump.” If even that film doesn’t quite do it for you, how about “Cast Away,” “Back to the Future” or “The Polar Express?” These films are among the many Zemeckis wrote, directed and produced. He’s worked with the best actors and directors out there, including both Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg (multiple times), as well as Halle Berry and Angelina Jolie, with his films grossing over $1 billion worldwide.

They’re loud, they’re English and they rock hard. They are Sheffield, England’s finest: the Arctic Monkeys. If you don’t know who they are, it’s about time you got caught up.

If anyone could turn the Parks and Recreation government department into the setting of a hysterical sitcom, it’s SNL alum, Amy Poehler. “Parks and Recreation” follows the life of Leslie Knope (played by Poehler), a Parks and Recreation deputy director in fictional Pawnee, Ind. Knope is a feminist, often citing Hillary Clinton and Madeline Albright as her heroes.

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Hotel takes its title quite seriously. Upon entering, one is swamped in darkness and deep colored lighting. All around are pictures of rock legends such as Jimi Hendrix and the Ramones, while screamo-rock music blasts from a jukebox in the corner. There are no chairs — just a bare dance floor, a bar and a small stage lit up with purple spotlights. The crowd was standing around with drinks in hand, waiting for New Orleans-based band, the Generationals, to take the stage.

At 9:30 p.m. on Oct. 24, the band took the stage, looking more like everyday mall rats than potential rock stars. Lead singers Ted Joyner and Grant Widmer, dressed in a plaid shirts…

“The Stepfather” – hitting theaters this Friday, Oct. 16 – is based on an old-school variety of horror, but with a modern, Hollywood twist. Actor Penn Badgley plays an angry teenager forced to deal with his mother’s new boyfriend, who–you guessed it–hiding a secret. In horror film fashion, terror ensues.

Although there are only two guitarists, they sound like an army, strumming powerfully on their guitars. They are impossibly fast and completely irresistible. What’s strange is that they started off as a heavy metal band.

When comedian Tina Fey and writer-producer Robert Carlock decided to develop a television show, they ended up striking comedic gold.

This is not surprising, considering both Fey and Carlock’s backgrounds in “Saturday Night Live.” The treasure in question became “30 Rock,” an NBC sitcom named after the building it is produced in, 30 Rockefeller Plaza. With a whopping 22 Emmy nominations, as well as Golden Globe and SAG awards, “30 Rock” is a bona fide hit, entertaining audiences of all ages.

The show centers around Liz Lemon (Fey), head writer of a sketch comedy show called “TGS with Tracy Jordan” (Tracy Morgan). Everyday is something new for Lemon, whether it be dealing with her right-wing boss, Jack Donaghy (played by Alec Baldwin), or enduring the peppy page, Kenneth (played by Jack McBrayer). Life in show business is fast-paced, and audiences watch while Lemon tries to keep her personal life intact and her professional life successful.

The Coen brothers have a knack for creating films that dance a fine line between misery and hilarity. “A Serious Man” has the best of both qualities. Their newest film is perhaps one of their finest — a black comedy in its entirety that is also somewhat autobiographical.

The pairing of Jupiter One and Regina Spektor on tour is so genius that only Spektor herself could have come up with it. Their raucous yet refined sound was the perfect set-up for Spektor’s melodic and quirky performance.

As comedian Jim Breuer got up on the stage of the Sixth and I Synagogue, he looked around and said, “Yeah, I know what you guys are thinking: Am I in the right place?” The crowd laughed, considering that at one point or another, that thought might have crossed their minds. Since when do comedians perform in synagogues? Breuer’s joke about that elephant in the room immediately eased the crowd.

Comedian Jim Breuer, best known for his roles in the sketch comedy show “Saturday Night Live” and films like “Half Baked,” will be performing at the Sixth and I Historic Synagogue on Thursday, Sept. 24.

It seems as though the summer of 2009 is attempting to recreate the inimitable summer of 1969 — the summer of peace and love. The counterculture is making a comeback, having been re-imagined in films like Ang Lee’s “Taking Woodstock” as well as in fashion and literature. Now it seems like D.C. is finally catching on.