TV, music, movies, and books we're into this week

Despite Pixar movies ruling my life as a kid, I haven't watched one in what feels like ages. But all of the hype around Coco has sparked my interest, so I'm going to be a kid again this week.Coco follows a kid named Miguel who just wants to become an accomplished guitar player. But those dreams end up setting off a magical journey into the colorful Land of the Dead, where Miguel ends up exploring the history of his ancestors. Plus, there's an adorable dog. What's not to like?I plan to dive into Coco this weekend, and considering its recent Oscar win, I'm expecting quite the journey.

I'm taking the kids to Disneyland real soon so that means a bit of a Disney kick in our house. And for me that's an excuse to put on one of my childhood favorites, The Lion King. The story, the music, Timon and Pumbaa, there's not a bad word to be said about this timeless classic. And it has the voice of Darth Vader.

If you're a fan of 'Apatowian' humor (or jokes by Judd Apatow), you'll love this movie. Of course, it's not written or directed by Apatow, but you wouldn't know that by watching it; it has tons of the same actors as Apatow's most popular films, and it's definitely modeled after his style of comedy.Anywho, I Love You, Man is the story of a guy who's about to get married (Paul Rudd) but who has no male friends. And his bride-to-be is kind of worried about that. So before he ties the knot, he goes on a quest to find at least one other dude he connects with. That dude turns out to be Jason Segel, a wacky, let-it-all-hang-out kind of guy who's the polar opposite of Rudd personality-wise. The two start to hang, and hilarity ensues.It's not a terribly intelligent or nuanced film, but it's one of those movies you can watch a few times, and it still holds up well. The jokes are genuinely funny. I've literally watched it half a dozen times (or more), and it cracks me up regularly every time. Quite simply, I love you, I Love You, Man.

I don't think there's a TV show I love more than It's Always Sunny. If you've never seen it, it's all about a "gang" of friends who are pretty much the most self-centered, despicable individuals you can imagine. And they own and operate a bar. And they're joined by a character played by Danny DeVito.Season 13 isn't expected to hit until this fall, and I certainly can't wait that long. I've gone back to watch season 12 (which is the only one I haven't watched multiple times) to catch up on the gang's exploits.

Jonathan Wilson's latest album, Rare Birds, seems a lot spacier and psychedelic than his previous stuff, no doubt due to the influence of Roger Waters; Wilson has apparently been playing with him since last year.Still, that's not a bad thing, and you can still tell that it's Wilson behind the controls. Some of the songs near the middle are close to the trademark soft-rock from previous albums, but "Trafalgar Square," which kicks off the album, should give you a good idea of what's in store.

I just started reading 'The Woman in the Window' late last night, but I quickly blew through 100 pages and stayed up well past my bedtime because of it. This book is the definition of a page-turner.It's the story of a woman who's stuck in her New York City home, because of a recently-contracted case of Agoraphobia, or a fear of open spaces. Due to the geography of her neighborhood, she has a vantage point into the lives of many different families who live in the buildings around her. Which means she spends her days surfing the web, in bouts of depression over the fact that she can't leave her own home while drinking wine and occasionally partaking in some good ol' voyeurism.I'm only about a third of the way through the book, so I don't know all that much more about it, except that a mystery unfolds as the woman helplessly watches from the safety(?) of her home. But the story is a clear homage to the classic American noir flicks of the mid-twentieth century, and in particular, Alfred Hitchcock, who the narrator lovingly refers to has just "Hitch." The book has hints of Hitchcock's masterpiece 'Rear Window' sprinkled throughout. It's also a twisty mystery that's beautifully written and skillfully paced. 'The Woman in the Window' is the kind of book that literally has me checking my watch regularly to see how much longer I have to wait before I can start reading again. It's that good … and I'm only 100 pages in.

Gifted to me by a good friend, Measuring the World is the first major novel from Austrian writer Daniel Kehlmann. I'm not far into the story yet, but so far I can see that Kehlmann doesn't mind playing with comedy to offset the otherwise historical exposition.This is the fictional story of two very real people, naturalist Alexander von Humboldt and mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss, who meet in 1828 in Berlin at a conference. This is also the time that Germany was going through some serious changes following Napoleon's fall, and these two characters apparently get seriously wrapped up in it all.