2 ways to go: ‘Live Free’ or ‘Death at a Funeral’

You’ll be talking about: “Live Free or Die Hard.” It could be terrible, but it could be awesome. The trailer looks kind of awesome. Bruce Willis looks kind of awesome. Justin Long looks kind of annoying, but that part where the car hits the helicopter? Solid gold. (Wednesday)

You might talk about: Kelly Clarkson gets mad. The first of the “American Idols” comes out this week with her third album, intriguingly titled “My December.” “It’s her angry album,” we’ve heard. It’s also the first album she’s written by herself. Her label hates it, which sort of makes us like it more. Way to be you, Kelly! (Tuesday)

We will be talking about: “Death at a Funeral.” Director Frank Oz’s resume reads like a list of our favorite guilty pleasure movies: “In & Out,” “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” “Little Shop of Horrors,” “The Muppets Take Manhattan.” So we have every reason to expect his newest film will be more of the same silly fun. (Film snobs, keep your superior opinions to yourself.) (Friday)

You won’t be talking about: New DVDs. It’s super-slim pickings from the DVD release world this week. We’ve got “Black Snake Moan” (does anyone need to see that again?), the unrated version of “Dead Silence” and Season 5 of “Monk.” We watched “Monk” once. Once. (Tuesday)

You ought to talk about: Meryl Streep, Claire Danes, Vanessa Redgrave, Toni Collette and Glenn Close. Five actresses who get by not just on looks but also on stateliness and integrity come together for “Evening” -- a film based on the Susan Minot novel. (Friday)

-- Deborah Netburn