3:10 to Yuma from director James Mangold is a thrilling, character-driven piece that ranks as one of the best films of the year. Its taut screenplay by Michael Brandt and Derek Haas creates an action-packed film with characters who are both human and immediately accessible. This, coupled with top-notch performances from the cast, marks Yuma as a definite must-see.

Mr. Woodcock. I thought that would be a sexual euphemism. Guess not. Anyway, Mr. Woodcock stars two of Hollywood’s most renowned stars with three names: Seann William Scott and Billy Bob Thornton. Scott plays John Farley, author of a national bestselling self-help book called Letting Go: Getting Past Your Past, who returns home to his small Nebraska town to accept a prestigious town award, the “Corn Cob Key.” Surprising his mother Beverly (Susan Sarandon), he’s greeted by the mind-blowing news that Beverly is dating Jasper Woodcock (Billy Bob Thornton), his former middle school PE teacher. Woodcock’s PE is like a boot camp that not only condones but wholeheartedly endorses child abuse.

It starts with music; a song, a dance and good humor. On a mostly bare set, the piano is played while the main characters exposit the introduction. No one is in a concentration camp, no one is running from the Gestapo, no one is hailing Hitler in uniform. The music is lively, not dismal, the lighting bright and cheery, not grey and foreboding. I’m confused; is this the wrong play? Forgive my glib tone; I am only echoing a part of the juxtaposition that is Good, the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts’ opening play for their fall season about a good man in Germany in the 1930s who, little by little, becomes a member of the Nazi Party. This struggle between good and bad, and our judgments of both, are Good’s core.

Frankly, all I can say is the New Pornographers have mad skills. Challengers, their fourth full length album, which was released in August, exemplifies their ability to make classic power pop that possesses a firm grasp on the production of complex harmonies layered over powerful hooks.

Challengers represents a more mature side of The New Pornographers. It definitely has the powerful upbeat melodies characteristic of A.C. Newman’s style, but not to the same degree as previous NP albums, where his melodies dominate most of the album. The songs on Challengers have a lulling feeling, tugging away at your lyrical heartstrings, while still keeping your head and feet engaged with upbeat musical tempos.