There's plenty to choose from this week as the Gargoyle guide to entertainment returns for another school year. The Diablo Cody-scripted high school comedy/horror flick, "Jennifer's Body," will draw big crowds this weekend, but so will the third annual Pygmalion Music Festival, with concerts taking place throughout Champaign-Urbana. Check below for more about the latest films, CDs, DVDs, video games, and local shows.

MOVIES OPENING IN C-U THIS WEEK

Jennifer's Body
Rated R, dir. Karyn Kusama
Jennifer Check (Megan Fox) is cheerleader captain at her high school. Everybody loves her, but her unlikely best friend is an unpopular, needy nerd named Anita (Amanda Seyfried). No one can really understand why these two are friends. But, when Jennifer ends up possessed by a demon after a bizarre Satanic ritual, Anita is the one who tries to set her friend straight; no more killing the boys in her high school after you seduce them! Diablo Cody, who won an Academy Award for her "Juno" screenplay, wrote the film, and Karyn Kusama of "Girlfight" fame directed it.

"The Informant!"
Rated R, dir. Steven Soderbergh
"The Informant!" is based on a true story set in nearby Decatur during the 1990s. Mark Whitacre (Matt Damon) is a rising executive at Archer Daniels Midland, one of the world's largest agribusiness firms. After learning that ADM is involved in price fixing, Whitacre becomes an informant for the FBI — indeed, he becomes the highest-ranking whistleblower in U.S. corporate history. But, suffering from bipolar disorder, Whitacre cracks from the pressure of his undercover work, leaving his future in doubt. The brilliant Steven Soderbergh, whose credits include the Oscar-winning "Traffic" and "Erin Brockovich," directed this darkly comic tale.

"Love Happens"
Rated PG-13, dir. Brandon Camp
Burke (Aaron Eckhart), a self-help author who himself needs help, arrives in Seattle to teach a sold-out lecture. There he means a beautiful woman, Eloise (Jennifer Aniston), who has sworn off men to kick-start her floral business. The pair feel sparks and take a certain affection to each other. But, this romance is coming at the wrong time. If this is true love, should the couple act on impulse, or wait it out to see if love remains when they are both settled and confident?

"Bright Star"
Rated PG, dir. Jane Campion
Set in 19th-century London, this film follows the romance of poet John Keats (Ben Whishaw), and fashionista Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish). The two detest each other at first, but soon their hatred turns into affection when Fanny finds John nursing his brother to health. Soon after, Fanny requests that John teach her poetry. Thus, the romance begins. But how can this unlikely pair maintain the relationship when the people closest to them disapprove?

"Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs"
Rated PG, dir. Phil Lord & Chris Miller
The title of this animated film is meant to be taken literally — it's adapted from Ron and Judi Barrett's children's book about a town where food falls from the sky. Bill Hader provides the voice of Flint Lockwood, a young inventor, and Anna Faris does the voice of Sam Sparks, a weathercaster who reports on the strange phenomena.

"The Cove"
Rated PG-13, dir. Louie Psihoyos
This documentary, which opens Friday at Boardman's Art Theatre in downtown Champaign, investigates the hunting of dolphins by Japanese fishermen. The film has won numerous awards on the festival circuit, including the audience award at this year's Sundance.

Eleni’s Pick: I'm sorry, but "Jennifer's Body" seems really entertaining.

CD RELEASES THIS WEEK

"The Resistance"
Muse
The English band Muse have made themselves known for their experimental approach to alternative rock, featuring rich classical piano melodies alongside metal guitar parts, literate lyrics over heavy bass rhythms, and, of course, swelling falsetto parts to match Freddie Mercury in his prime. "The Resistance" is no exception: The composition is genius, the execution is beautiful. Though a few of the tracks are straight rock, others are a beautiful fusion of metal, punk, and classical … one track even incorporates an adapted version of a Chopin nocturne. This is a must-have for any fan of alternative rock.

"Break Up"
Scarlett Johansson & Pete Yorn
Recently, the line between film god and rock star has been growing thin: Everyone has a solo album or two, and it seems there's now a vocal component to "Disney Channel Star" audition. (Miley, Selena, and Ashley?) They tend to be full of cheap synth and bad auto-tune, hardly worth listening to. Scarlett Johansson, however, has proved to be the exception to this rule: Her first solo album was lovely, and this new duet with singer-songwriter Pete Yorn has proved even better. His typical rough vocals are fine, as always, but her full, textured voice is what makes this a lovely album.

