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Best bets: Jacob gets to howl in ‘New Moon’

"Twilight" sequel hits theaters. Also: Kris Allen's debut album; "Star Trek" and "Bruno" on DVD; Stephen King's latest.
/ Source: msnbc.com

MoviesAre you ready to abandon Team Edward in favor of Team Jacob? It looks like Bella (Kristen Stewart) just might do that in “New Moon,” the latest installment of the “Twilight” series. We’ve heard all about Taylor Lautner’s newly buff bod and Robert Pattinson’s unbelievable popularity with fans, but will all that translate to a true box office bonanza? (Opens Nov. 20)

How can you possibly resist this Werner Herzog “reimagining” of Abel Ferrara’s gritty 1992 film, "Bad Lieutenant"? In “The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans,” Nicolas Cage stars as a drug-addled detective in post-Katrina New Orleans. Variety wrote, “The film is offbeat, silly, disarming and loopy all at the same time.” (Opens Nov. 20)

MusicNorah Jones trades her silky smooth style for a more rocking sound with her new album, “The Fall.” Spin magazine gave the album three and a half stars and calls it “a hot-blooded soul record from the queen of the even keel.” (On sale Nov. 17)

Two of Simon Cowell’s prodigies have new albums this week. “X Factor’s” Leona Lewis releases “Echo,” and “American Idol’s” Kris Allen puts out his self-titled album. Who will win this battle of the talent-show winners? (On sale Nov. 17)

TVHungry for yet another cooking show? In Bravo's new series, "Chef Academy," Chef Jean Christophe Novelli directs the knives of nine wannabe chefs at his culinary academy in Venice, Calif. (Premieres Nov. 16, 11 p.m., Bravo)

DVD"Star Trek" is reborn for a new generation, with the latest film tracing how Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the original Enterprise crew met back in academy days. Chris Pine makes for a dynamite hotheaded young Kirk, but Zachary Quinto steals the show as that rarity, a Mr. Spock who occasionally lets his emotions show. How illogical. But the movie earned raves from old and new fans alike. (Out on DVD Nov. 17.)

TV Guide wrote of "Brüno" that "(Sacha) Baron Cohen essentially turns a carnival mirror on society, and some people simply aren't going to like what they see." If you're one of those who can take it, pick up the DVD this week. (Out on DVD Nov. 17.)

BOOKSA new thousand-page novel from Stephen King? Both horror fans and those in need of an enormous new doorstep are surely thrilled. King's "Under the Dome" tells of a Maine town that's suddenly shut off from the world by a giant plastic roof that mysteriously surrounds them. Sounds a little like "The Simpsons Movie," yes, but King says he was working on his first. (In bookstores now.)