The Black Entertainment Television hip-hop music awards, aired Oct. 12, were — as usual — a sight to see.

This year’s award show was so good, it made you not give a damn that cable reruns the show over and over, all of the time.

The performances were very lively, but they were outshone by segments in the show called the “cypher.”

Recently appearing in box offices, “Conviction” provides a entertaining story with a historical base with the potential to win an Academy Award.

Writer Pamela Gray’s and Director Tony Goldwyn’s film opened Oct. 15.

While “Jackass 3-D” will more than likely claim the title of number one in the box office, this film should not fall under the shadow of grown men who are paid to act like children.

“Conviction” is based on the true story of Betty-Ann (Hilary Swank) and Kenneth Waters (Sam Rockwell), siblings who struggle from childhood to live a “normal” life.

“Never Let Me Go” is a romance, a story of undying love.

That being said, the thought of seeing a British romance movie starring Keira Knightley turned my stomach.

But “Never let Me Go” is romance that can be tolerated and even appreciated by most any male.

It is a film which incorporates ideas of cloning and organ-farming to give the movie a depth and a uniqueness which I did not anticipate.

The film starts by saying that in the near future all disease has been eliminated.

The show started 15 minutes late and ended 15 minutes early, but no one in the audience left without being moved.

The Strokes were one of the most anticipated headliners at this year’s Austin City Limits Music Festival — and they fulfilled expectations and then some.

The Strokes played an energetic hour-long set that wowed the festival crowd.

Whether you have the rhythmic prowess of Michael Jackson or you dance with your cat when no one is watching, you’re bound to love “Just Dance 2,” released Oct. 12 for the Nintendo Wii.

“Just Dance 2” is the long-awaited sequel to “Just Dance,” the original video game to feature real dance moves to popular music tracks.

Before the “Just Dance” series revolutionized the genre, dance games were basically exercises set to music. You would stomp your feet or move your hands to watch an on-screen pattern.

“The Social Network” is a good movie that could have been a lot better.

Going into the movie I expected something earth-shattering because of the way it has been received by critics. Instead I was given something slightly above average.

This story of pretentious jerks that are in love with their own genius is worth watching, but just barely.

“The Social Network” is about Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook founder who nefariously stole the idea from his business partners.

Who would have guessed that the creator of gratuitously bloody movies like “300” and “Watchmen” could create an animated masterpiece about warrior owls?

That’s exactly what director Zack Snyder did in “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole,” a flick that rivals “Avatar” in quality and “The Lion King” in heart.

Released into theaters Sept. 24, “Owls” is adapted from a series of novels by Kathryn Lasky.

The hero is Soren (voiced by Jim Sturgess), an adventurous young barn owl who is only just learning how to fly. He is enraptured by tales of the Guardians of Ga’Hoole, a band of winged warriors who are sworn to protect the innocent.

Powering on your Nintendo Wii is like hearing your favorite song on the radio: you smile stupidly, you wave your arms around, and you know all the words — or in this instance, the hand motions — by heart.

But sometimes the routine gets a little mundane. So the next time you fire up your system, give Super Smash Bros. Brawl a break and swing your cursor to the right, where you’ll find the Wii Shop Channel.

Florida-based alternative rock band Anberlin is back with yet another new release, “Dark is the Way: Light is a Place,” less than two years after their last studio album.

Complaints about Anberlin dramatically changing their sound won’t be heard. In what is a follow-up to a somewhat disappointing effort in “New Surrender,” Anberlin gets back to their old ebb and flow in their fifth studio release.

Three years after the mediocre “Minutes to Midnight” was released, California six-piece Linkin Park is back with something a little different for their fourth studio album.

“A Thousand Suns” does not play out like a 15-track CD, but more like a 50-minute rock opera of love, loss and salvation. The album was released Sept. 14.

The journey kicks off with “The Requiem,” a mostly-instrumental track that combines ghostly piano sequences and eerie chants of salvation to create a truly haunting icebreaker that sets the mood of the entire album in less than two minutes.