"Gallop Meets the Earth"
Protest the Hero
This is a must for any My Chemical Romance fans out there; otherwise, give it a miss. With melodic minor runs and a straight snare drum track, it manages to hit that generic alternative metal sound and be absolutely, horrendously disgusting at the same time. OK, maybe that's going a little far. Protest the Hero actually have some real musical talent, but their songwriting ability seems to be pretty scant.

"So Far Gone"
Drake
Unlike Scarlett Johansson, Drake is an actor who can't actually sing. Sure, he attempts to rap (badly), and auto-tunes the rest (fails miserably), but the overall effect isn't good. I mean, honestly, we've had an abundance of up-and-coming rappers in recent years, and a few of them have had some talent. But for a Lil Wayne heir, Drake's lack of ability is just disappointing.

Katy's Pick: "The Resistance," for sure. Scarlett Johansson and Pete Yorn also look pretty promising, but they can't match the sheer talent of Muse.

DVD RELEASES THIS WEEK

"X-Men Origins: Wolverine"
Rated PG-13, dir. Gavin Hood
“X-Men Origins” follows the life of Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), a regular guy named Logan who was made a mutant by the government through the Weapon X program, giving him healing powers and claws. The film also delves into Wolverine’s relationship with Victor Creed (Liev Schreiber), who will later become Sabretooth (another mutant).

"Easy Virtue"
Rated PG-13, dir. Stephan Elliott
Set in the 1930s England, this social comedy is an adaptation of Noël Coward's 1925 play of the same name. An Englishman, John Whittaker (Ben Barnes), marries Larita (Jessica Biel), an American woman he has fallen hard for. Although John loves Larita, who is a glamorous widow and a racecar driver to boot, his family strongly dislikes the new woman in his life, especially John’s mother (Kristin Scott Thomas). Larita must now do everything in her power to ensure that a pesky mother-in-law does not crush her romance with John.

Eleni’s Pick: I’m the world’s biggest X-Men fan. So, I think it’s obvious I want to see Logan’s life before he became Wolverine on the big screen!

VIDEO GAME RELEASES THIS WEEK

"WET"
Bethesda Softworks
"WET" tells the story of a female mercenary, Rubi Malone (Eliza Dushku), originally hired to find a client’s son, who finds herself involved in a battle she isn’t being paid for. Using a wide range of tricks, including flips, wall-runs, and more, "WET" forces players to use their sense of style to take down a wide variety of foes. "WET" costs $59.99 for the Xbox 360; also available for the PlayStation 3.

"NHL 10"
Electronic Arts
Hockey fans will no doubt be eager to try out the latest version of the NHL franchise. According to publisher Electronic Arts, "NHL 10" features a new first-person "fighting engine" that allows players to duke it out with opposing tough guys. "Feel what it's like to be on the ice in the skates of an NHL player to throw and dodge punches. Grab and tug an opponent's jersey to land a punch that ignites the fans and sparks your team to victory." Available for the Xbox 360.

Luke's Pick: Well, if you're not a hockey fan, I guess you'll have to go with "WET." You might want to save your money, though.

LOCAL SHOWS THIS WEEK

Pygmalion Music Festival
Wednesday, Sept. 16, through Saturday, Sept. 19
Multiple venues and concert times
Pygmalion Pygmalion Pygmalion! The third annual Pygmalion Music Festival takes place later this week, featuring tons of wonderful acts from near and far. You can read the full program here, but these are my favorites:

My Brightest Diamond
Thursday, 8:45 p.m., Krannert Center
Singer-songwriter Shara Worden's pet band My Brightest Diamond is bright indeed. A talented multi-instrumentalist, Worden mixes baroque pop and alternative rock in a wonderful fusion helped along by her outrageously fantastic voice.

You & Yourn
Friday, 6:45 p.m., Channing Murray
A lovely indie rock duo, You & Yourn have made their name in beautiful harmonies and heartrendingly sweet vocals. They may well be the best local band since Shoompie … definitely worth seeing.

Iron and Wine
Saturday, 8:45 p.m., Krannert Center
Samuel Beam, better known as indie legend Iron and Wine, is definitely one of the biggest names at this year's festival. With a sound ranging from poignant Elliott-Smith-like guitar pieces to cool, acoustic ballads, he's one of the most innovative and original artists around.

Katy's Pick: Well, Iron and Wine is a personal favorite, but My Brightest Diamond looks lovely, and You & Yourn also promises to be a wonderful act. Actually, you really can't go wrong.