HOT TICKET
Tom Hanks back in Inferno
MOVIES
Big release on Oct. 28: Inferno. Big picture: First he cracked The Da Vinci Code, then he battled Angels & Demons. Perhaps its only fitting that symbologist Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) is now headed for Dante’s Inferno. In the new thriller, our brainy hero follows a trail of clues and conspiracies tied to the great Dante himself — the poet who, we’re told, “defined our modern conception of hell” (until the current American presidential race).
Along the way, Langdon must combat drug-induced visions of hell and stop a plague from being unleashed — but, hey, at least he gets to take a trip to Florence, Italy. Beyond solving riddles, Langdon’s second favourite hobby appears to be exposition: “Oh my God, Dante’s Inferno isn’t fiction!” You can thank lazy screenwriters who think we’re all stupid. Forecast: Given that so many ancient masters of literature and invention have left codes in their work, what kind of secrets will Langdon’s symbologist grandchildren be solving? I’m hoping there’s mysterious subtext hidden in the Harry Potter series that leads to the real Hogwarts.
TV
Big events: The Great Indoors (Oct. 27, CBS/Global); Pure Genius (Oct. 27, CBS/Global). Big picture: Community’s Jeff Winger (Joel McHale) heads to the Great Indoors as a veteran adventure travel writer reassigned to an office job managing the magazine’s semi-useless millennials (i.e., the digital department). Of course, he only communicates in sarcasm, and they only communicate via social media … so cue the generational misunderstandings. Co-stars include Christopher Mintz-Plasse and veteran English comedian Stephen Fry as the mag’s top boss.
Meanwhile, Pure Genius is a new medical drama that combines Silicon Valley, ER and House. Augustus Prew plays tech mogul James Bell, a man on a mission: spending zillions to create the world’s most cuttingedge hospital. (Yes, of course he has ulterior motives). Dermot Mulroney plays the requisite controversial, surly but brilliant surgeon. Bell is like a rich, altruistic snake-oil salesman: promising cures and miracles to everyone. Forecast: McHale will prove he deserves to be a comic leading man; Pure Genius will prove the public’s addiction to medical dramas is incurable. Honourable mention: Man With a Plan (Oct. 24, CBS/Global). Matt LeBlanc joins fellow Friends alum Matthew Perry (The Odd Couple) in your Monday night comedy lineup. (Maybe David Schwimmer can land an appropriately titled sitcom called Man Without a Plan). As for LeBlanc, he plays a father who must take charge of his young brood when his wife returns to work. Cue kindergarten advice like “a punch in the nose is a real problem solver.”
MUSIC
Big release on Oct. 28: The Hidden Cameras (Home on Native Land). Big picture: The Hidden Cameras make a flashy return from living in Europe with this quirky, idealized take on Canadiana — an album complete with country twang and collaborations with Rufus Wainwright, the Pet Shop Boys’ Neil Tennant, Feist, Bahamas and Ron Sexsmith. New songs appear alongside covers of Canadian standards like Log Driver’s Waltz. (Apparently, the log driver also learns to step lightly in the recording studio.) Forecast: The Hidden Cameras find themselves in fertile, native soil. (Am I the only one who’d like to watch a Canadian historical drama about a log driver? Your move, CBC. It’s a guaranteed ratings win. Especially if the log driver is shirtless … and native son Ryan Gosling.) Honourable mention: Tove Lo (Lady Wood). This Swedish songwriter cues the techno-pop — and the career breakthrough. You’ll never forget her name.