Hot Sheet: Rufus, and

Movies

Handsome Harry -- A Vietnam vet (Jamey Sheridan) promises his old Navy friend (Steve Buscemi) on his deathbed to seek out the gay comrade (Campbell Scott) they betrayed during the war and make things right in Handsome Harry. Buscemi and Scott are both stars of pioneering works of gay film, Parting Glances and Longtime Companion, respectively. Buzz for this indie suggests they might just add another classic to their resumes.

Death at a Funeral -- The original Death at a Funeral hit theaters in 2007, but since Hollywood has no new ideas, it's just going through the British archives to remake films at this point. The plot is similar in this remake, starring Chris Rock, James Marsden, and Martin Lawrence. Peter Dinklage returns from the original in the same role -- the gay, blackmailing lover of the deceased. Reviews for the remake are mixed.

Kick-Ass -- A cast of mostly newcomers stars in this story of a high-school reject who decides one night to become a superhero, even though he has no skills, no powers, and no means to do so. Reviews have been strong, and comic book fans will likely be blown away by the visual effects.

Music

Rufus Wainwright -- All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu
Wainwright's edgy new album, All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu, showcases the artist's love for opera and has a melancholy tone. Wainwright's alter ego, Lulu, similar to Shakespeare's dark lady, is said to represent the dark woman who lives inside all of us. The album's first single is "Who Are You New York?" and there are several Shakespearean sonnets sprinkled into Wainwright's track listing.

Toni Braxton -- Pulse
Pulse is Toni Braxton's first album with Atlantic Records and promises to usher in the return of the R&B diva. The video for "Yesterday," Braxton's song with the very ripped Trey Songz, features a shirtless Songz in passionate embraces with Braxton, wearing underwear and heels. The diva did double duty by filming and releasing the videos for her next two singles within one day of each other.

Natalie Merchant -- Leave Your Sleep
Natalie Merchant's Leave Your Sleep is a concept two-disc compilation album featuring music adapted from 19th- and 20th-century British and American poetry about childhood. Merchant's fifth album, Leave Your Sleep features Celtic tones in addition to a variety of influences from other cultures.

DVDs

Lucy Calls the President -- We still love eternal gay fave Lucille Ball, even in lesser works like this tale of an Indiana housewife who calls up then-president Jimmy Carter to complain about a housing project scheduled to be built at the site of the local camp for underprivileged children. This 1977 TV special would mark her final pairing with frequent costar Vivian Vance.

Party Down: Season One -- Out actress (and current star of the TV phenomenon Glee) Jane Lynch and perennial scene-stealer Jennifer Coolidge help elevate this frequently amusing workplace sitcom about the titular catering company. While the workplace changes with each episode, the misfits who make up the catering crew remain hopeful that something better will come their way.

Pirate Radio -- A talented cast, including Bill Nighy and Philip Seymour Hoffman, headlines the latest from Love Actually writer-director Richard Curtis, about a ship full of renegade English DJs in the 1960s. Curtis gets props for handling the homosexuality of a character (in this case, a lesbian crew member) as nonsensational a manner as possible, but the editing of material deemed too British-specific for U.S. audiences (this was released as The Boat That Rocked in the U.K.) keeps the film from sailing.

Falcon Crest: The Complete First Season -- Often the forgotten prime-time soap behind Dallas, Dynasty, and Knots Landing, Falcon Crest deserves its second life on DVD if for no other reason than the late-in-life bravura performance by Jane Wyman. The show also introduced audiences to Lorenzo Lamas and Susan Sullivan, later a scene-stealer on Dharma & Greg.