Movies
Ready to scream again? "Scream 4," the latest installment in the popular slasher series, hits theaters this week. Original cast members Courteney Cox, David Arquette and Neve Campbell are back, as are the original director, legendary Wes Craven, and writer, Kevin Williamson.
This, of course, is the series that unleashed a million Halloween costumes of kids in black robes with those Munch-like open-mouthed masks. The studio has worked hard to keep spoilers under wraps, but soon we'll all be able to see if it's worth the tight lips. They thankfully resisted putting the film in 3-D. (Opens April 15.)
Her name is "Rio," and she dances on the sand. Wait, wrong "Rio." This one's a colorful 3-D kids' movie about Blu, a macaw from Minnesota who heads down to Brazil to find a mate. The bird and his would-be lady love are kidnapped, and high jinks ensue. Jesse Eisenberg and Anne Hathaway provide the voices of the two main feathered friends. (Opens April 15.)
Like a little history with your cinema? "The Conspirator" tells the story of Mary Surratt, who owned the boarding house where John Wilkes Booth and others planned Abraham Lincoln's murder, and was put on trial for her life. Robert Redford directed the film, with Robin Wright as Surratt. We all know about Booth, but Surratt's story is little-known, and it should be interesting to see how Redford translates such a grim tale to film. (Opens April 15.)
TV
Need a new juicy TV series to sink into? You're looking for "Game of Thrones," based on the first novel in the series by George R. R. Martin, and now a drama on HBO. Entertainment Weekly says it offers "an intoxicating combination of sex, political intrigue, soapy melodrama, fantasy and adventure, all set against the biggest of big-budget production values." And since you know HBO won't be letting episodes out on iTunes or Amazon, if you don't catch it now, you'll have to wait for the DVDs. (April 17, 9 p.m., HBO.)
"Deadliest Catch" returns this week, with Josh and Jake Harris still trying to move on from the death of their father, Captain Phil Harris. Things may be serious over on their boat, the Cornelia Marie, but not so elsewhere. Two new boats join the crab fleet this year, and one of them has been dubbed "the floating frat house." (April 12, 9 p.m., Discovery Channel.)
DVD
Gwyneth Paltrow as a singer? You'll have to see "Country Strong" for yourself and see if you buy that. Roger Ebert calls it "one of the best movies of 1957." He means that as a compliment, sort of, but he also means it's a throwback to simpler social melodrama with stock characters and plot. And, well, Gwyneth sings. (Out on DVD April 12.)Gael Fashingbauer Cooper is TODAY.com's movies editor.