The Hot Sheet

Movies

Resident Evil: Afterlife -- Back for a fourth installment of the video game-based series (again directed by her husband, Paul W.S. Anderson), lesbian fave Milla Jovovich is ready to kick ass in Resident Evil: Afterlife -- this time in 3-D. She's joined by former Heroes star Ali Larter and Prison Break alum Wentworth Miller, picking up where the last film left off -- roaming Los Angeles in search of survivors.

I'm Still Here -- Has Joaquin Phoenix spent the last year and a half snowing America? Not sure if we'll ever get the answer in full, but the actor -- who in 2008 announced his retirement from acting to embark on a rap music career -- resurfaces in a new "documentary" feature I'm Still Here, directed by friend Casey Affleck. According to the Los Angeles Times, the film features "more male frontal nudity than you'd find in some gay porn films," and yet still, most critics aren't certain whether it's real life or mockumentary.

The Romantics -- Anna Paquin is getting married -- to a guy, unfortunately ladies -- and Katie Holmes has been asked to stand next to her as a bridesmaid ... who's in love with the groom (Josh Duhamel). What sounds like your standard romantic comedy gets a touch of drama and indie cred thrown into the mix, along with strong support from an able cast including Malin Akerman, Candice Bergen, Adam Brody, Elijah Wood, and Glee's Dianna Agron.

Music

Sara Bareilles: Kaleidoscope Heart -- Three years ago Sara Bareilles scored a number 1 hit with a song about not caving to pressure from her record company to write a hit "Love Song." The irony paid off, and with her follow-up disc, Bareilles shows she's as savvy a wordsmith as she is a singer. Her lyrics come from the heart, which is probably why she tones her Celine Dion-size pipes down to a more melodic, heartfelt Sarah McLachlan whisper for songs of love and loss, then shouts with enthusiasm on pop-rock anthems like "Machine Gun" and "Uncharted." Still, Bareilles is at her best when singing from her soul, and never better on this CD than on the haunting ballad "Hold My Heart."

Brandon Flowers: Flamingo -- Flowers, arguably the cutest and most charismatic guy in pop music, takes a breather from the Killers with this first solo album, a mostly mid-tempo 14-song set, including the soaring, melodramatic first single "Crossfire." While there's nothing here as propulsive as the band's "Somebody Told Me" or "Human," the seedy anthem "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas," "Hard Enough" (a plaintive duet with Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis), and the driving "Magdalena" give his voice a workout. Unfortunately, the killer cover of "Bette Davis Eyes" he's been performing in club dates recently isn't included.

DVDs

Madchen in Uniform -- This exquisite 1958 remake of the 1931 classic, considered to be the first film with a frankly lesbian story line, stars a luminous Lilli Palmer with a ravishing Romy Schneider in a tale of forbidden love and youthful lesbian longing between teacher and student at a German boarding school.

The Office: Season 6 -- The NBC hit about the often outrageous shenanigans at Dunder-Mifflin cranked up the queasiness quotient when Michael dated Pam's mother and added Kathy Bates as the new boss from hell, but lovelorn Oscar's attempt to woo the hot and ambiguous new warehouse worker (newcomer Sam Daly) was the highlight.